The newest member of the Quinlivan Clan!

 This is our newest pet - Theodore (after my personal favorite, Dr. Seuss). 

 I kind of think he's beautiful.

Whidbey Island

Last weekend we had the chance to get away.  A little drive and a short ferry ride later, we were on Whidbey Island.  It may have been windy at first, but we spent time with good friends relaxing in a gorgeous house and hiked around with three crazy dogs.  

This is Baylis.  He is a beautiful and sweet yet quite large Labradoodle.  Driving with him and Sa'sa in a Civic was an adventure in and of itself.

Thanks Baylis for being my pillow. :)

Sa'sa was a bit confused as to why Baylis felt he could sit in her favorite spot in the car - right between Paul and I.

It was definitely windy but still beautiful.  The ocean always feel like home, even when it's cold.  I don't even have to ask Paul if he feels the same.  This is him running not even five minutes after getting out of the car.

Sa'sa truly loves Baylis.

The clouds and wind may have forced us to bundle up but it made for some really awesome photos.

Sorry for the lack of faces.  It was windy and cold.  Lindy and Dean were gracious to invite us to Whidbey.  Lindy occasionally gets the chance through her work to stay in a beautiful home on the island .

 Baylis has a future in modeling.

The lighthouse - I really would love to stay in a lighthouse sometime.  With all the windows and the view, I'm sure it would be amazing.

We stayed on Fort Casey which was built by the Army to protect the Pugent Sound.  It was really fun to walk around and see all the building and bunkers.  Paul was more adventurous, climbing through dark tunnels.  All I could think of was a nightmarish scene from the movie 'I am Legend,' and I was not going in.

Baylis and his brother - Juan Carlos.

Of course, there is Sa'sa.  I know Paul is going to see this blog and say, "Alyssa, there are too many pictures of the dog on here."  Well, we were with friends that will definitely appreciate all the dog pictures.  Plus, I hate to break it to you Paul, but the dogs are way cuter than we are.

Washington beaches are still beautiful.

Hey look! I really was there.

Juanca - the first little dog I have ever loved.  He definitely has attitude and a Spanish accent.

Seriously best friends.  It's weird.

The ocean was beautiful the second day we were there.  We stood and watched for seals popping out of the water for quite some time.

More hiking with the dogs.

A beautiful tree

Baylis modeling some more.  I love this picture.  It reminds me of a fairy tale.

This is the amazing house we stayed in.  It was beautiful and old and huge.  We loved it.

 We came home from a hike to see three deer in the front yard.  These are the two babies - mama was close by.

On our way out we stopped for lunch at a soup and sandwich place.  After a windy Saturday, Sunday proved to be perfect.

Thank you Lindy and Dean for inviting us for a wonderful weekend getaway.  We needed it, Sa'sa needed it, and it was great to spend more time with you two...err, four?  

Been Back for a Year

As of today we have officially been back in the US of A for one year. We have spent the same amount of time back as we had spent in Guyana. It has been a strange, exciting and trying time, but we know that much good will come of our transition and our new life in Seattle.. Thanks through following and supporting us through it all.

The Big Snow

Seattle got some serious snow, by Seattle standards that is.  We opened the curtains one morning to lie in bed and watch it fall.  We drank hot chocolate, snuggled under blankets, read books, and periodically checked to see how much more snow there was on the ground.  Soon we felt as though we'd stepped into Narnia.

We discovered that even a dog from the rainforests of Guyana can enjoy the snow.  I'm pretty sure Sa'sa thought the snow in the backyard had fallen just for her as it took some effort to bring her back inside.  Eventually the streets were covered and families were sledding down the hills and cross country skiing to the grocery store.  We let Sa'sa run without a leash through the snow while we threw snowballs, made snow angels, and stood in awe of how beautifully transformed our neighborhood had become in just a few hours.

 Yes, Paul is missing a tooth.  He lost it in a bicycle accident in September and doesn't always wear the retainer with the fake one. :)

 Sa'sa is so ready for us to follow her.  She really did look like a wild dog in the snow.

 The high school soccer field was deserted and beautiful.

 One of my favorites games was trying to get Sa'sa to catch snowballs.  She was so confused when they hit the ground and disappeared.

 Sa'sa eats snow.  

 Sa'sa digs at snow.

She also makes yellow snow, but I don't have a picture of that last one.

 See!  Narnia!

I shot this one while stuck in traffic on the way to Brenna's wedding.  Cable lines had fallen on the freeway so we were stuck for a good half hour.  The view was worth it.

Last one of the dog.  I swear.

Paul spent a lot of time curled up on the couch studying for class. Sa'sa didn't mind.

Twenty Eleven in Review

2011 absolutely flew by.  We've almost been home from Guyana a year and can't believe it's been that long.  The memories are still fresh in our minds and we talk about the village often.  It's in our dreams.  It's on our walls and our bookshelf.  It's in everything we do.  We remind one another about certain people or things that happened, or things we missed.  Rarely do the reasons we left come up in conversation.  We only seem to remember and reminisce on the good.  

As our friends still there prepare to finish their two years of service, we've found ourselves asking "What do we have to show for the last year?"  While it may not be as "glorious" as the Peace Corps (if you could ever use that term to describe it), I decided to recap 2011 to remind us what we have done.  When we play over the last year it looks something like this:

We had  a blast building relationships with people in the village and seeing nature in it's most beautiful form. 

 

We took a much needed vacation in Barbados with dear friends.

Our first (and only) visitor came from the USA to see the village.

We celebrated one year in the Peace Corps with some of our closest PC buddies, then left.

We moved in with my parents, lived in a beautiful home, and went on a lot of hikes to kill time. 

We road tripped to San Diego, saw friends, saw Laura graduate college, then went to Hawaii with the Q's.

We worked a summer at a local camp.

We moved to the city, Paul started grad school, I found a job, and we started making friends in the area.

We spent our first Christmas with the Richters since we've been married.

My sister and her fiance were able to spend Christmas with us all too!

We finally met my uncle's wife.

And then it was 2012.

Seriously, where did the time go????