Storm Watch- 2006

You may have seen on the news that we experienced hurricane-like winds this week. In Gig Harbor the winds "only" made it to 65 mph, but it was strong enough to do some serious damage. Everyone on our street lost a few trees. Luckily the ones we lost were in the creek bed to the side of our house, and subsequently left us unscathed. Our neighbor was not so lucky, and currently has trees inside his house. Aside from losing a wall, he also lost his truck and boat.
Everything on our back patio was moved to a new location in our back yard; our patio table and chairs were in the grass, our car-top carrier was shoved against the fence, and chairs, hoses and other miscellaneous items were strewn all over the place. Luckily I had shoved the BBQ against the wall and it remained in-tact.
We lost power Thursday night and only regained it this am. For fear of being crushed by a giant tree, I "slept" downstairs with the dogs. They spent Thursday night barking at the wind. Every time something would crash into our house, into our neighbors house, or just fly by, they would both freak out. Puck ended up trying to hide behind the piano and Portia squeezed on the couch next to me. The temp in our house got down to 52 degrees yesterday, (it was 30 outside) which is pretty chilly I must admit. Bryan was in LA flew home last night (Friday). His 5:55pm flight did not depart until after 8pm, and he didn't make it home until well after 1am. Our phone lines were also out, so I had no way of getting a hold of him to learn what happened. Needless to say we've had a few sleepless nights.
Thankfully, our neighbors had a wood-burning fireplace so I was able to spend some time with them in their living room before coming back to my own ice box.
Today we're going to Target to stock up on supplies in case this happens again, which could be sooner than later. It turns out we were out of batteries, matches, water and 2 out of our three flashlights were broken. Thankfully our neighbors were better prepared than we, and allowed me to share. I must admit I was shocked to see our emergency supply in such dis-repair, especially since I'm married to an eagle scout. :-)
We're very thankful to have power now, although apprehensive we will keep it. Most places in the area are still w/out power, and many lines are still down around us.
What is winter in the Pacific Northwest without a little weather adventure?

The many faces of Skylend

Christmas in Spokane

Last weekend Bryan and I went to Spokane to celebrate Skylend's 1st birthday as well as Christmas with our Spokane family members.
I can't believe how busy Skylend is! He was of course the main source of entertainment for the duration of the weekend.

Thanksgiving in the living room

It has been a while since I last "blogged." On thanksgiving, our friends Chris and Melissa Scheer and Khris and Marti Downey joined us for dinner. We don't have a dining room, so we had to make do w/ our small table and a card table set up in the living room.

Saying Goodbye to Spooley

I am sad to report that Spooley is no longer with us. After living a long 14 year life traveling the west coast with me, chasing rabbits and other farm critters, Spooley began to fail very quickly. Over the past month she tried to snip at a two small children, and had lost complete control of her bladder. Over the weekend, her snarliness hit a new level and we were spending the whole time cleaning up behind her. We called the vet yesterday morning and they helped us come to the decision that it was time. So today we took her in to be put down. It was much more difficult than either of us anticipated, but we were happy to be able to be with her in her final moments.
I have had Spooley since the end of my 8th grade year; she was nearly 14 years old. Although just a dog, she's been my little dog for half my life, and so losing her has proven a little tougher than I anticipated.

A little cheerio

As you can see from the picture, I am pregnant once again. We had our first ultrasound yesterday and everything is going very well. My levels are all very high, the baby is growing at the right rate, the little heart is pumping strong and fast (147 bpm in fact), and I am enjoying the worst 'bout of nausea I have ever experienced. It has become so yucky in fact that my doctor has now placed me on prescription meds to try to slow down the all-day puking cycles I have been having. They are slightly concerned as I have not gained any weight and have started to show signs of getting a little dehydrated, so now I take a little tablet a few times a day and suck down as much water and popcicles that I can. Today I have yet to puke, so hopefully this stuff will work.
I am two months along, and the due date is July 2.
Please keep "cheerio" in your prayers as we go down this road once again, apprehensive and excited all at once.

"Family" Photos

Bryan returned from his week in Kentucky, all hopped up on southern cookin', speaking with a funny accent. While losing his grandfather was obviously tough, he really enjoyed spending time with family in the home town of both sets of grandparents. He returned with peanut-butter fudge and Univ. of Kentucky apparel.
I will post some pictures tomorrow hopefully.
While he was in in Kentucky, many family members wanted to see pictures of the dogs and myself. He checked the blog and informed me that I have no picture of all our "kids." We will be using one of these pictures for our holiday card, in the meantime, enjoy a sneak preview.

A Rough Week

Bryan's grandfather passed away Friday night. Bryan will be flying to Kentucky tomorrow in the wee hours to attend the funeral and be with his family. Please keep Bry and his family in your thoughts and prayers as they go through the week.
In other news, I've been subbing regularly in the local schools as a band teacher. I subbed for the last 6 days at a middle school, and starting tomorrow I'll be at the high school doing the same thing.

Horrible Huskies

Saturday, Bryan and I went to the Husky game w/ our friends from church, James, Carrie and their little daughter Ruby. We had hopes for a win, as the huskies have been awesome and Oregon is not so hot. However, yesterday was not a great day. The Huskies played like crap, and they lost at home. Poorly done! To add further insult to injury, we had purchased a "family four-pack" which included tickets, one drink per person and a bread bowl w/ Ivar's chowder. However, they were all out of Chowder bread bowls, and we had to settle for a hot dog- I was deeply offended. :-)
On the bright side, we had a nice time with our friends, and even ran into my uncle, aunt and grandfather who also attended the game.
The game was fun until the last quarter, and then total disaster struck, so all-in-all not a complete waste of a day.

Oktoberfest

After making him spend 3 weeks in Los Angeles, Bryan's boss gave him Thursday and Friday of last week off. We subsequently headed up to our family's cabin on Lake Wenatchee, as we had to cancel our trip a few weeks prior.
We had a great time canoeing, walking along the beach and watching the dogs patroll the lake. Saturday afternoon, our friends Chris and Melissa and Khris and Marti came up to spend the day with us in Leavenworth for Oktoberfest.
It was a great weekend, and we hope to go to the cabin more often through the rest of the fall.