Latest Reads

Okay, so don't judge too harshly but I've been reading Tori Spelling's books. She has written two entitled Stori Telling, and Mommywood. Last summer when Blake and I lived in Portland we had our cable with Comcast. Well Comcast has prerecorded sitcoms that you can watch anytime of the day, kind of like Tivo. Needless to say Tori and Dean "Home Sweet Hollywood" was one of those shows. It's a reality show about Tori Spelling, her husband- Dean, and there kids. I started to watch the show and now I'm hooked. This last season ended around July and she was promoting her latest book Mommywood. So for my birthday my parents bought me the book. I really enjoyed it! Of course once that book was done I had to buy her first book-Stori Telling. It's not as good as Mommywood as of yet, but I'm still totally into it. It's amazing the things you don't realize about celebrities, such as the fact that some people really hate the fame and just want to be considered "normal." Judge away if you must, but I'm still holding true to being a fan and can't wait until the next season starts.

Fall Is In the Air

This is my favorite time of year, Fall. I love the cool, crisp mornings, the luke warm sunshine during the day, all the beautiful leaves that are changing colors. This time of year makes me miss Montana and Utah a lot. In Washington we have more pine trees than leafy trees so we don't get a lot of leaves that change colors and fall to the ground. How great is the sound of crunching leaves under your feet?! Fall also means that Halloween is just around the corner, then Thanksgiving, and then Christmas. Fall also means it's time to have the pumpkin spice candles burning, decorating with pumpkins, gourds, and Indian corn, curling up with your sweetheart to stay warm, drinking spiced cider, staying in on the weekend and reading a good book, eating hearty comfort food, and going for leisurely walks. What more could a girl want?!

Getting Closer!

Today my parents, Blake, and I went out to our new house to check the progress. The outside has been painted (and we love the color that was selected for us), the cabinets up in the kitchen and bathrooms, the flooring is down-minus the carpet, and some of the kitchen appliances are in. It was so exciting to see that the selections we made look great!! I'm not really good about visualizing things so I was a little nervous about our flooring selections, and our back splash selection in the kitchen. Blake was confident in our selection, so I took a leap of faith and trusted that he knew best, and I'm glad I did. Our house is starting to look like OUR house with all our added personal touches and I love it. We're anxious to see what it looks like once the landscaping is done and the driveway poured which should be in a few weeks, and then.......In about 30 days we should be moving in if the schedule keeps on time. I was asking Blake what the one thing he was most excited about living in our new house was and he said that he's looking forward to finishing the fence and landscaping in the backyard (the backyard is fenced on 2 of the 3 sides because it's a corner lot and the backyard we have to landscape ourselves). I told Blake that I can't wait to plant a garden next summer. We have the perfect spot in our little backyard that I've already designated for it.




The house is a light blue with a dark brown accent color. The front door color is my favorite part because the color is actually called Bon Nuit, which means "Goodnight" in French.

Canning Extravaganza

A few weeks ago I was at one of the local farmers markets and they were selling tomatoes, peaches, and pears by the box, and right then and there I decided that this year I would jump on the canning bandwagon. After purchasing a one box of each I realized that I didn't have any of the other supplies to can, so I headed to the store and away I went with canning jars, lids, pectin, a canning pot for water bath canning, and a lot of sugar. Then reality hit....I was so excited about canning, that I didn't even think of the fact that I have no idea how to can. We had always helped my mom when we were kids, and it seemed fun, but then again I was about 10 and most things seem fun at that age. Thank goodness for "Google"! I googled everything I could ever possibly need to know about canning, and away I went. It was a ton of fun, but a TON OF WORK! After about one week of canning peaches, pears, blackberry jam (we picked the blackberries since they grow like weeds in Washington), salsa, stewed tomatoes, and marinara sauce I was all canned out. I still have some jars so I think I'll give applesauce a whirl soon, but I think that will be the end of the canning extravaganza until next year. In the pictures below you will probably wonder why there's a picture of Sierra, my parents dog. Well it's because that's how she would look at me for hours on end while I was canning. She is the worlds most dedicated begger I have ever seen. By the second day I figured she was getting tired from standing for so long that I brought her bed into the dining room so she could at least take a break and relax while watching to see if anything fell from my hands. She's a funny dog.




There's about 8 jars missing from this picture to make up all our canned goods so far.

Things that make you go huh?!

Since we've been back in the beautiful town of Enumclaw (that's where my parents live) I've made some interesting observations. Did you know that when corn is growing the pom pom part of the husk is kind of a fushia color? Why is that, since when we buy corn after it's been harvested the pom pom part is a brownish-yellowish-green color. What is it with cows and there eating habits...1. Is the grass that much better underneath the barbed wire fence, or do they just live by the philosphy the grass is always greener on the other side? 2. When cows are lying down why do they continue to munch on the grass around them? Take a break from eating! I know totally random huh? It is, but each morning whether I'm going for a hike or jogging around the back roads of Enumclaw (by the way there are a ton of dairy farms in the "Claw") I'm surrounded by fields and crops, and each morning I happen to notice something more interesting than the last day. Stay tuned for more crazy observations from Enumclaw!

Camping and more Camping!

Blake really wanted to take advantage of camping this summer, well I think we've accomplished that. Our camping season kicked off with camping at Ocean Shores with Brent and Ashley Thompson. We met them up there as they were making there way from Utah to Yakima, WA to have another wedding reception and visit family. It was a great time. The weather was a little cool, but we made the most of it. Blake rekindled his love with flying kites, and building sand castles. It was fun to see Blake and Brent (they grew up together in Yakima) playing together as if they were 12 again.

Next stop, San Juan Islands, Lopez Island to be exact. One of my girlfriends from high school, who we ran into at church, her parents own about 30 acres on Lopez Island. It was so beautiful. It's right on the ocean, but the camping area is far enough back that you feel like you're also in the deep woods. We got to do a little kayaking, fly fishing, dirt bike riding, and playing football and volleyball. I think there was about 6 couples and there kids that all went. Blake and I were the only ones without any kids. It was a great couple of weekends!