Definition

While Kurt and I were driving in the car the other day I asked out of nowhere:

"Oh my gosh...what is that stuff called?  You know, the fluffed up sugar"

Pause

"Cotton Candy?"

"YES!  Thanks"

Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater...

Or- don't throw out the bathwater at all.  Upon arriving at Lili's this morning I noticed the bathtub was filled with water and as Lili was still in bed this struck me as a bit odd.  When she woke up I asked, "Did you know your tub is full?"  Her response, "Yeah, I took a bath last night and was too tired to drain it out".  Oh Lili.  That does take a lot of energy. 

2 attempts + 2 failures = 1 hike

Two weekends ago we planned on hiking up to Stuart Lake- the trail head's near Leavenworth.  About a 2.5 hour drive.  So, we got all ready, drove out there- down this windy road and then up a windier, dirt/gravel road that was super scary.  Upon reaching our destination we saw a sign- you need a pass to hike there.  We didn't have one!  After looking at each other in annoyed shock for a few moments, Kurt and I got back in the car and started to drive home.  We stopped at one point and made our way down to the river, but this hardly counted as hiking.  Then we decided to walk around Leavenworth since we drove all the way out there, but it was PACKED.  Not only is it a popular place to visit, there was a car show going on and there was nowhere to park.  So we got some ice cream at the McDonald's drive through and continued home. 

This weekend we tried for another hike- Lake 22.  Great name, huh?  It's near Mt. Pilchuck.  Kurt stopped by REI to get us a pass.  We were set!  When we were about to the trail head (a 1 hour drive) Kurt asked, "you grabbed the pass, right?"  NO!  We forgot it again.  I couldn't believe it.  How could we do this 2 weekends in a row?  We decided to hike anyways.  I wrote a note, placed it on the dashboard and we started up the trail.  And I'm so glad we did!  It was an amazing hike!  There were lots of rocks to climb over which I love because it reminds me of the beaches at home and tons of little streams to cross.  There was this long section in the middle where it was completely open and you could actually see the view (in most Washington hikes you don't see anything except trees until reaching the top).  And then...there was snow!  Lots of it.  All melting, and icy, but snow!  We weren't really prepared for that.  Me in my tennis shoes and light jacket, Kurt in shorts!  And he fell through a couple times...cold!  But it was so worth it.  The lake was gorgeous!  Half frozen with snow on top and giant mountains behind it with waterfalls from the melting snow.  We even saw/heard a couple baby avalanches- they were super loud!  Unfortunately, I was so preoccupied with forgetting the pass I forgot to grab the camera.  The only pictures we have are from Kurt's phone.  We'll have to go back with a camera!  I did take pictures for another group of hikers though- and they were rather impressed!  Although, they were also a little drunk.  They offered me a beer in payment.  I declined...I feel like hiking on a mountain and alcohol don't mix that well. 

These pictures do NOT do Lake 22 justice!

P.S. We did not get a ticket- my guess is no ranger came by.

Long Day

When your day starts off on the wrong foot, it tends to feel extra long...but to make a story short- I got a speeding ticket on my way to work this morning.  Awesome.  The officer was nice though and didn't add an extra $550 for not having my current insurance card in the vehicle.  I know I was speeding, but the whole thing sucked and I felt bad, so what did I say after the officer handed me the ticket and told me to drive safe?  "Thank you".  Thanks for pulling me over and thanks for ticketing me.  I really appreciate it. 

Stuff on the Fridge

Wedding invitations!  All made by my sister Megan :)

Tracy and Tiny

 (Created at the Ogden Children's Museum)

Cards from Sofia!  I love her signature on that Valentine!

Pictures of Charlotte we've received in the mail.



What did I learn from this?  The Roth family dominates our fridge.  Even the drawings were made while with Megan and Charlotte :)

Nephews

Kurt and I babysat 3 of our nephews tonight for a couple hours.  Lucas has a stuffed husky that he loves (he kept hugging it and trust me when I say it was adorable!).  I asked him what the husky's name was. "Pup" he responded.  "You know, I have a stuffed dog too.  Know what I named him?" "What?" "Doggie".  Lucas paused, looked at me for a moment then asked, "What's his last name?"  Kids are hilarious!  I also impressed Ethan and Ammon with my Super Mario Brothers skills- I think it's the only video game I'm good at.  And for the record- I said Doggie's last name is Johnson :) 

Woohoo!

I have some good news from my weekly trip to A-town today- Ani got a job!  She'll be working at Office Max in Burlington (or is Mt. Vernon?).  Congratulations Ani!  I'm so excited for you!

Dreamland

Last night I had a dream that my sister Ashley and her husband Adam were getting married (maybe because their anniversary is coming up?).  The wedding was in this church with a whole bunch of pews packed in super tight so there was no knee room and magic flowers were floating all around.  I was sitting with my friend Jeanette and then I saw an old friend from high school!  He came and sat down next to us.  I asked him what was new.  His response, "Well, I have a baby!" And then he opened his jacket and pulled a baby out of a large pocket.  Dream me didn't think this was weird at all.  I just oooohh-ed and awwww-ed and asked to hold it (I'm not sure if it was a boy or girl).  Maybe coat pockets are the new baby backpacks?

I'm a genius!

At our apartment complex there is a pool and upon moving in we were given a key to get in to the pool.  That same key gets you in to the workout room which we've used several times, but whenever we tried to get in to the pool the key didn't work!  This really drove Kurt and I crazy, not because we wanted to use the pool (it just opened anyways), but because it should work!  Right?  Well, we decided to try again the other day.  Kurt put the key in the lock, turned it, nothing.  Then I noticed something....there's another key hole!  Kurt put the key in that one, turned it, and shabam!  Our key worked the whole time.  We were just using the wrong lock.  Whoops!

Wallace Falls

How do you make friends while hiking?  Wear these shoes:

And people will stop to ask about them.  At least 5 different people/groups asked Kurt about his shoes and that doesn't include everyone we caught staring!

We went to the top of the falls and it was a great hike! Here are some pictures along the way:

Journey Across the State

Last Saturday Kurt and I drove to Pasco, WA and back in one day!  On the way down we made a few stops:

Stop 1: Cle Elum
Apparently I forgot to take pictures.  We went to a bakery and a meat shop (gross) and were going to take a hike, but it was raining.

Stop 2: Ellensburg

We walked around "historic downtown".  In the bookshop I found an 1894 edition of Uncle Tom's Cabin!  See the bank/saloon sign?  Doesn't that seem like a bad combination?  Umm...hello cow man just chillin' on the bench.  And here comes the cavalry!  Or maybe it's a herd of cowboys...

Stop 3: Central Washington University (also in Ellensburg)

Kurt (right) gave the college a "C" grade.  It was a nice enough campus, but it felt soooo small and had a totally different vibe than UW.  See the middle picture?   That's the institute!  At first we thought it was a frat house because there was a group of guys grilling burgers in the yard, but then we noticed two of them were in suits with little name tags (aka missionaries) and took a second look.  Kurt then saw the sign on the building that said LDS Institute of Religion.  So, I stood behind a tree and took a picture :)  Very stealthy, huh? 

Stop 4: Yakima

We went to an orchard!  It was beautiful but I didn't get very good pictures.  There was an outhouse (see Kurt looking through?), a cute sign, and an old cider press!  We love cider.  There was a storm coming in too...

Stop 5: Pasco

Our friends Jon and Elisha got married!  Their reception was beautiful!  As was the bride.  I said this a couple weeks ago about Sarah wedding...but what's so great about friends getting married?  You get to catch up with other friends!  It was great seeing our old U2 ward members!  Afterwards I told Kurt- "It was fun hanging out with people...I forgot how funny we are".  Sad part of that statement- we don't have any "married friends" (that's a thing, right?).  Happy part- we still have friends!  Yay!  Congrats Jon and Elisha!  And I'm so excited you're moving to Bothell :) 

Extra Stop:  We arrived in Pasco about 1 hour early so we played catch in a nearby park (Kurt had the idea to bring along our baseball gloves).  My arm was sore the next day! 

We had a great trip!  I hope more friends get married so we can travel to their receptions!  (Sorry Stephen...Australia is too expensive for us!  But hey- 22 days!)