Beautiful Washington

Paul and I spent 10 days at the beginning of August in Washington state, finally getting a chance to go up and visit my family as they moved up there last year in July. We had an absolutely amazing time and enjoyed their new home which they had only moved into one week before we got there. Here are some (ok, a lot) pics from our trip.

Shopping around in Poulsbo with Brenna for the day.

Paul and I in Poulsbo.

This is on the side of the road by my parents' house as you go over a bridge. My dad often sees Bald Eagles out there, but regardless of our effort to find one, there were none while we were there.

We went to Scenic Beach Park one day and took Wilma and Bogey, my parents' dogs.

The shells in Washington are way more fun than those in San Diego.

We found out that Bo loves the water, and that Wilma, well, still doesn't.

more cool oyster shells

This itty bitty crab had a smiley face on his back. :)

This deer is literally in someone's front yard next to a busy street.

A sunset view of the mountains from my parents' back porch. Yeah, they've got it rough up there in Washington.
more mountains

Paul and I went hiking in the Olympic National Forest one day. It was beautiful, even when it rained a bit.

These baby trees are growing out of the stump of another tree. I found this so exciting.

It's like Narnia!

more hiking

So, we found this can, and Paul picked it up to carry it out to a garbage can only to find this green slug enjoying it's shelter. Gross. It looked kind of like those slugs Ron pukes out in Harry Potter.

We went into Seattle on two different days, taking the ferry and seeing little more than some jellyfish and the occassional seal.

Oh how I love my sister.

I told you there were seals. We went kayaking another day in the water around my parents' house and saw tons more, which made these two guys seem pretty lame.

This is their brand new gorgeous home. They've been talking about it for years, and they finally built it. :)

The dogs love running the property and chasing their ball.

This is Bogey, Bo for short, or Boudini as he's also an escape artist. I finally got to meet him as my family got him after they moved up to Washington.

Bogey and Wilma (holding still just long enough to take her photo).

the front entrance

More of those beautiful mountains.

I like flowers.

Some goofy pics of Paul. Take 1....

Take 2....

and Take 3.

Paul and I, so happy to be enjoying family and vacation.

This little gem was inside the children's secion of the Elliot Bay Bookstore in Seattle.

The original Starbucks. The line was ridiculously long, and I only went in to use the bathroom, which unfortunately didn't exist.

Pike Place Market

Flowers at Pike Place Market

beautiful chilis Paul, Brenna and I

My parents

A view of the summer rain from their back porch.

Toward the end of the trip, all five of us went to the Olympic National Forest, only to another area. It was, without a doubt, another beautiful day.

see...beautiful

water? what's that stuff?

waterfalls....as if you couldn't tell

Checking out the (extremely cold) water.

We had a blast, and though by the end of the trip we were ready to go home, leaving family we were not. We fell in love with Washington and it's greenery, it's coffee shops, it's small town feel and it's natural beauty. Hopefully we'll be back soon Washington.

Fleas 1, Quinlivans 0

Sally has fleas. Fleas are not fun, nor are they funny.

Just ask Sally.

Once your cat has fleas you have to bathe them. Some words not to use when describing bathing a cat are smooth, quick, painless, effortless, or enjoyable. However, the picture below does a pretty fantastic job of explaining what goes on during a cat bath.

The battle continues. As the cat begins to further clean herself, you begin to vacuum, wash, and treat everything the cat has, might, or could touch in hopes of sucking up or killing every flea in every stage of the life cycle. Sadly, this is an impossible task. The cat has been Frontlined, there is Borax in the carpets, I've vacuumed more in the past few weeks than my yearly average, and the fleas are jumping with excitement over all the commotion.

I'm beginning to realize that I have a cat, and cats get fleas. There is only so much I can do other than to sell the cat or move. Even though Paul's vote is for the first of the two, they aren't actually options. Therefore, we have fleas.

The fleas have won their battle. I'm over it.

Republica Dominican

Last week I (Paul) had the amazing opportunity to travel to the Dominican Republic with a team of people from Rancho Bernardo Community Presbyterian Church. The trip which was technically a missions trip also served as an opportunity for our group leaders to show us some of the places and people they will be working with come November when they travel over there for missions. The trip which was a bit unorganized consisted of VBS, prision missions and a medical clinic. I'll let some of my pictures speak for the trip.