I Love Hiking

So lately, I've been been doing a little bit of hiking. Which I LOVE, one of my favorite past time, which will also continue through this weekend. Since Shad and I are going to Seattle and Mt Rainier with some friends for some fun times! I'm so so so excited for this weekend. But here is a little update on the hiking fun I've been doing lately. Last Saturday our friends Doug and Marilyn invited us to go up to Dishman Hills to do some warm-up hiking to prep for Rainier...gladly we accepted. Since the last trip to Dishman ended in a sprained ankle. Luckily this time is was pain free, and we finished the loop! Hooray. Then being the spoiled kids we are, they made us delicious dinner afterwards. It was pretty awesome.

Yay for Friends!

Here is Shad at his Best:

Our little tree friend, it was just so cute.

Then on Tuesday for YW activity the girls had their pre-camp certification hike. And I happened to have the day off and gladly signed up for it. However, little did I know that the priesthood planned this one out and wanted to take us up to the place the boys went last time. It was 5 miles of CRAZY! It was straight UP the entire way, and straight DOWN coming back. (very hard on the knees!!) None, and I mean NONE of it was level! It was pretty intense, and I am hurting REALLY bad from that one. But I'm proud of myself for doing it mostly without complaint! However, the view was AMAZING and well worth the trek up. Maybe, just maybe, I will have to take Shad up there, it was pretty incredible. But here are some pics of my recent hiking adventures! With plenty more to come I'm sure from this upcoming weekend!! Three-day weekend... here we come!! WHOOP!

This really doesn't show how steep it was:

The View: Amazing!
It really makes me like this Spokane area a lot more.
The girls, that's right Elevation 5635 Ft!! And yes, it was FREEZING.

Mariners Game, and Other Fun Times

So last weekend Shad and I decided to drive over to the west side, and visit with some  friends and family. We figured since we didn't head over there for Memorial Day, we would make up for it. Also, we wanted to celebrate Shad getting his grades last Friday, and DOING AWESOME!! He jumped up in his class ranking to the top 11 or 12%, and he raised his GPA for the year. Which definately means more scholorship, and it means I married a GENIUS!! I'm beaming with pride! (Now he working on Law Review... will he ever catch a break!!) So Friday night we arrived in Auburn, and immediately we out to dinner as a family ... mainly because I called my mom ahead of time and told her the awesome news of Shad, and we wanted to surprise him and celebrate. We went out to the Rock, a local fancy pizza place in Auburn that Shad has been wanting to try out, and then joined together for root beer floats afterwards!! Shad was surprised to have the night attributed to him! Good way to start the weekend. So then on Saturday we decided that we really wanted to go to a Mariners Game, Shad especially was inching to go, so we went and bought our tickets just minutes before the game, and bought lots of expensive popcorn, hot dogs, and garlic fries!! It was a fun game because first of all the Mariners won!! Second, it was Latin American Day at Safeco field, and all the boards were in Spanish!! So every time Ichiro or Griffey got a hit, the board would light up with "FANTASTICO!" or "EXCELLENTE!" or my personal favorite "Ichiro en Fuego!" Then later after the game we were able to go and visit Heidi and Steven, Shad's older sister and brother-in-law, and spend a wonderful evening with them just chatting and catching up.

Then Sunday came, and we went to my home ward, which is always fun to see familiar faces and friends. Then on the way home we stopped in Issaquah to visit Shad's good friend Travis, and his family for a excellent Sunday BBQ dinner. It was so fun to see them and meet thier newest addition to the family. Who isn't so little anymore... but totally adorable! It was a wonderful weekend, and we were happy to see lots of family and friends. We are planning another trip over there with some friends again later this month, because we just can't get enough!! I LOVE my Auburn/Seattle! And its so great to live close by where we can just take a weekend road trip over whenever possible!

"FANTASTICO!" 

My Favorite City, Seattle

You can see here the Mexican dancers on the field prior to the game! Hooray for Latin American Day... the Day for my people! Hehe

Here is little Livian with Mom... All smiles and so cute!! 

Travis, with his little boy, Jonas. 

Sunday evening stroll in the park before we head home.