Pogo

Pogo brings joy to our lives every day.  Especially in the mornings when we make the bed -- this is her second favorite time of the day. In case you were wondering, her first favorite time of day is meal time (as evidenced by her bulging belly).

Here she is happy to "help" make the bed.

She looks so innocent and pretty sometimes...

She loves the sunlight and will often find one ray of sunlight to sit or sprawl out in.  Thank goodness for skylights :)

 

Pogo also enjoys playing catch, when she is in the mood of course.

 

 

And she likes to clean.  Here she is catching the cob web hanging from our ceiling.

 

We love you, pretty girl!

Poo Poo Point Hike

It has been way too long since we ventured out for a hike.  Having a Monday off is a perfect time for a hike. We chose a local hike, 10 minutes from our house, to Poo Poo Point.  We had a hard time finding the trailhead so opted for the Chirico Trail instead which was about 1/2 the distance but just as steep so still a very good workout.  Pretty views await on this trail.

This is a popular place for hang-gliders...

We'll definitely be back to find the "real" trailhead :)

Take me out to the ballgame

We enjoyed a fun family outing the Saturday of Father's Day weekend to Safeco Field.  There was a charity softball game with folks like Edgar Martinez, Dan Wilson, Jay Buhner, Golden Tate, Slick Watts, etc playing.  The weather was nice which made it even more fun.  Ed was able to join us as well.  Here are some fun photos to commemorate the day.

Precious photo of pops (I guess I should call him gramps now, lol) and Eliana.  This was her first baseball game :)

It was a fun and relaxing game, for a good cause, and overall a good day to cherish our time together.  

Eliana

I am a bad auntie for not posting photos regularly of the most beautiful girl on the planet.  Here are some updated photos of the now 16 week old.

Mom bought her a jumper.  She looks so tiny in it.

Just chillin' on the tractor.

And laughing with Aunt Cynthia:

She loves eating her hands!

More pics to come...

I love my job!

One of the many reasons I love my job is because I am blessed with amazing co-workers.  Supportive, fun, hard-working and forward-thinking ladies.  Yes, ladies...we tried really hard to add a guy to the mix this year but I guess it wasn't meant to be.  Here we are celebrating Tonja and Matt:

And here we are at the end of the year BBQ.  Thanks to Kate and Joe for always filling our bellies full of amazing food :)

Speaking of work.  Guess who celebrated her 10 year anniversary as SU staff this year?  Wow!  What an amazing 10 years it has been.  Of course, it really doesn't feel like that long.  Here I am with Nadeje, my friend and colleague from Albers, who also celebrated her 10 years.  This was at the faculty and staff appreciation event, one of my favorite annual traditions.  I always dream of being the staff member who celebrates 30 or 40 years at SU some day.

I can honestly and truly say that I wouldn't be the same person I am today without Seattle University.  SU opened my eyes, allowed me to grow, inspired me to create a better life for myself and for the planet that I live on.  Thank you for that, SU, THANK YOU!

And just to walk down memory lane, a few pics of some of the best connections and lifelong friends that I have made at SU:

SU undergraduate commencement, June 2003 with Jen, Beth, Amy and I

Workstudy fun in the Office of the Registrar with some of my favorites (Abby, Karlie and Fischy)!

Home improvements

Where does time go?  Is it already June?!  Wow.  Well, I haven't posted pics of our home since March so I guess it is time to update you.  We are so very happy at home which is a lovely feeling.  As I type this, I am enjoying the peace and quiet of the backyard, listening to birds chirp and stretched out in one of Tyler's birthday presents: adirondack chairs.  

I'm pretty sure we will get a lot of use out of these chairs.

We are adding some furniture and decor to the home as well.  Our dining room now benefits from a buffet cabinet.

No home improvement project is complete without our construction forewoman, Ms. Pogo.

Forgive the inconsistent area of comparison in the next two photos.  You perhaps can't tell from the photos but our kitchen was in need of lighting adjustments.  The overhead lights were really bright and the counters/prep area were dark.  So my geeky handy man Tyler installed undercabinet lighting.

Before:

After:

What a lovely thing.

With decent weather, we have spent a lot of time cleaning up the "low maintenance" yard.  It has turned out to be fairly high maintenance but maybe only because I am having some OCD issues with weeds and the dreaded English Ivy which had taken over our backyard.  Here I am on one fine weekend day...just stuffin the yard waste bin :)

The yard has gone from a sea of ivy and dead leaves...

To a semi-presentable weeded landscape.  Some day we may add some beauty bark and figure out how to control bamboo but for now we'll take what we have time for.

In the front driveway, we had a hideous shrub that was way overgrown.  Tyler and his new best friend, the alligator lopper (also known as Cindy Lopper), took care of that.

Before:

After: You can now see our neighbors' beautiful landscape.

And last but not least, the room I am very excited about these days: the laundry room!

Before: dingy dirty light yellow paint.  Inefficient cabinetry and awkward space for the litter box.

BEFORE

AFTER:  beautiful pool blue paint, including freshly painted ceiling which by the way is a good workout :)  Under sink storage space that is much more efficient...

Custom litter box area and shelving...  (I love Elfa from Container Store)!

And broom, mop, iron and ironing board storage.

The last piece of this project will be new duct work to allow us to push the washer and dryer back closer to the wall, but that will have to wait for another day.

That's all for now.  We are looking forward to welcoming any and all visitors so let me know when you'd like to come by.