Two Dry Weekends in a Row!

Amazingly enough we had another dry weekend in Western Washington, and it was mostly sunny too!  The temperatures were just barely 60 degrees, but considering that Kristina's family was contending with tornadoes back in Kansas; we definitely didn't have anything to complain about with regards to the coolness of the temperatures.

Saturday morning we headed to Kirkland to checkout The French Bakery.  It is a cute little place in Kirkland that we had read good things about, so we decided to check it out for our morning breakfast.  We parked near the Marina Beach Park, walked down to the bakery, grabbed a couple of pastries and drinks, and the headed back to the park to walk off what we had just eaten.  We had Indy with us as well, and it was great training for her.  The area of Kirkland that we were in is a very "walkable" area; there are quite a few people, dogs, and other distractions to keep us and her on her toes.  She did very well; she really doesn't care about people at all and dogs are only interesting to meet and then she merrily goes on her way.  Nonetheless, it is always good to put her through some tests.  It was a nice morning.

Sunday we decided to head to Marymoor Park in Redmond.  Marymoor Park has a HUGE off leash dog park where dogs can be dogs.  There are several trails around the off leash area and many opportunities for dogs to go swimming in the river.  Indy had a good time.  She went swimming -- always a good thing in her book -- and did lots of bottom sniffing (you know, that's how dogs meet each other).  She never strayed too far from us, and she was too distracted to play with the chuck-it, but she seemed to have fun anyway.  After we left the off leash area though, the fun stopped.  The park has a self-service dog wash area, and Indy got a much needed bath.  Not one of her favorite activities.  Knowing this though, we were in and out within 10 minutes.  To say we have giving a dog a bath down to a science would be an understatement.  Of course, we just toweled her off because Indy does NOT do blowers.

Sun and a clean dog!  Now that's a good weekend!

Spring has Sprung?!

Well, it looks like spring has finally sprung, or at least it did for Easter weekend. Our spring has been pretty much non-existent (just winter prolonged); however, Mother Nature made up for this by making Easter weekend very nice. The daffodils look happy at least.

Jared was lucky (or unlucky?) enough to have Good Friday off.  So what did he do on his day off?  He de-thached the yard to get rid of the pesky moss, and then he aerated the lawn.  After doing all of that, he followed up with spreading some grass seed and fertilizer.  Now if we get a some rain this week followed by some sun, the lawn should be on its way to a great start!  

You may be wondering what was next?  Well, he was extra ambitious and attacked some of the thicket in the backyard, and when we say thicket, we mean thicket.  The entire perimeter of our yard, especially the part of the yard that runs along the Tolt Pipeline Trail is thicket.  We have been slowly whacking away at it, but with so many other projects and since it isn't a lot of fun, clearing thicket is always last.  Anyway, Jared decided to hack away on it a bit.  Here's the section that he cleared away -- we can't believe how much better it looks.

In addition, we also planted some flowers and cleaned up some flower beds as well. Below is a shot of our peony plants.  Last year, we only had one flower.  However, we think that is because we moved them late in the season. This year we are hoping for many more!  We just cleared out the weeds to give them more room to grow.

This is our new flower bed with various flowers and plants.  We could probably use a few more, but we decided to go with sparse and see how the plants grow.  The sunlight in our backyard is limited because of all of our Big Leaf Maple Trees, so we'll start with these plants first and see how they do.

We also put a few plants in containers so that after the summer is over, we can bring them inside the house.  Here is a shot of our Meyer Lemon Tree. We're not convinced it will survive, but it sure smells nice -- and we really miss our citrus trees we had in Arizona.

Here's a shot of our Mexican Orange Tree.  It is supposed to be able to survive outside, but we put it in a container just in case.  It is supposed to blossom in the fall -- it doesn't produce any fruit, but we're okay with that, we just want the smell of the blossoms! 

Indy's New Yard

Good Friday turned into a Great Friday for Indy (and for Kristina too)!  While the house we live in resides on a lot that is over 3/4 of an acre, Indy's yard consists of a 20' x 24' dog run.  When we moved in, the yard was not fenced (unlike in Arizona, most houses don't come with fenced in yards) so we just fenced off a portion and allocated it to the dogs.  Honestly, we also didn't want to try and keep up with dog poo on 3/4 of acre either.  :)

That being said, it has been a constant struggle to keep grass growing in the dog run with all of the rain we receive in Western Washington, and then when summer comes, it takes us all summer to get it back into shape and before we know it, the rain is back.  This creates a constant "mud" situation for dog paws.  Here's a few examples of the mud hole...

The mud drives us crazy because it is constantly in the house.  By design, we have a mudroom, but it doesn't catch all of the mud and more often than either of us would prefer, the mud makes it into the other rooms of the house.  That being said, Jared found an artificial turf that seemed perfect for our application and today it was installed.  Here's a shot of the yard after the grass was removed and the fine gravel was added and leveled out.

And the finished product...

It is definitely Dream Turf (http://www.dreamturf.com/pages/applications.htm).  We specifically got the one for dog applications, and it looks super realistic.  It is pretty maintenance free (especially since it rains so much here), and it comes with a warranty!  We are sure Indy will put it through its paces.  Here she is looking like the good little dog she is... 

And, everyone will be happy to know that as soon as we let her out after it was installed, she sniffed around and took care of business immediately!  Woohoo! 

Indy is THREE

We weren't sure that we would survive Indy reaching THREE years old, but the day finally arrived and we're still here!!  She has been a bundle of energy since the day we brought her home, and she has showed no signs of letting up any time soon.  Usually though, Australian Shepherds are known for their brains finally getting attached to their bodies at the age of THREE!  The jury is still out on Indy.  :)

Indy is quite the sweetheart of a little dog.  She loves everyone, even though she is sometimes skittish at first, and she has an incredible disposition.  Her curiosity in everything that moves is very entertaining (for both her and us). Indy loves her daily walks -- even though she still pulls on the leash -- and she is showing more and more independence all of the time.  She still loves to give and receive love; rubbing her chest or her warm little belly are sure to bring a smile to her face!  Oh, and let's not forget her love of food -- both dog and human!  She has been known to destroy shoes and baskets because there was ONE piece of doggie kibble in the shoe or basket, and she just HAD to have it.

Well, here she is sporting her birthday pose, up close and personal.

Look at that face!  This is vintage Indy!

This shot is a little further back...

Oh, and don't think she doesn't get spoiled on her birthday.

Look at her stash!  Can you believe that is all for ONE dog!

Here she is checking out the goods... 

"Did I hear a squirrel?" 

"This one smells particularly good!" 

And finally, here she is posing with all of her goods.  Isn't she a good little dog? 

Happy 3rd Birthday Indy!

3X Kansas State Wrestling Champion

Congratulations to Rhett!  Kristina's nephew is now a THREE-time Kansas State Wrestling Champion!  For those of you that don't know, this is quite a FEAT!  Wrestling is a long hard season and you never know how it is all going to turn out at the end of the season.  It all boils down to a matter of seconds at times -- literally!

Looks like a happy Rhett (and relieved too)!

Rhett starts his wrestling season each year around Thanksgiving and the season finishes up each spring.  This year (2011-2012), Rhett moved up an age class; he went from 8 and under to 10 and under.  Normally this comes with a few losses during the season because you are one of the younger ones in the age bracket.  Rhett did suffer from a few losses during the season, but he did very well overall in his weight bracket of 58lbs.  And, with anything in life, you tend to learn more from defeats or near defeats.  His weight was a pretty tough bracket because there was another two time state champion wrestling at the same weight and a few other kids that were very close in level of skill.  But as with anything in life, it all depends on how much you want something and how much "homework" you want to do to get there.  Thanks to his Dad (and coach), Rhett had done everything possible to prepare...it was down to desire.

Rhett ended up meeting the other two time state champion in the semi-finals.  It was a tough match, but Rhett avenged a defeat earlier in the season and won to advance to the finals.  In the finals, he met another wrestler that had beat him earlier in the season.  In true Rhett fashion, Rhett won in OVERTIME 4-2.  Let's just say, GREAT JOB RHETT, but can you stop with the overtime in the finals!!!!

Wrestling Coach Dad and Rhett celebrating!

Good-Bye Maxima, Hello Juke!

For those of you that remember Jared's commute in Phoenix, it was NOT pretty.  His 2001 Nissan Maxima had 180,000 miles on it -- most of which were from his daily commute from Gilbert, AZ to Phoenix, AZ.  While it still ran great, it was beginning to show its age a little bit.  It need about $2000 worth of work and when a vehicle with that many miles on it needs some significant work, it makes you re-evaluate things.  You could spend the money and get many miles/years out of the car, or you could spend the money and never get it back.  That being said, Jared decided to look at car options.

Now that we live in Western Washington, our priorities with respect to cars have changed a little bit.  First of all, AWD or 4WD is helpful.  There can be lots of snow from November through March, and when you mix that with the hills, narrow roads, and the lack of snow plowing, it only makes good sense.  In addition, a little higher clearance is good.  The roads here aren't nearly as smooth and nice as the roads in Phoenix, and you never know what you might run across while driving.  Lastly, a good turning radius is imperative.  The parking lots are small and the parking slots are tightly packed in the parking lots.

That being said, Jared's main objective was to get something that not everyone else has.  So after a lot of research, he decided on getting a 2011 Nissan Juke.  As you can see in the pictures below, it is metallic gray and a 4-door.  

The interior looks pretty snazzy as well; it is a 4-cylinder, but it is a turbo-charged engine.  We were amazed at the zippy-ness of it on the roads.  It also has different driving modes, so you can drive it in a normal, sport, or eco -- which ever meets your overall objective.  It has a automatic transmission, but you have the option of putting it in manual (like Kristina's 350Z).

Here's a shot with the backseats folded down (how we will have it most of the time).  It is pretty spacious for such a small overall volume.

And finally, here's a shot of Jared with his new ride!

Will Spring Ever Arrive?

It has been a long winter in Western Washington this year; hence the reason our blog is so sparse.  The weather has been so crummy that we haven't been able to do anything outside, or anything fun.  On the bright side that means it has been a record breaking snow and we will have a good water supply for the rest of the year, if not longer.  Additionally, we have been getting a lot of things accomplished on the inside of the house.

We FINALLY finished painting the entire house (except for the bathrooms, but they are another story).  We also re-organized the mud room with new shelving units from the Container Store.  The garage also got a first pass at organization (more to come here, but it has been too cold to spend time in the garage).  Next up is a new front door; it has been ordered, we are just waiting for it to be made.  In addition, we will also be getting some artificial turf for Indy's dog run next week.  As always, things are a constant work in progress.