End of August flowers and veggies...

As we head rapidly toward fall, I thought it was time to post some pictures of flowers, veggies and other green growing type things! I love having a garden and a yard to "play" in... especially when things burst open in beautiful colors or produce yummy things to eat.

First, the flowers! I love having a bit of color in the yard.

As I type this, my last loaf of zucchini blueberry bread is almost ready to come out of the oven and I have a zucchini pasta salad as well as refrigerator pickles waiting in the fridge to be eaten. As a result of all the fresh stuff (especially an excess of zucchini and cucumbers), I've gotten more in to searching for food blogs... people have the best step by step instructions as well as photos! I think I'm a very visual baker/cook... I like to make things that look pretty. :)

I think fresh fruit and veggies from the garden are one of the best things of summer... they taste so good and it is so satisfying about watching your food go from a tiny seed into something healthy and edible!

Here are some picts of veggies in my yard...

Chilies just forming... these might have to continue to ripen in the house if the weather doesn't cooperate!

Prolific cucumbers on trellises that Chet made earlier this summer. The plants like to climb...

and then the cucumbers hang down under the trellis! It seems to work really well!

Chet's hops... just about ready to pick and be used in a batch of beer!

Side garden... carrots, zucchini, tomatoes and hops...

Today's zucchini and cucumbers.

Chet and I are currently starting our patio project so next year our yard will be even more enticing with a fire pit, arbors and more. I can't wait to lay down the stones and see what it will look like!

Dungeness Spit Camping

This last weekend, we went camping with some friends of ours over on the Olympic Peninsula. It was such a fun weekend filled with good food, a lack of rain and lots of relaxing. The Olympic Peninsula is such a beautiful place that Chet and I always feel like we are "getting away" when we head over there. Maybe it is the ferry ride or just getting out into a more rural area, but it is just a great place to be.

We took off on Friday night with Kevin and Faith, rode the ferry over and set up camp. We had the most beautiful sunset!

Kevin and Faith... happy 1 year anniversary!

Us on the ferry.

Magnolia trees over the bluff

Sunset through the grass.

Pink clouds... ahh, I love the Northwest!

The next day, Dan, Melissa and Josh came up to join us. We ended up going on an easy hike to Sol Duc Falls along Lover's Lane (I just love the name of the hike though I'm not sure why it is called that!). Then we headed over to Sol Duc Hot Springs for a little relaxing in the pools.

The group hiking along "Lover's Lane"...

Sol Duc Falls... so pretty!

Our whole group at the falls.

Classic "Chet and Brianne self portrait!"

Relaxing at the Sol Duc Hot Springs... nice warm water despite the smell of sulfur. :)

Eating lots of good food the following morning... that is certainly one thing we didn't lack!

On Sunday before heading home, we went down to the spit to check it out. It was nice to walk on the beach a bit before waiting in a long ferry line!

Skipping rocks... of course a competition between the boys to see who could go the furthest.

I like to call this our "SPU Pose"... it looks like something that could be in an Alumni Publication, especially since we all graduated from SPU within the last 6 years!

A nice view of the spit. It is a total of 5.5 miles long and grow about 12 to 14 feet a year. Crazy!

Walking back down the beach... what a beautiful area!

Such a nice weekend to get away with good friends! Here's to hoping this becomes a yearly tradition!

My favorite visitors!

We recently had the lovely pleasure of having Debbie and Jakin stay with us... for a whole week! What a treat to spend such a good amount of time with a dear friend and her adorable baby. Even though I had to work some of the time they were here, it was so nice to catch up with them, play with Jakin and have friends over! They are working their way down to California for Debbie's husband, Steve, to earn his PhD so it may be awhile before we get to spend this much time again!

Cute baby Jakin in the bath tub...

... he is a big splasher... good thing our tub is deep!

Jakin showing off his latest "skill"... he is excellent at playing "so big!"

Hanging at the park...

Outdoor dinner on a warm evening... it was easy to clean him up after this meal!

Friends over for a fun summer BBQ... such tasty food from Renee's garden and mine!

I have to say that after taking so many pictures of Jakin, who is not even my own child, I have a feeling I'd better get a bigger hard drive for when we have kids! I have a feeling I'll be taking lots of pictures!!!

A surprise in my fuchsia...

The other day, I went to water my fuchsia and found a beautiful, perfectly formed nest. There was no bird in sight and I was gone for about a week so I assumed that it was abandoned. It is a beautiful nest with a perfect center. It is amazing how birds can do this... and in the midst of my fuchsia!

So here is what I found today...

My fuchsia is going to have baby birds (as long as I don't frighten the mama bird too often with watering!)! How exciting!

Chet's Climb in the Bridgers

Here are some pictures of Chet's time in Bozeman this last weekend. He went over to do a short climb with his brother, Glenn, and spend time with family. It looked like a spectacular day to be out climbing.

On Sunday, Chet went shooting with Glenn and Logan... doesn't Logan look cute in the ear protection?

We'll be out in Montana visiting family at the end of the month as well... that should be another fun trip. Hopefully, we'll be able to spend good chunks of time with both Chet's family as well as my relatives (and do some fun, outdoor things)!

Random Summer

Just had to share a couple of fun pictures from the last week. On the Fourth of July, we hung out with friends in the afternoon out at the Redhook Brewery. The plan had been to go out for a tour but we were running a little bit late so we didn't quite make it. But, on the plus side, as we got on the freeway, we happened to be right behind the SeaFair Pirates! They must have been headed down to the celebration on Lake Union. They sure looked excited though (despite the gray weather)!

Later in the week, Chet headed over to Montana to go do a short climb with his brother, Glenn, and I got so work and spend a day with my family. We had to spend some time waiting around for my brother's bed to be delivered to his condo (him and Brenda were still on their honeymoon) but then, in the evening, we headed up to the Mountain Loop Highway. We found a place for a picnic supper, to cool down after a warm day and just relax with the lovely rush of the river. Definitely would have been even better with Chet there, but it was still a great way to spend a Friday night.

Hopefully we'll get a chance to go camping up there soon. It finally feels like summer around here and it is about time!

Just Volunteer!

I just spent a week volunteer at a camp for kids with medical issues... and it was one of the best weeks of my recent life! What an amazing, inspiring week filled with fun, laughter and pure, uninhibited joy! If you ever get a chance to give a week of your time at a camp like this, do it! It has definitely made it hard to go back to normal life after watching all the kids blossom and just get to be kids instead of a diagnosis or a patient! We slept in a teepee, played a crazy game of kickball, had a giant food fight (and got washed off by a fire truck), ate tons of delicious food, witnessed an amazing talent show, had SuperHero Olympics and much more! Who says that a camp nurse can't have fun right along with the kids?

Due to privacy issues, I can't post pictures of campers or anything but will post pics of the camp grounds and what my dear husband left for me when I got home today. How cute is this?

View of the valley. Farm buildings are part of the camp.

Girl and boy "cabins.

The hippodrome... aka dining hall, stage, hangout area, etc.

Bungalow where the medical staff got to sleep. What a beautiful house!

Chet's creative "welcome home" sign!

Just be warned that I may be singing the praises of volunteering at camp for the next while (and trying to get some of you to join me in the future!).