Our Cross Country Trip Begins!

Saying goodbye to Los' parents- we'll miss you!
Seize the Day!  At the Grand Canyon today we saw the CA license plate with the same thing!
It had to rain on us in WA one last time for good measure:)
We'll miss the verdant Northwest
This almost naked (diaper only) girl in Portland cracked us up... 

The Pearl District in PDX is so cool!

We had a fab dinner (such good wine) at Piazza Italia, we highly recommend it!

Los was stoked to go to the Garden for the Blazers game, it was super exciting, I admit!
Wouldn't life be better if we all had people like this to stretch us out every day?!

We stayed at the Bishop's lovely home on a canal to Lake Oswego, very cool! 
Burly Evans v. Bear Bishop with the supervision of Tony Bishop
Los subbing in for Ian (who was in Alaska on business) with cutie Julian
We love you guys!  Grateful for you!
Sorry Puggy, back in the crate you go, for 9 days of good old-fashioned road-trippin...

Git Er Done… (our last week in WA!)

Well, it is finally down to the wire! T minus 6 days until the epic drive across our fair country begins. We have been conquering the longest TO-DO list in the history of my life (save for the pre-wedding TO-DO list, but that was full of inconsequential things like: borrow flower vase for gladiolas).

Can I just say AMEN for awesome customer service at Patagonia, REI, Super Jock n’ Jill, Williams-Sonoma and Nordstrom. We have made about $700 returning things we didn’t want/like/use without a hitch! Love that. We even MADE money returning 12 mugs we never use to Williams-Sonoma, and this is WITHOUT a receipt. They’ve gone up in price since our wedding 3 years ago, to $21/mug, pricy! So that’s awesome that we were able to continue paring down. We also sold the kitchen table and 6 chairs we got for free for $175, which is fun. On top of that, I brought back Saucony running shoes that are hurting my left arch (but have been used for a year!) and they exchanged them out for brand new shoes at no cost. YES!

So we are feeling good about what we have remaining. I’ve blogged before about Rob Bell’s challenge to his church during the God is Green sermon series. He said, “If you were to move tomorrow, what would you sell, donate, give away, recycle, throw away. Well why not do that today?” That mantra has been something we’ve tried to live by the past year and a half, simplify, simplify!!!

And so our day has actually come, we ARE moving tomorrow, and we no longer have piles of stuff we don’t want or need. Movers come tomorrow morning at 8:15, giddy up! We’ll be living out of suitcases for the next month, as we galavant around the country, taking our time to enjoy different people and places en route to our new home.

Though our TO-DO list is long enough to make any sane person dizzy, we have also been taking time to enjoy our last week in WA. We’ve been getting quality time with everyone we love, and are looking forward to having dinner at Canlis (Seattle’s best restaurant) with Erik and Monica on Friday night, after seeing Erika and Jodi for a last time. I also get to see JJ and Lisa, since I’m going up to the Couv on Sunday night, which will be fun.

We used our last free movie tickets (thank you Boeing!) and saw EagleEye, which was a fun action flick with Shia LeBeouf (I love saying his name) and Michelle Monaghan (I may have a girl crush on her). Yesterday we took our last ferry ride, on a beautiful morning. Then we had lunch in downtown Seattle with Erik at Palomino and shopped for grooming necessities at Aveda/Nordstrom, and visited the newest H+M. We went to Green Lake one last time, for our and Burly’s sakes. He goes crazy at that place, with all the other dogs/stimulation. Last night we had dinner at the fabulous local/organic Tilth restaurant, that I think every Seattleite should try, it is so amazing.

On Kiesha’s recommendation to “EAT AS MUCH FISH AS POSSIBLE BEFORE LEAVING THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST!!!!” I had a pistachio-encrusted Cod for lunch that was fantastic. Then at dinner with Jonathan and Lynnea (love them, will miss them, we’re trying to talk them into coming to S. Africa with us for World Cup 2010), we had all kinds of awesomeness. The world’s best Halibut, pork belly, chicken, faro, quinoa, a cheese plate straight from heaven, and heirloom melon with mint, feta and anise hyssop, unbelievable. So creative, who thinks of that kind of stuff! Three hours and two bottles of Northwest wine later, we were quite happy campers.

I’ll miss that place, and everywhere that we have fabulous memories in Seattle, which will remain in my heart as one of the most awesome cities in our country, even if we never live close by it again. So if you’re wondering where I am this next week, it’s either checking off our gargantuan TO-DO list or being sentimental about this place I love so much and am sad to leave.

Melancholy for what we leave behind...

In less than a week, our household belongings will be packed up and shipped out; we'll see them a month later. We'll be borrowing dishes/towels, etc. from a neighbor for our last 5 days and sleeping on the trusty Aerobed. It will be like camping. Except in our own house... Even with all the excitement of our imminent road trip and new home, we are feeling sad these days for what we'll leave behind. Other than the weather (which has been rough), living in WA the past 3 years has been such a gift.

We love our house, and the view of nearby mountains. To design the garden has been so life-giving for me. I am giving away pumpkins now, the last of our summer fruits. And we couldn't wish for better neighbors, they are so wonderful; we'll really miss the community here. I'm told that the street we're moving to in TX has monthly parties and great relationships too, so we're looking forward to that.

Last night we took a sentimental trip down memory lane, visiting multiple favorite places for the last time. The golden farmland of the Skagit Valley contrasted with the mountains that jut up from the sea, and the neighboring San Juan Islands makes for a breathtaking scene, especially in autumn, as the leaves begin to change to all shades of brilliance. I am a sucker for old barns (there's just something about them that I love) and as we drove down the beautiful Chuckanut Drive (a must-do if you're in these parts, car commercials are filmed on it b/c it's a cliff at the edge of the land, with shimmering sea beneath) one last time, we marveled at how gorgeous our home here is. We have islands and water (kayaking, fishing, whales) just to the west, and the North Cascade Mountain Range for awesome skiing/hiking just to the east of our fertile valley.



We went to dinner at our favorite restaurant in the Valley, Seeds. It's named after the seed company that was in the same building for over a century. Apparently we produce the country's largest amount of seeds for vegetables and flowers. I've taken a lot of people there over the years, it is so special. It has local, sustainable (organic produce, grass-fed beef, etc.) fare and shows off all there is to love about this county's bounty. We had local beer, wine, oysters and the amazing bacon, avocado burgers for one last time. The town it's in, La Conner, is impossibly charming! Right on the river and full of cute boutique shops. What a great place.


After sleeping in today, we're now going hiking here (Sauk Mountain) for the last time in the Cascades. Such goodness all around us, we will miss this place.



I pulled all these photos off Google, but isn't this place beautiful?!

Our So-Called Life: Whirlwind Edition

So the winds of change are a-blowin' with hurricane force! Here are updates:

#1- OUR HOUSE SOLD! Praise God from whom all blessings flow!!! In this horrible buyers market, we were really nervous (read: I was really nervous) that I'd be stuck here until winter, with Los having to go ahead of me to TX. The market here has 10 months SOLID of inventory, our agent said she's only selling 3 houses a month!!! Compare this to 2005, when we bought: she closed on a house every other day! She said she took no days off, didn't vacation that year at all, and buyers were running around like mad. The day Los found our house, he was the first of 3 or 4 offers on the FIRST DAY it was on the market! Crazy... NOW the average house is taking 6 months to sell, and those are good houses, not crappy ones...

So the fact that our beautiful home took LESS than a month to get TWO offers, and for us to settle on a buyer and contract is nothing short of a providential miracle! I am oh so grateful, as it makes our move to TX right on time (as we thought out months ago), which NEVER happens! Our next door neighbors have been Geo-bacheloring from VA for 4 months so far with no end in sight, b/c getting out of their house is tricky, our other next door neighbors have put their house on the market TWICE in 3 years, with no luck, and are relocating to CA. Los' brother's house has been on the market in Seattle for 5 months while he's been in NY, and dropped $80,000 and still no offers, another friend's home just took 11 months to sell, so... WOW. I feel really blessed that this worked out so perfectly for us! We didn't make money, as we'd hoped to, but our peace of mind is priceless, as we don't know if we'll ever return to the northwest, and selling just made sense. Is my relief palpable to you?!

#2- WE GOT THE GOLF COURSE HOUSE IN TX! The link I posted this past month was to a slideshow of our fave house in TX (gorgeous custom home on the course: 3 bed/2 bath and amazing features everywhere- like the built-in 48 bottle wine cooler and gargantuan master closet, all of our clothes could fit in 1/6 of it!) We are so excited the owners picked us, when the realtor showed us around, it was by far our fave! We'll have wonderful neighbors (they gather once a month for wine/hors d'ouerves) and it's super safe/peaceful/gated community). After living near I-5 (I am such a light sleeper) I can't WAIT for our home to be somewhere SO QUIET!

So all this means...
#3- WE MOVE TO TX IN 3 WEEKS FROM TODAY! I can hardly believe it, even as I type this! It went from such ambiguity (will our house ever sell?) to GAME ON! So we're having a GOING AWAY PARTY THIS WEEKEND if you want to come? We'll be in Seattle trying to connect with people, and for Los' next race; and at home next weekend, when I may sky-dive with friends. The following weekend we have Kendall's wedding and then I'm going up to Canada to see JJ/Lisa and volunteer at Passion's World Tour stop in Vancouver. That will be fun, even though it means I won't sleep at our own home the last 2 nights we're in it. I'll drive back from Canada Tuesday morn and then we'll be off!

Our probable itinerary is as follows:
Tuesday 10/7- Lake Oswego, OR: playing with the Bishop's and buying stuff where there's no sales tax (can I say Apple store, with my 10% student/military discount?! Boo yah...)
Wednesday 10/8- Redwoods National Forest, CA
Thursday 10/9- Napa, CA and playing with the Flory's
Friday 10/10- Berkeley (maybe?) or Central Coast (SLO/ my parents' house in Los Osos)
Saturday 10/11- Fresno for my mom's 60th bday, woo hoo! Also FSU football tailgating and game with fam, fun!
Sunday 10/12-Flagstaff, AZ (or maybe Vegas, but probs not)
Monday 10/13- GRAND CANYON: we've never been, can't wait to hike around!
Tuesday 10/14- Santa Fe, NM (one of US' coolest, most unique cities, love it!)
Wednesay 10/15- Dallas and Austin, TX (we heart Austin, it's so awesome)
Thursday 10/16- shop and look at furniture (since we're selling ours on Craigslist for the most part)
Friday 10/17- arrive at the beach and new home. We're staying with some friends on the Island for 2 weeks until we can move into our new fab house on 11/2!

Many pics to come in the month to follow! Stay tuned to the life and times of the Evans adventures:)

Summer o' Bridesmaids

Since our wedding was on my mind... (clickHERE to see Joel's famous photos) I think this summer I set a record of seeing all of my bridesmaids! This is impressive, since they live in 4 different states! The seven gals (plus Mallory, my I-wish-I-could-adopt-her-as-a-little-sister junior bridesmaid) are all women I treasure for different reasons, and for what they add to my life. It is interesting to think that in just 3 short years: 6 babies have been born to them (Jackson, Riese, Judah and Elise, Ainsley and Audrey), 1 has gotten engaged, 4 have moved across the country or world, 5 have bought/renovated a house or condo; and remarkably ALL of them have found a career they like. Big life investments!! I am so grateful that this year has provided us the opportunity to see them all in WA, CA, FL, and SC. I also got to see Hanna, who read scripture in our wedding in LA this August. She is so special to me, and she got married on Los' birthday! She just went to Hawai'i for her honeymoon.

Come to think of it, Los has seen almost all his wedding party too! This summer Ian and his wife and their new son came up here to the Rasar's Guemes Island cabin. We spent a night in July with them and the Zentler's, something that I hope becomes a tradition. We also got to see the Worley's (Jay was a groomsman and wrote/performed a song for us, and their daughter was a flowergirl) in D.C. this year. AND, very exciting news, JR, who was a groomsman (his daughter Mackenzie was a flowergirl) is being restationed (from Japan) in Texas this fall. So we'll be neighbors with them and their now 4 children (they're adopting 2 boys from Poland). Dave, who Los wanted to have as a groomsman, but was stationed in Spain, will also be our new neighbor in TX, so we are looking forward to the new season with them. I guess my brother (SAD) is the only member of our wedding party that we haven't seen this year! Hopefully in the future he will be more a part of our life. It is a bit challenging for now, since he lives in the Netherlands and is shortly moving to Australia!

In any case, we feel blessed to have such good friends everywhere we go. This season has been sweet in WA, and we are glad we got married at the beginning of our life here. Now on to new adventures and expanding our family in TX we will go, taking these memories with us!

Our Third (First) Anniversary!

Three years ago yesterday, Los said, "I do, do you?" And I said, "I DO!" But the next two September 10ths, the Navy took him half-way around the world to the Middle East... I coped, going to Cali and eating sushi/getting a massage/being with fam and friends... but they were anti-climactic days at best.


Not so yesterday! We enjoyed the beautiful weather (beginning of fall, leaves are changing color, woo hoo!) by driving up to Bellingham (the most gorgeous part of I-5) to spend the evening. Los surprised me by taking me to the fabulous Chrysalis Hotel and Spa for a few hours. It turns out a slice of heaven can be purchased for a couple hundred dollars! We basked in the sun on the deck, watching people drink wine or kayak in the bay as the sun sank toward the San Juan Islands.



Then we entered the spa, for the most recent highlight of my life. We were ushered into our respective locker rooms; and any residual worry that wasn't eradicated on the deck dripped out of my pores and down the drain in the heavenly steam room. Then we wrapped ourselves in luxurious robes and went to the relaxation room. We chose from six awesome types of tea, sipped and sank into the chairs that had a view of flora and a waterfall. Then eventually we were escorted to our room and given the most amazing massages. Los had never had one before, and after his triathlon (plus swimming a mile and running an hour on top of that), his body really soaked up every last heavenly touch. I usually critique my therapist mentally the whole time and can't fully relax (since I want to be a LMP in another lifetime); but boy did I ever relax last night. My therapist did some things no one has ever done before, and I now have a long list of other types of massage I want to try: Thai, Stone, Shiatsu, et al. No more Swedish for a while! It was like a dream that kept getting sweeter and sweeter. After more tea and more steam, I rinsed with their great local and organic products (I am a sucker for high-end #1-groceries and #2- bath products) and then floated out of there as if on a cloud.

We couldn't have enjoyed our time there more, and we HIGHLY recommend it to anyone in WA. They had a good wine bar and restaurant on the water as well, but since we are moving away so soon, we wanted to visit our favorite pizza place La Fiamma one last time.


For any vegetarian pizza- eaters, I have never found a pizza as amazing as their Major Grigio. They use Major Grey mango chutney as the spread, then pile on curried veggies and cheese, and top it with Thai spicy sauce, Sriracha. It's unbelievable. Maybe that combo sound unappetizing in writing (I was skeptical before I tried it the first time!) but it will change your life. I feel like if you're going to go out to pizza, it has to be something way better than what Papa Murphy's could give you to take home and bake... Los ordered a Potato Chicken pizza, which again sounds weird: garlic mashed potato spread with rosemary potatoes and grilled chicken on top, laced with balsamic on top; but it is sooo good (and mellow, to complement the spicy other one). We only go there maybe 3 times a year, but I will miss it, can you tell? They have my favorite Rosemary Lemonade too (which is a rip-off from The Herb Farm, which is the northwest's best restaurant- consistently ranked nationally and globally too; you can eat there if you have $200/person?!) La Fiamma offers it for $2.50, a little easier on the ol' pocket book; and they serve some awesome beers from local breweries.

It was so fun to have a special evening and reflect with Los on where three years has brought us- there's definitely been some bumps on the road, but overall the ride has been a glorious one. We met when we were 22, we're now 29- life as we know it is about to change radically. We are leaving our comfort zone of the west coast, I am leaving my comfort zone of academia, and hopefully we'll be leaving our comfort zone of singlehood, heading toward parenthood at some point soon. Much change is afoot; and we couldn't imagine a better partner to face it all and journey through life with. My step-grandparents have been married 63 years, we look forward to growing old together as they have. It just keeps getting better and better and we are grateful.

On College Football: Them Southerners Must'a Rubbed Off On Me...

5 years ago I never would have written this blog. 3 years ago this next week, I left Florida and during my time there, somehow, college football seeped into my being, and miraculously, I became a fan. The life-long soccer fan in me feels betrayed by this new part of myself, but it's true. Now I can't WAIT for college football season, which is upon us within weeks. However, I will never be an ardent fan of just one team, that's too limiting to me. Plus I never want our home to be a sports paraphernalia kind of home. No thank you. And since we move around, it is convenient for me to adopt teams at will. Maybe you true blue, bleed-whatever-your-home-team-color-is people will look at me with disdain; but remember, you're dealing with a girl who may or may not also pick my NCAA Basketball brackets by places I like and uniform colors. So there's that...

But here are my self-proclaimed teams that I'm rooting for in my own quiet, non-discriminatory, pan-conference kind of way:

Pac 10- California Bears, no question. If I ever see a Cal hat (in Australia, London, wherever) it is now instinctual to say, "Go Bears!" I am excited if Washington (Los' alumnus) wins too, but let's be honest, when does that happen?
WAC- Fresno State, hometown team. Plus I like saying wiggity Wac.
SEC- Florida, no question. I've been to 5 SEC stadiums, they are ginormous! These are the most zealous, football-is-life fans I've seen. They are an amusing breed. I've seen Gator wedding decorations, birthday cakes, etc. Awesome.
ACC- North Carolina (I have no affiliation, but heart their colors, state, and women's soccer program)
Big East- Syracuse and Connecticut (my mom got her undergrad and Master's there)
Big 12- Texas (our new home, plus I heart burnt orange) and Colorado (I have a thing for Buffaloes and Boulder)
Big 10 (they can't count, it's actually 11)- here's this for unity: Michigan AND Ohio State. What can I say? Great people are BOTH places. Yesterday I was driving with an OSU grad, and I mentioned Michigan in a sentence, as in, "turn left after Michigan," and the guy actually shuttered and said, "Please don't say that word in this car." Amazing. Even though they are sworn enemies, I endorse both:)

Lastly, which doesn't really fall into any particular conference, since my favorite colors are blue and orange, I always like teams that have those colors, such as: Florida, Syracuse, Illinois, Pepperdine, Auburn, who else?

Big Prayers

I like to assign certain people that I know will pray to certain things in our lives, but this next month has so much stuff I'm enlisting all of blogdom, if you want, to pray. Some times when I pray, I want to leave God an out, in case God has other things in mind... such as, "God, allow us to sell our house quickly... if you want to." I don't know if I do this because I humbly don't know the sovereign mind of God, or because I am operating out of doubt. So in any case, ya'll can claim God's truth as you intercede for us.

#1- That we would sell our house in WA soon.
#2- That we would find the perfect place in TX when we househunt down there.
#3- That I would get a job where I can use my gifting/talents/education .
#4- That I will pass all of my Ordination Exams in 3 weeks (I need to study a lot between now and then.)
#5- That my last seminary class ever (the next 2 weeks in Pasadena) will go smoothly and I'll write 27 pages by September.
#6- That Carlos will bless others and be blessed at Camp Side by Side (a camp coming alongside families with children that deal with cancer and serious illnesses) next week.
#7- That our heart remain close while we are separated for a few weeks (we should be pros at this by now, but it's always tough.)

Calling in the Reinforcements (p.s. don't read this if blood/guts gross you out)

Bless my little Pug's heart, but he just doesn't have a ferocious bone in his body. Usually we appreciate this about him, and b/c of Los' being bitten by Pit Bull's, etc. in his youth, that's why we chose a super friendly breed... BUT lately I've been seeing more bunnies than usual in our back yard. We used to have 10 baby bunnies (not by our choosing) in our backyard, and encouraged them to leave asatch (as soon as they could hop). Since then, we've barricaded every possible entrance point to our yard. Except one. Our gate, which we built ourselves, goes to where the grass used to come to, when we had grass. But since we built the flagstone path, there's now a few inch gap in that space, and believe me, a few inches is all bunnies need to get through. It is amazing how flat they can make themselves.

Luckily for us, we don't have a ton of plants that bunnies like to eat. Our neighbors have had many plants destroyed by bunnies, so they have more reason to be frustrated. What we have, however, is a lot of good hiding spots for bunnies, so after they get their fill elsewhere, they seem to think it's okay to come over here and hang out, and disperse their pellets, if you know what I'm saying.

This is not cool. Especially, and most gross to me, because then Burly will eat said pellets, and vomit. SO- I've been trying to teach my dog to hunt the rabbits. But let's be honest, he has no hunter in him. So my second thought was just for him to chase them, and scare them away. Yeah, that's not working out so well either. Hate to say it, but they are way smarter than him. When I let him into the yard, he could be 5 feet from one and not sense it; a byproduct of having a smashed nose, I suppose? They have zero fear of him. By the time he does see one, and makes his jolly attempt to bound after it, they're well on their way to safety at another home, under the gate. I don't know if he even realizes it's another animal, and intruder at that, or if he just thinks they are like a moving tennis ball. He loves playing fetch, maybe I should spraypaint the bunnies bright chartreuse?

Anyway, so yesterday I had had it! So after seeing 4 bunnies in my yard, I decided to bring in the reinforcements. Burly's two best friends are our next door neighbor Lab and German Shepherd Gwen and Miss Parker. They are all fun and games when it comes to hanging out, and they have sleepovers with Burly, etc. but when it comes to hunting rabbits, they mean business. One time (super gross), Miss P brought in a dead rabbit and laid it the feet of our neighbor while she was iChatting on the computer. You can imagine how grossed out Joelle was:) I'm actually amazed that Miss P didn't devour it immediately after seeing what went down yesterday!

So, they came over and Miss P immediately began hunting the little varmint. I had to sacrifice some hostas and my bell pepper plant in the hunt, but they were worthy casualties of war. After 20 minutes of futile effort, I saw the bunny hiding under a geranium right by the gate. So I went over to the gate and called Miss P, she swooped in from one direction, and like athletes executing the perfect play, Gwen covered the other angle. When the bunny came out, it had no chance, as Gwen pounced on it. It all happened within 3 seconds, but it was like watching those nature shows on tv, or the Planet Earth series, where they show slow motion of beast on beast. Gwen had it in her mouth and Miss Parker came over and ripped the bottom half off of the bunny off (to share with her sister, naturally). One second I saw guts hanging out, the next, the bunny was gone, just like that. I'm pretty sure they didn't even chew!

Meanwhile, my little dog was biting the heel of Gwen, naively thinking that they were playing a game. Little did he know that a small victory had been won in the great battle of the garden. If these dogs could high-five, I would have high-fived them right then, proud of their accomplishment. But I sure as heck wasn't going to allow them to lick me! Thus ends this chapter of the garden bunny saga.

Read All About It!

Oh yeah, our famous dog is on the shelves of every grocery store in the nation today! See his cute mug while hiking in the North Cascades (amazing) in Budget Travel's June issue, page 64! Woo hoo, we are proud parents:)

Food for Thought: CSA and Urban Sprawl

Today I read an awesome article about Dog Mountain Farm, a local place that supplies Canlis (one of Seattle's nicest restaurants) and other places. From May-September, for $75/person, they have a monthly dinner served by top chefs, on their farm. It's four hours long, with a tour of the property and wine pairings with the courses. That sounds so fun to me...

and it got me thinking whether or not I wanted to join a CSA for a half-share this spring-fall. I do want to grow our own vegetables, but I like the idea of supporting local organic farms too. We've been eating a lot more vegetables recently and both of us notice the difference we feel in health and energy. I know you readers are all around the country, but here's a shameless plug to check out Local Harvest, an awesome website that tells you about potential farms, farmer's markets, grocery stores and restaurants with locally grown produce. Not only is it healthy for you (read the NY Times article that's their top hit right now), but it also supports your community and healthy practices for our land.

I was reading a farm's website from my hometown in CA this evening and found this portion about urban sprawl to be disconcerting. Check this link out. Yikes.

Just some food for thought:)

Having Hubby Home

Soooo good. Our first weekend back together has been amazing. When he is gone, I am busy and “fine” (using that word makes me think of how Meredith/Cristina use it on Grey’s Anatomy- they’re always ‘fine’ though they are not…). But when Los is back, life is just so much sweeter. Better. I forget that until I can touch and smell him, but then I remember. Everything is better with him…
He flew in on Thursday and it’s the first time I have seen him fly a plane, that was cool! Our wonderful friends, the Pendleton’s (about to welcome a little Pendlebaby this week) took me and Burly out on the flight line as Los landed the plane. When they parked it and all the gear was off, Burly and I got a tour of it. It’s huge! Pretty cool to see what he does for a living for the first time☺
Thursday night we had dinner, and one of the high school seniors that Los loves, Matt, came over; then we went and played with our favorite friends, the Woods. Nick, the husband, is our area’s Young Life Director, and Lindsay is a teacher of middle school students. If we could live near them the rest of our lives we would. Pretty amazing people.
Friday we hung out in Anacortes (little town by us that’s the gateway to the San Juan Islands, which are fabulous). We went to lunch at Gere-a-deli, which is a popular spot, and we randomly saw 10 people we knew there! I don’t think I’ve ever seen that many people we know at a restaurant… Fun. We also went to our fave farm in Burlington, Sakuma Bros. www.sakumamarketstand.com and bought pumpkins and berries (since Los missed the plethora of berries this summer).
Then we relaxed before our big day yesterday. I had class in Seattle and Los chilled at one of our fave bakery/coffee shops, Macrina. (who made our wedding cake) Then we walked around Green Lake, went to dinner in Ballard, and to his Seattle Prep 10-year reunion until midnight. Full day.
Good weekend. So glad to have him home and to resume normalcy. We’ve been test-driving cars/researching them, we are hoping to buy something this week… Life is good.

Birthday weekend

Some times when everything goes wrong, everything is right; though far from what you expected. Los and I planned this fabulous weekend away on the Washington coast for my birthday; and a couple hours into our adventure everything fell apart. “Our” plan was interrupted shortly after we reached the middle of nowhere, because my car decided to break down…
I was devastated. I lamented to some poor office lady at a crusty, greasy automotive shop how it was my birthday, and my spring break from school, and how my husband had just come home from the Middle East and I had such high hopes for this weekend… I am embarrassed to admit now that I felt so sorry for myself, I could not stop crying, what a sob story! But what could she do? It was 5pm in the middle of nowhere, on a Friday afternoon. Shops everywhere were closing, and my Acura needed a part that was hours away.
This was bad news to me, the kind of person that loves to plan details. I have been called anal, OCD, you name it… and I’m okay with that. I like order, I don’t like surprises. So when Los said that our weekend was going to be great, because, “God’s plans are always better than plans we can conjure up,” I was skeptical. That lasted about 3 minutes.
Rather than stay in this one-stoplight town, we decided to leave my car and carry our stuff (including dog crate, can you say awkward!) to the county bus station, to head back to Port Angeles, an hour and a half away. Thus began the grand adventure…
We had scarcely taken our seats when a young man clad in black skulls and bones sat across from us. I was too self-absorbed in my world of pity to acknowledge or engage him, plus, he looked scary; so I’m lucky that Los (my better half in many ways) is more mature than I. He began chatting with this guy who had lived his whole life in this small town, Forks. He said how thankful he was and how lucky he felt to live somewhere so special (on the edge of National Parks/forest/ocean) and beautiful. He got off the bus a minute later, at the stop for his home. All I could see out the window was a big trailer park…
He was in our lives one minute, and out the next; but I don’t think I will ever forget him. Forks is one of those places that are all across America, you blink and you miss them. Compared to the port cities or lakes/rainforests around it, it was a run-down little blip on the map, nothing special about it at first glance. But this guy’s pride and thankfulness for his home jarred me, as I reflected on how I had just written it off as some God-forsaken place of destitution.
How often in our lives are we so set on our goals that we miss the lessons/people along the way; judging them (as I had) to be insignificant. Life isn’t just about getting from A to B, but about the process of change we hopefully go through as we journey toward our destination. In a sense then, the journey IS the destination. I pray that it doesn’t take another “break down” to realize that I need to stop and look around at the beauty everywhere and in everyone.
He immediately impacted my attitude, and I took advantage of enjoying the mystery that was going to unfold throughout my birthday weekend. Los and I got a great room on the ocean, had a great time walking around the cute downtown, at dinner, and running along the shore. We bought a sweet chandelier (to be cool like Chris/Megan!) that will be a memory of the weekend for us.
Saturday we rented a car and went to the Quinault Rain Forest at the recommendation of Budget Travel; that was awesome. Ruby Beach, above Kalaloch, was another gem of a place. We had a lot of hilarious and awkward moments (e.g. not being able to find anywhere nice to stay Saturday night, so going to Ross to buy pillows before staying at a motel, where we listened to/yelled at the couple above us who were, as they say, knocking-the-boots for what seemed like forever, down to joining the horde of gay men dancing to techno on the ferry for the ride home) that will make that weekend memorable for a long time to come. Yes, it’s true, Los is right; the best stories never come from things you planned, when I thought everything was going wrong, everything was as it should be.

When In Doubt, Trust Your Horse!

One of the most fun things we have done recently is go horseback riding in the Cascade Mountains just east of our house. One of my friends in Canada this summer said it's the best hiking area in the west, little did we know...

Right before the six of us took off, I went to the bathroom in a remodeled part of our friends' barn. Going in, I noticed a sign that said, "when in doubt, trust your horse." Hmmm, I thought, I wonder what that's all about? I soon found out.

We had been plodding up switchbacks on a fairly narrow trail for a couple of minutes, when we came to what felt like a 45-degree incline up a mountain on a 3-foot wide trail. Without warning, the six horses took off galloping up the tiny chute! I shrieked, out of fear, then my breath was taken away. I had no time for claustrophobia, I hung on to my reins for dear life. If I had fallen off, I would've tumbled down into a ravine 75 yards below, breaking all kinds of bones, if I made it out alive, that is...

After what seemed like an eternity (when in reality, it was maybe 8 seconds of galloping) we came to a much flatter and wider space. It took a while to catch my breath and leave my adrenalized state... We resumed walking, trotting and cantering along verdant paths that went into woods and along blackberry bushes, and occasional vistas. Soon I learned that the horses habits in narrow places were to get through them as quickly as possible, even if it meant scaring their riders to death. Once I could predict their behavior, I could at least prepare my heart for the terror to come, knowing it would be short lived.

It was awesome. I found myself in awe when we were all in a pristine Tolkien-esque forrest, untouched by humanity. The horses drank from the brook beneath their feet, and I took in all the smells, sights and sounds of nature's finest offering.

After about an hour more, we returned to the house, to brush/feed the horses, and down some beverages ourselves. When we drove home, I could not get the smile off my face. That was the most exhilirating experience I had had in a long time. Sheer fear (not being sure if I would be able to hang on to the horse/stay alive) combined with sheer joy (the beauty of the powerful animals and unadulterated nature), totally exhiliarting...

Most of our rides through life are the boring walking parts, unmemorable, one day from the next. But the galloping parts are always the defining moments, when we learn something about our mortality, or maybe that we are more brave than we'd previously thought. Maybe this is why Los and I love roller-coasters too, it evokes the thrill in our hearts as well. I never wanted to have a safe life, where everything was predictable. Those narrow chutes are the part I remember the most from that day. It's comforting to know that when we don't know what's going on in our lives, or if we can hang on, we can trust that "someone" else does. When in doubt, trust your horse.