The Bears.

I just found these on Andrew's phone from our little trip to the Pacific Science Center in Seattle, and thought I'd share. Sometimes I worry our future children will have complexes because their parents are total goobs.

Ok I take that back.
We're pretty awesome.

Our kids will love the fact that we're super down with skateboarding in the house. I told Andrew when he buys me a house, he gets a huge fatty family room/garage to build mini ramps and rails for our own real life fantasy factory (I believe I've talked about this before). I mean, I want distressed hardwood and concrete floors anyway, so might as well let the fam enjoy it. Andrew got to do it growing up and I loved that about his upbringing. Our kids also get pillow fights galore, buttercups (don't ask), and sock bomb wars. Hopefully once we've bribed them with all the 'rad parental moves,' they'll freely forgive us for embarrassing them with our weird ways.

Then we can be a family of crazy bears together. Hopefully without head lice.
We're glad we didn't get any from those costumes.

80+

We've been in the car for like a hundred years. Okay, exaggeration, but really we spent over 80 hours driving long distances this summer! BNWOER*#Y#Y#QLKNDA_)(* ...Every trip was worth it, but I feel so glad to be done packing, moving, unpacking, packing, moving, unpacking.. so over it for sure.

And that is the end of our Seattle Stay-cation.

Now we're ready for real life again. And we need to buy a new office chair.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, summer exists! And it's happening in Provo! We barely got any in Seattle and so I hope this lasts for at least a whole month longer! Summer is my favorite, and I don't want it to end. Ever.

Horray!

And that's all for now. See you on the flip side.

Fwowieeess.

So.. we're literally down to the week before we head back to Utah. Can you believe it!? It has flown by. We've had fun here, as you've been exposed to over the past months. It's been exciting to explore a new place together for 3 whole months, a place where neither of us have been before. Also noteworthy; however, is we've had ample amounts of boredom, anxiety, & loneliness as well. The rain didn't lift our spirits very much, so that didn't help Seattle's cause for wanting us to come back. But we did have some good memories, that's for dang sure. And one thing is undeniable... the beauty of this place. The greenery is unreal. I wish I had taken pictures the first week we were here because before the rain killed all the flowers, there were gajillions! Flowers make me happy. Here are just a few to give an example of what I'm talking about.

These are from our complex and they are less than a third of the different kinds that live on this property! Unfortunately I didn't take my camera around until after so many of them had already bloomed and gone.. but anyway, they definitely brought joy to my soul every day that I walked outside, and every time I raised our blinds to enjoy the scenery.

I will miss the gorgeousness, but I can't believe I'm saying this... I'm SO EXCITED to go back to UTAH! AHHH! I miss my friends, I miss knowing where everything is, I miss the foodie places that I can only get in Utah (luckily I didn't fall in love with anything here that I'll miss), I miss our towels not smelling rancid after one use... yes I miss the dryness!, I miss the ridiculously hot summer, I miss trips to the Orem Target, I miss going to Emilie Jayne with Lauren and going to Gardner Village with Kels, I miss my $50-60 weekly groceries (this place rips you off with food I'll tell you what), my cheap gas and proximity to everything, and probably most of all, I miss having a place that feels like home. We've been in our little basement for over 2 years now, and it's amazing what life feels like when you don't feel like you're in a home. This place was so temporary, so disposable, so bland, so stinky and cold that it never felt like home.

Utah, this is the second time I've said this to you, but I want to say it again... you're not that bad & I'm excited for us to be reunited. For the record; your baby delivery rooms are oober stindgy, you have 1 too many mormons (I love them, I am one.. I just enjoy a little diversity), your winters are out of control, and you're missing an ocean (can't win my heart fully without one)... but you know what... I'll take ya. You've been good to our little family minus a few setbacks. So, friends?

...Deal.

T minus 1 week until our departure. Thanks Microsoft and Washington, we had a good time. (:

Update.

My friends.... (said like the fake John McCain from SNL during the townhouse debate skit, you know the one)...

GOOD, no HEAVENLY NEWS. As some of you know, Mother Spider is NO MORE. It was sprayed, prodded, and forced from its home in a liquid casket of extra death spray. The evil lair is gone forever as is the resident, and we couldn't be happier. In addition, we sprayed the exterior of the apartment (near the front & back door as well as the window and any suspicious looking crannies). I have since been sleeping better and have yet to see a mini mother.

So you can all sleep better now knowing that we are. (:

Things have been great around here. Although at times it doesn't feel like we've done much.. we really have.. so for reminiscing purposes and the memories and whatnot, here's a list:

- Seattle Sounders game
- Seattle temple
- Sculpture park
- downtown Bellevue
- Waverly beach
- Pike's Place Market (closed, but still entertaining)
- Hard Rock Cafe
- Woodland Park Zoo (CRAZY HUGE Orangutans!)
- Friday night at Crossroads
- Old & Elegant hardware store (fascinating & worthy of noting for Design purposes)
- Snoqualmie Falls

Various other activities include but are not limited to BBQing it up with other Microsoft friends, a visit to the Harborview Hospital for our friends daughter (who is doing very well.. nearly 100%, thank goodness!), brunch & visits with my cousin Melissa, Eclipse at the Gold Class Cinema with Melissa (decent film, but premium 'dinner & movie' date spot, so worth it.. DO IT), walks with Turdling around our condo complex, watching sunsets through the pine trees, Toy Story 3 (very noteworthy), driving the 90 & 520 bridges to Seattle (not sure why, but I LOVE THIS probably the most), playing Castle Crashers on our borrowed Xbox for the summer (we're seriously dominating for not even being 'gamers'), and loving our new Netflix situation and the endless Office episodes (Andrew is officially caught up and can't believe all he never knew). Oh and as a celebration for doing my homework I treat myself to several episodes of Friday Night Lights and am now caught up. Good show. Did I mention Netflix + Hulu = awesome?! Who needs cable these days, just hook up your computer to the tv.

So basically even though the sun hasn't been shining a whole lot since we've been here, we've had a pretty dang good time and a descent 'Seattle' experience if you asked me (Mother Spider aside). It makes me look forward to our life when Andrew's no longer in school. 2 more semesters and we're home free! But for now, we're going to enjoy each new day.. because we're getting pretty good at that. (:

So enjoy your 4th of July weekend. I know I will. I love this holiday. I love my man. I love the freedom I've had to do all of the amazing thing listed above. I have my Founding Fathers, nation, military, and most of all God to thank for that. I love this country.

God bless America.
And goodnight. (:

Sunny days ahead.

Or so we hope! I'm getting pretty ghostly (which is a scary thing for me) and need to fix it pronto. My dad mentioned while skyping that Andrew and me were looking like the Cullens. HA. Last weekend we had sun and we took advantage by going to what they call a "beach" in these parts. It was more like - grass meets lake with a dock and 4 square feet of sand - but it was enjoyable none the less. (:


Hopefully we can get that kind of weather ALL WEEK/the rest of our stay LONG! This rain is starting to wear on us. Literally. It beat our tiny new lawn to death. Good news is that it was good for the flowers and tomato plant. They're thriving and growing awesomely. But anyway, rumor has it it should end VERY soon and the rest of summer is going to be GORGEOUS and full of exploring and sunshine. Sandals, shorts, and tees are my favorite thing! We've got a pool too and I want to use it BIG TIME. Can't wait.


I have an idea, YOU should come visit.

Think about it.

Snoqualmie Falls

A couple weekends ago Andrew, Bird, & I went to my cousin Melissa's house. Aunt Jan & Uncle Bob, & cousin Laini were visiting (extended family I don't get to see often), and so we had a brunch day with them. And I can hardly believe it but Birdie played, yes PLAYED, with their cat, Black Cat. Needless to say, it was a good time. They also happen to live close by and even closer to them is a huge waterfall! I mean, the thing is INTENSE! It was a rainy day (go figure) but it was beautiful & stunning, and thank you Melissa for taking us!


We'll have to go again when the spray isn't so intense to get a better look!
PS. Bird was wet, cold, and frightened beyond belief and it was pretty funny. My cute little 2nd niece Brooklyn wanted a picture with her. (:

Note: Bird does not like rain, which in addition to her fragile state above, made bathroom trips difficult for the first few weeks, haha. What a fart. We love her anyway. (:

Washington!

Guys, this place is BEAUTIFUL.

I know I've said that before (I probably even texted you to tell you), but I have no problem telling you again. I mean honestly, Andrew and I can hardly believe the combination of places it reflects. It's got a splash of Oregon (naturally), Utah-like pine trees (only a bajillion times bigger, taller, and prettier!), greenery like you wouldn't believe (thanks rain), and even a dash of Hawaii (there are hibiscus bushes & tropical flowers EVERYWHERE). It's pretty rad. I mean it beats Utah by a LANDSLIDE, but in my mind doesn't really come close to San Diego. No palm trees, a bit nippy, no surfing, and no Beckett. Haha. All critiques aside, we like it here. It's nice. Andrew likes the skateparks, and working for Microsoft. They definitely treat you well, and have an atmosphere Andrew would have never expected in his line of work. So he's really enjoying himself and is pretty much stress FREEEE! (minus the minor stress felt currently from his personal computer crashing, sad day) But really, a stress free/non-busy Andrew is like.. UNHEARD OF in our little family, so we'll take it! (:

So what have we done? Well, before the dawn of the internet, and after the age of the unpacking, we planted a garden. It's pretty precious. I mean, there was a huge pile of cat poop (previous tenant was a cat lady, don't get me started), taco bell wrappers, a creepy cabinet, and nastiness galore outside (I kinda wish we had a before shot, but not really.. cuz it was gross). So we cleaned it up (our landlord should pay us), bought flowers, a grape tomato plant, a bird feeder, and even sod for Bird to have a place to potty nearby. And we love it. (: Ok, here you go.. I took pictures just for you...

Gardening with the boyfriend was so fun. I look forward to owning a home someday and getting to do it together even more! What a wonderful teaser this was, and hopefully it wont all die so we can enjoy some 'maters before we take off.

We also were able to go to a Seattle Sounders MLS game. My family is HUGE on soccer, and so I went with all of them in my heart. We (I) originally wanted to go to the Mariners/Padres game, but when these free tickets showed up, we couldn't say no, and are glad we didn't. It was pretty fun, even though they lost...

Moving on.

We spent the rest of the day in downtown Seattle which is much like downtown San Diego. SALTY/FISHY breeze (which I LOVE), tall buildings, a park full of bums... standard downtown stuff. It was cool. We walked a bit of boardwalk, and Andrew had a lap-nap on a bench in the sunshine. It was blissful to say the least. We look forward to going again soon, and taking Bird, because hers would love walking by the water with the other puppy dogs. Yes, we call her 'hers'.

So anyway, that's life.

I'm job hunting, and whatnot.

Bird is napping, eating, and whatnot.

And Andrew is video-gaming it up.
Thanks boyfriend for the amazing opportunity. (:

Blog at you later.

Cheers!