Honeymoon Baby

Yesterday we had a package waiting on our doorstep. I was rushing off to work and nearly tripped over it as I headed out the door. I pushed it inside and before closing the door I glanced at the from label. It was from Melissa! Hmm...what could she be sending us? My mind was quickly filled with possibilities...was it one of Doug's childhood toys found during her move or was it something she picked up in her new stomping grounds (aka Texas), could it be mail she was forwarding on to us? My mind quickly turned to other things as drove on toward work...like how much gas is left in the tank when the gas gauge reads empty?

It wasn't until I got home from work that night and saw the pint sized bundle of sweetness sitting on our kitchen counter that I thought about the package again.


This little guy is the product of a Maui Gold pineapple top that was lovingly planted by Melissa. The Maui Gold pineapple was shipped from Wenatchee to Atlanta 4 years ago after Doug and I picked it up from a little fruit shop in Lahaina Haiwii...on our honeymoon.

Finally, a picture on the wall

The title pretty much sums it up. Doug has wanted something to fill the empty walls for some time now, but I didn't just want it to be anything. So, when we found a store with lots of picture options, we stood there until we agreed on something. I like it a lot, and I think Doug likes it because it is something on the wall.


About a week later we went to a store closing sale and found curtains for our bedroom. And since September has been unusually sunny (especially compared to the rest of the summer) it will be nice to have our new curtains up to block out the early rays of light.


*hmm, just read this blog over, and thought to myself "boring!" I really do hope that I can blog about something more insightful or exciting next time. Unfortunately, I really can't guarantee that.

Need more chairs

Yesterday was Labor day, and I had the fortune of NOT having to go into work. Unlike most in the working world, I don't just get holidays off, it depends on how my schedule falls. Luckily Labor day fell on my day off, so we decided it would be great to invite some friends over for food, fun and conversation. It was kind of last minute, so we weren't at all surprised when only two of the couples could make it. I set the table for six using the computer desk chair as the final seat around the table. I had my menu set: appetizer was pita chips and spinach dip, main dish was spaghetti with side salad and garlic bread, dessert was coffee ice cream with chocolate sauce and toasted almonds on top. Guests had arrived, the evening had begun. Then, a phone call...couple number 3 were able to come, was the invitation still open? OF COURSE!!! There was food a plenty, conversation and fun to spare...but what were we lacking? a chair!! (or two in this case ;0)) We managed. Doug stood for his salad course as he was almost done eating anyway, and I remembered my kitchen step stool which worked nicely as a make shift chair.

After dinner the guys played board games while the girls chatted then picked a girlly movie to enjoy. We had a blast...hope we can do it again sometime soon!

P.S. For those of you who read my last post and had no idea what belay certified means, let me enlighten you. To get belay certified you have to take a test that shows that you can safely handle the rope that is attached to the person climbing. The belayer is the person standing at the bottom of the rock taking up slack so that if the climber falls, they won't fall far. It is an important job, so therefore requires proper technique, hence the test and certification process.

August

I have not been very diligent this month. There were several times when I thought to myself "hmm that is blog worthy" yet none of those thoughts made it to the keyboard. So I guess I will just sum it all up in one post.

We began the month with a celebration of mom and dad's birthdays. Ok, so we were just visiting on a weekend near their birthdays (probably in July) and decided to bring their gift over then. But none the less, we had fun.



A short time later (probably two weeks as that is how often I have weekends off) we headed down to Astoria to catch a glimpse of Alex, Riann and the kids. We had a blast introducing them to hematite, and ended the evening introducing them (including mom and dad) to Settlers of Catan. The traffic on the way home was a bear, but it was totally worth it!



Again, two weeks later, we enjoyed a weekend catching up with friends. We spent Saturday afternoon with the Beggs, then Sunday we joined the Beggs and the Steiners to attend the wedding of a new couple at church. The wedding was held at the top of the Smith Tower in the Chinese room. Even though it was pouring down rain, the wedding (and the view) was spectacular. And just as a side note, the elevators in the Smith Tower are extremely old (the building was built in 1914), and you can definitely feel their age as you ride up (and down I suppose ;0)) There is a metal fence type thing that closes, and as you ride, you see each of the floors go by.



And to end this month, we celebrated 4 years of marriage Doug and Erika style. Instead of a more traditional dinner out etc, we opted to go climbing at the climbing gym. And as a surprise for Doug, I got belay certified without him knowing, and presented my belay card to him before we left for the gym (he really was surprised, and for those of you who don't know me...it was a BIG deal). And just so you don't think we are completely crazy, we are going out to dinner tonight to celebrate :0).

Other news worthy tidbits: Melissa moved to Texas this month to be with Dorothy. We were able to Skype K and J a few times. And Doug's wooden moose lost a leg.

Spontaneity

We had no plans for the weekend. We had thought about it all week..."what are we going to do this weekend?" Well, after an uneventful, lazy Saturday morning, we decided to be spontaneous. We walked to downtown Redmond, then hopped on a bus to downtown Seattle. From there, we hiked down to the waterfront, and caught a ferry to Bainbridge Island. After hoofing it around Bainbridge for a while, we were ravishingly hungry, not to mention a bit overheated (it was mid 80's on this lovely cloudless day). We popped into a small cafe, and made the mistake of being seated prior to looking at a menu. It was a yummy meal, but we walked away with a weeks worth of food budget out of our pockets...Ouch! (Did I mention we have suddenly become a frugal couple?) We walked back to the ferry docks just in time to walk on the 7:10pm ferry back to Seattle. After a hike back up to the bus stop, we hopped back on the bus headed home. We made one last spontaneous stop getting off a couple stops early to grab a blizzard a DQ for the warm walk home (hey, we already blew our budget...what's a few more bucks!?!). Ah, a very nice day!


A token picture taken just for the purpose of posting on this blog (i.e. proof)

Not this time

Well, turns out that the home owners accepted the other offer (they had three, of the three, two were good (ours was one of the good ones, but I guess not good enough)). They wanted to keep us as a back up, but we didn't want to be kept on the hook, so we just said "no thanks." It is a little disappointing, but we have been praying that God's will be done, so we are content to keep our eyes and ears open so we can continue to follow His lead. I guess the only sad part is that Doug put his car up for sale so we would have extra cash for the purchase of the home, and today he has to deliver it to its new owner. Again we are praying that God's will be done, so maybe this is all part of our Creator's grand plan. Doug says "when you pray for open doors, the open doors don't always lead where you expect them to go."

Birthdays, 4th of July and more

Time sure flies when you are having fun! June flew by with our cruise, then a visit from Atlanta friend David, then a week long celebration of me getting old. Woot! I actually worked on my birthday, but I brought in cupcakes to celebrate. The real celebration took place at mom and dad's where we splashed in the kiddy pool, ate out at the Wok About Grill, then came home to homemade cheesecake with fresh picked raspberries...YUM!!


Then July snuck up on us. Johnny got older too (Happy birthday from afar!). We celebrated the 4th of July with friends at their house on the lake and enjoyed good food and lots of fireworks (so many that it was nearly 11:30pm by the time they got to the "big ones").

The Thursday before the 4th, we peeked at some houses, and to our surprise, we actually liked them. Our favorite one was an older home with tons of squarefootage (K and J...I think we would have more than enough space for you to stay on furlough). So, today, with stomach(s) churning, we put in an offer. We won't hear back until Friday as the owner is out of town at the moment, so until then just know that we will be on pins and needles.