spring + summer

Hello!  Sorry it has been so long since I have written something.  I guess that having a full time job will do that to a person :)  I have also been continuing to create, edit, and publish our monthly church newsletter, so I always have a bit of crunch time around the end of the month.  In the spring I finished up teaching Sunday School, which I will probably be doing again this fall because I enjoy it so much.  The summer has found me traveling quite a bit and having various weekend adventures.  See photos below for more of what's been going on these last few months!

Mylee cat comes to visit her "other family" quite often.  She entertains us with all her antics, including this sink shot:

My friend Emily from Lutheran Volunteer Corps (she was my buddy at Holy Family Lutheran School) came to visit those of us in Seattle in June before she left for Mali, Africa and two years in the Peace Corps.  We had really nice weather for her visit and walked all around the city doing things:

My good friend Alana from PLU moved into an apartment in Wallingford, a fun neighborhood in Seattle.  She has bought nearly all of her furnishings off Craigslist, including this table and stools I helped her pick up and haul in our Jetta wagon:

Next came not one but TWO trips to California!  Photo 1: one of many bbq's/meals outside at Papa and Grannan's house; Photos 2 & 3: visiting Grammie & Uncle John at the beach; Photo 4: checking out model trains at Granal & Granden's house.

At the end of July, Mom and I rode the Amtrak from Seattle to Portland to pick up Dad from his Seattle to Portland bike ride.  Holly had the car down there already, so she picked us up at the train station, which is where this photo is taken:

My friends Brandon and Kara from Lutheran Volunteer Corps are getting married this weekend at Kara's parents' farm in Carnation, a town about a half hour east of us out in the countryside.  A couple weeks ago they invited people to come out to the farm to make signs and otherwise help get things ready for their wedding.  I painted three signs, one of which I'm holding.  Here's the group:

Two weekends ago, Alana and I took a road trip across the state to Spokane, where I went to a PLU friend's wedding.  Afterwards we walked around Coeur d'Alene, the first time I've ever been to Idaho:

This past weekend set a few heat records for the Seattle area.  Mike was camping in Eastern Washington with friends and Mom and Dad were in Vancouver, BC, so Holly and I were home alone braving the hot weather.  Our fancy thermometer shows the temperature outside on top, and the temp inside below that:

Well that's a visual version of what I've been up to :)  With the fresh start of a new school year right around the corner, I plan to update this blog more!  ~Heather