Visiting the Wagners

Brandon had agreed to help out at Lutherwood Oregon with some computer stuff, so we went and spent the weekend with the Wagner clan. Since we both had Friday off we took the long way and drove down the Pacific Coast highway. Unfortunately it was a very foggy and wet day, but we still had a good drive and saw some great surf.On the way from the coast to Lutherwood the Navigation system led us astray, we were quite literally on a one-lane road. But we did get to see this awesome sunset and eventually made it, so I guess it was OK!

Saturday we took a beautiful hike and did some playing on the Wii. Now we are home and ready to face another week! Look! We finally filled up our car!

Oh, The Pacific Northwest

Today we decided to go to an area by the river in Portland, just out of the city, that someone had told Brandon was a great off-leash area. We hiked for about an hour, and spent some time on the beach, Smokey got to swim for the first time since we left Bellingham. We even got to see a little sun, but then the real weather of the day decided to come along and we ended up soaked! It was quite the adventure, Smokey didn't seem to mind, but when the water started running down my legs into my shoes because my pants couldn't absorb any more rain I was a little over it!
P.S. That is not snot running off my nose...it is rain!

Happy (Early) St. Patrick's Day!

Guess what??? We're going to Ireland!!! We just found a great deal and went ahead and purchased our tickets to join John and Pam and Cailyn in a trip to London and Ireland. Part of the trip will include seeing John's sister and her newly expanded family, as Cailyn will have a new cousin by then. The details are still up in the air but in the middle of July we'll be crossing the Atlantic! We are so excited, finally a "honeymoon."
London
Ireland from space :)

Japanese Gardens

On Monday the Portland Japanese Gardens had a free entry day so Briana, Jon, Kadyn and I went to check them out. (Brandon had to work.) It was very busy, but still beautiful. Jon and Brandon also baby-proofed the house over the weekend, because Kadyn is scooting like crazy. At least Brandon will know what he is doing if we have to do our house someday!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Well, we spent a good chunk of our day with a dog trainer, trying to save Smokey and Carole's relationship :) But afterwards Brandon used his valentine's gifts to cook dinner! That's right, cook! He got a cast iron wok and a couple of cookbooks, so after a trip to the grocery store he whipped up Plum Ginger Chicken on Chinese noodles. Delicious and beautiful.
(My evil plot to make him the family cook is working!)

Life in Vancouver

OK, we forgot to post last weekend's adventure, so we thought we'd do it this week. We TRIED to go on a hike, really. It was a gorgeous day, Carole had seen signs for some waterfalls near where she'd been working, and done some research. You could start at one waterfall and then hike along the creek/river up to another set, it was about 2 miles one way. We packed a lunch, packed the dog, brought the cameras. And the first falls were beautiful, we sat in the sun, took pictures, and then tried to hike. Only we couldn't find the trail! Seriously, we could NOT figure out where to go to get to the next falls. We took one trail but it just looped back to the parking lot. So, we drove to the next falls, and from there we could see people hiking, on the other side of the river, but we still couldn't figure out how to get there. So we ate our lunch on cold, wet rocks, took some more pictures and drove home to go to the dog park. Maybe we really are city people!
The first falls from below


The first falls from up above


At the second falls what was really cool were the rocks...with all these pools from higher water flow. They were smooth and crazy shapes. Very cool, but hard to photograph.
Now that we have two cameras we take a lot of pictures of each other taking pictures!

Seeing Portland

Our friend Nichol came to visit for a few days, unfortunately it turned out Brandon was out of town most of that time. But she and I spent an evening in Portland, walking around downtown, figuring out how to pay for parking and going to a fun restaurant called Montage. They specialize in Mac-n-cheese (all different flavors) and then bring you your leftovers in a tin-foil creation. You can't tell but mine is a cat and hers is a squirrel. We were a little disappointed we didn't get a 4 ft. tall giraffe like the table next to us!

Are you ready for some football?

GO STEELERS!

We threw a "Superbowl Party," but since we currently only have 3 friends most of it revolved around eating, and playing with the baby. It was still fun to get together!

Kadyn was a big fan of the 3-D glasses...we didn't think they worked that well!

Worn out from camping, football just didn't keep Jon's attention!

Snow Camping

Brandon spent his weekend camping with Jon and some other work folks. Sounds like they had a good time although they spent a lot of time trying to get vehicles unstuck. Brandon even said he stayed warm. Smokey went too, and had some friends to play with. He certainly came home tired. What I heard sounds like they had a good time, but I was also told "What happens at camp, stays at camp." so I am not sure what all was part of the weekend!

Trying to get to camp in the first place.

The dogs, ready to go home!

Sitting around the campfire.

Go Trailblazers!

My brother Connor has season tickets to the Portland Trailblazers (basketball), and when he heard I was on my own this weekend he took pity on me and invited me to watch them take on the Utah Jazz. We had a fun time and the Trailblazers wooped up on the Jazz. I am not usually a big sports fan, but it was a great night out. Then we got to laugh as the public transit people tried to shove people off the train because it was too loaded down. We stood back and watched people get worked up until the train finally got moving, by which time the next one was arriving and we hopped right on. It was definitely a city evening!

Let It Snow

Look what I woke up to this morning! Thought it was a good chance to share the views from our new place. Pretty crowded, but the good news is that the house right behind us is empty so we don't feel weird opening the shades. Of course, this being the Pacific Northwest this 1/2 inch or so of snow has closed schools and my Today show time has been overrun by the local traffic reports.

Out the front door


Off the back balcony

Vancouver

Well, it is official, we are completely moved out of Bellingham. Carole worked her last week at Larrabee and cooked her last meal at camp. It was a nice week to see some friends and say good-bye to students who became regulars this fall. Now on to Vancouver! Brandon has been working long days, but guess what...gets paid overtime for those now! Carole is still waiting for a call from the schools here, but is official and signed up and ready to go.

Some things we are enjoying in Vancouver: Saturday morning at Panera Bread Company, Sunday morning griddle breakfasts cooked by Brandon on his cast iron griddle he got for his birthday, walks at the dog park, a grocery store within walking distance, hanging with Jon, Briana, and Kadyn, eating NOT in front of the TV (our new year's resolution), and the privacy of our own place not at camp.Smokey at the Dog ParkBrandon cooking us Sunday breakfast (note the hood up--his mean wife won't turn up the heat)

Some things that will take a little getting used to: Dog ownership in the city (you should see Carole's scraped up knees where Smokey pulled her over in the street on a walk), someone actually living below us (although at least we don't share a water heater with them), and not having anyone who will call Carole and only Carole to sub for them!

Carole used her Christmas money to purchase a long-time wish, a small point-and-shoot camera. We have the big camera of Brandon's but often don't carry it with us and then wish we had it. The pictures in this posting were taken with the new camera, it seems to be working pretty well!

Our New Home

Here are some pictures of our new apartment. We are getting settled, other than our bedroom which is where we shoved everything to take the pictures of the rest of the house :) No, for the most part the boxes are gone and things are feeling like home. We'll have to post some pictures of our neighborhood soon. Right behind our complex is the Vancouver Greenway, which is a great trail system that we have been having fun exploring. Smokey and Carole also found a great dog park today that isn't too far away.
This is the entry way...
The guest bathroom...
Guest bedroom/ office/ junk room!
This is the living room and our balcony out the back.
The kitchen and dining room

Our Christmas Trip

Well, we are back home and off the road. We had a great 3 weeks and used up our travel bug for at least a few months. We flew back into Seattle on the 2nd, only to drive up to Bellingham late that night, sleep about 5 hours, then get up and make the final trek from Bellingham to Vancouver. We spent some of Sunday getting settled, but also took some time to go for a mini-hike with Jon, Kadyn and Kobi so that Smokey could get some of his wiggles out. Brandon started work on Monday and so far has been enjoying it (from what I can tell!) He is adjusting to early mornings, but is training with Jon and really glad to be working with him. It is also nice that he is home earlier in the day. I have just been spending my time getting the apartment in order. I think yesterday is the day that it turned the corner and is feeling livable. We'll get some pictures posted soon but in the meantime here are a few from our trips!
The Wii was a big hit...Connor and Brandon racing...
Grandaddy tried out bowling (after a lot of convincing!)
This is one of the mutant ducks (we decided they are turduckens) from the pond behind Bibi and Grandaddy's house. They freaked Brandon out because they ran AT you when you came by.
Oh, the kitchen! This is pretty much where you can always find Bibi (cooking) or me (eating)
Brandon was inspired to try his hand at cooking, too.
Brandon helped Grandaddy out with a few projects like changing the oil and installing new door handles.
The whole gang!