Anna Matsunaga

From Anna Matsunaga, Team Momentum Keller Williams Realty Tacoma

www.teammomentumrealestate.com 253-353-2662.

There are many places in Pierce county I love to go, especially after living in the area since 1992. However one of my favorites is quite close to home....Wapato park. It holds special significance for me since my husband and I had our wedding there ( ok actually our 10 year anniversary, but we had a wedding then since we had not had one when we got married in the first place) I also love it because I have spent many hours running and walking around the lake and also have many memories with my children playing there together.

Just take one look at the beautiful arches near the round about drive and you will know why this is a destination for weddings or at least wedding pictures.....The rest of the park is as well cared for. It has seasonal plantings of flowers that are changed out and kept in color for most of the year. You will also find the following @ Wapato.

Walking / bike trails.

Volley Ball Courts

Horse shoe courts

Picnic areas

Play equipment

Juvenile fishing part of the year

Baseball field

Open play areas

Duck and goose watching

Rating the park

Space-10

Layout- 10

Parking 8.5

Maintainance 9

Ammenities- 8.5

Cleanliness-7.5

Pretty factor 8.5

Play equipment 8

Accessibility-8

Dog friendly-7

Family friendly-8.5

I would love it if there was a small fenced off leash area for dogs since there are none on the S. End of Tacoma and there is enough room there. Judging from the number of dogs that are seen there @ any given time I am guessing it would be popular. The equipment is nice, could be a bit more of it.....once in a while I see trash there and the other issue with cleanliness if the ducks and other water foul can make a mess....but the park is actively working on that issue.

For walking and running, hardly could there be a better set up. According to mapmywalk.com the jaunt around the lake using the main bridge is just about exactly a mile which is great. The paths are wide and fairly level which makes for nice running and walking and you get up and down hills both making a nice varied work out.

I forgot to mention, not just duck watching, but also squirels, there are plenty in the park to see as well.

The location also makes it accessible via bus lines, and to people coming from other parts of town and even other towns since it is right off the freeway. Last week met friends from Lakewood there and they mentioned would be coming back plenty now that she knew how very close and easy to get to it was.

Haven't been in a while?... drop in while the weather is still nice, although, you will not be disappointed even in the rain, you just might get wet though....

--Anna Matsunaga Team Momentum, Keller Williams Realty Tacoma 253 353 2662

www.teammomentumrealestate.com

From Anna Matsunaga, Team Momentum, Keller Williams Realty Tacoma

www.teammomentumrealestate.com 253 353 2662

I have always been a fan of the natural way to do things and once I had kids well I kinda became a Nazi about it. So when we get unwelcome visitors.....

I just don't want to poison the family too or our pets. I also worry about the environment....and with a baby just a few weeks old in the house I really don't want toxic anything anywhere nearby at all.

Problem is the ants like alot of the same food we do.....

So last time they found our honey jar we just put honey outside for them and then washed the floor really well with vinegar where they had been entering and it worked, but they are back and I needed some new ideas so I went online and found this great site.

http://www.thefrugallife.com/ants.htm

Great part is, most the solutions are things you have in your house and so nontoxic ( most of them) that you can eat them!

Hope this helps if you have uninvited guests!

Anna Matsunaga Team Momentum Keller Williams Realty Tacoma WA

www.teammomentumrealestate.com

From Anna Matsunaga, Team Momentum, Keller Williams Realty Tacoma

253 353 2662 www.teammomentumrealestate.com

In getting ready to work with a large project in Lakewood, I have been doing some research on the area and it's history. The history is rich and interesting even though Lakewood has only been incorporated since 1996. Noteable residents of Lakewood have been a part of much of what has happened in all of Pierce county.

There are also many historical sites now open to the public as parks and more such as Lakewold park, and Fort Steilacoom park. The many lakes almost all have public access as well, so residents of the Lakewood area can enjoy year round lake lifestyle whether they live on the lakes themselves or not. The lakes are known for water skiing and fishing or simply a great place to have an leisurely afternoon on the water. Even many of the buildings we pass daily in Lakewood have historical significance ( such as Hollywood video) as many of the buildings either were designed by an early visionary architect, or are based on matching his design.

I learned alot from this video, for instance, did you know that Lakewood is home to one of the oldest Golf and Country clubs in the US? Also did you know that Lakewood also boasts one of the ONLY hunt clubs in Western US? The information on Lakewood's past and it's development along with interesting information like this make this video worthwhile to watch.

If you are relocating to Lakewood I would suggest you watch to see the rich heritage of the area you are moving to. If you already live in the area you will simply find it interesting.

To watch go to http://vimeo.com/6744332 and take a look

To find out more about Lakewood, history and the city now and goings on with in I would suggest you also visit http://www.cityoflakewood.us/

There you will even find a schedule and phone # to make an appointment for coffee with the Mayor and much much more.

--Anna Matsunaga, Team Momentum, Keller Williams Realty Tacoma, 253 353 2662. www.teammomentumrealestate.com

From Anna Matsunaga, Team Momentum, Keller Williams Realty Tacoma 253 353 2662

www.teammomentumrealestate.com

One of the places I consider a Treasure in Tacoma and a benefit of Living in Lakewood as well is that both have Famous Footware locations. Now WHY would that make a town a better place to live? Well if you have to ask you likely don't have 6 people in your family to keep in shoes.

I have 4 kids and 3 of them wear shoes. ( I don't believe in shoes for children who don't walk yet) Keeping the 3 of them and my husband and I in shoes is no small task and can be a big chunk of money as well. Thank goodness we have 2 close by choices for locations for Famous Footware.

The first time we went in we just decided to browse, but we soon knew we would be coming back alot. My oldest son has grown out of all of his shoes 3 whole times in the last year ( now @ age 12 is 2 sizes larger in shoe size than his dad is) and just when we thought we had things caught up for him his sisters grew out of theirs too. Enter Famous Footware. We can actually afford to get them their new shoes there. We find a nice selection of brand names there along with off brands that are just as nice as the known names.

We always find a large selection as well. We have purchased everything from soccer shoes to heels there, from slippers to boots. My girl's favorite there is the brand of boots called Bear Claws, they are similar to Uuggs with out the price that make you go Uugg.

They also have great sales, often buy one get one and buy one get one half off and such.

If you have a family who you need to keep in shoes or you just want to save on keeping yourself in them, head over to the Lakewood Town Center to

10330 59TH AVENUE SW #C
Lakewood, WA 98499

Or in Tacoma go to

LINCOLN PLAZA
2505 SOUTH 38TH ST #A113
TACOMA, WA 98409

You can also check them out on line @ www.famousfootware.com

Have fun shopping and $aving!

--Anna Matsunaga, Team Momentum, Keller Williams Realty Tacoma 253-353-2662

www.teammomentumrealestate.com

From Anna Matsunaga, Team Momentum, Keller Williams Realty Tacoma

253 353 2662- www.teammomentumrealestate.com

If you are living in or near Lakewood WA or considering living there, one of the restaurants you will want to visit is the Old Country Buffet ( or Old country Bee as they call themselves) You need to visit, not for the fine dining, it's not fine dining, but for a nice clean all you can eat restaurant with lots of variety. You will find it located right in Lakewood Town Center.

What I like about it most is that no matter who you are there will be things you can eat there. They have a huge salad bar, a taco bar, a dessert bar, and several areas with all different sides and main meat dishes. I like to go there with the kids since other than the line at the register, which moves quickly, there is no waiting for food. There is also no complaining because they "don't like this kind of food" which happens often when I make one family member happy @ other restaurants, here they can pick out the kind of food they want.

We went there last Friday after a very full week where I had had little time to pay attention to them, let alone make decent meals. We had a very fun time. Sam got among other things pepperoni pizza, corn, salad, jojo potatoes and mac and cheese. Chlo'e got steak, chicken and mac and cheese and a taco. Joeleah ate corn, chicken, pizza, and breaded shrimp. I had a large salad and breaded okra and breaded shrimp. The kids had fun making sodas with every flavor in them. They also had chocolate milk. Those of you who know me know why the pop is such a treat to them)

Then of course there is dessert, which of course I tell them all before we go in, they must have dinner before dessert.

Then as we come in we are greeted by a sign....

They point it out and ask if that means they have to follow my rules about dessert. I say yes. My rules trump a sign at a restaurant. They do eat dinner first and I am proud to say don't over eat dessert.

Sam has a small dish of chocolate and vanilla swirl ice cream and Joeleah has chocolate icecream her brother gets for her.

Chlo'e gets a little icecream and a little cake. I opt for a small cheese cake and a little apple cobbler with vanilla icecream.

All in all it's a great night at dinner. With a buffet there is the added benefit that it is socially acceptable for you to get up several times during a meal, this is a plus when dining with a 3 year old who seems unable to sit still through any meal even at home ( at least she stays dressed when we eat out!) This is also a plus when eating out with a 9 week old who has his fussy time right at dinner time, we can get up and walk around to calm him with out anyone looking at us funny.

This is really a family friendly restaurant. We feed me and Sam ( he's 12) and Chlo'e and Joeleah ( Peter's meals are of course one of the few things not offered on the buffet) for about $35. We can hardly have fast food for that little and this definatly trumps that.

We have also come here before on the weekends for breakfast, they have a great omlet station set up then and lots of great breakfast items, this too is well priced, about $6 for an adult.

Going to the Old Country Buffet reminds me of being a child. My family often ate at a similar restaurant when I was growing up. ( I am the oldest of 5 kids,) I am pretty sure my parents liked "their" buffet restaurant for many of the same reasons I like Old Country Buffet....of course "mine" is nicer than the buffet I visited as a child.

Old Country Buffet is one of the benefits of living in Lakewood and shopping the lakewood town center. A fun weekend day could be breakfast @ OCB and then shopping @ the town center. We had almost as much fun eating dinner at OCB and then shopping for an hour @ the towncenter, specifically Micheals and Ross dress for less.

--Anna Matsunaga, Team Momentum, Keller Williams Realty Tacoma.--253 353 2662

www.teammomentumrealestate.com

Moving to Lakewood? Give our team a call we would love to help you with your relocation.