One Year in Washington

It's been one year since we've moved out here. Personally I think it went fast & slow altogether, but mostly fast :) Year in review: Started out with our roadtrip through Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming (visited Grant & Julia, and where our Uhaul broke down), Utah (HOT), Idaho (Indiana ?), Oregon (beautiful sunset with mountains), then lastly Washington (the Evergreen State); I started my job & Eric found a teaching job; Anna's wedding July 19th (fun times!), visited Angie (my soulfriend) in August; our first Thanksgiving together & celebrated with a Hawaiin dinner with our friends here (simply amazing); Terry & Katie visited we went skiing at Crystal mountain, watched fireworks for New Years & went to Ocean Shores; Eric had a change in career paths; I took 3 courses & working overtime to learn & make some moola; AND in the mean time all my friends were having babies!! Atticus Justice Mathews was born in April, Elias Flora in May, Tisha & her baby boy in March, Nacim & Cyprian's new baby boy in June, my cousin Andy is about to have a baby in one week or so... at this point all have been boys!! We also went on many adventures/roadtrips: Mt. Rainer, Olympic mountain range, Lake Stevens (north of Seattle), Oregon beaches for Labor day, Ocean Shores (WA), Olympic Peninisula, Portland, Deception Pass, San Francisco, Columbia River Gorge (OR), Spokane... and several more to come. So... that was all the big picture facts that occurred. But what we've learned & taken away (well I can only speak for me): building a solid/firm foundation for my marriage takes a lot of work, patience and kindness; I love my carreer (even though loans are huge) I wake up every morning excited to go to work; work and paying bills can be exhausting mentally & physically though; my relationship with God takes effort & work especially as we have many tests thrown our way recently, lastly but not least.... I miss my dinner dates with friends, holidays with family, and the sweet 'ol corn in Indiana:) Eric & I (I know I can speak for Eric on this) want to thank the friends and family that have supported us (by visiting, calling, emailing, texting, cards, Facebook) in whatever capacity... we love you & we shall see what this next year will bring.

Waterfall Weekend

Eric & I travelled to the Columbia Gorge two weekends ago to see all the fantastic waterfalls. It was a good time! We went camping east of Portland by an hour, near the #1 windsurfing recreation area in the country... so needless to say it was windy! News on the homefront: We are headed home in August for Erin's wedding, we will be in Indy & in Ohio that weekend. Also headed home again for Labor Day. New Agenda: 4th of July we are going somewhere, maybe San Juan Islands or Olympic penninsula.

Happy Father's Day to all you fajas (fathers... quote from Austin Powers Gold Member) out there. Oh yeah, Eric had a disc golf tournament & he had a good 1st & 3rd round, but his 2nd round hurt him. He won two CTP (closest to pin) shots and one four new discs, hat and a gift certificate. So that was our Father's Day weekend, we missed our dads :(. Love you both! Thank you for all your love and support.

Columbia River Gorge (we are standing in Oregon, Washington is behind us in the distance)

I'm standing above a creek/Waterfall

Ordinary Life

So... I'm sure if anyone reads this, but just in case... I want to get this up to date. Eric and I have had normal ordinary weekend after traveling all over the northwest the past 2 weekends. Last weekend we drove there & back again to Spokane in one day... it is desert and HOT there! But this weekend, we played the normal disc golf we usually do, then cleaned house, shopping, and watched some movies on our Blu Ray. You know Eric and movies... and for those of you who don't we have hundreds on DVDs that he finds cheapo. He actually sold his XBox and exchanged for 10-15 more DVDs.
What's new for us? Well... there is nothing set in stone, but most of you know Eric will be moving home in August more than likely. He will be working as a substitute teacher and odds & ends jobs he can find to gain in-state residency for a year, freeing up his ability to travel back here as often as he needs. He plans on finishing his Engineering degree in Fall of 2010... which will take ~2 years. I will be here in Washington, 2500 miles away... working for the next 6-12 months. As August creeps closer and closer this idea is becoming more realistic. He has not had very much luck or fortune trying to find a job here, not related to teaching... mostly due to our country's economic struggles and his inability to get hired with lack of experience. It has been a very trying time for him & us, but we have learned much in this spot.
I have made a network of friends here, so I will have support while living this far from home on my own without the hubby. I will also pick up a weekend job to get my loans paid down and save some moola.
Baby planning :) oh do we have the fever:) We can't wait to start our own little family, but for now we will put that one on hold until we are both in Indiana again. so... no little ones yet.
Much love to all & miss you tremendously.

California Trip II

Drive along Hwy 1 in Northern California
Campsite in Redwood Forest

Eric, Paul Bunyan, and "Babe"

Eric is a small ant compared to this Redwood tree

Eric & I on the Pacific Beach in Northern California at Salt Pt. SP

California trip Part I

Big Tree in Redwood Forest
Big Foot Crossing in the Redwoods (not sure what my pose is?? :)

Eric on his way to Alcatraz

Franciscan Restaurant in Fisherman's wharf

Mt. Shasta in Northern California, on our way down