Mariners 3, Royals 8

Safeco Field
Mike and I gathered up the gang this weekend to go see Jeff Weaver (former Cardinal) lead off for the Mariners against the KC Royals. It turned out to be hilarious! 30 minutes after the game started, the first inning was still going on. KC had made it through their entire batting line-up, there was 1 out and the Royals were up 6-0. Weaver was out of there! I hope our 'karma' for our home team doesn't carry over next weekend as we are flying home to STL to cheer on our Cards! Happy Monday to you all.

Sunny Seattle in the Spring

Seattle never ceases to amaze me....this place is breathtaking! I love it so much that thinking about leaving in a month is beginning to make me nauseous (the reasons for that are many!) Please enjoy some of my daily views. Sailboats docked on Lake Washington. This part of the lake is in Kirkland, on the east side of the city. We took a walk down this pier with Ben and Jerrys' in hand. I had the *NEW* flavor 'Cinnamon Buns'. It was just about heaven in a little cup.
I think this looks like an entry way to 'The Secret Garden.' It's at the Washington State Arboretum (just a mile from the UW campus)

Flowers at the Arboretum

Rhododendron Hybrids (hot pink!)

The Olympic Mountain Range at Sunset. This view is taken from West Seattle (one of my fave new spots!). The Water is the Puget Sound.

Mike and me hiking a few weeks ago. We did a good job taking the pic of ourselves! Mt. Si in the background.

I have been desperately trying for weeks to get a good picture to depict the diversity of green here. I have never seen anything like this. The fresh, lightly colored, spring buds are right next to the deep, dark fir trees all over the place. These patterns just cover the hillsides of Seattle. This picture will never do it justice. But please just imagine the Emerald City at its most spectacular showing!

Mike Cooper is the big 50!!!

Mike Cooper turned the big 5-0 yesterday, Saturday April 21st! Happy Birthday Mike Cooper! They celebrated the day cruisin around in a HOT blue camero (it was either a 66 or a 69), I wish I knew more about that stuff! It's similar to the one he drove in high school. So Mike and Jill went down to a winery in St. Genevieve and then out to dinner on the Hill with the whole Cooper-family's-wonderful-circle-of-friends. My dad is one of the most incredible men I know; he works hard and he takes great care of us crazy Cooper kids. He's an incredibly talented man in so many ways, he's an awesome Christian. He's just darn near practically perfect in every way! I am so grateful to have such a wonderful man as a dad!
Matching Mike and Jill last summer at the Botanical Gardens.

Terror

What happened today on Virginia Tech's campus makes me ill. I can't even begin to imagine what those students are going through. Thank you all for your concerns, voice messages, emails, etc. Ryan is fine, and so far everyone that he knows is fine too. Praise God! (This was one time where skipping your Monday morning 8am came in handy!) The truth is, though, that there are siblings of at least 50 others who can not say the same. We need to pray for all of them. Again, thank you for your concern. We Coopers LOVE you!

Space Needle

This blog entry goes out to The Space Needle. It's such a trademark that I feel it needs an entire entry of its own. These pictures are a compilation of several different days of space needle viewing. This weekend was wonderfully relaxing and full of delicious foods and great conversation. I also started my new Paul Farmer book; Pathologies of Power. He is a huge 'public health-er' and a big mover in social inequalities and human rights. I respect him and LOVE his work! So after much fulfilling time, I feel very refreshed and ready for Monday! Spring Space Needle
Space Needle in the Skyline (taken from the ferry)

The Top

Built for the 1962 World's Fair, it is 605 feet tall.

The city from the top!

We couldn't see Rainier that day, but it was beautiful anyway!

Easter: A Risen Mix

Christ the Lord is Risen Today, Alleluia! I hope that your Easter Sunday was full of joy! Our church services this morning was full of trumpets and gospel music. www.marshillchurch.org I have been so blessed by a good church here in Seattle. After church Mike and I hosted an orphan Easter for all of us 20 somethings far away from our homes. We have enough ham to last us a month! I pray that your day was full of peace and blessings as well! Yesterday we hiked 'Rattlesnake Pass' (which did not actually have rattlesnakes). It was incredible to be out and enjoying the Pac NW. The trees smelled delicious, and the views were great. We hiked all the way up to snow (which I thought was a huge deal!). This is a picture of Mt. Si that Mike took last summer. On our hike we had great views of Mt. Si, so I wanted to include something beautiful. This is Seattle in the summer... now I know what I will be missing. I'll have to come back!
Oh Beautiful, for spacious skies!

Whirlwind Wedding Weekend

This past weekend I flew in for a few weddings: a friend from college, and a friend from Nashville. It was so nice of them to coordinate! The new Jennifer Phillips- Monsarrat. Mike is a lucky guy. Isn't she beautiful? I road-tripped back and forth to Nashville with Hannah Stevens. 10 hours have never gone so fast. She is GREAT company!
Brown Eyed Girl. Jenn and her daddy!

Mizzou reunion. Friday night we celebrated the union of our dear friend Jenn Stuth and the love of her life Megan Boyer. It was a beautiful ceremony, and it was wonderful to see everyone. L-R front. Britt, Coop, Nina. L-R back: Becca, Jenn (blushing bride), Laura, Jamie.

Becca does not mess around when it comes to cupcakes!

Coop, Britt, Becca. Eh!