Saturday morning in the park

The SU Young Alumni crew teamed up with EarthCorps in a park cleanup effort Saturday morning. Thank goodness for Fisch, Lindsey, Nibitu, and Allie...very entertaining partners in this not-so-fun project!



The task: remove non-native ivy and blackberry plants from Dr. Jose Rizal park.


President Fischer did an excellent job of setting the vision for the day and providing supervision for each task!

What a beautiful view, eh?

Twin Falls

You may be aware that I don't like hiking. I do, however, like beautiful scenery, photography, and feeling good about exercise. Tyler suggested a hike to Twin Falls, near North Bend. I agreed and was pleasantly surprised. That doesn't mean I didn't complain about the hundreds of stairs and steep hills that we climbed ;) Or, freak out at the snakes that we saw. Yes, snakes! I suppose it was better than bears or cougars. I particularly wish I would have video'd the first part of the trip when I was going on and on about how beautiful and relaxed the hike was and how much better than going to the gym it was. Then, I look up only to find the first of many steep hills to climb. Good thing there was never a shortage of beautiful scenery. Overall, it was a pleasant experience, especially once I caught my breath!

I figured out how to add slideshows so I hope you enjoy my photos. For those of you who want to check out this hike, click here. I am a bit offended at this site which calls the hike an easy, late afternoon hike. I guess I have a ways to go before I become an avid hiker.

Pumpkin carving fest 2008

Myles and Michelle hosted our second annual pumpkin carving festival on Saturday evening. The fun began with a very tasty fondue dinner. We worked diligently on our pumpkins, were entertained by Myles' cat Jasper, played/listened to some guitar, ate sundaes, watched Saturday Night Live, and of course, I took pictures!

Wine, continued

I just love this sign! :)


We visited 8 wineries in total. I love that each one of them had unique character. Plus, supporting the local small business economy felt good.



Interestingly enough, the winery with the most beautiful tasting room and picnic area had the most blah wine. Goes to show, looks aren't everything! I must admit, we and the duckies are pretty cute here...loving the peacefulness and beautiful scenery.







On our way out of town, we visited the Yakima Arboretum. Very pretty.



The farmers market was another fun stop -- we picked up HoneyCrisp apples and fresh 7 grain bread. Fun, fun times :)

Washington Wine Country

I've heard a lot of great things about Washington's wine country but never really explored it. Tyler and I headed over to the Yakima Valley on Saturday, loving the beautiful fall scenic drive. The pass was cool and crisp and we loved the mountain views.






I am a big fan of the Oxford Suites and particularly loved the welcome sign and river trail behind the hotel.







Let's not forget the two free glasses of wine at the evening reception, we were happy campers here!



I of course took tons of pictures to inagurate my new camera on its first vacation. One of the main reasons why we chose this weekend to go was the Two Mountain Winery's Winemaker For A Day Tour. The winery is owned and operated by two brothers. We spent an hour in the vineyard with one brother who educated us on the process of growing grapes and the history of the winery and region. We picked grapes, tasted them whole, smashed them into juice, drank the juice, measured the acidity, and all kinds of other stuff. Loved the hands on nature of the day!





The next hour was spent with the other brother tasting grapes and wine throughout the process, punching the grapes down, taking the temperature, etc.


It was a great way to be educated and entertained :)

To be continued...

Focus on the positive...

I read this today while starting a 360 degree feedback survey. I found it to be a very insightful comment on affecting positive change…

There are two commonly accepted methods for change: focus on what is wrong and do less of it or focus on what is right and do more of it. Many are surprised to find that the latter has been demonstrated to be significantly more effective. In a classic illustration of this principle, a videotaped experiment was performed with two similarly skilled bowling teams. For team one, researchers edited out all of the mistakes and showed the team a film of everything they had done right. For team two, researchers edited out everything done right and used the more traditional training method of showing mistakes and strategizing how to correct them. While both teams improved, the team seeing what they did right had 100% greater improvement than the team shown only its mistakes*.

*This survey and related research references were sourced from An Appreciative 360 degree Feedback by Neil Samuels. It is based on the work of David Cooperrider.

Very interesting, I must say!

*Go Wildcats!*

CWU proved victorious once again in the 6th annual Battle in Seattle: Central Washington University 50, Western Washington University, 28.

Despite a score that looks like a blowout, it was a competitive and, of course, exciting game! I love that it is held at Qwest Field and what a perfect evening for it.

I particularly loved the new signs posted on the backs of seats in the stadium:

The marching band and mascot fight:


Here are Garin, Tyler and I all bundled up!

Yay for the return of football season :)

much needed Brewers night

The Brewers headed to the East side for the Redhook Double Black re-release party. Although I had not tasted the original, nor do I typically enjoy stouts, I was excited for the night. Turns out, it was ABSOLUTELY delicious! And, made with Lighthouse coffee. What a perfect pair! It was a fun and much needed Brewers night! Loved the beer, loved the quality friend time :)