Summertime!

Summertime at our house begins with homemade strawberry jam and playing in the water out back, but sometimes ends with sister rivalries over who gets to hold the hose!

Not sure if she could look any more sad.  This moment was devastating for Zoe.  Rough life!

Getting Old...

Travis and I have had several conversations about the beagles getting old.  It's starting to worry us and when the day finally comes, I think it's going to be really difficult to say goodbye.  Piper & Lucy were our first babies, the ones we have cuddled with for years and now with our girls running around, I feel like they are starting to slow down and most of the time just want to sleep.  Their faces are gray and often we refer to them as "Grandma" because they are!  Piper is 12 years (or 61 in dog years) and Lucy is 9 years (or 49 in dog years).

I really love these dogs and afterall, it's not me that's going to need counseling after they're gone!

The Girls Take On Seattle!

Well, we've got one individual out of the bunch that is turning 40 (who shall remain nameless, but the corresponding photos may give it away), so we decided to take a trip to celebrate! ;)  These are my college roomies and I'm so glad we still take the time to get together - I love these girls.

We started with Pike's Place and ended with a Mariners game, and had fun everywhere in between.  It was really great to spend time with the girls and to get out of the 100 degree weather!  I did feel some guilt for leaving Travis behind, but got him set up with his own boys trip 3 weeks later so that should be a free pass, right?

Check out some of our photos and just think...we are starting to celebrate the 40's.  Is this for real?

On our way via ferry to Bainbridge Island.  Megan may have taken the photo shoot to a different level, but hey, we were on vacation!  Check out the boat taking in a wake from the ferry.  :)

Eating ice cream at Mora's is a tiny slice of heaven.

Scary!  Here's the famous Troll Under the Bridge with the silver eye.  If you look closely, there's a real Volkswagon Bug in the cement under his hand.  There's a cool story behind this guy if you dare Google it.  ;)

Happy 4th of July!

The girls are all ready to celebrate.  It's going to be a scorcher today and the worst part is that there are several fires that are burning in the foothills and desert areas.  So, in the spirit of being safe, we won't be lighting our own fireworks this year.  We may venture out to see the city fireworks from the hill at the library, but plan to spend time with friends at a BBQ.

I'm so happy that I have the day off to spend with my family and am grateful to be reminded of the freedoms we have living in the United States of America.  I hope you have a great holiday and get to spend some time doing what you enjoy most. ;)

 

Almost 2!!

Oh, Zoeeeee.  You're turning 2 in a week!  We wanted to get some snapshots of you this weekend because you looked really cute with your pig tails and rosey skirt.  You're such a happy girl and it's so great to have conversations with you while you babble back.  You love to read books while pointing and saying, "Fun-neee!" (funny) and just like you're sister, you're having a hard time giving up the "ba-ba".  You're a bit of a dare devil which gives your mom a heart attack when you just start walking down the pool ramp and don't stop when the water is up to your chin.  And even though you are known to throw a fit every now and then, it sure is great that when we lay you down to bed you say, "Nigh, Nigh."

Sites of Seattle

We took all these photos in one day of gallivanting in Seattle. Here are some of our favorite locations to play...

We love this picture of the truck and the words "I Love Seattle" making it's way to the West Seattle Bridge.  We just happened to be following it and snapped these shots.  I love that the Seattle skyline is in the background...what luck!

One Year of Living in Seattle! (Well, kind of...)

This week on June 15th, we are celebrating our 1 year anniversary for closing on the condo.  And with a little bit of work, we've made the condo into a little haven.  The last 2 visits were not really a vacation since we tore out the entire kitchen (down to the subfloor and sheetrock) and built it back up.  In some ways, we have a nicer kitchen up there then we do in our home!  We have new alder cabinets, granite countertops and one of my favorite additions is the miniature glass tile and slate backsplash.  I was a little nervous installing it (you have to get the lines perfectly straight), but once you get the hang of it, it's pretty cool.  Check it out!

Bye Bye 80's...

Welcome 2012!

One highlight of the whole project was how easy it was to list our cabinets, old appliances and sink online and then watch folks just come and pick up everything we had.  We did give the cabinets away for free since we didn't want to haul them off, but other than that, we got rid of everything and made a little extra cash.  (We have a funny story about the Pastor who came to pick up the cabinets - Travis got to know him very well!)  It's great the Travis is so handy since he was able to do the plumbing and electricity.  We did get a couple quotes to see what it would cost to hire a contractor and let's just say contractors are a bit pricey in Seattle.  It's a small kitchen and I'm glad we did it ourselves.

Condo = Happy Family! ;)