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Last weekend, Phil and I went across the Puget Sound to stay at a bed & breakfast for my birthday. Although my birthday was on Friday, we decided to leave on Saturday morning to avoid the crazy ferry lines. Kingston was very pretty. It’s amazing how one can enjoy a short ferry ride then suddenly find oneself in a totally different world. Instead of Starbucks and highways, we found independent coffee shops and country roads. Rather than passing large grocery chains and car dealerships, we were greeted by specialty shops that carried antiques and quilts. Everything felt much slower-paced.

Our bed & breakfast was beautiful. It was surrounded by acres of farming area that had cows, horses, dogs, peacocks, and an occasional raccoon!

It was called “The Phoenix,” and it had a very interesting history. Phil really enjoyed the grounds surrounding the home and took some really amazing photos.

This one was taken in the front yard on our first evening.

The horses

One of the cows

We also went to Poulsbo, located about 10 miles to the south. We were shocked to find the city so enraptured by its Norwegian roots! Everything was Viking-themed. The streets were even named after the kings of Norway; for instance, we saw King Olaf V Vei (I’m guessing that Vei means “street” in Norwegian).

Down by the marina, there were a lot of little shops and places to go walking. We visited Boehms Chocolate Shop where we were able to see one of our friends from SoCal, Natalie, who now works there. We also found a cute boardwalk where we were able to get some cool pictures.

It was a wonderful birthday weekend. In closing, here is a picture of the three of us!

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We have weather in Washington. It’s great. You never know what to expect so you always have an umbrella in the car, an extra layer of clothes ready to go, and a good cup of coffee to help you enjoy it. So far, the weather hasn’t been to unpredictable. Sure, we’ve had our moments where we aren’t able to go outside when visiting with people, but it wasn’t surprising. Last night though, as a result of the worst wind storm of the year, we had our first black-out.

The power went out around 5pm just as I was thinking about making dinner. Since EVERYTHING in our apartment is electrical, including our oven and stove, it made dinner quite the impossible task. After ensuring that all of our computers were properly shut-off, I decided to meet Phil at Northgate Mall since that is an easy place for him to get to. He told me to meet him at “That Kitchen Shop,” and I was pleasantly surprised to see him buying my birthday present - An Espresso Machine. It’s wonderful.

After a quick meal at the food court, we went home, hoping that our lights would be working. No such luck. Instead, we decided to carve our pumpkin! We wanted it to look more fall-ish so we carefully drew some vines and leaves on our pumpkin (and when I say “we” did the artwork, I really mean Phil).

You can tell how dark it really was. Once we got all the gunk out of the pumpkin and skillfully carved it, we had a beautiful pumpkin. It even looked nice when we saw it this morning in the light!

Here’s our finished product! Ain’t it pretty!

The lights finally came back on around 10pm. Not very helpful when you are already in bed, but very nice to think that you can use your new espresso maker the next day!

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Sooo… it’s been what? A couple of months since we’ve posted anything? Well, a lot has happened, so I suppose we should let you know what’s been going on! To begin with, we have been really busy getting ready for Noah to grace us with his presence. Over Labor Day weekend, Phil and I went back down to California for a baby shower. Nostalgia really kicked in. We were able to see a lot of friends and family again, went to our old church, and attended the baby shower in our old apartment complex. Kelly and Katie put together the shower, and it was beautiful. Lots of fun decorations and great food. Too bad they couldn’t organize the weather. It was incredibly hot that weekend—I guess SoCal’s weather was in the news all over the country! Other than that, we had a lovely time. We were thrilled to spend that time with them.

Between all the things that we got at the shower (thanks everyone) and the shopping I’ve done for him via garage sales and other such places, and I think we are just about ready to have this baby. Our theme has somewhat changed from a nautical theme to a transportation theme to include trucks, trains, planes, etc. Noah’s got a very cute side of our bedroom that we are still decorating.

We are still enjoying our church, and Noah loves the pastor. Every time he preaches, Noah goes crazy inside the womb. He won’t be still at all throughout the sermon. As one might imagine, it is sometimes difficult for me to concentrate! I just started going to a “Pray and Play” group that some women from the church invited me to. It’s nice to learn what life will be like in just a few short months from women who are more experienced than I.

We also got a new car. It’s a 2004 Toyota Matrix, and it will fit the baby! We traded in our little Saturn, but we are both excited about the new car. It’s an automatic, got plenty of cargo and back seat room, and is still handles very well.

We also had a couple of visits from our parents. Phil’s mom came the first weekend in October. Unfortunately, it rained a lot so we were forced to spend a lot of time in malls, but we had some quality time with her none-the-less. My parents came the following weekend and we had a little better weather. We went to Green Lake and to Pike Place Market since they had never been to either before.

We also had a sad moment this week. Our rat, Jill, died of a tumor. We are going to miss her. In closing, here is one of our favorite pictures of her…

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