Sunday, January 27, 2013

Lake Serene

This past summer we hiked Lake Serene off Highway 2. This was a gorgeous hike. A little rockier than we were expecting, which was a bit rough on the dogs' feet by the time we were done. But the view at the end was well worth it. And there isn't much the dogs enjoy more than a chance to take a dip. The hike was about 7 miles round trip and 2000' elevation gain. The only other hike Ellie has done was Wallace Falls, but she fared pretty well.

At the waterfall

Getting their feet wet

First glimpse of Lake Serene
So peaceful
Swimming at Lake Serene
After the hike we went to the cabin for the night. You'd think Scout and Ellie would've been tired after the hike. But they had some reserve for swimming. 

Drying off after another swim at the cabin

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Ellie Bean

Justin and I had been talking about getting a second dog for awhile. We love Scout but thought he'd enjoy having another dog to play with. We were wrong about that. He is very tolerant of her, and they do play together, but I think he's more of a lone wolf. But she's part of the family now and I can't really remember life without her. We picked her up right after Christmas at Cimarron Farms. She was just shy of 8 weeks when we got her. Look at that little puppy buddha belly. She slept on me most of the way home and it was so sweet. But then she woke up and started whining and I have to admit, I started to cry a little. I felt bad for her because we took her away from her mom and litter mates and she didn't understand what was happening. Silly in hindsight, and I know she is happy here, but it was sad. We have a ton of pictures of her and Scout, it was tough to pick just a handful. 

Baby Bean with a mini tug rope

Big brother giving her a hug

Laundry pup
She looks like a fat little sausage piglet!

Playing in her first snow

Sweet puppy face

Ellie not looking very pleased about the long time she had to play outside, its cold for a baby!

Here she is attacking Scout



Fall Visitor/Seattle Touring

As I mentioned in the previous post, I had a few Seattle visitors in Fall 2011. Here is a picture from the Japanese Gardens located in the UW Botanic Gardens, very beautiful.


While Laura was here, we did a hike to Wallace Falls. Here is the obligatory falls photo.


One of my favorite things to do with visitors is the Argosy Harbor Cruise. We actually had sun in November!



We also went to the Kubota Garden. I really enjoy there types of gardens. Neat designs, water fixtures and beautiful greens. 


Thanks for coming out to visit friends!

So its been awhile

Scout in front of the new house
I feel like every time I write a new entry, it starts with an excuse or apology as to why its been so long since I've written. Here we go again I guess.

This post is going to be a few highlights of our last 12-14 months and then I will do more posts about specific things.

1- We bought a house. We had been sick and tired of community living in the condo (or apartment in Philadelphia) for some time. We were fortunate enough to keep the condo and rent it out and to buy our first home in Snohomish. We were looking for some peace, quiet and land, and found just that. The house was built in 2004 on a 5 acre plot. We did a few things before moving in (painting, appliances, crawl space) and continue to do little things here and there as needed and to make it more "our home," and not just a house. One of the best things we did was have a backyard fence put it. This has been fantastic for the dogs.

2- Two of my friends from college came out for a visit to Seattle. Shannon came before we moved to the house and Laura came afterwards. I always enjoy having visitors and acting like a tour guide to show them around our cool city.

3- Justin's mom came to stay for a few days at Thanksgiving.

4- We got a puppy, Ellie Bean, at the end of December 2011. She is a yellow lab and the complete opposite of Scout. She stayed pretty small and is such a cuddler!

5- We got a lot of snow in January. Power was out for about 3.5 days and it got COLD. The poor puppy couldn't stay warm and wasn't too sure what to think about the deep, cold snow.  I typically get up for work at 4:45 but was getting up at 4:00 that week to get the chains on my car, drive to 522, get the chains off, drive to the park and ride, get on the bus to Seattle and then enjoy a hot shower once I got to work. Justin set up a little outdoor cooking station with our camp stove and we survived. It also re-ignited our interest in jigsaw puzzles because it gave us something fun to do when it was light enough.

6- My parents came to stay for almost 2 weeks in April for Easter. We also had our housewarming party while they were here.

7- We had a young man live with us a for a few months while he worked at getting back on his feet.

8- We went on a few hikes and trips to the cabin for outdoor fun and relaxation.

9- We went to San Diego to visit Justin's Grandpa Jay and have a little vacation.

10- We worked with the launch team of a church plant from Northshore Baptist Church called Imprint Church located in Woodinville. I am on the Children's Ministry team, R.E.A.L Kids, and am one of the infants/toddlers teachers. We have been remodeling the space to accommodate more children but should be in our new classrooms by the middle of February. In the meantime, my co-teacher and I have been hanging out with 2-3 babies in the back of the worship center during service. Having our own room will do a lot for containment :)

11- I resigned from Harborview Medical Center at the beginning of January and have started a position with the Home Health division of Evergreen Healthcare. I was pretty burnt out with my early mornings and the long commute. It was hard to leave a place with so many friends and fine colleagues, but I look forward to this new journey in home health. And I am really excited to be able to help patients in their own homes, addressing their specific goals, instead of just what I think they need to do to get out of a hospital.

I am sure there are other things to highlight and talk about, but that seems to be all I can think of now.  Hope that gives you a good idea of what we've been up to.