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. 

Finally blogging again

This is Talia and the rest of the fifth graders at their singing program. It was titled "A little bit country,and a little bit rock and roll" but they sang mostly rock and roll. she really enjoyed it.

Snow in May?? Actually we had a terriffic rain and hail storm yesterday and it clogged the rain gutter and plopped right down on the front porch. We got over 7 tenths of an inch of rain yesterday. I think that was more moisture than we got all winter.

Here is Abbigail dancing to Casey Junior from the movie Dumbo.

Please ignore the other video of Talia. This one is much better and longer!

Dance Recital

This is Talia in her dance recital. Her group was the Virginia Company in the play of Pocahantas.

Facial Hair

Today I just discovered the perfect way to celebrate the 4th of July. It evolves coming to Washington to participate in the North American Beard and Mustache Championship. It is on July 5th in Bremerton, which is where Erik works. So all you bearded men come and visit us then. If you don't have a beard or mustache, it is not too late. You still have a few months to grow one. It is bound to be a great time and what a perfect way to celebrate the birth of America!!

Our Hike

Saturday, Erik and I decided to go for a hike, because we had just bought some hiking boots. Here is the lovely trail we walked down. It was a beautiful day. There was no elevation change, so I guess you can't really say it was a hike, it was more like a walk in the woods.  While on the hike in the woods we happened upon a bear, a big, black, 200 pound bear. That was the end of our hike. 
This picture was taken after we saw the bear and we were in sight of our car. You can still the the shock on my face. I look a little concerned, because I was. 
After our misadventure in the woods we decided to go to a park. The park is right across the street from our apartment, plus it is in the middle of a small city. Erik convinced me there would be no bears there. I agreed. This is a picture of the trees. They are tall and everywhere.  
Here is a picture of us again. As you can see I don't look nearly as concerned about a bear in this photo. However, while we were in the park on the trail a dog did attack me. By attack I mean lick my leg. It was kinda gross and a little scary, because it was a pitt bull. I survived. 

 

Here is a side by side comparison of my faces. The one on the left, no bear. The one on the right, bear. Can you see the difference? 
 

Seattle

I have been trying for quite some time to get these pictures up on the blog. Here is Seattle from a distance. We went there on Thursday. 
Pike's Place! Everything was almost shutting down by the time we got there, but we still made it to a delicious restaurant. If my camera shot was wider to the right you could see some fish being thrown around. 

Erik and I enjoying the baseball game. It was not to chilly of a night, so that was good. 
But there was a little bit of a fight in the air...or the game. It was pretty exciting!!

If you want to have an exciting life like Erik and I, come and visit!! I can't promise a baseball fight, but I will see what I can do. 

Anniversary

This is a picture that I took when we were about 1 hour from being to our new apartment. We drove through some pretty mountainous areas and the ski resorts were still open! 
For our anniversary, Erik and I did a little exploring. This is a really cute down about a 1/2 hour away. The historic downtown was very cute and had a bunch of shops. They all closed at 5, so we just missed them. They have Swedish flags everywhere. 
We also went on this cool boardwalk. It is so pretty here. What a great day! 

This is our view out of the front window. Washington is green!! 

A little bit of everything

Here is the yummy cake from Chant, mom, and dad. Too bad it made Erik sick. I liked it anyway! (so did dad) 
Apparently, I look good with children, but these are not our children. Coral looks pretty cool here too. 
Carson loves straws. This is at Thanksgiving Point. Chantille took us her for lunch for our last day in Utah. Thanks so much. We miss you. 

The whole group. 
The Jarrard Family. So cute. 

Graduation!!

Here are the graduation cousins!! Kelly, Benj, Erik and Me!! YAHOO!
Erik's parents came out to celebrate with us too. Here is everyone.