Memorial Day Recap

 Nice Spirit Fingers Babe!

This is the first Memorial Day that we haven't gone somewhere in 6 years, so it was nice to stay at home and enjoy the AMAZING weather! We didn't do a ton of super exciting stuff, but did have a rendezvous with some friends for BigD's 35th birthday (he's really only 28, but he could be 40). He and his wife Hilari came into town for a night so we went to Barrio on Capitol Hill, which is bomb.com and surprised him with some of the crew. We drank some beers, took down some tequila, ate a bunch of Mexican food, and generally had a great time....

           See...Beers and Crew

The Fun Bunch: From Left to Right (Hilari Flanigan, 

Birthday Boy Flanigan, Buckskins, Nutt, Boo, and Myself)

Supporting Cast of RoupeScoop (Boys Edition): Gonny, BK, Me, BigD, and Balz

Nutt + Tequila = Bitter Beer Face?

I also squeezed a round of golf in (I still suck), we took Hawk for like 600 walks and he whizzed like 1800 times (he's beat), grabbed coffee in the mornings (naturally), and had a great domesticated evening with our good friends, Lowell Parker and his fiance Becca. We grilled steaks, drank wine, and played some Apples to Apples. Hawk and LuLu (their dog) chased the cat and we were really entertained all evening (this will happen to each and every one of you someday so don't roll your eyes). Then we wrapped it up with more meat on Monday at another BBQ with some friends. Meat is good. 

In case you were wondering to yourself, "Where do the Roupe's go on all of these Memorial Day trips"? I have put together a nice list. Why? Because people love lists. You know what else people like? PICTURES! Because you don't have to read them....

    2003 - Lake Chelan

Yeah,that is a Skyy Blue...collector's item now

Hanging with Kevin Bacon

         

         2004 - Las Vegas

2005 - Las Vegas

BK, the Baller, Big D, Myself, Gonny - PURE

The crew, all 17 of us, and Ma & Pa Roupe! Thanks for dinner!

The Fellas - Caesar's Palace (L to R: LilD, Nutt, Gonny, Turtle, Quinn, BK, Me)

Baby Boo looking Hot in the dark hair! 

2006 - San Diego

Oh wow, Good times in SD

No Easter Eggs were harmed in the making of this picture

Lowell still has that sweet stroke

2007 - Las Vegas

Boo and I ready to roll

BK and I in a posedown...he won. But I won coolest way to hold a drink

2008 - Walla Walla Wine Tasting

Too much wine? No way, Too much love

This was actually featured in Wine Spectator, we were paid for our modeling with gummy bears, Big D's favorite

Yeah, that's a good crew

Wine connoisseurs 

Trapped in a Cellar, had to drink our way out

Lots of good stuff shaking down in the near future....Stay Tuned!

My Boo! The one and only (well, not technically the only) Mrs. Roupe...

Rach is truly an amazing woman and I am blessed to have her as my wife and as my best friend. She loves to laugh (I love her laugh), loves spending time with family and friends, enjoys wine tasting, walking our dog, reading, trying new restaurants, traveling, EXTRA HOT coffee's, pasta, fine cheeses (Humboldt Fog and Delice de Burgeone), wakeboarding, snow skiing, playing all sorts of sports (she has a cannon for an arm), our Saturday morning walks, and takes tremendous pride in her work. 

We met almost 9 years ago, which is totally crazy to both of us, and have been married 4.5 years (also nuttier than a squirrel's turd). Everyday gets better as we continue to learn more about each other...i.e...I squeeze from the bottom of the tube, she squeezes from wherever, I pick up my stuff when I am ready, she picks it up yesterday... We have a small little family consisting of a miniature pinscher-Chihuahua mix named Hawk and a bengal cat named Blitz (I will get to both of them later). And, yes, both of them are named for the Seahawks, OUR favorite team. But, NO, our kids will not be named "Field Goal", "Red Zone", or "Illegal Contact". We haven't ruled out "Pass Interference" though, aka P.I. Roupe, in which case he would be destined to be a rapper. 

Anyways, we met at Western Washington University, seen here: 

WWU - Viking Union

Old Main

We met at Summerstart, the orientation incoming freshman attend in early August to get a feel for campus and sign up for classes. After some awkward 18 year old flirting (and her telling me she came all the way from Cali to play softball, which I laughed at...who goes to WWU from Cali? Also, YOU PLAY SOFTBALL? Yeah, and I turned down M.I.T. for WWU), some AIM screen names were exchanged and we started chatting on the phone and via IM (was really cool back then) until school started. Not wanting to waste any time, we were together as a couple about 2 days after school started and have been ever since! Neither of us were looking for a significant other at the time and would have thought you were crazy if you said we would have dated the same person all throughout college. Well, I guess good things come unexpectedly, because we have been together ever since with no breaks at all. 

 M'lady Having some fun back in the day!!

So, we dated for 4 years, got married September 25, 2004 at Newcastle Golf Club, just east of Seattle and bought a little townhome in the Issaquah Highlands while I worked Pharmaceutical sales and Rach worked for Quadrant Homes. Then we got an opportunity to start a new homebuilding company in California, moved down there, decided that wasn't for us and after a year and a half headed back to the great NW. After living in a farm town, we decided that we wanted to see some people, make that lots of people, and bought a condo on Upper Queen Anne just 2 minutes from downtown Seattle. On a side note, we have greatly reduced our carbon footprint by being able to walk to shops, work, and bars! We still work for Envision Homes, Rach does all the sales work, I am in charge of New Business Development, and in these lean times, the marketing as well. So tell everyone to go buy an Envision Home, like RIGHT NOW! So, in a nutshell, that is the brief history of how we came to be the Roupe's! There will be many more stories detailing our adventures along the way and our crazy crew.

4 year anniversary - Saint Diego

Whistler (as you can tell I grew a half beard, I am pretty crazy)

College Whistler Trip - Amazing!

Aaargh!! There be m'lady with me loot!

Myself, Boo, and Lil Sis!

Until Next time......

I'm Back...Here's the breakdown to the breakdown

So, it has been a minute since the last post and a ton has happened since the beginning of the year. Instead of boring you with the details and what not, I have a couple of features that I will be doing weekly or whenever I can get around to it. I was thinking last night that pictures are a lot of fun, so each week I will post a picture from yesteryear and explain what the situation was and any crazy stories that went down. I also will introduce you to all of the characters in our life and how we came to know them, etc... And don't worry I also will blog about things I see on the street, like this...

No I didnt actually see these two dudes, who are totally awesome (and they are awesome bc they are having fun and messing around), but I saw a dude wearing similar duds to Caffe Fiore about 2 weeks ago and he WAS NOT joking...totally crazy. He also was wearing these shades..

so to recap....

1) Full spandex pants (no shorts on top - rule #11 of things not to do)

2) stretchy aerobic socks on top of said spandex pants (still no shorts on top)

3) Cutoff sweatshirt like this one...

which actually is a pretty rad idea for Halloween or if you could bench 225 54 times.

4) listening to an original walkman, like from 1993. I hope that Soul 4 Real was playing on it....I love "Candy Rain"

5) Dude wanted to make sure to sit outside (it's Seattle in April, not necessarily outdoors weather) for maximum street exposure

I think this guy must be a genius though, and single, because he gets looks from everyone. It is probably his ploy to get some ladies to come talk to him. Maybe he thinks that's what guys that go to Yoga wear and a little lady friend will magically strike up a conversation about the latest downward dog...