Floating down the river...again.

{August 20th}

She was really excited. If you can't tell.

Cool picture.

I feel like this is all I've been blogging about lately. What can I say, I really love floating down the river! 

This time though, may not have been our brightest idea. The temperature was only about 65-70 degrees, 

and that was earlier in the day. By the time we got off work and into the river it was like 7:00pm. But we decided to do it anyway. 

We almost made it the whole way down but it started to get really shallow and we were going really slow so we got out and ran down the trail back to our car. And yes, people were looking at us like we were crazy! I was trying to get dressed after we got back to the car 

and I could barely even do it because my hands were so frozen! Eventually we ended up getting warm 

and everything was all good. It was still a fun girl bonding time!

Friday Flashback 11 ~ Kaua'i, Hawaii

{March 2007}

This was our vacation to Kaua'i in 07'.
I had been to the island of Oahu before this trip and I have to say that I liked Kaua'i a lot better.
It's a smaller, quieter island with a lot less people. And chickens galore!
We saw a lot of bumper stickers that said- If you love Kaua'i, kill a chicken.
We'd be walking into Walmart and they would be following us right into the store.
They were seriously everywhere! 
I remember the first day we got there it was overcast so we went running out
to play in the ocean without putting sunscreen on and we all got burnt!
That was not so fun but the rest of the time was a blast!
Our condo was right off the beach and the view
we had from our balcony was amazing!

Cori volunteered to be buried cause she's crazy like that.
My sister Kayla is crazy also.
Me, well I'm just regular.

We could probably be part time models if we wanted to.

My mom and I went on a helicopter ride while we were there.
We flew over waterfalls and around the coast to see
the whales jumping out of the water. It was really amazing.
The next day we were driving past the helicopter place and saw cop cars and ambulances.
We were wondering what the heck was going on
and found out later that night that there was a helicopter crash.
The pilot and three of the six passengers had died.
It was the same pilot that we had went up with just the day before.
And the three people that passed away were one of
each of the three couples that were on the flight.
One couple being on their honeymoon.
I was so sad when I heard the news. The pilot was such a nice and funny guy.
I remember being a little nervous, and asking him if he was ever worried about something going wrong
and not being able to coast to safety like a plane might be able to do.
His exact words were- I don't worry about that, I always plan on being home every night for dinner.
He told us stories of when he used to fly helicopters in the Air Force during the 20+ years he did that.
I'm so glad that we were able to get to know him a little bit.
For the rest of the trip I just couldn't help but think of him and his family.
And the spouses and families of the passengers that passed away.
I couldn't even imagine going through something like that. 

100 things I wanna do before I turn 100

Hopefully I'll be fortunate enough to complete everything on this list in my lifetime. Who knows. I'm gonna try though!

1. Finish my degree
2. Go sky diving
3. Climb the Great Pyramid in Egypt
4. Ride a camel in the desert
5. Ride an elephant in India
6. Go water zorbing
7. Kiss in a big open field in Ireland
8. Eat Mexican food in Mexico
9. Stop cracking my knuckles. For good. (This will probably be the hardest on the list!)
10. Do a back flip on a trampoline
11. Serve a senior mission with Erich
12. Ride the Maid of the Mist on Niagara Falls
13. Walk along the great wall of China
14. Have a designated room in my house for crafting, sewing, ect
15. Be at every sporting event, dance recital, anything and everything that our kids are in
16. Be a stay at home mom
17. Go ice fishing
18. Go deep sea fishing
19. Hold a monkey
20. Pet a tiger
21. Stand in the front of a big boat and say, "I'm the king of the world!"
22. Drive a race car
23. Explore Iceland
24. Experience weightlessness
25. Get one of those cheesy photos pretending to hold up the leaning tower of piza, then eat a giant bowl of spaghetti
26. Swim with dolphins
27. Go on an African safari
28. Run a marathon
29. Do a triathlon
30. Ride the Seattle to Portland bike race
31. Go on an over night train ride
32. Go on a dog sled ride through Alaska
33. Go to a general conference
34. Spend a Christmas with all our kids in Whistler (where we went on out honeymoon)
35. See all our boys serve missions
36. See all our kids get married in the temple
37. Stand in the Sacred Grove in Palmyra
38. River raft down the Grand Canyon
39. Go to Disney World
40. Ride on a fan boat through the everglades
41. Adopt a puppy
42. Help someone join the church
43. Take a ballroom dance class with Erich
44. Ride on a double decker bus in London
45. Take a cake decorating class
46. Kiss under a water fall
47. Learn to play the piano
48. Go on a road trip in an RV
49. Grow my own vegetable garden
50. Visit the Great Barrier Reef
51. Go up in a hot air balloon
52. Walk through Central Park
53. Visit the Taj Mahal
54. Dive off of a diving board
55. Go on an Alaskan cruise
56. Ride a gondola in Venice
57. Go whale watching
58. Build a giant sand castle
59. Go scuba diving
60. Sit in the hot springs in Yellow Stone
61. Vacation in New Zealand
62. Climb a Glacier
63. Hike Corcovado mountain in Brazil
64. Walk across the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco
65. Explore Athens in Greece
66. Go white water rafting
67. Hike the Inca trail to Machu Picchu
68. Horseback ride on the beach
69. Own a ping pong table
70. See the Northern lights
71. Go swimming with sharks (We'll see if I have the guts to get this one crossed off. Scary!)
72. Slip n' Slide in the mud
73. Kayak on the ocean
74. Have twins, a boy and a girl (I'll just have to cross my fingers on this one!)
75. Catch a fire fly in a jar and watch it light up
76. Build a fort in our living room and sleep in it
77. Get dressed up really fancy and go to a nice restaurant
78. Dance with Erich at our 50th wedding anniversary
79. Be a grandma, and a great grandma
80. Set up a hammock in our backyard
81. Watch Erich go on daddy daughter dates
82. Go on mommy son dates
83. Snorkel at Turtle Bay
84. Eat pizza in Chicago
85. Attempt to surf
86. Take a photography class
87. Rake up a giant heap of leaves and jump into it
88. Build a tree house in our back yard
89. Visit the Mayan ruins in Tikal
90. Hike Preikestolen in Norway
91. Go to a magic show
92. Learn to Crochet
93. Learn another language
94. Go to Carlos bakery in New York
95. Keep my eyes open and my arms up the whole time while on a rollercoaster
96. See the Maaterhorn in Switzerland
97. Explore the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador
98. Be in four states at once
99. Spend a weekend at a Bed and Breakfast
100. Like Erich in 30 years as much as I do now

Friday Flashback 10 ~ Elephants and work

{September 4, 2009}

For this Flashback Friday we are going way back. Way back to September 2009.
It started out as just a regular work day. I was sitting at my desk, doing my regular work stuff, when I looked out the window and saw a train of Elephants walking by. Elephants are one of my favorite animals so needless to say, it was one of the best days of my life. Okay not really, but it was pretty cool.

It's reasons like this that I have my camera with me at all times!

Oh and incase you were wondering, the reason they were there was because the Circus was in town.
For some odd reason they decided to walk them down one of the busiest streets in Kent.

I guess it wasn't such an odd reason. It was good publicity. Made me want to go! :)

Dreaming about babies

I had a dream last night that I was a new mom to a little baby girl.

I was at home and I was getting ready to go to my dentist appointment. I realized when I was about to leave that I had a baby now and that I just couldn't go to the dentist and leave her there. I started to panic and didn't know what to do because I really needed to get to my appointment (apparently in my dreams the dentist is top priority). So I put her in the car and headed to the appointment. I walked in and the receptionist got really mad at me because I was late. I told her that I had forgotten that I had a baby now and that I couldn't just leave her so I'd have to reschedule for a time when Erich would be off of work so he could watch her.

Don't worry, things worked out and she rescheduled my appointment without being too mean. (Just in case you were worried)

Silly dream I know but it felt so real...and she was so perfect. :)

River day

{August 14th}

We had a fun time at the river yesterday. Perfect way to cool off during the ridiculously hot day.

The day started out with one of our tubes popping. So instead of floating down for a few miles 

like we wanted to, we ended up just playing around a bit. It was a good day.

Friday Flashback 9 ~ Mancakes

{July 18, 2009}

Last year we went to this place in Portland called Stepping Stone Cafe.
It was on the show Man vs Food. The guy tried to eat a stack of three of them.
I can't remember if he completed the challenge or not
but if you do you get you're picture on their wall and get them for free.
I ate like a forth of one and was completely stuffed!
I don't know how it's even possible for someone to eat a whole stack,
but I guess there are people out there that are just that awesome.

Mmm...pancakes are one of my most favorite things to eat!

I wanna go back.

Swimming with friends is fun to do

{August 11th}

Yesterday was so beautiful! What better way to spend it than swimming with great friends?

Testing out our snorkel gear. Less than 3 weeks until Hawaii.

Backstreet Boys

{August 5th}

Ready for the concert to start!

Yes, we went to the Backstreet Boys concert. Don't judge us. :)

The DJ that entertained us before the show.

BACKSTREET'S BACK!! And cheesy as ever.

It was a fun night. It's been years since I've even listened to them but all the songs came right back!

It was a fun little trip down memory lane.

Swimming Hole

{July 31st}

 We take a trip up to this swimming hole at least once a summer. It's up past Gold Bar on the way to Leavenworth.
The water is always freezing but it's such a fun place to go on a hot day! There's a rope swing and beautiful views.
It's always a fun little day trip. Erich works on Saturdays so he wasn't able to come. :(
I went up with my friends Daniel, Wendy, and Lindsey.

I decided while we were there that I'm going to cut out a picture of him and put in on a popsicle stick.
That way he can go on my Saturday adventures with me and be in the pictures. :)

Daniel doing back flips into the water. He's cool like that.

Daniel doing his best Little Mermaid impression. I'd give him an eight.

Daniel & Lindsey having fun on the rope swing.

It is so pretty there!

Daniel & Wendy. Our best married friends!

Daniel the Genie and other things.

Leavenworth

We went up to Leavenworth after we were done at the swimming hole. It's only about another 45 minute drive from where we were. I had never been there before and it was a pleasant surprise. It was such a cute little town. Everything was old Bavarian style. Even the Subway and Cold stone looked they they were from that time. They have tons of fun shops and live folk music. I want to come back this winter with Erich and spend a night there. I think it'd be a fun place to go during the holidays!

We had fun walking around to all the fun little shops.

I wanna stay in one of these cute hotels!

We went to this one store that had a bunch of random books and statues and stuff. I was tempted to buy the book I'm holding in this picture. That's something we should all be educated on right? :) There was also an interesting hat store. They had every ridiculous hat you could think of!

We had a lot of fun. The only thing that could have made it better was if Erich could have been there. 

I definitely plan on going back with him soon though!