We're Back!

We just wanted to let you know we're back from our trip! We had a great time and saw many beautiful places...more to come after we sort through the 2500 photos!!! :)

Summer "Fun"

As you can tell, we kind of went on a blogging hiatus for a few months. We really haven't had a lot of "blog-worthy" adventures this summer...well, we have had 2, but obviously those lived up to their name, since they're, well, on the blog. :) Other than that, a few short day trips have been the extent of our summer. Not that I am complaining! We have enjoyed this summer, but it has been busy...mostly with people and books! ;) David has been quite busy training people, as our church started a Discipleship Program, and also helped launch a new campus of Mars Hill. Since this is what he feels called to do, it is a blessing that he has been able to spend most of his summer equipping leaders for the sake of the Gospel. David also started a Master's Degree level program at our church and I have been going through a biblical counseling training, so it definitely hasn't been a summer of relaxing on the beach...although we have been blessed to enjoy a few relaxing days on the water. It can be tempting to look back at this summer and feel like it was "wasted" because we didn't get to enjoy the warm weather as much as we would like...but as soon I think that, I realize this summer was far from wasted. It has been spent impacting people for Jesus, which is the furthest thing from a waste...in fact, it's the only thing that's not.

With that said, I will attempt to do a blogger "unload" of what memories we did make this summer. I've realized that if I don't transfer them onto blogger, the memories transfer from my mind into into the dark abyss of the hard drive :) So, if you care to read, make sure to keep scrolling down because I will probably may make separate posts in the next day or 2 to make things easier to find (I may back-date them to keep them in some sort of order).

#8

It may be hard to believe, but September 1st we celebrated our 8th Anniversary! We enjoyed a very nice night out, doing two things we really enjoy...eating good (cheap!) food and watching a beautiful sunset. We were talking about how crazy it is that it's been 8 years, and even crazier that this is our 3rd anniversary celebrated in Seattle! We are so thankful that Jesus brought us together, and that He has kept us together! He has definitely grown us both a lot this past year, and we are ever more
thankful to be serving Him together.

The happy, handsome husband.

Yum! Nothing beats happy hour prices. We practically ordered the whole menu for under $30!

The view from the bottom.

And the view from the top.

8 years...

The Lightrail...public transit or new date night?

This summer, Seattle unveiled it's new "state of the art" public transit system. Drumroll please...announcing The Lightrail! We decided that it might be fun to try it out for a date night excursion-- Take it till the end of the line, then grab dinner and go to a free concert at the Space Needle. See...it sounds more fun that you thought, huh? :)

We actually had to drive out of the way to get to the station, so we decided it's not very practical. And we discovered it takes at least twice the time to get downtown than driving by car, but hey, it's still a fun ride and very cheap entertainment (we're easily entertained obviously...but, we're not the only ones doing this for fun. My residents at work took a field trip to ride it too!).

Can you feel the excitement ?!

It looks so much like a big city rail system when you look at this picture...but, it's not.
But it's trying reeeaally hard. :)

Part of the rail goes underground, which was by far the coolest part.
They had all this crazy neon artwork up on the ceilings!

What?! You don't have any of these crawling up your ceiling?

We made it! Not that I was worried or anything...you can't really get lost on this thing.

Sometimes you get what you pay for...but
there was one band we enjoyed.

Lightrail date night complete!
Well, almost. We still had to take it the whole way back! Not quite as entertaining the second time around, but still a fun trip.

Fun on the water

We have been blessed with some wonderful friends who are such an encouragement to us...they even let us hang out with them on their boat from time to time!

The Blue Angels come to Seattle every summer, and this year we were able to watch them from Lake Washington, which is directly below their flight path.

My little friend...who is getting big fast!

Our dear friends and their adorable kids. (aren't they cute?!)

The boating version of a tail-gate party...a very tasty tail-gate party.

She posed like this all by herself. Our little Seattle starlet.

A beautiful sunset on the water.

Camping at the "beach"

The Parker-Pichura clan had originally decided to do a big camping trip in July, but with the arrival of our new nephews happening only a week before the planned trip, we made some changes. David's parents still went camping for 2 weeks, but the rest of the family shortened the time to a day or two...which was still plenty of craziness for all of us I think!! We really enjoy spending time with family, but I will say that 12 people trying to move in and out of one little pop-up camper can be a bit...challenging! We were so glad we were able to spend the day catching up with family, relaxing on the little "beach" at the campsite, playing with our nieces and nephews ..and then being able to drive back home. :) We are so very thankful for the blessing of a family that's close-knit and close-by (half of you anyways).

Samuel is quite the clever guy...he is always finding new uses for things lying around. He was using the hammer to pound sticks into the sand to surround his castle.

Titus "suiting up" for the water.

Kristin and Caleb...Caleb is kind of a clown when it comes to cameras...you either get a solemn stare or a goofy face.

The "relaxation station"...but they did all get
in the water eventually. :)

Faith enjoying a personal moment with her popsicle...which was melting faster than she could eat it.

Father and son.

Micah and I playing a game of horseshoes...somehow he always manages to beat me. :)

Grace enjoying the water.

The kids really enjoyed playing with Mom in the water.

Kristin had a special birthday this year...the big 3-0 on the 30th!

What a ham! :)

A July 4th Departure

We had a dilemma on July 4th...what should we do? We decided to celebrate our nation and see God's creation at the same time by traveling a few hours north, to Mount Baker.
This is one mountain that amazes me, because even though it's a few hours away, we can see it perfectly on a clear day, and it's always covered in snow...even in the heat of summer it's a mountain of white. It was amazing to get up close to it -- we hiked up a neighboring mountain to get an up-close glimpse at Baker's beauty. And yes, July 4th and snow don't usually go together, but up here, it seems the snow never melts! Don't be fooled by the snow though...it was about 80 degrees outside...and yours truly actually got a sunburn in the snow! (Yes, I DID put sunscreen on. Goes to show how much stronger the sun's rays are when you're on the side of a mountain.)
We drove the Mount Baker Highway, which had some amazing views, and then hiked the last few miles of road that were still covered in snow. By the time we were halfway up, I was wishing the snow was gone so we could just drive up...but, it was peaceful without the cars. The way back down was much more exciting...we simply used our backsides as sleds! We got soaked, but it was a fun, fast way down the mountain. :) These mountains are so amazing. We were again awed by the majesty and beauty of God's creation...and quite thankful for such a wonderful country that has preserved this land for us to enjoy. It's such a blessing to have this so close to home..we were back in Seattle in time for the fireworks! :)