Photo Dump!

I haven't been good lately about posting pictures of the adventures I've been getting myself into.  Sooo.....here they are!  They're in reverse chronological order: I'm having blogger issues and am too tired to fight with it!

I began my drive to my next placement in Prescott, AZ today.  I left around 6:30 after running a few errands and made it to Ely, NV tonight around 9.  Long day, but I got to see some beautiful things!

I already miss my family :,-(

Sunset in the Ruby Mountains in Nevada: it was so interesting because the mountains on one side were desert and the other side were snowy!

Twin Falls, Idaho

The next few are just really interesting clouds in Idaho

This was a neat cement plant...don't see that every day!

Last weekend I got to go to Seattle on Sunday to see the family and go to my first Mariners game.  

So fun!

 Olympia Washington is weird (and proud of it).  Last Saturday was "The Parade of the Species" to celebrate Earth Day (this is the link)

The giraffe was a crowd favorite

This whale was made entirely of recycled items and was whole on the other side.  His skin was made of rope woven from old plastic trash bags.

 On Saturday morning, we drove to the South Cascades to hike to Glacier Lake (Trail guide here).  It was so incredible!

Chillin' once we got there

My feet, relaxing near the beautiful lake

This was the road to the trail head: not happening!  We ended up just walking in

Brownie Falls

Driving up to the park.  I think they invented the word "vista" for Washington!

We went to Whistler, BC with a Groupon.  It was fun to walk around, but really just a big outdoor mall if you aren't a skier/snowboarder.  We stopped at Shannon Falls Provincial Park and then explored a trail that led to some rocky scrambling that ended with me making it to the top of my first mountain, Stawamus Chief!  So fun!

 Shannon Falls

My feet, hiking....no choice but to pay attention!

Horseshoe Bay is really beautiful: it looks like the mountains are popping out of the water to say "Hi!"

More pictures of my drive and (hopefully) my new digs tomorrow! xoxo

Hello, Canadia!

Wedding!

Preparing for Amanda's wedding is so fun for everyone: there are already emails flying around among the girls about what dresses to wear, shoes for the garden, and how excited we are for Amanda and Christian's future. I found this pretty, handmade bracelet in Olympia last weekend.... So fun!
Xoxo

Dinner!

I recently got a vitamix and have enjoyed making fruit and veggie smoothies and an almond-milk milk shake. Tonight I decided to try my hand at soup... It blend fast enough to cook the veggies! Definitely some tweaking before it is ready for company, but it isn't half bad!

Sunshine, here i come!

Horray!!!! I just got a job in Prescott, AZ!!! I'll miss my family, but I'm excited to move out of an un- fun job situation!

Xoxo

boys and golf

Potlach Manor

Lia and Ben invited us out to Hood Canal this weekend to enjoy some relaxation with friends and family.  Despite threats of thunderstorms all day, we were able to get outside and play between the raindrops.  We even got to see a whale!  It was a great way to spend a day

Our well-earned rainbow

Rocks in the water=entertainment for hours

My feet on an oyster-carpet

 I really liked wearing the waders, which sounds weird, I know.  But the feeling of being in the cold water while being neither cold nor wet was pretty neat!

The effect is lost in this a bit, but this is actually a 360* photo from the camera on my phone.  So neat!

In other news, my contract here has been ended early and I will be moving somewhere new at the beginning of May.  I'm conflicted: I miss the sun and the warmth, but I have enjoyed living near my family more than I ever expected.  I'm just praying for the right thing to come along!

xoxo

shh....

...my family is sleeping....

xoxo

Smitten

xoxo

Apartment and sunshine!

Sooo.....this was a really fantastic weekend!  It was sunny and warm and I got to spend time with all of the people that I love!  Easter with my kiddos made me so joyful and thankful to have stayed, but the sunshine and warm weather hinted that I might not be able to stay here (too few days of sun for me).  Still, like my patient said, this is the most beautiful place on earth 6 days out of the year.  I got a little sunburn on my nose hanging out on Ben and Lia's back porch looking at the snow-covered mountains.  So incredible.

"I built your bed!"

The view out my little back porch

My new neighbors

I'd like to note the *sunshine* out my windows!!!!

I really love spring flowers!

We had brunch with the mountains.  Pretty awesome!

xoxo

Not bad for a Monday!

Symbiosis

He likes to sleep on people.
I like to be warm.
It works!

July Wedding

I think Patrick should wear this for Amanda's wedding... thoughts?

This is the ideal, blessed end of a really trying week. I love my family.

Deep conversations with one of my loves

Under the (good) weather

We were supposed to go up to Mount Rainier yesterday to go snowshoeing, but everyone was feeling a bit under the weather.  Instead, we went to Tumwater Falls and walked back toward Olympia under a dry but cloudy sky.  All in all, a pretty nice day!

A salmon run....so interesting!

That's a lot of really fast water...

Duh

We kept running into "not the trail": where the trail we were on would end unexpectedly.  It made our 7-mile walk a little closer to 7.5!

not the trail

The old Olympia Brewing Company

not the trail

also, not the trail

An interesting "poem"

Typical Oly humor

The Capital