Whidbey Island

Last weekend (June 21st) we went on a hike at Ebey's Landing on Whidbey Island. Whidbey Island was about an hour and half drive, plus a half hour ferry ride away, but it was worth it. It was a cloudy day, but it was nice and warm. We even got sunburned! 

Here is the beach that we walked along. We saw lots of crabs that were dead and broken seashells.  This is the hill that we climbed up. We started walking up the dune/hill then made a loop down and finished our hike on the beach. I don't know why Erik is leaning, but he is. 
This is the path down to the beach. We saw a bald eagle about 10 minutes into our hike, so that was pretty awesome. I also almost stepped on a snake, but I didn't notice it! Erik did, however! 

I love this picture. Washington is great! It was so pretty up on the island, but there was no food there. Luckily, we found a cappuccino place that served 2 different types of sandwiches. 

This was a military fort built back in the 1880s. It was used to defend the Puget Sound Navel Shipyard of unfriendly ships until the 1950s! It was really fun to wander about in it. It was like a maze with ladders and stairs and small rooms everywhere. 

Erik just really liked the big guns though! 

I can't believe how easy it had been for me to discontinue my weekly emails ever since Devon has returned from his mission. I figure I will try and update the blog weekly instead! This past week we didn't go on any hikes. We stayed close to home and looked at a few houses with our realtor on Saturday. We also participated in a Stake service project by widening a few walking trails up near the hospital. Friday Erik wanted to go shopping, so we did! We founds some great deals at the Gap, so that is always exciting. 

Work for me is going great. I really like the kids I work with, even though they are a handful. They are for the most part very kind and excited to be at summer camp. Tomorrow we take them to the Tacoma History Museum, so that should be fun. I come home every day tired, but that is ok. Erik is still working, which means taking classes. He even has quizzes and tests every week, but it is much easier than BYU! Well I hope you all had a great week! 

Hello Kristy

We put up some pictures for Kristy, our foreign exchange student from Russia. We hope she enjoys these and gets an idea what our family is like.

This is for Kristy

This is the last time the entire family was together (before Devon's mission and before the baby boys were born). This is after Colette's wedding in the Logan temple. Back Row: Devon, Hyrum, Nate, Sarah, Von, Colette, Erik, Jaren.
Front Row: Abbigail, Chelsesa, Debbie, Talia, Chantille, Coral.




This is the whole family (except Devon) last Christmas. Back Row: Erik, Colette, Hyrum, Chelsea, Nate, Sarah, Chantille, Jaren.
Middle Row: Von, Debbie, Cooper, Carson.
Front Row: Abbigail, Taila, Coral.

















Von is a farmer. This is during the sugar beet harvest last fall.



















This is our dog, Tippy.

Debbie and Von on a hike just above our house. You can see the valley below and the sunset.

Most of those that where at the airport when Devon came home. Left-Right: Von, Aunt Karen, Devon, Talia, Debbie, Chantille, Carson, Jaren.

Our Trinidad vacation

We had a really great trip to Trinidad. The people are great and we had a lot of fun. It was hard to leave.
Saying goodbye to President and Sister Robison.

This is a food court we had lunch at. Dad put hot pepper sauce all over his pelau!

Walking down the streets of Valsayn just minutes after Devon got released.

We got caught in a rainstorm and sought shelter under a mechanic's garage.

Mom is clapping it after it's cooked to make it nice and soft.

Baby teaching Mom to cook roti.

This is the whole crew at Andrew and Baby's house.
Devon finally playing in the Caribbean Sea at Paria Bay Beach.

Kinda blurry. Mom and Devon at Paria Falls. The water in the pool below was very clear and somewhat warm.

Paria Falls. It was soo nice!

Walking along Para Bay Beach. We hiked over two hours to get there! It was worth the walk.

Dad and some of the Deonarinesingh's playing in the water.

Beautiful Sunrise! Mom and Dad on Manzanilla beach just after sunrise.

Azim likes Dad a lot. He calls him "Older Elder Gibby." He had Dad give him the Aaronic Priesthood the Sunday we were there.

These are some funny buzzard-looking birds on Maracas beach trying to dry off after some morning rains.

This is all of us that camped out on Manzanilla beach to see the turtles. The Deonarinesingh family, us, and Azim.

This is some of the eggs!

This one is digging her hole with her back fins. Pretty cool!

This is a video of Paria Falls.

Trinidad vacation

Here is one of the giant leatherback sea turtles we saw at Manzanilla beach. This one is close to five feet long! They come out in the middle of the night to nest. This one is flipping sand all over trying to get her nesting spot situated.

Temple

Just to prove we do other things then just hike here are some pictures of the Seattle Temple. Erik got off work early yesterday, so we decided to go. The temple grounds are gorgeous. Last time we went I forgot the camera, but not this time. There are lots of paths through trees and flowers and such. I will stop describing it and just let you look at the beautiful grounds.

Here we are inside one of the many gardens on the grounds. We are loving it!

Pretty flowers! 

Glamor shots by Deb. Erik is a really good glamor poser. I am still working on mastering the skill. 

 I accidentally posted the pictures as small ones, so I thought I would put my favorite picture nice and large at the bottom. Look at that gorgeous, blue Washington sky. It doesn't rain ALL the time here! I love the temple poking out from all the green shrubbery.

Another Hike

Erik and I went on another hike, it was not up in the mountains, but down on Hood Canal. So it was more of a walk in the marshes. We didn't see any bears, I guess they don't like to be up to their necks in mud. 

Apparently, a lot of birds and bugs live in the marshes. We saw bugs, but we didn't see many birds. I really wanted to see a bald eagle, but that has not happened yet. I am positive it will before I leave Washington, because I am not leaving until I see one. 
Happy Father's Day dad! I hope you had a great one in Trinidad. I can't think of a better place to spend Father's day, except maybe Port Orchard, Washington. You are the best! 

Below is the only non-bird animal we saw. It is a very fuzzy caterpillar, we didn't stay and wait for it to become a butterfly. 

Above is a shell, a broken shell. The birds that live in the marshes are pretty smart. They grab the clam or oyster shell from the water, fly it over to the walk way and smash it against the ground. Then, they eat the tasty clam or oyster. This is one of the many unlucky shells we saw on our walk. 

As many of you know, I got a job at the Boys and Girls Club. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday I had training in Tacoma. It was a lot of fun and some not fun. I met a lot of the girls I will be working with and really like them, so that makes it exciting. The camp doesn't start until next Monday, because tomorrow the kids around here are still in school, crazy! Talia, you should be so happy you don't live in Washington, but you should come and visit. We did have some visitors on Friday. The Ropers stopped by for about an hour. Erik was not home yet, so that was sad. What was sadder was Erik came home about 5 minutes after they left. Oh well. Well I hope all is well. Sarah, I love the video of Cooper. I can't wait to see you  guys!! 

First Picture

Just incase you guys were wondering what the first picture of Erik and me together looked like, here it is. Erik is about to play in one of the many bands he was in. I came to the show, because Erik was cool. He didn't even ask me to come. Notice Erik's really long hair. I loved it! Oh the memories. Oh, we were not even dating yet, but I bet you could guess because of the lack of physical contact. 

No Bear Hike

Monday, Erik and I went on another hike. I was reluctant to go, because of the previous entry about bears and hiking. Luckily, Erik prodded me along and we hiked the 2nd tallest mountain in Kitsap       County. It was about 30 minutes from our apartment. There was a lot of traffic on the trail, so that was good as well. There were also a lot of trees and rhododendrons. They grow very well out here and are wild.  The picture of the two of us together was taken at the top of the mountain. It was no a very clear day as you can see. If it was you would be able to see all the way to Seattle! Pretty cool, you should all come and check it out! I okayed the trail, because of the lack of bears.