North Cascades Highway

Rob convinced me to go on a motorcycle trip with him and his friend Sota.  Rob has always wanted take a motorcycle on the on the North Cascades Highway.  Now that I am more comfortable  on a motorcycle, and Rob recently bought a bike that is perfect for the trip we decided to go for it. 

I started  the trip on my own.  I rode  up to the Ensign Ranch to spend stake night at Girl’s camp with the girls from our ward.  Rob and Sota met me up at the ranch a few hours later.  We then drove on to Wenatchee that night and stayed in a hotel. I was not the happiest about going over the highway 97 in the dark, but I survived and we made it without injury. 

The next morning we drove through Chelan and onto the North Cascades Highway. It was the perfect day for it.  The sun was shining bright and it was perfectly warm.  We made several stops to enjoy the view.  It was my first time on that highway and I can’t believe it was.  Every time we stopped I said,  “Rob, why have we never been up here before?!”  the views were breath-taking.

Lake  Chelan

Rob and Sota with their matching Honda VFRs. 

Looking down onto the North Cascades Highway

The view from the top of Washington Pass with Liberty Bell Mountain in the background.

Mine and Rob’s bikes  at the top of the pass. 

It was a great trip. We traveled about 500 miles.  I was able to keep up just fine, even on the winding roads.  Rob is even more encouraged now that one day we could actually take a motorcycle trip up to Alaska.  We’ll see…

Parents of 5

Rob and I had a house full when my sister Julie and her husband Rod left their 5 kids in our care as they went to Hawaii to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary.  Having 7 people crammed in our three bedroom house for 9 days made us feel like we were bursting at the seams, but thanks to daily activities, a dog, and 2 Xbox 360s, we were able to make it through and actually enjoy ourselves. 

Everyone stuck a piece of gum on the gum wall when we visited Pike Place Market

We braved the zoo on a rainy day. 

We had a beautifully sunny day where we enjoyed the sand at Golden Gardens.

We went  to Greenlake and rented a canoe, paddle boards, and a kayak.

We hiked Rattlesnake Ridge

We discovered some talent for Mountain biking at Duthie Hill Bike Park. 

It was a great visit and I think everyone had a great time. Thanks to the Rivers’ family for making the long journey up to hang out with us. 

Revel’s new house

Almost immediately after we got a dog, Rob decided he wanted to build a dog house.  A design for a simple dog house to keep our puppy dry quickly turned into the Dog-mahal, complete with trim, carpet, lighting, a deck, and painted to match our house.  It turned out great.  Good Job Rob!

Rock N Roll 1/2 Marathon

This year I made the goal to run a 1/2 Marathon.  I had a few girl friends running the Rock N Roll 1/2 in Seattle so I decided to join them.  I was able to convince my Bro-in-law Rod to come down and race with me as well.  This was the first organized race I had ever run in.  It was a blast.  The running part, not so fun, but the atmosphere and people made it worth it. 

The night before the race there was a Expo in Seattle.  We spent several hours, walking around, sampling all the free snacks, and getting as many free things as we could.  We had a blast. 

Halle, Parker and Braden show off some of the freebies we accumulated including t-shirt, sun glasses, headband, medal.  It was never ending.  My nephew Wes was the most successful winning the coveted Tuna t-shirt. 

The next morning, Rod and I got up at 4 am to meet with a group of friends and head down to Seattle for the race.  Traveling with a van full of runners helped us get even more excited and pumped up for what lay ahead.

Here is Rod and I waiting to get up to the starting line so we could begin the race.  With over 26,000 racers it was quite the process to get parked and make our way to the starting line. 

 

Here I am about mile 4. Still smiling… Rob and Wesley cheered me on from the sidelines.  This picture was the start of the steepest hill of the race.  I made them run with me a little bit.  I was glad they were at this point to cheer me on because that hill was STEEP!.

Being my first race, my only goal was a finish.  I did!  My family was at the end to cheer on over the finish line. 

If you want to come and join me next year let me know! 

Revelstoke

We adopted a PUPPY! 

Since we got married Rob has wanted a dog.  He finally convinced me and after our yard was finished I made it my mission to find us the perfect dog.  We decided that the perfect breed for our current house and yard would be a Miniature Australian Shepherd and the search began.  We quickly found that buying one of the dogs from a breeder was a little more than we wanted to spend.  One day, after months of search, I heard on the radio that a Puppy Mill had been busted in Bellingham.  They took 48 Mini Aussies from horrible conditions and they were all being housed at the humane society.  We knew one of these dogs should be ours. 

Several applications, emails, faxes, and phone interviews later we were the proud parents of this little guy. We named him Revelstoke (Revel for short).

He was 5 months old when we got him.  They think he was born in December 2011.  He was one of the most shy of all of the puppies.  Having never interacted with humans he is very scared and shy of all people.  We are doing our best to introduce him to as many new people and experiences as possible.  He is doing well at home with Rob and I.  Now that it is summer time and I have more time at home, he has quickly become my shadow as he follows me around everywhere and helps me with all the chores. 

Revel loves the dog park and loves water.  Whether it is chasing the stream from the hose, splashing in a creek, or swimming in Lake Washington, he always wants to be in water.  He is a great jogging partner.  Within the first month with us he was already up to running 6+ miles with me.  His favorite treat is frozen Cantaloupe.  He loves to chew on EVERYTHING, especially our flip flops.

If you’re in the area come on over and meet our sweet shy little guy. 

Vegetable Garden

As we were redoing our backyard, was really wanted us to have a space for a vegetable garden.  While my parents were visiting, I had my dad help me plan out and plant a garden.  It is fun watching it grown and being able to get fresh veggies by simply walking into the back yard.

Starting to grow!

Getting bigger!

HUGE!

So far the most delicious part of the garden has been the strawberries.  Lucky for me Rob doesn’t like them so I get to enjoy them all!  They are so sweet and delicious.  Next year I will definitely be planting more.

We’ve been able to use the following so far:  Arugula, Green Onions, Spinach, Radishes, Leaf Lettuce, Cilantro, Strawberries.  We have learned that we are not radish people and will not be planting those again.  We enjoyed the Arugula but planted too much and couldn’t eat it fast enough.  We are looking forward to tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, and peas. 

Snowmobiling

Rob and I had some amazing days on the snowmobiles this winter.  We found a new favorite place to go in Greenwater.  The area is flatter with more opened fields.  On a fresh snow day you can’t ask for more fun in the snow. On this particular day the snow was falling like crazy and the powder was abundant.