Tulips Galore!

Yesterday Craig and I went to the annual Tulip Festival. The Tulip Festival takes place during the entire month of April in Mount Vernon, WA (right outside of Anacortes). It consists of food, music, shops, and fields and fields of tulips. There were miles of the fields with all different colors of tulips. I have never seen so many flowers in one place. They were gorgeous. It looked like people were swimming in tulips. The tulip fields were in farmlands surrounded by mountains, grassy fields, and country roads. It is very picturesque. We also discovered some vineyards that make some nice wine. I tried taking some pictures of all the tulips but I'm not sure they do it justice. I attempted to get Craig to pose by the tulips, but having him kneeling down smelling the flowers didn't look too natural...so I've posted some more "manly" tulip pictures of him (I'm not sure "manly" and "tulips" really go together, but hey...I think he looks handsome!).
After the tulip festival, we decided to head back to Anacortes but we didn't want the nice sunny day to go to waste so we headed to the coast. The tide was really low so there were some neat tide pools. Every rock we lifted up we found tons of little rock crabs. It was kinda weird because they blend in really well so it looks like the ground is moving. We also saw some other interesting creatures like this bright orange sea anemone. While we were sitting there looking under the rocks a kayaker passed by and a little head popped out of the water about 10 feet from where we were sitting. It was a sea otter. It freaked me out and I jumped a little. The sea otter was following behind the kayaker. Shortly after, two sea otters came swimming by. One was trying to eat what looked like an eel. He was having a hard time swimming and eating it so he came to shore. We both stayed really still and he didn't see us so he sat there eating the eel. After that, we were watching a really colorful sailboat and we saw two dorsel fins going up and down. They were too small for to be killer whales. We are pretty sure they were some kind of porpise. I guess if you sit there and wait, you never know what you might see. I really wish I had my camera!

Off to See Mr. Baseball!

Last night I got back from Missoula, MT. Since my first day of work is April 28th, I figured I might as well head to Montana to see my family for a week. Because it was mid April when I left, I figured I wouldn't have any issues with the weather. Of course...this was a bad assumption. The drive to Montana consists of 3 mountain passes. On the way there, there was still a good 10 feet of snow on the side of the road on all 3 passes. Unbelievable! I got lucky that the roads were actually clear although it did snow and there was quite a bit of fog.

In any event, I'm glad I went, I had a wonderful time. There is nothing I'd rather do than spend time with my little brother, Wyatt (aka Mr. Baseball). I got lucky and landed my trip to Missoula on the same week that Wyatt had his very first baseball game. Now this isn't just a little league game to him. See, baseball is his passion, his main subject of any conversation (and I mean ANY conversation), his dream, his hobby, really...his favorite thing in the whole world. This kid can tell you any baseball stat, he can name any player on any team, he can tell you the history of each and every baseball card he owns (which could take a long time since he owns thousands), he can tell you pretty much anything you ever wanted to know about baseball. When watching his games (I actually got to see 3!) I couldn't help but be a proud sister. My brother is a stud on the field! Considering he is one of the smallest guys on the field, he sure can throw, catch, and bat! On his third game, he was up to bat and he nailed the ball and got on base...and later made it home! When playing catch with him, I have to ask him to take it easy on me...since his throws are so dang hard.

About to catch the ball

Getting ready to go up to bat

Batter Up!

Playing 2nd Base

While Wyatt was at school, my mom and I got to spend some time together as well. We hit up the antique mall, and went out to lunch. Overall the trip was a really good time and I know more about baseball than I did a week ago! ;)

Now you may ask what Craig was doing while I was away for a week. Of course he had to work, and if asked what else...he would simply respond with... "Yeah, I played a lot of XBOX." I think just about everytime I called he was playing XBOX :). All his XBOX buddies that he plays with online ...probably noticed pretty quickly that I must be out of town :). This morning Craig left for Salt Lake City for a training session until Friday night. This weekend we'll have more time together before the big week ahead...I start my job on Monday and we close on our house on Thursday! We can't wait to get our stuff out of storage and settle in!

Finally...video!

Let's see, the last time I blogged was Tuesday. That's a LONG time to go without blogging. I've been sooooooooooooo busy! Okay okay, I haven't but if I blogged everyday, I'd be letting everyone in on my secret...(I have A LOT of time on my hands!!) No worries, I'll be starting work on April 28th. I still have a couple more weeks of vacation :). I like to remind Craig every morning how busy of a day I have ahead of me catching up on all of my TV shows. Usually I have a ton of other things to do too...like taking a shower, getting dressed, and watching more TV. I know what you are all thinking....that sure is a lot to fit in one day, but don't worry, I'm taking it one day at a time and I'm making it through these tough times :).

Enough talking about my busy days and back to another hike. This time I figured I would capture some video of Deception Pass. It is really cool. It is an ocean that flows under a bridge. Here is some video of of the place. Craig is watching nervously as he thinks I am somewhat of a clutz... hehe.

Ouch!

Who would have ever thought a stubbed toe could hurt so much!?!?! Yesterday when Craig got home, I got up off the couch to open the door for him. As I got up my toe nailed the edge of the table. Now, I've stubbed my toes before, plenty of times, but this was more than a stub. It was more like a jam. I made it to the door holding one foot and hopping in circles on the other. Craig walked in and couldn't stop laughing as he thought I was doing a welcome home dance of some sort. The pain didn't subside for several hours at which time I was brave enough to take off my sock. Underneath was a big black and blue toe. It still moves, so I didn't break it, but whoooo wee it was painful.

Later that night, maverick decided to follow in my footsteps. He was outside and I was waiting at the sliding glass door to let him back in. I had the door closed since it was a little chilly outside. Once Maverick was ready to come in, he bolted towards the door at full yorkie speed and I didn't have enough time to open the door. He ran full speed into the glass door. He didn't realize the door was still closed. All Craig could hear from the living room was a big THUNK! I couldn't help but laugh, it was seriously funny, but man that had to hurt! This dog, I tell ya. At least it didn't result in a vet visit.

All in a weekend...

This weekend was very busy. On Friday, I had some good news role in. The Naval Air Station called and offered me a position as a Project Manager. Of course I accepted, so I am at last employed once again...by the federal government. :). I think I'll enjoy the job and learn a lot. I'm not sure I'm ready to start getting up early again...I'm enjoying getting lots of sleep! The location is perfect. Both Craig and I will be working within 20 minutes of where we live which is a huge change for us. My commute is really cool going through a state park. I am sure that in the summer it can get pretty busy however. On Friday night, Craig's boss invited us over for dinner which was a lot of fun. It was good to meet his boss and his family. They are extremely nice people and we really enjoyed spending the evening with them. They also gave us some great advice. They told us to go get a trail map before we go on any hikes in Anacortes since it is really easy to get lost...this would prove to be true later in the weekend.

On Saturday, we put in an offer for a house. We really hope we get the house. It has absolutely everything we want in a house...including storage, and the price is right. Hopefully we find out today or tomorrow if we got it.

Saturday afternoon and Sunday evening we went on a couple of hikes a few minutes from where we live. We remembered the advice to get a trail map first which we were so glad we did. Once you enter the forests here, the trails can get really confusing. With Craig navigating and Maverick and I in tow, we had an excellent time exploring the Anacortes forests. There are no predators on the island so you can hike without the fear of surprising a grizzly bear or mountain lion. It sure is good exercise though. Some of the trails are pretty steep. It would be fun to go horseback riding on the trails.

Notice how Maverick stays close by...he's scared of those eagles!

Craig is leading us through the forest

All and all, a great and busy weekend!

Mount Erie

Yesterday I went on a drive up Mount Erie. Once I got to the top, you could see all the way into Canada. I saw a couple of bald eagles flying around up there as well. Maverick is scared of the eagles. I don't blame him...they are HUGE!

Backyard Camping

Last night, we didn't know what to do for dinner so we thought we would get creative. There is a fire pit in our backyard (in the house we are renting). We thought it would be fun to roast some hotdogs outside. Originally we thought that the stack of logs in the backyard may be dry enough. After waiting for the not so dry logs to start burning, we decided to run to Safeway to buy some wood. The wood was nice and dry and made for a great campfire. Having a campfire in your backyard is kinda weird, but lots of fun.