Fall Has Arrived And It Is Wonderful!

I'm beginning to realize that this blog I created for Chad and I is quickly becoming "my" blog and not "our" blog. Honestly, I don't even know if Chad has looked at "our" blog except for the times that I have shown him something. Although, do we even create blogs for ourselves or is it for others to read, laugh, cry, and poke fun at? With that being said....

Fall is "my" second favorite season, my first being summer. If the seasons could be split down the middle year round between fall and summer I would be delighted. Summer is definitely gone and fall has arrived. My favorite things about the fall are the following (in absolutely no particular order)...

• The cool crisp air that is refreshing in the morning to wake up to.
• Peaches, nectarines, plums, and grapefruits available at the farmer's markets.
• Cozying up on the couch with my ragtime quilt that my mother-in-law made for me and watching a movie with Chad.
• Knitting, knitting, and more knitting...A favorite hobby of mine that I only partake in during the colder months of the year.
• A tasteful treat of pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks.
• The changing colors of the trees.
• Survivor starts up again and with that brings pizza, beer and great friend gatherings.
• The kids skipping, running and chasing each other down the street as they walk to school. I absolutely love hearing their playful voices outside!
• Knee-high socks...I'm a sock fanatic and enjoy wearing "fun" socks.
• Our anniversary is in the fall.
• Couples camping trip...this year we're off to Camano Island.
• Football!
• School starts back up...I'm excited to see my kids at school after summer goes by.
• White Russians...mmm tasty.
• Halloween...I love dressing up for Halloween. I think I have dressed up every year since I was little except for the year I was in Ecuador.
• Cooking and baking with Chad...it's cozy in the colder months to bake and cook together.
• Girl Scouts starts up again...I can't wait to see my 5 little brownies in a couple of weeks!
• Catching up on scrabooking...another hobby of mine that is neglected throughout the summer months.
• The smells in the air...especially when I walk past the French bakery on my way to work in the morning.
• Idaho football games...we try to make it to at least one game a year.
• Chess...the chess board reappears and Chad and I battle it out at least once a week.

...I'm sure I have a few more, but right now I can't think of anything else. I added a pic from one of our adventures last fall on Orcas Island.

Happy fall my fellow blog readers/writers!

Argosy Harbor Cruise

For Christmas Chad's parents gave us tickets for the Argosy Harbor Cruise so this past Saturday we put them to use. It was a gorgeous day for a boat ride...the sun was shining, there was a slight breeze and we were able to spend the afternoon together on the water. The cruise was about an hour long and the highlight of our ride was seeing four 300-plus pound sea lions soaking up the sun on a buoy near Alki. I also enjoyed the many views we had of Seattle. A huge thanks for Chad's parents for giving us the Harbor Cruise tickets....we had a great day!

Chad does not like this picture, but I love it. I think he is soooo good looking. I love him.

On the boat with the Seattle skyline in the background.

On the boat with Seattle in the background.

Backpacking/Camping on Third Beach in the O.P.

We spent this last weekend with our neighbors, Danny and Becky, backpacking down to Third Beach on the Olympic Penninsula. We lucked out with no rain and a prime camping spot on the beach. I think the prime spot on the beach was due to the overcast weather we had all weekend. There was very few people camping on the beach.

Our second day there we took a day hike up and over the mountain (really it felt like that) and along the coast line. We dropped down into another small bay and then headed back to our campsite. Throughout the weekend we saw a little bit of wildlife...a bald eagle, many brightly colored sea anenomes and seastars, a family of skunks, a mama deer and her baby, and a dead sea pup that washed up on the shore at high tide. It was a great little weekend getaway with our neighbors.

You must be thinking, backpacking on the beach? We thought the same thing the entire weekend. It seemed so wierd to have all of our backpacking equipment while on the beach. Nonetheless it was a lot of fun!

Beautiful sunset.














The sun glowing off the rock formations to the east.

This is our second night on the beach. It was relatively cold outside as I am wearing a wool sweater and a wool hat. We had an amazing bonfire to keep us warm.

Every time we travel somewhere Chad has to have a photo with "his pose". I couldn't believe that he was doing this on the side of the cliff. It's hard to tell from the photo, but this is a very steep section of the trail. Look closely and you will see ropes tied to trees above to help hold you on the trail.

A quick rest before we head back to our campsite.

On our way back down through one of the many steep sections of the trail.

Here we are enjoying the last few minutes of our time on the beach.

Final shot before making the trek back to the car. What a great weekend we had!

Rolan, Kira, Jade and Raiden's Visit to Seattle

I'm a little behind on my postings...My brother, Rolan, and his family, Kira, Jade and Raiden, came for a visit a couple of week's ago. While they were here we tried to do and see as much as we could. We spent some time walking around Kirkland, going to a Mariner game, a trip to the ZOO, Pike's market, the carousel on the pier and a bbq with friends.

I really miss my brother and his family. I wish that we got to see them more than we do because whenever we spend time together we always have the best of times. Enjoy the pics below!

I miss him and love him so much. We were wrestling on the floor.

The fisherman at Pike's Market tossed Jade a real fish. She screamed, but gladly smiled for the camera.

Number one Mariner fans excited for the game! Not to mention a very excited aunt eager to share a baseball game with her niece and nephew!

A pic opportunity in front of a lion. Raiden was very entertained to be sitting on a "lion".