23 Years

Yesterday was my birthday! Yay! I'm 23! Do I feel older...not really. Do I feel more mature...nah. Do I look any older...I doubt it. Am I going to enjoy this year...you bet!!

I surprised Tim last week by declaring that I wanted to have a BBQ at home with family this year, rather than going to my FAVORITE restaurant in Seat.ttle. This is a pretty big deal, because I look forward to eating at Wil.d Gi.nger on my birthday the entire year. For some reason though, it just wasn't resonating with me in the same way this year. So, being the awesome husband that he is, he complied with my crazy idea. Honestly, he was probably ecstatic that the house would have to be cleaned. Let's just say that HE didn't make the bowl sparkly white...if ya know what I mean.

Everything was working out perfectly. We were going to have our new BBQ on Thursday, clean and set-up for the party over the weekend and finalize everything monday and tuesday. Right. RIGHT?!?! Nope. BBQ never showed up, in fact, it didn't even ship until yesterday, so while I was at work, Tim headed to Co.stco and re-evaluated the situation. We ended up with baked salmon, which couldn't have turned out more perfectly.

I also decided that I wanted to forgo the traditional birthday cake and made Dirt instead. That was a BIG hit. Tim and I are definitely also enjoying all the leftovers!

In addition to all the love I got from family and friends, our car dealership, where we got the Rogue, called a wished me a happy birthday and the dentist office (Tim and I both had appointments that day) gave me balloons and gift card for Holly.wood Vid.eo. Evidently we've picked some good places to share our business. :-)

A photo rundown:


My stash of presents and me, the night before the big day!


Dirt with 23 candles, in the shape of of 23.


My cousin/clothing twin with our matching shoes, which are AMAZING.


Ghiradel.li chocolate-covered raisins from San Franc.isco = heaven in chocolate form.


Go Cougs!


The card and envelope were Bedazzled and the chandelier lit up...love it!


Cr.anium is SO fun! I think Tim and I fell in ::like:: playing this game 5 years ago, before we even started dating.

Thank you to everyone who came and everyone who wished me a Happy Birthday!! I had a GREAT day!

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Hot, Hot, Hot! v. 2.0

Wow, what beautiful weather we have had in the NW! I love it! I have to say though, I think I'm in the minority. I have recently discovered, it is much more comfortable to sit on the floor then the couch, there's better air flow for sure! We have been super busy since Arizona, which should have meant more posts, but you know how it goes...
I will, however, do a bit of filling in with some of the things going on in our lives.
Be Warned: This is text heavy!

We have had lots of fun doing our usual summertime things. We've enjoyed quite a few movies, including
The Hangover, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, The Proposal, Transformers 2, Angels & Demons, and many more. That has to be one of my favorite things about summer, the big blockbusters. I just love them!

We've also taken advantage of some water in our area. We have a pool in our condo complex, so you can bet that we've spent some time down there cooling off in the 100+ degree weather we've had. We also went to the lake with some of Tim's friends from work, had a BBQ, and taught them how to play "Toss and Cuss." They really enjoyed learning the game and, once they got the hang of tossing the balls, really got in it. In case you're not sure what this game is, it's a mixture of golf and horseshoes. I've also heard it called "Horseballs" or "Golfshoes." There are two three-rung ladders set up about 20 feet from each other and two people/teams toss golf balls, connected with rope, at the ladders. The goal is to get the golf balls wrapped around one of the rungs. Usually the golf balls hit the rung, or swing around them and fall off, and that's when the cussing part comes in. :-)

About a two weeks ago, I decided Tim needed an escape from Bremerton, so we travelled North and instead of spending one day, ended up staying the entire three-day weekend. I unfortunately had to drive back home Friday night for my Saturday shift, but I drove right back after work. My only demand was S'mores when I got there and they DEFINITELY complied. While I still consider myself an original S'mores fan (i.e. graham, mallow, chocolate), Tim has become more of a Reeses S'mores fan (i.e. graham, reeses' peanut butter cup, mallow). There were also Chips Ahoy involved at some point. It was pretty crazy.

More recently we spent some time with our friends from school, S & J, who are currently planning their July '10 wedding. We are honored to be a part of their big day and, I especially, have had fun helping with some big things! J and her mom came to Bremerton this past Friday and together we took the ferry to Seattle, where we shopped for her dress! Since this is somewhat of an area of expertise for me, I loved helping her out and sometimes offering an honest opinion! Plus, it was really interesting to compare my shop with some shops in the Seattle/Tacoma area. J actually ended up closing down my store that evening, but found her dream dress! It is absolutely gorgeous and I am so excited to see how the whole wedding comes together now that she has found something.

Right after J came and visited me, we reciprocated and drove to their home town the very next evening to help S celebrate his birthday on Sunday. Their town was being invaded by a motorcycle convention of sorts, so we saw a motorcycle drill team and a little bazaar of fair food, tattoo artists, and leather dealers...a cyclists dream! :-) We ended our stay with a round of mini-golf, I'll give you a hint as to who won: who's not in the pictures?

Finally, here's a late shout-out to my mom who celebrated her birthday on Wednesday! We had a fabulous time celebrating with you on the Seattle Waterfront! Love you madly!

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Hot, Hot, Hot!

Wow. I am really horrible at updating this...I apologize.

We have been somewhat busy with life recently. T is working really hard and trying to finish all this oral board stuff, but there is a certain large boat that keeps getting in the way. He did come home today more excited than usual about going to Japan. He was able to chat with someone who went this past January and he found out that we could spend some time in Beijing. Now that excites me, because I have always wanted to go to China.

So what's with the "hot, hot, hot?" We spent the fourth of July weekend in Arizona!! And it was definitely MUCH hotter than our little corner of the NW. We left Thursday after T came home from work and flew from Seat.tle to Phoe.nix. We had to drive 1.5 hours to the Wo.rl.dma.rk condos in Tucson and we didn't there until probably midnight or later. We did notice how the area is very dark at night. As in, there are no streetlamps and the houses have little to no outside lights. Evidently the area is surrounded by observatories and the city has put several restrictions in place to prevent light pollution. Needless to say that when you have NO IDEA where you're going and it looks like you're in the middle of a residential neighborhood, where you should be approaching a large condominium complex, you start to lose faith in the trusty Ga.rmin. :-)

The next morning we woke up BRIGHT and EARLY to go to the Son.ora Dese.rt Museum. Thankfully we were there early enough to avoid the blazing noon/afternoon sun, but we all got pretty sweaty anyway. The museum is split into different sections, so we saw the different landscapes of Ar.izona, as well as a variety of animals. Probably the only animal I had never seen before was the Javalina. It looks like a very hairy hog, but they are pretty popular in Ariz.ona.
T.W. with a cactus

A Javalina under the bridge - Can you spot it???

P & L at the visitor's area

Following our desert excursion, we headed down to Tu.bac with T's grandparents. There is a cute little shopping area and the town is literally next door to Me.xico. We even went through a border patrol barricade before going back to their house in Tuc.son. Evidently "ille.gal e.ntrants" are pretty common.

The Desert Landscape/Sunset

That night we had dinner in Tu.cson and finished the evening at a casino in the area. I managed to walk away with a $6.84 profit (as long as you disregard the first $20...that was practice)! Luckily, the casino had a VERY large fireworks display that night. We decided to leave before traffic got bad, thinking the finale was happening, when in actuality, we watched the real finale from the street in front of T's grandparent's house.
The craziest thing though was the show nature was putting on; neither T or I had seen so much lightning in our lives. It was amazing, especially with no thunder to be heard. On the way back to the condo that evening, we got stuck in a bit of a monsoon. We barely made it home and when we did get there, the weather channel let us know that there were severe flash flood warnings in the area.

Me and my winnings!

The next day was spent at the pool and BBQing at the condo. T and I had to leave in the mid-afternoon to drive back to Pho.enix and catch a flight home that evening. The flight was great! We had an exit row to ourselves and spent the last half-hour watching fireworks from the window.

Celebrating the 4th in style!

With T's grandpa

The entire group (minus T's grandma who couldn't come to the BBQ)

Overall a great trip!!

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So I apologize for the hiatus this blog has taken over the past few weeks. Frankly, while there have been things going on, pictures weren't involved or I simply didn't get around to writing about it. I'm here now though and I even have some pictures to go along with my stories. Yay!! :-)

To begin things, I am so proud of my hubby, who has PASSED all of his written exams! He is now focused on oral board preparation and should be taking that "exam" in about a month. The powers-that-be haven't confirmed a date yet, but when we know, you will know. Hopefully, he will be fully certified and on the waterfront in a month's time. I can't believe two years of intense training (especially the last 9 months) are almost done! Wasn't it, like, yesterday when this all started???

Next up, we took a little jaunt up to Bainb.rid.ge Is.land for Mem.oria.l Day. I didn't take any pictures, but we shopped a bit and drove around to explore the island. I have said it before, and I'll say it again...I love it up there. So cute and quaint. Plus, the little shops and boutiques are fun to look in, especially when you find things that you've never seen before. Case in point: Ban.anagrams and Wa.sgij.

Banana.grams is a scra.bble-like game, but each player creates their own puzzle independently. It's very fun and so far we've already got T's family addicted. :-) Was.gij is actually a puzzle in reverse. Get it? Wasgij = Jigsaw. You have to assemble the puzzle from the perspective of one of the characters on the box. We worked on it for a few evenings and just put the last piece in last night. This is the box cover and then the completed puzzle:



In general, we've started all of our regular late spring/summer traditions. This is really my favorite time of the year! We've been to a Mari.ner's game (which they won!), had a few picnics and have been to a couple drive-ins. The movies have been incredibly crowded and I couldn't be happier, because it means they're gaining popularity and won't disappear any time soon. Unfortunately, I usually end up watching the second movie by myself because T falls asleep. I guess that's what happens when you usually go to bed around the same time the first movie starts!


At the Mar.iner's game!



Finally, with the weather being so nice, T and I decided it was time to finally bite the bullet and buy patio furniture. We have been looking for a long time and we kept finding things we liked, but that were WAY too big. We have such a small space to work with that all we were looking for was a glider or loveseat. Well, after finding a style we liked at K.mart, we ordered the glider online last week! It FINALLY came yesterday and I had the pleasure of putting it together in the 90 degree heat. I'm including some pictures below so you can admire it as much as I do! :-)


Unassembled in the dining room area.


Halfway there!


All done and on the patio!

Sorry for the hiatus, I'll take more pictures and try and post more often!

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Cougars and Bears and VAMPIRES(!?)...Oh my!

On Sunday, Tim and I ventured to the Oly.mpic Peninsula and the Olym.pic Nation.al Forest. I should explain that the Hoo.d Canal Brid.ge is closing this weekend. Unfortunately, it will out of service for at least six weeks, if not longer. While I was at work the day before, it seemed like every time I turned around there was another customer from "the other side." I figure it was just calling me. With the weather on our side, our lunches packed, and a few maps printed from the internet, we journeyed to (dum, dum, dum) THE T.WILIGHT ZO.NE. (kind of)



We decided to first drive to Port Ange.les and journey into the Oly.mpic N.ationa.l For.est. I had randomly picked Hurr.icane R.idge from the city's website of places to see, because it seemed like a pretty easy journey and we could take an easy hike at the top, if it suited our fancy. As we made the 5,000+ foot climb, the temperature steadily dropped and we started looking at more snow than greenery. But good lord, the top of the ridge was BREATHTAKING. I think it's safe to say that we will be going back at some point, if just to go sledding. :-)





We stopped a few times on the way back down, which was very steep, to take a few more pictures and enjoy the warmer weather!






After finishing up at the Ridge, we took 101 westward. I admit, I did just finish the Twili.ght books, so going to Forks seemed like a good idea. As we drove into Forks, I immediately knew this was going to be an interesting drive-by visit. The first thing we saw was a sign at the Fo.rks Mo.tel that said "Edwa.rd Cul.len did not sleep here." We also saw signs advertising for blood drives, which I thought was pretty funny considering, and two stores dedicated solely to the saga. The fun didn't end there, because driving into La Pus.h, we were warned that "Vamp.ires are not Welcome." Now, I have done a lot of embarrassing things for pictures including, but not limited to stalking celebrities and asking random strangers to watch an impromptu talent show, but for some reason, I could NOT take pictures of anything in these two areas. There were however tourists lingering around the high school, taking pictures of the "sights."






After the drive-thru, we headed to the beach. I knew, from looking at the map we picked up at the park visitor center, that the only beach we didn't have to hike to in La P.ush was First Be.ach. I was glad that we did that because it was also beautiful. I am usually partial to the Ore.gon coast, but I was inspired enough that Tim and I might try our hand at hiking to the other two beaches in the area. Speaking of, we did actually try to get to Third Bea.ch, but without knowing how long the trail was with no end in sight and an 2+ hour drive back home, we both decided to try again another day.
The picture of Tim and what looks like a mound of dirt, is actually an uprooted tree and everything it decided to take with it, that we found on our hike.







After all our adventures, we headed back to Po.rt Ang.eles and ate dinner. We happened to see the ferry coming in from Vi.ctoria B.C. and got lost finding our way back to 101. All in all, it was very fun and relaxing day! We can't wait for the bridge to open up again, revisit these destination, and head to the most Northwestern point, Cape Flat.tery and Nea.h Bay. Maybe that time, I'll have more courage to actually take pictures in the TWIL.IGHT zon.e!

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Flowers are abloomin'

Last week Tim had been studying like crazy for the past few months, so after he finished his final written test last Thursday, we decided to bust outta Brem.erton!

To reward Tim for all of his hard work, I decided to get him a new pair of shoes. Well...two pairs of shoes. :-) I think I can confidently say that he has one of the nicest collections of sneakers this side of the puget sound! (Remember, we're west of Seattle!) We followed our pretty much all day excursion at Ald.er.wood mall by having dinner at La Hac.ienda (my favorite!) and an NCCB concert. I thought my parents did a GREAT job!

On Saturday we met Tim's family for a day of Tulips in the Sk.agit Valley. We had heard that they hadn't bloomed yet, but decided to brave it anyway. Well, I don't know where those people got that idea, but there were PLENTY of tulips. Obviously, not every flower was out, but there were more than enough to fill an afternoon!


This was at the first field that we visited.


At Rooz.enga.ard farm


It matched my shirt!


At Tulip Town

Tim's parent accompanied us back to Brem.erton after our day in the fields so they could leave bright and early the next morning for Ho.quiam. This led to some fun on Sunday. I do love having a Realtor in the family. Remember the dream home...



Well, we got to tour it! And no, we did not put down an offer! :-) While we still LOVE the outside, the view, the colors, and the general lay-out, there are enough things we didn't love to still call it our dream home. Although, it has provided us with a lot inspiration for the future when we do build our DREAM home! :-)
Here's the link to the builder's website for the house. The gallery has some pictures of the master bathroom, which is my favorite room in the house.

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When the weather gets nice...

...we go outside!!

We have quickly watched our temperature gauge go from 40 degrees to 70 degrees and have definitely taken advantage of the beautiful weather!

On Saturday I got off work at 5:00 and thankfully Tim decided to come home around the same time. He surprised me though by picking up our favorite picnic food and whisking me off to Ill.ahee state park for dinner. Since picnics are one of my favorite things when the weather gets nice and warm, I was very happy! :-)




This is just the beach section of the park, we had to drive a while through the park to get down to it.

Following our picnic we decided to explore Bremerton a bit. We've kind of been doing that a lot lately, just getting lost discovering our new surroundings. We have found some really cute houses and neighborhoods, but nothing compared to finding our DREAM HOUSE. As we were heading home, we decided to check out this little area off the main drag of West Bre.merton and we found a house that closely fits (atleast on the outside) what Tim and I both dream of building for ourselves one day.


Too bad this little beauty runs for close to $1,000,000! But it does have 150' of waterfront and a STUNNING view of the olympic mountains, so I guess the price makes a little sense.

The next day, I finished working at 4:00 and had to almost force Tim to come home from studying because it was nearing 80 degrees! We've wanted to spice up our porch area for a while and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to do some "gardening." I surprised Tim and drove him to Low.e's, where we picked out some planter boxes and flowers to decorate our outside living space.


I couldn't really take pictures while we were doing the planting because my hands were covered in dirt, but this is the final product of our hard work!


Tim did a great job of sweeping off our porch after we finished!

I sincerely hope that our weather continues to involve more SUN!

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