GLaD Adventures. Where To Next??

Camping and Cookies

2011-10-10T23:22:00.001-04:00

Two of my favorite things. Last weekend (world's slowest blogger here) we met the Dolin trio and headed to Eagle Camp on the Cherry River just outside of Richwood, WV. Although we had enjoyed some beautiful Fall days leading up to the trip, it was cold and rainy for the duration of our drive and campout. We managed to squeeze in one day and night of fresh air before calling it quits a little earlier than planned. Greg and Dolin actually spent a large portion of the trip collecting firewood that we stacked by the fire to dry. Apparently it dried well because when the stack collapsed into the fire ring, it wasted no time in going up in flames. :\ That was one warm fire...at least for a few minutes. We enjoyed the first hot chocolate(s) of the season that was also accompanied by the first snow of the season. Here are some of the highlights:

Scrunching her nose at Greg. :D

Dixie spent 95% of the weekend shivering. :( Sookie was in heaven and barely sat down.

The (bundled up) Dolin family!

My new camp meal...a fire-roasted quesadilla! I assembled quesadillas at home, wrapped them in foil, froze them and they worked out wonderfully on my high tech roasting stick.

Greg fashioned a bench by the fire. It was put to good use.

Ramen noodles. I'm not sure whose mouth is watering more!

Ah, the perfect smore.

Little pig, little pig...

The snow (!) as we hiked back out. October 1st.

Once we made it home, Greg was baking the last of the cookies. I peered inside of the "empty" bowl he sat by the sink and insisted there was enough in there for another cookie in there. As you can see.... I was right. :)

Coopers Rock Picnic!

2011-09-24T00:16:00.001-04:00

Only one post into my blog's "re-awakening" and I'm already slacking! :) That didn't take long. Busy times in Casa de Estep, with trying to keep our heads above the pool of homework and trying to run enough to keep Sookie's energy at a tolerable level! We did sneak a little bit of fun in there though.

Last weekend we enjoyed the great almost-Fall temperatures, the view at Cooper's Rock, and company! (Which we're always excited to have.)

We took advantage of the nice day to pack a picnic, featuring Greg's (ok Jeremiah's really) incredibly slow-grilled chicken. Incredibly. Slow. But worth it. We also had some gluten-free cupcakes to celebrate Kathy's birthday! I really couldn't remember the last time I had been on a picnic, but we had a great time. This is Sookie using her best hypnotic stare to silently will me to drop a drumstick "on accident." Didn't happen.

During our visit to the playground (and it wasn't just for Laci!), I tried to keep the killers at bay while Greg tried out the rides. Dixie, being the celebrity that she is, put on her shades to avoid being seen with such commoners. :D

This weekend may be mostly non-blog-worthy. Our agenda includes, homework, an oil change, and homework. But the following weekend is camping with the Dolin's, so I have no doubt that amazing photos will ensue!

Digging out the ol' blog...

2011-09-04T18:26:00.000-04:00

I've had some lapses in my blogging, but this year-plus hiatus definitely takes the cake! So much has happened in a year, so here's the super-condensed version...

- Made cross-country move from Pullman, WA to Glenville, WV
- Purchased first home
- Purchased a bunch of "stuff" to fill home
- Ran my first marathon
- Ran the Frozen Sasquatch 25K (probably seems insignificant, but that race definitely deserves a spot on the list)
- Got a second dog, Sookie, in February (5-week old, blue merle Australian Shepherd)
- Sold first home
- Sold all of the "stuff" in home to move to a smaller place
- Moved to Morgantown, WV to return to school for terminal degrees (Greg - PhD in Forestry, Lindsey - MFA in Graphic Design)

I think that covers the basics anyway. So here we sit in Morgantown, two weeks into school and things are going well. Despite being buried under piles of reading, we've managed to squeeze in lots of fun too. Seeing as how canines are typically the stars of this blog, and the inaugural post was all about Dixie, it seems fitting that this Blog Part II post feature some photos of Sookie. Here they are in order from when we first brought her home in February to today!

First meeting

First bath

Her eyes started out very blue with a tiny brown speck in her right eye. Now, that right eye is half blue, half brown, and her left eye is a very light blue. She also had this little white spot on her nose where there was no pigment. As she grew, that gradually disappeared and is completely gone now.

Dixie tends to be a messy eater, but Sookie is always there for clean-up duty.

Frisbee!

When her hair is wet, she gets perfect 80s crimps around her ears.

Faux-hawk! She apparently, is less than thrilled about it.

A few weeks before school began, we ventured to Otter Creek for a camping trip. Bad idea. We. Got. Drenched. First off, we had to hike in the dark to get to our spot. Then, after the campfire was going, one of the guys discovered a teeming yellow jacket nest within 100 ft of our tents. It was unbelievable that one of us hadn't stumbled over top of the nest as we searched for sticks...and even more amazing that one of the four dogs hadn't stirred up trouble. The problem was taken care of at the cost of only one or two stings (sorry Greg R) and we settled in for the night.

We were greeted with rain before even leaving our tents the next morning, but it finally subsided and we emerged and enjoyed breakfast before venturing up stream to a swimming hole for the dogs. A few splashes and pictures later, the skies became more ominous (that's probably a wee bit dramatic, but it sounds good) so we began to work our way back. Rain came immediately. Then it poured harder. And harder. And harder. As if that wasn't enough, as we ran down the trail to make it to camp, we stomped across yet another yellow jacket nest. There were a few more casualties this time, including Jen and Sookie - who apparently thought she was in trouble when she felt the sting because she just sat down. :) After a few minutes of standing around, soaked to the core and debating what to do, we decided to surrender and just head back home. After much prodding from Greg, Jen & Greg had driven all the way down from Columbus to go with us, only to participate in one of our worst campouts ever. I imagine we'll have to do some serious convincing if we ever want them to come back! Here are a few of the pics....

Pre-rain. :D

We should have a verrrrrry interesting post for you this coming week. Greg has discovered bikejoring and has everything set to give it a try. I'll explain more and have a video for you soon!

Greg's Big Day

2010-05-25T00:03:00.005-04:00

Finally! After a year and a half of hard work, Greg was able to breathe easy this week. On Friday, May 21st, he presented his research and conducted his defense immediately afterward. As everyone expected, the entire ordeal went smoothly and he passed! Greg's presentation was in front of 15 or so fellow grad students, researchers, and faculty members (as well as yours truly). The defense itself was behind closed doors with only those faculty members serving on his graduate committee. Now that he defended successfully, Greg has been working on some changes to his thesis before submitting his final draft to the graduate school. He won't technically graduate until August, but we celebrated anyway!

Before the big presentation.

Whew... After the presentation! :)

The WSU Cougar

Graduate!

Now that we have THAT checked off the list, Greg and I have been concentrating on selling and packing all we own to make the return trip to WV. We'll be starting our cross-country drive (our 4th in 18 months!!) this coming Friday afternoon after I leave work. Destination Glenville. See you all soon!

Bloomsday & More!

2010-05-05T16:07:00.010-04:00

Whew, that was quite a hiatus from the blog. Since returning from our Canada trip, Greg and I have been on the go non-stop it seems. So many things have happened in that amount of time that I'm sure I'll forget lots!

Greg had the opportunity to spend a few days in Seattle at the end of March. He attended a symposium with some other grad students and professors, and got to do a little sightseeing. Here's a shot of the Space Needle from the car. :) He also visited the first-ever Starbucks and "experienced" a fresh seafood dinner (everything was mixed up and just dumped directly onto the table).

First ever Starbucks!

Fresh fish market in Seattle

Fellow grad students

In March, I got to spend a few days visiting home and helping with all-things-wedding. I'm not allowed to post the pictures though, as I've been sworn to secrecy until July 10th. :) But I enjoyed the visit.

It's now official... Greg and I will be heading back to West Virginia (permanently) at the end of May. Greg is putting the finishing touches on his thesis and presentation as we speak (or at least he's supposed to be!). I will be leaving my job at the University of Idaho on May 28th, and will be joining the business faculty at Glenville State College in the fall. Exciting and stressful times!

Last weekend, Shannon and I headed to Spokane for a final "hurrah" before we leave. We had a great time shopping (too much), eating (too much), and running (not enough)! Spokane plays host to the annual Lilac Festival Bloomsday Run, a 12K (7.46 mile) run that begins and ends in downtown Spokane and boasts nearly 50,000 particpants!! 50,000! My goal was to be in the top 40,000 finishers. :) Shannon and I actually did much better than that. I placed 6,887th place!! Woo, hoo... who ever thought that I'd be proud to announce I finished in 6,887th place?? I made sure to wear my bright yellow West Virginia shirt during the race, hoping to get on the news for coming all the way from WV. Didn't work. There are a few pictures of me online (although you better break out your magnifying glass) here: http://www.brightroom.com/view_user_event.asp?eventid=62142&bib=11935. The third picture is a pretty good one of Shannon and I crossing the finish line. And the sixth picture shows me mid-race. Here are a few pictures that I took during the run...

Participants were encouraged to wear extra clothes and then toss them in the trees and on the sidewalks once the race started. Volunteers then collected the clothes to donate to charity.

Still half asleep...

Look at all the people! This is just part of the "green" starting group. There were 10 or 12 different starting groups.

Part of the "green" starting group.

Almost to the start line! This race used RFID tags on each runner's shoe - your individual time started when you crossed the start line and stopped when you crossed the finish line. Pretty cool!

There were people all along the route cheering and providing entertainment. This church had a priest waving and a choir singing!

This band fired up a rendition of "Hey, Good Lookin'" just as Shannon and I approached! Coincidence???

Look at the mass of people that are already to the top of the hill in the distance. The group of people behind us was even bigger. A few miles after this point, you could look down on this stretch of road and still see people chugging along.

Greg and I have lots of work and not much time for play in these next three weeks. We'll try to post if we can!

Oh Ca-na-DA!

2010-03-16T00:07:00.025-04:00

This is the line Greg sang over and over in the car as we made our way from Pullman, to Banff, Alberta, Canada! Last week I (with the help of our families!) surprised Greg with a trip to Banff to celebrate his upcoming 30th birthday! We left early Saturday morning and stayed in Banff for two nights. The drive through Northern Idaho and the eastern part of British Columbia and then Alberta was fantastic. The mountains, rivers, lakes, and sky seemed huge after spending months looking out over the Palouse rolling fields.

En route to Banff, we got a great view of Columbia Lake, which is the source of the Columbia River. The beautiful teal water of Canda's glacier-fed lakes is very hard to describe in words and equally difficult to capture in photos. If any of you ever have the opportunity to visit the Canadian Rockies....GO! You won't regret it. Down the road from Columbia Lake we had our second wildlife sighting (first sighting...a coyote almost ran in front of us in Northern Idaho). Just as I was laughing at a roadside caution sign with a picture of a bighorn sheep, we came upon an entire clan of bighorn sheep right along the side of the highway. We pulled off and captured some video and pictures out the sunroof of the Subaru. We even got to see two of them butt heads! Cool!

Columbia Lake, source of the Columbia River. The water that wasn't frozen was blue-green.

We entered the system of Candadian national parks through Kootenai National Park. The entrance was an impressive group of huge rock cliffs that we snaked through. After crossing Kootenai, we entered Banff National Park, the area that was the birthplace of Canada's national park system. The glacier topped moutains and the sheer volume of evergreens were amazing. The town of Banff was quaint and cozy but bustling. We walked through the downtown district as soon as we checked in to visit the shops and have dinner at Wild Bill's (Peyote, not Pecos).

From the balcony of Wild Bill's in downtown Banff.

Sunday morning there was no sleeping in! We left our hotel around 8 to drive out to Lake Louise for the highlight of our trip: a dog-sled tour courtesy of Kingmik Dogsled Tours. With many days above 50 degrees in Pullman last week, I was a little worried that we wouldn't have much snow for our tour. Wrong. There was plenty of snow, including a few fresh inches. And at 6 degrees that morning, I have a feeling it takes snow quite some time to melt in the area. We spent about a half hour just observing the dogs (Alaskan huskies) and all the handlers. The dogs had lots of personality, and were ready to get moving. Tomo served as our musher. He came to the US from Tokyo in the 80s to learn mushing. He was extremely knowledgeable about the dogs and the area of our tour. He was happy to answer our questions, and gave both Greg and I the chance to drive the sled! The tour was amazing. Beautiful. Again...if any of you have the opportunity to do this, don't miss it! Our tour went under the arch that signifies the Great Continental Divide. At that point, all the snow that melted on the British Columbia side ends up in the Pacific Ocean, and a few feet away, the snow that melts on the Alberta side ends up in the Altantic Ocean.

Our arrival on the moutain. The dogs were lined up and being fed when we arrived. There were probably close to 50 dogs lined up. The mushers went through to choose 8 or 9 dogs for their team based on a variety of factors.

Waiting patiently to be "chosen." It reminded me of grade school, waiting and hoping to be chosen for the "good" team in gym class. :)

Whaddayou lookin' at.

Brewski was ready to run! He kept lunging and moving our sled an inch at a time while waiting for the signal. He was the biggest dog on our team and was referred to as a "harness-burner" because of his eagerness.

Much more patient. :)

And we're off!

Our tour turned around at the Great Continental Divide. This is the British Columbia side.

Back on the Alberta side, bundled up.

Our leaders, Damsel on the left of the photo (who had just recently completed a 300-some mile race) and Lyle Lovett on the right side of the photo. He was one of Tomo's top dogs for his willingness to go out on multiple tours.

Big Brewski...one of my favorites. He was the big jock of the team.

Koska. She spent the first half of the trip goofing off, constantly turning around to look behind her and not maintaining a very straight line. She was very comical. Once we turned around to head back and she knew treat time was coming up...she was all business! :)

Another team passing us while we gave the dogs a break.

The scenery was incomparable!

Future mushers? Coincidentally, no real mushers use the word "Mush" according to Tomo. That's just Hollywood! Mushers use a variety of calls to command their team.

Koska looking back during a breather.

Greg preparing to drive!

On the way back we took a small detour through the forest that was the prettiest part of the trip.

Back at the starting point. Waiting for treats!

Damsel and Lyle eagerly awaiting their reward.

Greg gets to distribute the "treats," a softball-size chunk of ground beef!

Tomo, our musher, and Ajax who is completely blind.

After the tour, we drove on out to Lake Louise and the Fairmont Resort. We had seen numerous pictures of the turquoise water of Lake Louise but today...ta-da...it was completely frozen over! There were some people cross country skiing across the lake, kids playing hockey in one corner of the lake, and people ice skating around an ice castle right near the entrance of the resort. Although you can't make it out in these pictures, there were some chunks of blue ice among the glaciers.

Approaching Lake Louise, nestled behind the Fairmont resort.

The lake was completely frozen over. This is an ice-block castle that was built in the ice-skating area. The blocks of ice used were approximately the size of cinderblocks.

Standing on the lake. Notice the blue-tinted ice on the glaciers behind us. I was slightly disappointed that the lake was completely frozen because I was looking forward to seeing the bright blue-green water of a glacial lake.

The Fairmont resort and ice skaters on the lake.

Nancy Kerrigan??

Later that evening back in Banff, we drove out to the Fairmont at Banff Springs, a magnificent resort built in the 1880s by the Canadian Pacific Railroad. The photo galleries inside told the glamorous story of the hotel's early days. This is a must-see if visiting Banff! Unfortunately, it was growing dark quickly while we were there, so we never quite captured the gorgeous view of the Bow Valley from the back balcony. On our way out to the hotel, we drove by 3 elk just going about their business right in the yard in front of some condos! This was definitely the best wildlife-spotting trip we've had so far.

Elk grazing in the front lawn of road-side condos.

My camera was not zoomed in here, I was standing this close.

On the balcony of the Banff Springs resort. A very glamorous hotel with lots of history.

The huge balcony over looks the Bow Valley and the Bow River.

Not the best shot, but this is using the night-shot feature on my camera.

Again, not the greatest photo. This is just one wing of the hotel.

Just before heading home, this is the Bow River (from below the hotel) on Monday morning.

Brrr!

One more interesting picture. This is an "overpass" designed especially for wildlife. All along Canada's Hwy. 1 between Banff and Lake Louise (and other places too) there is a fence that runs along both sides of the road. Every few miles there is an overpass that allows animals to cross the highway safely, as well as some underpasses that are not visible from the road. Maybe W.V. needs some of these for all the deer!

I've left out so many details (and so many pictures!), but the bottom line is go visit the Canadian Rockies! Everything about our trip was enjoyable and I wish we could capture pictures that show just how impressive the scenery is. We also shot some video during our trip, so I will see if we can get some of that posted on here too!

HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY GREG!

Red Dress 5K

2010-03-01T00:15:00.005-05:00

Feels like spring out here! Sorry for all of you back home that are buried under snow, but we took Dixie for a walk this afternoon and Greg wore shorts! :)

Saturday morning was a little chilly, but I headed over to Moscow to run in the Red Dress 5K. February was heart health month, and all the proceeds from this race benefited the Cardiac Rehab program at the hospital. The advertisement said that entrants were encouraged to wear a red dress. I didn't have one, so I just wore a red t-shirt, thinking it wasn't a big deal. But it was a big deal...I've never seen so many red dresses (and so many men proudly wearing dresses) in my life. Kids, dogs, the marine corps... everybody was in a red dress! Here are a few of the amusing pictures I took on the run.

The best dresses were on the men of the Marines. Thankfully they were wearing shorts underneath, because some of the dresses were a wee bit short! I especially liked the combat boots paired with the dress! There were a few mudholes at the beginning of the course and these guys made it a point to hit every single one.

This man came complete with suit, hat, handbag and jewelry!

There were quite a few dogs in the race, all wearing red!

We ran out past a few sheep farms. The sheep were definitely running scared! (Thankfully we didn't have to run by any bulls...that probably would not have ended well.)

Check out this little guy! There were quite a few kids...most of them gave up on running when we ran past a goat who had his front hooves on the fence rails taking in the excitement. It was pretty amusing, I contemplated stopping to take a picture, but didn't want to be the only grown-up (without a child) who was ooh-ing and ahh-ing at the farm animals. :)

Saturday evening we spent a few minutes catching up with our Latino friends. We used to be the first to arrive at any of the Latino events, as they have all mastered the art of arriving (late) with style. Greg and I were officially "accepted" into the group this time because we were over an hour late for dinner thanks to Greg's work at the lab.

If Greg and Jen are reading this, we hope you're enjoying Ireland, send us some pictures! No race plans for next weekend, so we'll have to find something else interesting to write about for the next blog post. Hope everybody in West Virginia can keep their heads above the snow...just don't send it our way please! :)

Beautiful Weather & A Run

2010-02-20T18:52:00.003-05:00

Another beautiful day in the Pacific Northwest. While Greg headed to the lab, Shannon and I drove to Hells Gate State Park in Lewiston, ID to run another race. I was excited because this was a trail run through a state park. Everything seemed to conspire against us though. We were a little late to the race. It was farther away than what I originally thought, and - being the cheapskate that I am - we actually parked at the entrance of the park and walked a ways in to the race to keep from paying the $5 parking fee. :) We could see the runners making their way to the start line while we were walking, so we had to run before the race even started just to get there on time. As soon as we got to the start line, Shannon got called in to work, so we decided to run the 4-mile race instead of the 8-mile race we had originally planned. We barely had time to catch our breath before the race started...and we were all the way in the back of the pack. The race was mostly on narrow hiking/horseback riding trails on the side of the hill, so passing was difficult. We also were led astray at some point in the race, and had to cut through weeds and tumbleweed just to get back on track. Anyway.... we finally finished, and it was a beautiful day, and it was interesting to see a new state park. Here are some pictures....

Eeks! Shannon and I were a little late, so we actually had to run TO the starting line. We hadn't even caught our breath when they said "Go."

You can see how behind I am...we'll blame it on all the picture taking. :)

A view down the canyon.

This is the hill we had to run up to get to the starting line. We'll be on time for the next one!

Me, with Shannon, Angela & Anna

This is what I came home to. I'm sure she was just exhausted from cheering me on mentally. :)

Next weekend we're planning to do the Red Dress 5k here in town. Entrants are encouraged to wear a red dress to the race, so there should be some good pictures! Better find me a red dress...

Long time, no blog

2010-02-16T15:35:00.010-05:00

The month and a half since Christmas have flown by! As soon as we returned from WV, Greg and I got busy with work and school, and I've neglected the blog. :( We haven't done too many special activities, and - until this weekend - I hadn't taken a single photo since Christmas!

Friday evening, we broke out the Chocolate Factory again to make our own Valentine's candy while watching the Olympic opening ceremony coverage. I didn't stay up to watch all of the opening, but the whales projected on the floor amazed me! As for the chocolate... we dipped strawberries, preztels (gluten-free and regular), peanuts, marshmallows and made some solid chocolate pieces as well. My personal favorite were the pretzels...which didn't last too long.

Anybody hungry yet?

Saturday morning, Shannon and I drove to Lewiston to run in the 4-mile Sweetheart Run while our respective sweethearts were buried under homework and research. We ended up having a sunny, spring-like day for the race along the Snake River (close to where my 1/2-marathon was). I just ran the race for fun and didn't register, but Shannon and I came in at respectable 2nd place for our age group (19th & 20th overall) and she was generous enough to let me share her ribbon! We decided red was better than blue anyway...because of Valentine's day and all. :) The rest of February and all of March are jam-packed with races nearly every weekend, so I hope to have some good pictures every week!

Post-race. Shannon finished in 32:45, my time was 33:00.

"We're number two, we're number two!" Anybody who has seen the movie Whip It should appreciate that quote. We're proud to celebrate mediocrity! :)

Sunday, I made an attempt at a special Valentine's Day breakfast. Unfortunately, I was too concerned with the special French hot chocolate that I burnt the main course. Oops! Oh well, Greg wanted oatmeal anyway. :)

We hope everyone back home is keeping their heads above the snow! You can keep it though, I'm enjoying our early spring (knock on wood).

Christmas in West Virginia

2010-01-13T10:43:00.011-05:00

After two glorious weeks of vacation, Greg and I made it back to Pullman, and back to work and school. We drove 42 hours (stopping only for gas and restrooms every 4 hours) back to West Virginia so that we could spend Christmas with our family and friends. We had a great trip, were blessed with easy traveling conditions (special thanks to all those praying we had good weather!) and got to spend (at least a little bit of) time with our favorite people. I managed to stick to my gluten-free eating, even though passing up Mom's hot rolls and Gram's whoopie pies took some effort - but I felt much better after meals this Christmas than I ever have! Here are just a few pictures from our trip:

Visiting Greg's Family in Summersville

Doesn't get much better than this!

I considered being really mean and knocking down some of that overhanging snow....

Greg pulling me behing the 4-wheeler on a dry-rotted tube.

Greg spent more time playing with Anthony's gift than with his own gifts.

A present made for me by John.

Visiting my Family in Glenville

Is that Moses??? ha, ha

The whole gang in Ripley

Dixie and Chloe.

The Heather Ross "Weekend Away" bags that I made as Christmas presents.

Thanks so much to everyone who housed, fed, and took care of us during our trip. We had a great time and can't wait to come back this summer!

Christmas Party at Guilbeau Apartments

2009-12-14T18:18:00.005-05:00

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Snow has been falling all day here in Moscow. Although I love the snow...I kinda wish it would go away. Greg and I are leaving Saturday for West Virginia and are praying for clear, easy driving conditions so that we can make good time!! We're so excited to head back home and see everybody that we've missed these last six months.

This weekend was pretty relaxed...the snow started Friday night and has slowly continued. Saturday evening, we had a little Christmas get-together for friends. It was small, we just enjoyed some food, had a White Elephant gift exchange (aka a Yankee Swap) and watched Christmas movies.

Strange that you can buy such tasty strawberries for so cheap in the dead of winter!

Shannon and I sporting our fashion glasses! We were recently talking about girls wearing glasses purely for looks, so Shannon presented me with an early Christmas present. Ha, ha. On a side note...I had my first eye appointment in many moons today. I fear that - at the ripe old age of 27 - my vision is already on the downhill slope. :) No glasses yet, but I no longer have 20/20 vision. Booooo!

Don't expect to see this reindeer pulling a big heavy sled around this Christmas Eve. She would prefer to lay by the fire and sip hot cocoa.

Travis drew Greg's gift in the White Elephant... a box full of gummy snacks. The limit for the exchange was $5 and creativity earned extra points.

Shannon drew my gift, which was an electric pizza cutter I found at the thrift store for $2.99. I'm not sure who came up with this invention, but I was NOT surprised to see that it had been donated to the thrift store! :) It seemed more dangerous than helpful.

Greg was the very lucky winner of the night's most popular gift (thank you Shannon) of a Snuggie!! In leopard print, no less. He, of course, had to try it out Sunday afternoon!

"Does this make me look fat?"

Less than one week until we leave for West Virginia!! We'll be taking off from Pullman very early Saturday morning. We are very excited to leave a day or two earlier than planned. We can't wait to see everyone.

PS. - As a side note, I just wanted to mention ahead of time that I will be sticking to my gluten-free diet during our trip. I veered off course the last time we came home, and paid the price for it later. This means that I will not be able to eat anything made with regular wheat or white flour (plus some other things that I won't really get into). I'll be bringing my own bread, crackers, and pasta so that I don't have to miss out on Kathy's cheese dip and Mom & Dad's spaghetti! Nobody needs to fix anything special, but please do not be offended if I don't eat your wonderful breads, cookies, and desserts. Maybe Greg can eat my share! See you all soon!

Hurry Christmas, Hurry Fast

2009-12-08T11:09:00.003-05:00

Well first off... my resolve to have long hair didn't last. Big surprise I know! One whole year of growth, gone in just a few minutes. Here's how long my hair had gotten (granted it's not fixed here, but you get the point)...

And here's how short it is now. I'm beginning to like it a little better, but it definitely is taking some time!

This past weekend, Greg and I attended WSU's Graduate/Professional Student Association holiday party that featured some good food (including WSU Cougar Cheese) and a live swing band. It was a good time, and one of the only excuses we've had to get fancied-up in quite awhile. Greg even broke down and shaved for the occasion!!

The party got me excited for Christmas and our trip back to WV. Our Christmas shopping is complete...if our car was red, we'd look like a couple of Santas zipping across the country in a few weeks due to all the loot. Now I've just got to get around to finishing (ok starting) those Christmas cards!

We have been experiencing some frigid weather here on the Palouse lately. Highs of about 20 have been the hallmark of the past week. This morning when I started the car, it read 4 degrees. By the time I had made it across campus, that had dropped to 1 degree. Brrr...much too cold for my liking! The perfect excuse for hot chocolate every day of the week though. :)

Dixie Loves The Beach

2009-11-30T19:42:00.001-05:00

These pictures seemed to deserve their own post!

Camping on the Olympic Peninsula

2009-11-30T17:58:00.013-05:00

Since we couldn't be home in WV for Thanksgiving, we decided to take a camping trip and explore some more of the Pacific Northwest. We opted to make a big loop around the Olympic Peninsula. We drove to Seattle, where we drove onto the ferry that took us across the Puget Sound from Edmonds to Kingston. Our first stop was going to be Fort Worden State Park, a 19th century military fort, but since the campground was full (!) we stopped instead at Dosewallips State Park in Brinnon. It was fairly cold and misty at this campground right beside the Hood Canal. Of course it was already dark by the time we arrived, so we heated some soup and curled up in the back of the Forester for an early night. The next morning, we paid to take a shower (a crime!) and hit the road towards Port Angeles with gorgeous weather. We were warned that the Olympic Peninsula sees very few clear and sunny days, but we lucked out and got one on Friday.

We drove through Port Angeles, which was fine, but were treated to a fantastic view just between Port Angeles and Forks. At Lake Crescent, the majestic mountains, glassy blue lake, and three bald eagles playing over the water was enough to make us want to relocate (again). The scene was straight from a painting. We didn't get any good close-ups of the eagles, but it was amazing to watch. Half of the lake still had a mist that hadn't evaporated by noon.

We piled back in the car and headed toward the now famous Forks, WA. For anyone not up on their tween fiction, the Twilight series of books and movies about a love triangle between a teenage girl, a vampire, and a werewolf is set in this small Washington town. Judging by the steady stream of cars pulling off the road at the "Welcome to Forks" sign (including us) it is evident that this town is now a major tourist attraction. We had lunch at Sully's, home of the Bella-burger, stepped in both of the Dazzled by Twilight stores, and had ice cream at a local candy store, where I sampled a flavor called "Edward's Hugs & Smooches." If you don't know anything about the Twilight series...none of that made any sense to you. :) Yes, I have read all the books, and yes, I liked them. Aside from the tourist-y stuff, there isn't much to the town of Forks, so we didn't stay long.

We also paid a visit to LaPush - First Beach and Third Beach - on the Quiluete Indian Reservation. Despite the huge logs on the beach, it was actually very beautiful. The sun peeked out for awhile, and Dixie enjoyed her first ever trip to a beach. Just like a kid, she would run away from the waves. The waves looked pretty fun...or maybe dangerous. :)

As it began to get dark outside, we got back in the Subaru and headed on around the peninsula, where we camped at Kalaloch Campground in the Olympic National Forest. Again, rain set in for the entire evening, so we heated some soup and then crawled in our sleeping bags and listened to some of the audio book we got from the library to pass the time while driving. It rained all night, and was pouring still in the morning, so we skipped breakfast at the campground and waited until we found the nearest McDonalds. (which was in Aberdeen, which appeared to be the most depressing town ever...maybe it was just the rain.)

We reached Cape Disappointment, the southwestern most tip of Washington, and our last scheduled destination, around noon. True to it's name, Cape Disappointment was disappointing. Quite possibly the smallest lighthouse I've ever seen. Greg kept trying to explain that the lighthouse didn't need to be tall since it was on such a high bluff...but still! The rain was still coming down, Greg was wearing down from having to do all the driving, and I was still not feeling up to par, so rather than trying to find some way to fill up the whole day, we decided to head home a little early so that we could recover before heading back to work/school on Monday. It was a great trip, and I hope we get to see more of the beautiful Pacific Northwest in the springtime! As always... here are a bunch of pictures!

Eating chicken and rice soup, staying dry with Dixie.

Leaving Dosewallips State Park

Camp chef.

No campfire during the whole trip!! :( This is me trying to roast a marshmallow over the candle latern, inside the Subaru. Some things are just important!!

PUGET SOUND FERRY

We waited for close to an hour to drive onto the ferry. The ride was about 30 minutes.

Looking back at Edmonds across the Puget Sound.

CRESCENT LAKE, WA (between Port Angeles and Forks)

Bald eagle

3 bald eagles!

The fog on one side of the lake... at noon.

FORKS, WA

Eating at Sully's, home of the Bella Burger.

Eating "Edward's Hugs & Smooches" Ice Cream. :)

LA PUSH, First & Third Beaches (of Twilight fame!)

She loved the beach! And was thrilled to get out of the car for awhile.

Hiking out to Third Beach.

CAPE DISAPPOINTMENT

Teeniest lighthouse ever! But still a cool view.

Gluten-Free Betty Crocker Comes to Pullman!

2009-11-06T18:56:00.005-05:00

The Betty Crocker Gluten-Free Baking mixes finally made it to the Safeway in Pullman. Naturally I had to try one out. I chose the chocolate chip cookies and was pleasantly surprised. I was on the verge of giving up when it came to gluten-free cookies. These are still far from Greg's puffy, golden chocolate chip pudding cookies, but definitely the best gluten-free cookie mix I've tried thus far. The dough was good (no that I would ever eat raw cookie dough :) ) and the cookies were delicious while still warm. The true test for gluten-free cookies comes the day after baking. These did get slightly crumbly and gritty with each additional day, but they're still the best yet in GF cookies. There are also two cake mixes and a brownie mix...guess I'll have to try those too!

And I just found out that Land O'Lakes has a bunch of gluten-free recipes on their website. In the search bar on their page, just type "gluten free" and voila!

Pumpkins, Moustaches, & Candy

2009-11-02T18:12:00.008-05:00

We started our Halloween festivities last weekend with pumpkin carving at Travis & Shannon's. As usual, we waited until the last minute to purchase pumpkins, so the only ones left were huge!! Greg opted for the flying WV, while I just freehanded a scary face. Here's a few shots...

Starting the gross part. Ick.

Greg was literally still sketching by the time my pumpkin was finished. Perfectionist???

My "angry" pumpkin, with Shannon's "Weiner Dog" pumpkin.

Greg pays homage to WV.

L-R: Greg's "WV", Travis' multi-shape pumpkin (sorry, can't come up with a good name for it), Shannon's "Weiner Dog", my "Anger Issues" pumpkin :), and Jenny's "Happy to Be Here" pumpkin.

This past Friday, Greg and I were invited to a Mega-Moustache Movie Marathon. All the guys shaved or grew moustaches, while the girls sported a variety of taped-on moustaches. We watched the Tom Selleck movie, "Crossfire Trail" (or something like that). The craziest part is...I just read an article a few weeks ago about how this was one of the hottest wedding photo trends right now...sporting fake moustaches. I saw photos of brides and grooms (and even entire wedding parties) holding up moustaches on sticks. I have to say...this is not my favorite wedding trend Hannah!

It was a struggle, but we managed to get a nice handle bar taped to Dixie's nose for a milisecond.

Prom pose!

Not unlike the pumpkin carving, Greg and I didn't choose costumes until the last minute either. By last minute, I mean 5:00, when trick-or-treat started around 6:00. We sported "absolutely-free, 5-minute costumes" pulled from our own closets (and Shannon's)! Greg went as Doctor Greg (I think he's ready for his own TV show) using a stethoscope that some neighbors left behind when moving, and Shannon's lab coat and name tag. :) I begrudgingly went as a leprechuan, again borrowing a hat and tie from Shannon, and rounding up the rest of the outfit in my own closet. Not exactly the most original, but we tried....sort of. We served a whopping 4 trick-or-treaters!! :) Nobody really complained that much, all mouths were too full of the trick-or-treat candy to complain!

L-R: Brian as a Starbucks coffee cup (notice the lid for a hat) and Jenny as the Starbucks barista. Bryan as "Mountain Man", Travis, Shannon & Ginny as "The Man In The Yellow Hat", "Curious George," and a banana, Jenny as a praying mantis, and Greg and I. For anyone who would like to hand out something other than candy next year...Shannon had a great idea of handing out miniature containers of Play-Do! All 4 trick-or-treaters were pretty excited about it!

My 1st Half Marathon

2009-10-18T18:38:00.009-04:00

I ran through two states on Saturday! That sounds much more impressive than it really was. I ran my first half-marathon on Saturday morning and the race started in Clarkston, WA and ran into Lewiston, ID and then back. Thanks to Jen for the inspiration to try a 1/2 marathon, and thanks to Greg and Dixie for driving around to every possible wide spot in the road to cheer me on! And even though I did all the work, Dixie amazingly got all the attention. She was a kid-magnet. One cool thing at the race... there were three little kids parading around with signs that said "My mom is running her first half-marathon on her 30th birthday!" As soon as she crossed the finish line, a man who I assume was her husband, played happy birthday on a trumpet! Here are a few pictures.

Who knew that Lewis, Clark and Sacajawea were midgets!? The race (The Lewis & Clark Half Marathon) ran along the Lewis & Clark trail from Clarkston to Lewiston. I think they made their point!

Pre-race stretching

The start

Running along the Snake River

The gnats were terrible! They were plastered all over my clothes, stuck in my hair, and running down my face with the sweat. It was really gross. Who knows how many I ate!

Taking a quick break at the halfway point to suck down some Powerade Gel. Luckily, Greg was waiting there with water!

Heading back.

A smile! (because I'm almost finished)

Amazingly, I run 13 miles...Dixie gets the massage!

Friday evening we watched one of WSU's volleyball games. They had a very impressive turnout, but it was easy to see why. They were very exciting to watch and beat USC in 3 straight games. They had a full pep band on hand for the game, and immediately afterwards, the drumline entertained everyone for awhile.

Watching the game with Edith

Here's a video of the WSU drumline playing after the volleyball game.

Finally, my latest sewing project. It is the Heather Ross Weekend Away Bag. It didn't turn out too bad. I've definitely made improvement with each new project. It's just a shame that it takes me 2 months to go from start to finish on a project. :)

Running, Shopping & Cookies

2009-10-05T01:27:00.007-04:00

It finally rained here! It seems like months since we've had rain, but it finally rained on and off for a few days. I guess I hadn't realized the rain was missing until it showed up again. It has also significantly cooled down. Last week, the car read 32 degrees one morning while I was driving to work. I think it should stabilize some this week and hover around the upper 50s/lower 60s area, so that shouldn't be too bad. The only other sign of fall around here are the trees that separate the aisles in the Walmart parking lot. :( They are a beautiful yellow-orange, but everything else is just brown. I have a feeling that fall will be when we miss WV the most.

This weekend was pretty laid back. Saturday morning I ran in a 5K race with Travis and Shannon to benefit the YWCA and the Special Olympics. It was the nicest course so far, 3 loops through one of the local parks. Although we all did well in the race, Shannon and I were slightly ashamed that we got "out-sprinted" by a 70+ year old man at the very end of the race. He rode our coattails from the start of the race, and I imagine he was laughing internally as he glided past us in the final stretch.

Saturday afternoon was devoted to shopping. We made all the rounds, hitting the WSU fruit sale for more apples, the Coop for my gluten free items, Walmart for anything & everything, the grocery store, and the pet store. Dixie and Ginny came along (and Shannon) to sniff around the pet store with us. Dixie seemed more interested in the cat food section than anything else...and the fish tanks!

She was trying to lick this despite the plastic.

Can you spot the "squeaky" toy??

Mmmmm.....seafood!

She's not much of a shopper. If we stayed in one spot too long, she would just lay down. :)

Sunday was pretty uneventful, although I made some new cookies that - despite being gluten free - actually turned out good! If you like lemon flavor, you'll love these lemon ricotta cookies. Every cookie that I've tried with gluten-free flour has turned out to be a disappointment, but these were a pleasant surprise. I imagine they would be even better made with regular flour. Here's the recipe if anyone is interested.

2-1/2 c. all purpose flour (I used a gluten-free mixture)
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. unsalted butter (softened)
2 c. sugar (I used sugar/Splenda blend)
2 large eggs
15 oz. ricotta cheese (I used part-skim)
3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
grated zest of 1 lemon

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well. Add ricotta cheese, lemon juice and lemon zest and beat to combine. Stir in dry ingredients. Drop by spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment (I used silicone mats). Bake ~12 minutes at 375 degrees, until slightly golden at the edges. Remove from oven and let cookies rest on baking sheet.

Spoon a glaze made from 1-1/2 cups powdered sugar and 3 Tbsp. lemon juice over top of cookies and allow to set until glaze hardens. Enjoy!

Washington Apples

2009-09-26T19:21:00.018-04:00

This morning we went to WSU's Orchard to buy some freshly picked apples. WSU experiments with various kinds of apples, and throughout the season, they sell 80-some varieties of apples! There were probably 20 varieties for sale this morning. The apples are already picked and range in price from $0.35/lb for "juice" apples to $1.55/lb for Gingergold apples. There is even a table where you can sample a slice of each type of apple that is for sale. We purchased a few of the Gingergold apples, which are very, very sweet, and a few Harlson apples, which are not quite as tart as Granny Smiths. They will be having the sale every weekend until Thanksgiving, so I anticipate lots of apple dishes in the near future. Dutch apple pancake, apple cinnamon muffins, apple pie, apple cake, apple bread, cooked apples, apple sauce. I'm trying to keep the doctor away for quite some time. WSU also has quite a few different types of pears, some peaches, plums, and potatoes. Of course... I took some pictures while we were there.

Sunday afternoon, I made an apple pie using my gluten-free crust. This one just had a crumb topping instead of a second layer of crust. I haven't cut into it yet, but it smells delicious!

Martha Stewart's "Crumb Top Apple Pie"

Multitasking. Talking on the phone, while rolling out my pie crust using Greg's water bottle!

After we bought our apples, we drove by the Grizzly Bear Research center to see what the bears were up to. Only two were out playing this time. This first one just sat and scratched his rear for the longest time! It was pretty amusing.

We're expecting cool weather this week. A few days are supposed to be rainy and in the mid-50s. We won't have much of a fall though... there aren't any leaves TO fall!

Labor(filled) Day

2009-09-10T00:16:00.007-04:00

Although we cancelled our plans for a camping trip, our Labor Day weekend was plenty busy. We had planned to visit Mt. Spokane for the long weekend, but Greg came down with what may have been swine flu. Eek! We both had some allergy problems due to the recent harvest, but Greg progressively got worse over the weekend. After reading a newspaper article today, I believe that he was one of WSU's many victims of the swine flu. Miraculously, my wimpy immune system is holding strong (knock on every piece of wood in sight)! Greg seems to be on the mend after spending many hours sleeping...with Dixie keeping him company throughout the whole ordeal. Although she never really needs an excuse to nap, she too was healing...from being poked in the eye by Greg's big toe! Eww.

Greg did muster up the strength to go to Ferdinand's for ice cream. We had plans of visiting the University orchard with Travis & Shannon. Once we discovered it was closed, it only made sense to swing by Ferdinand's (even though we hadn't even had lunch yet). WSU had their opening home football game this past Saturday, so the place was abuzz!

Shannon & Travis

Cookies & Creme Milkshake. Just what the doctor ordered for a sore throat!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl. Mmm.

Ferdinands distinctive delivery truck.

While Greg and Dixie held the bed down, I worked on making some homemade marinara sauce using tomatoes that Travis grew in our apartment "flower gardens." He has quite the bountiful garden for an apartment-dweller!

Making marinara sauce for lasagna. I found gluten-free lasagna noodles!

Also big news for the weekend...we had to buy a new laptop. After numerous repairs and replacements, our old laptop finally bit the dust. Fall is already approaching here in Pullman. The last few days have been great! Not too hot. Nice breeze. Below are a few shots of the Palouse.

Recently cut wheat fields.

WSU's Big-Horned Sheep

National Lentil Festival 2009

2009-08-25T10:52:00.007-04:00

Every August, Pullman is home to the National Lentil Festival. The Palouse region is responsible for growing 1/3 of the United States' lentils. Pullman celebrates by having a fair downtown, a 5K run, a 100K bike ride, hosting a lentil cook-off, serving lentil chili and lentil pancakes, a parade, bands, etc. It's a pretty big celebration. Greg and I loved it because you can get all sorts of things for free! We had free lentil chili, free sno-cones, and free cotton candy to name a few. We both ran in the 5K Tase T. Lentil run on Saturday morning, and Dixie joined us later for the parade downtown. She was doing fine until a person dressed up as a dog walked by handing out candy... she wasn't too fond of him. Imposter!
Here are a few pictures!

As soon as we left local restaurant Swilly's (where we celebrated our 4th anniverary) we walked into the Lentil Festival and saw the WSU Cougar.

I believe this is the US's largest bowl of chili. Free bowls of lentil chili for all!

The spout at the bottom of the giant chili bowl. It gave me heartburn just to watch the chili drip out!

The bowl was filled to the very brim at the beginning of the evening.

Free cotton candy!

Dixie & I enjoying the parade from a shady spot.

Tase T. Lentil himself. Some more parade pictures...

The WSU drumline.
Good parade!

Rainy Campout

2009-08-25T00:22:00.005-04:00

Trying to squeeze the most out of what is left of summer, we decided to campout two weekends ago despite the imminent rain. We only drove a few miles down the road, back to Kamiak Butte where we had hiked earlier in the Spring. The campout had a rough start when we learned that wood fires were not permitted in the campground. By the time we came back to Pullman to round up some charcoal for the grill (so that we could still have hot dogs and s'mores) the rain had started. But everything worked out, we had our s'mores and the big rain held off until we were snugly in our tents. Greg and I got to try out our new sleeping mats (our anniversary presents to each other) which were far better than our old sleeping mats. With the exception of Dixie taking more of her share of the tent (no surprise there) I enjoyed one of the best nights of sleep I had in quite some time thanks to the steady rain and cooler temperatures.

Dixie, doing her usual.

The whole group, through the raindrops.

Coming back from the "bathroom" with Carolina & Elizabeth.

Angela, standing in one of the dry spots left by our tents.

The morning after.

Picking Wild Huckleberries

2009-08-10T12:50:00.009-04:00

Our camping plans were foiled this past weekend by overcast skies, and unusually cool temperatures. But as I'm sure you all guessed, we couldn't just sit around the house for an entire day, much less an entire weekend! :) We joined some friends on Saturday and headed back to St. Joe's National Forest near Potlatch, Idaho to search for wild huckleberries. I had never tried a huckleberry, and didn't even know what they looked like until this weekend. We heard it through the grapevine (no pun intended) that there was a giant patch of wild huckleberries right off of a forest service road that were abundant and free for the picking. That was certainly no understatement! An entire hillside was covered in small bushes that were loaded with the tiny reddish-blue berries. Not knowing the size of a huckleberry, I was a little too ambitious and brought along a dozen gallon ziploc bags. Little did I know that it would take a week worth of picking to fill that many bags!

Greg and I put all of our berries in an old gallon ice-cream bucket, and ended up filling it a little more than halfway after probably 1.5-2 hours worth of picking. There were also quite a few raspberry vines along the road, but those seemed to be a little past their prime. Sunday afternoon we washed our berries, then made a turn of jelly, and a batch of Huckleberry Sour Cream muffins. We still have quite a few berries left, so after we sample the jelly, we may make another batch. Here are the pictures.

The view. This is off the left side of the forest road, the berry patch was on the right side.

The colorful little berries. Unfortunately, these berries have to be picked one at a time.

See how tiny they are! I can't tell you how many I dropped!

After about 30 minutes of picking.

Can you spot the little brown dog in the picture above?? She's in camoflauge.

She was on bear patrol! This would've been the perfect lunch spot for bears. Two little dogs for appetizers, slow-moving humans for lunch, and a nice selection of berries for dessert!!

Dixie did her usual...looked for the perfect spot to park while she waited.

A scooby-snack for a hungry bear! :)

Greg had a pretty efficient system going. He hooked the ice cream bucket to his belt so that he could pick with both hands.

It's really small, but here's a panoramic of the view, and Greg with a few raspberries.

The vibrant "fruits" of our labor.

Crushing berries to make jelly.

Straining out some of the seeds.

Sour Cream Huckleberry muffins. Anyone getting hungry yet??

As a side note, many farmers on the Palouse are starting to harvest their wheat. These pictures are from the highway, but we'll try to get some better ones before the wheat is all gone.

And finally, a big congratulations to Hannah and Randall on their engagement!! Can't wait for July 2010!

Farmer's Market Saturdays

2009-07-28T13:07:00.004-04:00

It has been a pretty quiet week or so in Pullman. Between working and working out, there's been little time to do much else. Not to mention that it's been too hot to do anything else! We've made it up to 99 so far, but I don't think that will be the highest temperature for the summer. Our last two weekends have consisted of waking up early on Saturday to bike to the farmer's market before it gets too hot. We bike about 8 miles on the rail-trail to get over to Moscow, ID where the market is full of wonderful smelling food, freshly picked fruits & vegetables, and live music. So far Greg and I haven't purchased too much, but we hear that as soon as all the produce comes on full-force, that you can buy almost anything for cheaper (and certainly fresher) than you can buy it at the grocery store. We're waiting for some corn on the cob, and I can't wait until apples are cheap and plentiful! They're 99 cents a pound now, which really isn't too bad, but later this summer the price drops way down so they can get rid of everything. Our trips to the market have turned out to be a great Saturday morning ritual. Here's a few pictures.

The trail just as we're leaving Pullman.

Greg & Brian

Gram would be so proud of my posture in this picture!

Standing in the middle of the market. You can buy "fresh-out-of-the-oil" miniature donuts (Greg's personal favorite is the cinnamon/sugar), dozens of varieties of freshly baked bread, fresh cherries of every variety, food and drinks from a wide variety of countries, fresh cut flowers & plants, local art & photography, and a lot more!

This is just a picture I took on the way to work this morning. The sunbeams shooting down in between the clouds were really beautiful, even though I didn't capture too well in the picture. I still haven't gotten over how much sky there is out here!

One More Photo

2009-07-14T11:16:00.001-04:00

Our friend Edith took this photo, so I wanted to add it to the others. When we crossed the river, a certain brown dog got a free ride across. She looks humiliated though. :)

Backpacking at Stanley Hot Springs

2009-07-13T12:05:00.010-04:00

Greg has reached the pinnacle of his "outdoor" career.... he finally saw a wolf in the wild!! And we got a pretty close-up look at it too. Let's back up...

Friday evening, we piled in the car and joined a caravan of 8 other people (and one brown dog) and started the 3 hour drive on Rt. 12 to Lowell, Idaho - part of the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness Area contained in the Clearwater National Forest. (Dad, this is a popular stretch of road for motorcyclists!) We found a spot at the Wilderness Gateway Campground along the Lochsa River to set up camp for the first night. Saturday morning, everyone was finally ready to take off around 8:00. We strapped on our (heavy) backpacks and began the ~6 mile hike in to Stanley Hot Springs. We made decent time despite the terrain. The first 5 miles of hiking seemed to be mostly uphill (that could just be my imagination though). The trail was pretty dusty and rocky, and we had to cross Huckleberry Creek in two different spots which significantly slowed us down. The water was swift and the rocks were slippery so Greg had to scout awhile to find the best way for everyone to cross. The first time we managed to cross the entire width on nice dry logs that were down. The second time was a little more tedious. We had to rock hop across. I was wearing my Teva sandals, so I just got down in the water and crossed that way, and then tried to help the others navigate the rocks after Greg & Brian helped them across the logs. I didn't expect the water to be overly warm, but it was so cold that my toes were numb by the time everyone had crossed. We managed pretty well, although a few slippery rocks led to 3 people having to finish the last mile with wet shoes.

Shortly after crossing the river, we happened upon a wolf right on the trail! It was much larger than I was expecting, and pretty creepy looking. Luckily, Dixie's old eyes never even noticed it, so she didn't draw attention to us. Would you believe that - out of 10 people - not one single person got a good picture of it! What are the odds!!! We're pretty bummed about that, because it was cool to be that close to a wolf. Anyway... that was one of Greg's top ten wishes... to see a wolf, in person, in the wild. Check!

Everybody was happy to finally reach our campsite and unload our heavy packs. We set up the huge tent (we all stayed in one!) gathered some firewood, and headed immediately for the hot springs. I was pretty skeptical of how hot the water could actually be, but I was impressed. There were two streams coming down the hill. The one on the right was ice cold water and the one on the left was hot water...just like a bathtub! There were a series of pools set up in stairstep fashion. The highest pool was the hottest and each subsequent pool was a little cooler than the previous one. Being the wimp that I am, I started out at the lowest pool, and never did work my way up to the hottest. The water was crystal clear, and you could see steam rising off the water in the evening and early morning. We all enjoyed the soothing water after all that hiking, but perhaps nobody enjoyed it more than Dixie. After cooling off from the walk, Dixie gradually worked her way into the medium pool. It was shallow enough at one end that she could lay down and the pool was the perfect depth that just her head remained above water. This may sound ridiculous, but I have never seen a look of contentment on her face like I saw for that time she was soaking in the warm water. Her old, arthritic joints were thankful after all that walking! Later, she worked her way up to the second hottest pool. She layed there, panting, until she decided it was time to head back to camp and take a nap. She just got out of the water, and made a beeline for the tent without looking back at anyone else. Later, Greg found her inside the tent (she's a master at opening tent zippers) nestled on top of Carrie's sleeping bag... while she was wet. Oops. The rest of the evening, she would try to sneak back in the tent when she thought nobody was looking. Thankfully for everyone's sleeping bags, her plot was foiled each time!

Sunday morning we reluctantly packed up and started the walk back out to the car. Everyone crossed the river without getting wet this time (Dixie had to be carried across on Greg's shoulders). The return hike was much hotter and dustier, but it didn't take quite as long since it was mostly downhill this time. We cleaned off at the water spigot, changed into dry (less-smelly) clothes and headed back towards Pullman. We stopped off in Kooskia for some greasy hamburgers, crispy french fries, and huckleberry pie at a little cafe/lodge where everybody ate without much talking. It was obvious that the return trip would be a fight to stay awake after getting our bellies full and sitting in the air conditioning. We did finally get back to Pullman - where Dixie got a bath and then crashed for the rest of the evening!

Before the 6-mile hike. Me, Greg, Christie & Alejandro, Angela, Rosa, Rodrigo, Carrie, Brian, Edith.
Carrie, Angela & I sharing one wing of the tent.

Dixie managed to find a little water hole while we were hiking. She always likes to show her best side!

Finally...some trees & mountains!

That's Greg on down the trail.

Part of the Clearwater National Forest

About 10 seconds before Greg spotted the gray wolf. It was on the trail and then wandered up on the left hand side for awhile. It seemed oblivious to us.

The two "medium" hot pools.

The two streams that fed the pools. Hot on the left, cold on the right.

The cold stream served as the "shower" for the weekend.

Angela, Greg & Brian filtering water from the stream into everyone's water jugs.

Does she look relaxed or what! Dixie really enjoyed the hot pools.

Man & Dog. Totally relaxed.

We couldn't even wait until dark to break out the s'mores. That's our huge "hotel" in the background.

Rodrigo, Alejandro & Christie...saying "Marshmallows!"

This picture is for you Jen. All three are brushing their teeth!

Greg, Brian & Angela stargazing from the hot tub. The pools were in a clearing in the trees.

Camping is hard work. Luckily there's always a place to rest your head.

Starting the hike back out. The smiles didn't last too long in the heat!

Me, Carrie & Angela

Dixie really struggled on the walk back out. It was in the mid- to upper-90s by the time we made it to the car. Every time we paused for the others to catch up, Dixie would plop down in the coolest spot she could find. She made it though!

Lunchtime Bully

2009-07-09T15:19:00.004-04:00

Normally, I use my hour-long lunch break to sit outside. I eat my sandwich, read a library book, and enjoy a relaxing bit of time to myself. Not today.
Today I was teased, tormented, and bullied. By a squirrel. That's right. A squirrel. I was sitting at a picnic table when a squirrel hopped up on the edge of the table and began his plot to steal my gluten-free, rice and almond bread, ham and cheese sandwich. Squirrels are health nuts too (no pun intended!). Anyway, I figured nobody would believe my story, so I whipped out my camera and here are the results.

The culprit. (The blue bag in the foreground contains my library book and the remainder of my lunch. I'm currently holding my sandwich.)

Stage 1. Stroll by pretending to be nonchalant.

Stage 2. Case the joint.

Stage 3. Stay perfectly still and she won't even notice you.

Stage 4. Make sure the goods are there. Mmm...I smell cheese!

Stage 5. Begin "Operation Drag-The-Bag"

Stage 6. Go! Go! Go!

He'd make a nice little antenna decoration!
Where's Dixie when you really need her?!?

Happy 4th of July

2009-07-05T22:18:00.004-04:00

Sorry it took so long for me to post some new things on our blog. Internet troubles slowed me down to begin with, and we've been pretty busy soaking up the summer weather by playing sand volleyball and staying outdoors a lot. Also, for anyone who hadn't heard yet, I am working now (yeah!), so gone are the days of hanging out with Dixie and keeping everything up to date. :)

4th of July in Pullman was HOT but fun. We started the day at a cookout with some of our new Latin American friends. We tried new foods from Peru, Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Venezuela, and the good 'ole US. Below is some of the group.

Later, we walked across town to a park where the community barbecue and fireworks were happening. We didn't make it in time for the food, but I caught some of the band. Greg was busy taking Dixie back home because dogs were not allowed in the park for this event, even though they are any other day. Luckily, he made it back to the park just in time for the fireworks. Pullman put on a pretty good fireworks show, complete with background music. The park was packed with people, although we haven't really heard a count on how many people attended. Here are a few shots of the fireworks.

We're hoping to camp this coming weekend near some hot springs in Idaho. Look for the pictures in a week or so!

The first swim of the year!

2009-07-04T00:12:00.002-04:00

To celebrate our day off on Friday, we rounded up some new friends, packed up some food, threw on our swimsuits and headed to the Snake River. We had a perfectly sunny day, and surprisingly, an uncrowded picnic spot right by the water. The water was a little cool at first! As you can see from the photos, we had a pretty diverse group. A total of 13 people represented 7 different countries: US, Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Cameroon, India, and China! This is only part of the group that we play sand volleyball with on Tuesdays and Thursdays each week. Greg and I are working on learning some Spanish!

Tomorrow we are planning to attend Pullman's 4th of July community barbecue and fireworks display. Happy Independence Day!

Sweet Home West Virginia

2009-06-12T20:25:00.009-04:00

My how time flies when you're having fun! We just returned from our visit to WV. Although we got to see a lot of people, the trip went too quickly. On a positive note, Dixie was quite excited to see us upon our return, and the weather out here is fantastic...no humidity! Other than that, we really would have liked to extend our trip a while longer. I'm sure another six months will pass quickly though. We took a camera full of photos during our trip, but here are a few of our favorites!

Jeremiah and Julie at their fantastic reception.

Greg always has to be picking on someone!

Look at all those bathing beauties!

We had a great visit, hopefully it's not too long before the next one...or before someone ventures out to see us!

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-26T20:23:00.005-04:00

Hooray for Summertime!!

We had big plans for the weekend. We loaded up the new vehicle, hit the grocery store, and headed back to McCroskey State Park to spend the weekend camping with a group of friends. Apparently lots of other people had the same idea. By the time we made it to the park, the place was packed! Campers, tents, kids, dogs, 4 wheelers, dirt bikes galore. And here we thought the place was a secret. After driving the length of the park, we hung our heads and returned home to camp out in our bedroom. We managed to find plenty to do in Pullman though. Saturday, we watched WSU's baseball team beat big-time rival University of Washington Huskies. We grilled out each evening in our backyards. And on Monday, we drove to Laird Park in the Clearwater National Forest in Idaho.

Today it was back to work for Greg. This afternoon, to celebrate my 27th birthday, we walked to Ferdinand's, the WSU Creamery, for some homemade ice cream. Greg sampled a Cookies 'n Creme milkshake, and I had a scoop of Chocolate Peanut Butter Chunk and a scoop of Cappuccino Chip. This is DEFINITELY a place to put on your itinerary if you come to Pullman! To work off all that ice cream we hit the raquetball court with Travis & Shannon, who gifted me with some fancy raquetball goggles! Way better than the scuffed up ones they give you at the gym!

Thursday morning, we're WV bound for about two weeks!

Claiming her spot among all the "stuff."

Roasting marshmallows over the grill

Enjoying the sunshine & fresh air.

Surprise! We got a new car!

2009-05-22T12:03:00.003-04:00

After much discussion and searching, we finally took the plunge and traded in our two vehicles for one new one. Since moving to Pullman, there has not been one single time when both of our vehicles were out of the driveway. We can easily walk, bike, or take the bus around town for free. So, to save on insurance, maintenance, etc, we decided to downsize. We finally settled on a new '09 Subaru Forester. Satin white, the same color my car had been. The back seats lay down flat, so we could probably still camp in the back. Most importantly... Dixie has her own little area to ride in the back...not on the seats! And the sunroof is enormous! Here are a few pictures.

The Quest for a Comfy Spot!

2009-05-18T12:47:00.006-04:00

It's not quite fair to say that Dixie didn't work this weekend. She worked pretty hard actually.... trying desperately to find the softest, most comfortable spot to rest her weary head! After I downloaded our camping pictures (see the next post) I realized how many shots I had of Dixie trying to make a bed in various spots. It seemed only fair to give her her very own post. So, in no particular order, here is proof of how hard Dixie worked these last few days!

In the flower bed outside our back door seems to be her favorite spot.

So soft.

More flowers. Watching all the hubbub of setting up camp.

I hate the paparazzi.

That's "Queen Dixie" to you, lowly peasant!

One branch on the ground...guess who claims it.

A diamond in the rough.

We swept up a pile of pine needles to help out the fire. She laid on them.

Oh the torture she endures for pictures.

Nice and cozy pine needles.

The morning after... camping is hard work!

Camping at McCroskey S.P.

2009-05-18T12:06:00.004-04:00

Saturday afternoon, Greg, Dixie and I headed back out to St. Joe National Forest to camp at McCroskey State Park with our friend Brian. We just stayed one night, but it was nice to get out for awhile...and the weather was fantastic. Greg and I slept in the back of the truck (Dixie had her own suite in the extended cab) and we even had to open up the back glass because it was so warm. Once again, there were no wildlife sightings. We did play some frisbee golf, roasted marshmallows (for breakfast even), and ate well! Greg always claims the only reason to go camping is for the food. We had plenty of it. Our brunch on Sunday morning consisted of fried eggs, fried potatoes, bacon, and a fruit medley. That's fancier than we eat at home! Unfortunately, I had planned to run the 6 miles back to the main road after we packed up. The big, greasy breakfast didn't set too well, but I made it and it was so nice to run through all the trees instead of through town or at the gym.

Our sleeping set-up.

First things first...food!

Doing her part to set up camp.

Showin' off the muscles. We all had a go at cutting firewood.

If he can laugh, he must not be working hard enough!

A Glacial Lily

Sweeping up pine needles to help out the fire. This was Greg's brilliant idea.

Dixie takes her turn using the "broom." Watching us work wears her out.

Sleepy head. Full fledged daylight arrives around 5am out here!

Apparently she wasn't well-rested after sleeping in her private quarters.

Marshmallows for breakfast. This is the life!

Chef Gray-go-ree!

The impressive spread for breakfast!

The Search for Big Game in St. Joe National Forest

2009-05-13T14:54:00.005-04:00

Despite the crazy weather on Tuesday (rain, snow and multiple bouts of hail) Greg, Dixie and I piled in the truck and drove about an hour northeast to visit St. Joe National Forest on the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation. No hiking today, just a drive along a 17 mile forest service road that ran along the ridge of three mountains and an Idaho state park. We enjoyed views from Mineral Mountain (4128ft), Mission Mountain (4324ft), and Iron Mountain. We found a few good places to camp in Mary Minerva McCroskey Memorial State Park that stretched across all three mountains. We did not, however, spot any big game. :( A few different groups of turkeys was the extent of our wildlife viewing. It was good to be among trees again though! This is another spot that is worth a drive to for anyone who comes to visit us. Check out the pictures.

We had almost made it to the end of the park - just 1 1/2 miles left - when we had to turn around and go all the way back out the way we came because of leftover snow drifts that blocked the narrow road. Although you can't tell in this picture, the hillside dropped straight down just to the right of the snow drifts. One slip and we would've been in some big trouble. You can see where another vehicle started to drive through the drift and then changed their minds and backed out as well.

Also, we could only see two of the three camping areas because of snow. We made a valiant effort to get to this campsite (which looked like it would be the best one) but had to back out of it as well because of the deep leftover snow. Stay tuned for more pictures later this week or the beginning of next week. Saturday's weather is supposed to be great, so we're hoping to get a night of camping in somewhere!

And finally, it was Christmas yet again for Greg. His fancy new motorcycle jacket arrived today. He was so excited when it was delivered that he gave the UPS guy some hot out of the oven brownies! Here are pictures of the new jacket and helmet.

Hike at Kamiak Butte

2009-05-13T13:26:00.004-04:00

Finally...the time and the weather to get out and do some exploring! Greg has a weeklong break before his research position starts, so we've taken the opportunity to see some more local sites. Monday, we took a 10 mile drive to check out Kamiak Butte, one of the highest buttes in the area. A little background about what a butte is (in layman's terms!)... this area used to be covered by ocean. When the water left, there were all these mountains of deposits left behind. Later, lava bubbled up through the earth's crust and covered all but the highest mountains of deposits. The lava was later covered by a layer of loess, but again, the highest areas of deposits were still exposed. Those areas are called buttes or steptoes. The layer of loess is what makes the Palouse such a fertile area. Hopefully there aren't any geology experts reading, because I probably just butchered that explanation!!

Anyway... at 3641 feet, Kamiak Butte is a national natural landmark. We got some great views of the Palouse. In one of the pictures, way out in the distance on the right hand side you can see a town, which is Pullman. It is literally plopped down in the middle of wheat fields. Here are some pictures.

This is one of the best inventions we've come across. The park has a dispenser at the trailhead that holds these convenient little pooper scoopers. There is a stiff wire in the opening that allows you to "scoop". The wire then pushes into the cardboard to seal the bag and there is a convenient handle so you can carry the poop out like a purse. Amazing! By the way Hannah, if you get a small brown package in the next few days from Greg...I wouldn't open it if I were you!! :)

This is a view of Kamiak Butte as we were driving away. It really doesn't look too big in this picture, but don't be fooled. Everything is big out here!

An Addict Gets His Fix

2009-05-05T21:10:00.004-04:00

After parting with two four-wheelers and a Camaro before leaving WV, I knew it was only a matter of time before Greg filled that empty spot in his heart with some other wheeled, motorized "toy". Today was that day.

Greg is now the proud owner of a 2005 Suzuki DR 650. No license. No tags. No helmet. No super-cool gear.... but he has the bike. And, it is parked in our "dining" room. That seat should make for a great table when company visits! Below are some pictures.

Besides motorcycle shopping, there has not been much happening in the Estep household. Greg is in the midst of finals week (you can tell his mind is really in the right place). Dixie has been enjoying the sunshine. I'm still job-hunting and school shopping.

Last week, we did take in one local attraction that is relatively famous here in Pullman. WSU is home to a well-known Grizzly bear research facility where quite a few bears can be viewed by the public. We went during the morning, so the bears were not yet out in their play area. We were able to see them in their "kennels" though. There were probably a dozen bears, including a mother with 3 young cubs. Interestingly enough, a neighbor that we recently met used to work for the park service in Montana. She and a fellow worker had an encounter with this particular mother just last year while she was still wild! Although we were looking through about 4 layers of fencing, I would not want to meet any of these bears in the wild. I posted a picture below. I only had the small camera with me, and it couldn't seem to focus beyond the fence, so the picture is not great. This is definitely a place worth seeing for anybody that comes out to visit.

That's all the excitement we've had here. I did bake a gluten-free pie crust last week for a friend's birthday pie. It actually tasted good, had a good texture, and looked good. That doesn't happen with many of my gluten-free experiments, so it was pretty exciting too.

We're looking forward to the end of May and our trip back to WV!

WSU 100k Relay Race

2009-04-20T22:48:00.006-04:00

Last Sunday (Easter), it seems like we spent the entire day eating and lazing around. This Sunday was a completely different story. Greg and I were part of a 10-person team that ran a total of 1o0 kilometers (62 miles) around the Pullman area. The race started at 7:30am and our team didn't finish until sometime around 5:00pm. The weather was great and everyone seemed to be feeling okay (both before and after running), so it was a pretty fun event. This race was started in 1990 as part of WSU's centennial celebration. The purpose was to run 1 kilometer for every year of the school's existence. The race was such a hit that they've continued it every year since. Although some great runners turned out, the most impressive team was a group of Canadian men, all of whom were over 55 years of age, that blew away the competition. Unfortunately, they all had a penchant for wearing WAY too short shorts! :)

The race started at 7:30am just outside the fieldhouse on campus. Travis ran the first leg for our team. That's him in the green t-shirt. As a side note, that little guy in front wearing the long-sleeve white shirt was an awesome runner. He pretty much left everyone in his dust right out of the gate.

Greg ran the second leg of the race for our team...about 5.6 miles. He had just received the high-five from Travis here.

Greg managed to pass 12 people during his run. Way to go. See, running's not SO bad, is it?? Although he was giving the thumbs up here, he was paying the price later with blister-covered feet. I'll spare you all the pictures. And yes... he did take pictures.

Greg handed off to Ray (in the yellow and purple) who had a seven-mile run downhill through the canyon for the third leg of the race. His legs were about to give out on him afterwards...it was a steep, relentless downhill! He then handed off to Shannon who ran almost 8 miles along the Snake River (the pictures we posted a few weeks ago). I didn't get pictures of the other runners on our team (legs 5-8) because I had to go back home to change and eat before it was my turn to run.

This is Michelle (9th leg) who handed off to me for the final section of the race.

At last! After waiting around all day, I finally got my turn to run.

By this time, the teams were so spread out that I ran my entire 4-mile leg without another person as far as I could see in front, or as far as I could see in the back. It was pretty boring running by all the farms and fields.

Since I was the 10th and final leg of the race, my run took me back onto campus, into the fieldhouse, and finally across the finish line. It was after 5 o'clock when I finished...our team had started at 7:30 that morning.

This is our team in the order that we ran. (Back, l-r) 1-Travis, 2-Greg, 3-Ray, 4-Shannon, 5-Derek, (Front, l-r) 6- Alex, 7-Melissa, 8-Cassie (not pictured), 9-Michelle, 10-Lindsey. Dixie and Ginny served purely as moral support! Trust me, Dixie wants NO part of a 62-mile run!

Modeling yet another set of matching t-shirts.
That, of course, is Shannon behind us being ridiculous! :)

Next weekend's adventure will most likely be homework.
Stay tuned for those exciting pictures! :)

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T21:44:00.003-04:00

No sight of the Easter bunny today, but the sun made an appearance for awhile! Greg and I attended a special church service right on campus, and then headed up to Travis and Shannon's for Easter dinner. Shannon fixed a ham and we had plenty of other good things to round out the meal.

The spread.

Waiting to eat with Ginny & Dixie.

The elusive Easter Bunny.... taking a nap.

Greg looks a little worried!

Things have been pretty quiet for us the last few days. Greg gets busier each day, with only about 3 weeks left in the semester. The weather has been pretty cooperative. The big news of the week... we finally got a bed! After six months on the air mattress, the bed feels pretty nice. Furthermore, we FINALLY bought a dresser and nightstands. Maybe now all those rubbermaid containers can be shoved in a closet where they belong! I think we are now as "furnished" as we've ever been.

This time next week, I hope to have some interesting pictures from the 100k race. Keep your fingers crossed for sunshine!

Long Time, No Write

2009-04-06T20:25:00.002-04:00

Before anyone sends a search party after us, just take a breath! We're still here. We've just had some technical difficulties that has made our internet access a little sporadic. So, to catch up...

Although these previous two days have been gorgeous, we really haven't been into much recently thanks to the crummy weather. Rain mixed with snow has been the highlight of every day for the past two weeks. Let's hope that's gone for good now. I painted my toenails though, so I probably just jinxed any good weather that was headed our way. :)

Dixie is doing just fine. Greg is still plugging away at school. And I'm still into my usual. Greg has joined an intramural soccer team since our last post. He seems to be picking up pretty quickly on how to play, but the season will be over this week. (I'll put some pictures up as soon as I reinstall my camera software!) I ran a 5k last weekend with Shannon right here on WSU's campus. Greg and I both have signed up to be part of a team that is running in a 100k (a little over 60 mile) race on April 19th. It is a 10-person relay team, so Greg's leg of the race is 5.6 miles, and my leg of the race will be 4.1 miles. I can't speak for Greg, but I'm pretty excited about it. Apparently the course winds all around the Palouse area and begins and ends here in Pullman. And our biggest news of this week is that we are finally getting a real bed. We've been sleeping on our air mattress since the yard sale back in mid-October. After 6 months of that, I imagine our bed is going to feel pretty nice when it's delivered later this week.

We're both looking forward to the end of May when we'll be heading back to WV for a visit. Unfortunately, Dixie will be staying behind with Travis, Shannon & Ginny (the weiner dog). I don't think she knows this yet, and I'm going to make Greg tell her!! :) I don't want to be the one to break her heart.

And finally, a big HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY to Jen!

Visit to Snake River Canyon

2009-03-24T11:54:00.004-04:00

Spring Break is officially over...for Greg anyway! Due to weather, we didn't get to do any camping while he was on vacation, but we still managed to find plenty to do. Friday and Saturday turned out to be gorgeous weather days, so we squeezed in as much outdoor activity as possible in those two days. Today (Tuesday), we're back to snow. :(

Our first venture last week, was a trip to Spokane, WA on Wednesday. Spokane is a pretty good-size city and only about an hour and a half away from Pullman. We discovered an R.E.I. (outdoor rec/camping supply store) there, which is where we spent the majority of the day. Greg's mile-long Christmas wishlist grew another mile while we were in the store! Afterwards, we checked out one of the many malls for awhile. Our only purchase was the board game "Encore" which we recommend to anybody who likes board games. After the mall, we headed back to Pullman.

Friday's nice weather had us itching to get outside. First, we rode our bikes around town for some errands. Then, Dixie accompanied us to the tennis courts for awhile, where we played comfortably in t-shirts and shorts. After that, we rode our bikes to the gym for awhile.

Saturday was probably the best day of the entire break. Along with our friend Jenny - and her kayak - we loaded up in the truck and drove about 15 miles outside of Pullman to see the Snake River. A few miles outside of town, the terrain switched abruptly from the rolling fields, to a huge rocky canyon as we made the descent to the river. Greg finally received his wish to see some wildlife... over the course of the day, he spotted a pheasant, some whitetail deer, and some mule deer! The canyon and the river were pretty amazing though. Check out some of the pictures below!

First and foremost... we caught major flak for not having a picture of Dixie in our last post. So... just to prove to everyone that she is alive and well, I wanted to put her picture at the top of the list. The water was still a little too cold for her to play in, but I think she was just as thrilled as the rest of us to get out of the house! She is standing on the rockbar where we sat our chairs for the day.

Jenny let me take a whirl on her kayak, so the picture above was actually taken from the middle of the river, looking down the canyon. I wish I could make these photos larger, they look so much better when you can see more detail. Greg unfortunately did not get to take a turn on the kayak because Jenny's life jacket couldn't contain his broad shoulders and beefy chest. :)

There also happened to be a crew or rowing meet at this spot on the river Saturday. Both the WSU men's and women's rowing teams were flitting across the river right in front of us. It was pretty interesting to watch how synchronized they are.

Jenny and I each took a turn and paddled the width of the river. This was a small waterfall that was hidden in one of the coves on the opposite side of the river. The canyon wall was straight up and down on that side of the river.
It's difficult to see when the picture is this small, but that little green and black speck in the water is Jenny on her kayak. She is not even all the way across the river, and my camera is zoomed almost as far as it can go to capture this shot. It puts into perspective just how high the wall is on the other side of the river.

The sunshine peeked out for a few minutes to brighten everything up. Unfortunately, the landscape is still mostly brown, although little shoots of grass and some flowers are starting to break through the ground.

And finally, a shot from the opposite side of the river. I paddled all the way across the river, and then turned around a took a picture of the spot where Greg, Jenny, and Dixie were waitng for me. I don't know if you can see the little specks of white where the water and the hillside come together, but that is the boat dock, parking lot, and a few small outbuildings! My camera was not zoomed in at all, so that's exactly how it looked to me sitting on the kayak. Good thing I didn't fall out! If anyone comes to visit us this year, this is definitely a spot worth checking out.

Happy Birthday Greg!

2009-03-16T15:15:00.004-04:00

Somebody is getting older today! Thankfully it's Greg and not me! :) Greg turned 29 today, although we actually celebrated his birthday on Saturday evening by having some friends over for cake, board games, and some Wii. Doesn't exactly sound like a birthday party for a 29 year-old huh??

I'm not really sure if Ginny was trying to help Greg blow out the candles...or if she was hoping to snatch a bite of the strawberry cake covered in "Rainbow Chip" icing and some huge chocolate-covered strawberries! I'm going to say it was the latter. The strawberries were so large that they kept sliding off the top of the cake. What was supposed to be a beautiful masterpiece a 'la Lindsey, was a complete mess by the time Greg blew out the candles. Candles jutted randomly out of the cake to serve as stops for the giant strawberries which were sweating and causing the icing to melt right off the cake. Nobody complained about the taste though, so I guess that's all the matters!

Greg made out quite well this year. Thanks to many of our family members, he can now order his new North Face jacket that he has been eyeing for a long time. He also got some gift certificates to camp at Washington State Parks, a Washington atlas so that we can find the state parks, new headphones for his mp3 player, a WSU t-shirt, "Whitetail-opoly" (the hunting version of Monopoly), some Reese peanut butter eggs, and some little odd and ends. Not too bad!

This is a picture of the cake as soon as I put it all together... before it became a disaster area.

And...at Greg's insistence...here is a picture of the napkins that he so beautifully fanned after learning the trick from Jen recently. He's practically Martha Stewart! :)

Today begins Greg's spring break. We don't have any major plans thanks to the weather (and having to pay taxes!). :( We'll probably do some driving around and exploring later in the week after the rain stops, but it's still just a little too wet and cold for camping. We'll be sure to put some pictures up if we do anything photo-worthy!

Greg says thanks to everybody for the birthday cards and gifts that he received!

Still Snowing

2009-03-09T21:42:00.002-04:00

Just when I thought spring was around the corner, Pullman got hit with another round of snow. :( It started in the middle of last week, and just continues to snow...melting slightly, and then snowing some more. I definitely have spring fever!

This weekend was pretty uneventful for Greg and I. We joined some friends Saturday evening to play Rock Band and American Idol Karaoke, but the rest of our weekend was spent indoors... being active at the gym, then being lazy on the couch! A nice balance. :)

This week, we are trying to plan a camping trip for Greg's spring break which starts next Monday. I've been online checking out the various state and national parks and forests. The problem is that so many of the scenic areas are still incredibly wet or snowy. It seems that the majority of the Cascades area isn't even up and running until May due to snow and avalanches. Eek! After seeing Jen and Greg's pictures of San Diego, my vote is for Californ-i-a! Bring on the sunshine.

I'm also preparing for a certain someone's birthday on the 16th. Greg will be turning a whopping 29! Ha ha. He has requested a strawberry cake for his party on Saturday. I'm also going to attempt to make some strawberry jelly for a birthday present. He has already exhausted his supply of jelly that he was given at Christmas, and had to resort to store-bought grape jelly recently. Oh the horror!

Well, sorry there are no new pictures this week. There should be plenty of pictures these next two weekends though, so stay tuned. And send some sunshine and warm weather our way please!

Hike at Rock Creek

2009-03-02T11:05:00.013-05:00

This weekend's outing was to the Rock Creek Management Area, also known as the "Scablands". I don't know exactly where we were, but the last town we saw was Endicott, Washington, and we were about an hour and a half from Pullman. It was a pretty interesting area. While driving, you are surrounded by rolling fields, and then all of the sudden giant rock formations begin jutting up from the ground. On the subject of "getting there," we once again found out how unreliable Google directions are! We were starting out a dirt road that was apparently a shortcut. The shortcut ended up costing us quite a bit of extra time however. This road is actually closed from November until mid-March. Once we reached the sign that stated this, Brian and Jenny - the other two people we were hiking with - were already stuck in his 2WD Nissan pick-up. As they tried to back out to the main road, his truck just gradually slid into the ditch. After a couple of attempts, and lots of mud slinging, Greg finally managed to pull him out, and we all made it back to the main road to take the long way around! Greg's boots weighed an extra 10lbs. by the time we were back on our way from all the mud caked on them.

After doubling back more than a few times, we finally reached our destination. Best I could tell, Rock Creek Managment Area is a swath of this "scabland" that ranchers can graze their horses or cattle on with permit. The "trail" was just a farm road weaving between the giant rock formations.

The majority of the road however, is seasonal and was not yet open to vehicles. So we walked about 3 miles out to find the waterfall. Here we are at the very beginning of the hike. That's Brian (and his dog Touk), Jenny, and Greg. Dixie had to sit out this hike because she has been a little under the weather.

This was our first wildlife spotting! By the way, this is what they call a potato bug out here. I don't think I would have wanted to dig potatoes back home if our potato bugs looked like this!

The only other wildlife that we spotted during the hike was a hawk. Greg was pretty disappointed. The scenery however, looked like it was straight from some western movie. I was just waiting for a whole line of feathered heads to pop up over one of the ridges and stare silently but ominously down at us. Sometimes my imagination gets a little out of control. :)

We finally reached the waterfalls, which looked very out of place among all the other scenery. Unfortunately, the water was too high for us to get in a position to take pictures of the big waterfall, so we had to settle for this smaller one. It was still pretty neat. On the three mile walk out, I was very skeptical about seeing an actual waterfall in this part of the country, but I was wrong. The day was very overcast, so there wasn't much color to be captured.

We (finally) made it back to the truck, and then back out to the main road without getting lost or stuck again. We were all famished, so we stopped off in Colfax, Washington for some nice, cheesy Mexican food! Lastly, here is a picture of Brian's dog, Touk. He is a mixture of Border Collie and Golden Retriever. I had to post his picture because he reminds me so much of Oreo, the dog we had growing up.

That was the extent of our excitement for the week. We are tenatively planning a trip to Olympic National Park over on the Washington coast for spring break in mid-March. The pictures on the website look pretty amazing, so let's hope everything works out!

No More Moving...For Now

2009-02-24T15:29:00.003-05:00

Today, I'm spending my abundant free time trying to get a bit more "settled" into our apartment. For any of you who did not know, Greg and I agreed to rent this apartment after seeing only a few pictures on the internet. Turns out, we probably couldn't have done any better even if we'd come out here for a visit. Although we had moved all our belongings in and put them away, we really had not bothered to decorate or hang pictures in case we decided to switch apartments in May. This weekend we decided to go ahead and renew our lease, which will run until May 2010. If we stay in this apartment the entire time Greg is in school, it will be the longest that we have ever lived anywhere! :) So since it is rainy out today, I'm trying to hang pictures and situate things a little better. Once that is done, my plan is to start painting some again. Wish me luck with that...it's been awhile!

This weekend was pretty uneventful for us. Saturday morning started with a "homemade" haircut for Greg (aka Chia Pet!). The weather was nice, so after that we headed to the park to play tennis with Travis & Shannon. Unfortunately, the nets have not been put up yet, so we just goofed off and played with the dogs for awhile. That evening, the old movie "One Million B.C." starring Raquel Welch was playing for free at WSU. We went to watch it with some friends. It is truly amazing how far movies have come!! I don't think the movie was originally intended to be a comedy, but you never would have known that from all the laughing going on in the audience.

Sorry for the lack of pictures this week... we really just have not done anything out of the ordinary this week that seemed worth taking a picture of. Maybe this weekend will bring something a little more interesting for you all to read about!

Moscow Mountain

2009-02-16T12:43:00.005-05:00

Sunday afternoon, we loaded Dixie up in the back of the truck, packed some snacks, and headed over to Moscow, Idaho to Moscow Mountain - the one and only mountain in this area. We were joined by Travis, Shannon & Ginny (the weiner dog) and by Ken & Nicole, who provided the directions. A word to the wise... Google directions are very questionable when backroads are involved. Luckily...we got lost. That may sound like a mistake, but we just happened to pass a couple of guys who had gotten their 2WD truck stuck. Greg to the rescue! Greg got his chain out of the back of the truck and a few short minutes later the two guys were back on their way. It could have been hours, or a long walk for those two if we hadn't gotten lost. They were trying to dig themselves out with shovels. Anyway, they were able to give us directions on how to get to the base of Moscow Mountain. We finally found it, and set out on our way. Ginny ran around for awhile, but because of all the snow that was still on the ground, her little belly got cold and wet in no time. So Shannon wrapped her in a blanket, and Ginny got a free ride for awhile so she could warm up.

She actually whined until they let her back out to walk with Dixie. I think Dixie would have liked to trade Ginny spots! The hike was basically just an access road that wound around the mountain. Nothing too extreme. We think that there was another trailhead somewhere that had better hiking and biking trails with more scenery...maybe next time. To add a little "spice" to the hike, Ken broke out an emergency heat blanket to try sliding down some of the snow banks. The sheet didn't last too long, but he and Greg got a few good runs in before it disintegrated.

Although we never really reached a summit with a view of all of Moscow, we decided to turn around up on top because it was snowing and everyone was getting hungry. The best view we had was this one from about 3/4 of the way up the mountain. This was actually before it started snowing. On the way back down, you couldn't even see this much.
Before we turned around at the top, we took a quick break to eat some of the chocolate (from the night before) and some cookies, and to take a group picture. That is Shannon (with Ginny) and Travis on the left, and Ken and Nicole on the right.

Valentine's Day on the Cheap

2009-02-16T12:14:00.009-05:00

An article on MSN Money on Friday stated that Americans - even in the midst of our economic woes - were expected to spend approximately $14 billion on flowers, candy, and Valentine-related products by the 14th. It probably comes as no surprise that Greg and I were not part of that statistic. Saturday morning, Greg washed my filthy car, and even cleaned out the inside. Afterwards, I fixed him bacon and heart-shaped, chocolate chip pancakes.

Ta-da! Valentine's Day presents!

Dixie also gave us a hefty present, but it was NOT to be confused with chocolate or flowers!

Later that evening, we were joined by some friends for dinner (homemade) and for our own candy-making extravaganza. Using my "As Seen On TV" Chocolate Factory, we melted chocolate to pour into molds of teddy bears, heart-shaped suckers, flowers, and in Greg's case, snowmen. This is him working on his grand masterpiece. His chocolates were quite a grab bag of surprises. An almond here, a blob of peanut butter or a marshmallow there...

And here is the finished product of everyone's efforts!

Of course while we were making chocolates, Dixie was also quite busy. We took her to the park earlier in the day to play some ball. This was the first sprinting she had done in quite awhile, so she was busy recovering during all the chocolate making.

2009-02-08T18:38:00.008-05:00

It has been one week since my last blog post. Not surprisingly...there hasn't been much of anything new to report on. The weather has been nice, in the 50s a few days this past week. Dixie and I have been holding the fort down throughout the week. It's official...we are back to our regular, old, boring selves! :)

Saturday we decided to take a drive to Lewiston, a town about 30 miles south of Pullman in Idaho. The town stunk...literally. There was some type of plant along the river that was causing quite a smell. The town was fine, a Walmart, a mall, nothing too special. The drive to get there was interesting. Huge rolling fields, and then down a steep mountain to get to the town. Here are a few pictures. The first is a view of the entire town from the overlook at the top of the mountain. The second picture is from the parking lot of one of the shopping centers. We still haven't gotten over the drastic change in scenery from West Virginia. The entire way down the mountain, there was not 1 single tree in sight. Weird.

Today (Sunday) we got some furniture. We had been checking Craigslist.com daily to try and find something to complement our "couch-in-a-box." We went to look at an armchair with a matching ottoman and discovered that there was a couch to match also. The lady agreed to throw in a coffee table and side table also, so we made the purchase. Our living room is now crammed with furniture! We went from an open, somewhat bare living room, to one that you can barely manuever through. The futon may be getting moved to the spare bedroom as soon as we do some rearranging. Here's what the living room looks like for right now.

And finally, because no post is complete without a picture of Dixie... this is Dixie getting a professional blow-out after her bath today. She's too spoiled to even stand up during the process. I think she's ready for showbiz!

2009-01-31T17:13:00.002-05:00

How hip are we? Greg and I are in an artsy, little coffee shop in Moscow, ID where he is studying and I'm surfing the internet (big surprise there!). We are so "with-it". :) Unfortunately I don't have anything incredibly exciting to write about this week. Dixie has been under the weather, so we haven't had too many walks to get out and take pictures. I have been spending most of the week preparing my application materials to apply for the Master of Fine Arts program at both the University of Idaho and Washington State University. I can't seem to get anyone from WSU to call or email me back though, so right now I'm focusing on the University of Idaho. Greg has been fairly busy with homework and grading papers this week, so our lives have been pretty average.

Shannon and I did get to go out for a run yesterday. It was nice to soak up some sunshine even if it was still cold and incredibly windy. The bad thing about running out in the open around the Palouse is that there is absolutely nothing to break the wind. No mountains, not many trees. Unless you get between some buildings, you catch the full force of the wind...it just happened to be right in our faces as we tried to run up the hill. Convenient. Sometimes you just have those days that you can't catch a break. My oatmeal overflowed and made a mess in the microwave, nobody would call me back from WSU, the wind was relentless during my run, I'm STILL unemployed. Ok, so maybe I'm being slightly dramatic!

On the plus side, the Seattle earthquake missed us! And we aren't getting all the cold, nasty weather that West Virginia is experiencing. Maybe this coming week will bring something a little more exciting to write about! Stay warm!

Cold Weather & Warm Recipes

2009-01-26T16:23:00.004-05:00

The chill that all of you back home had last week must be heading our direction. The temperature has been in the single digits this morning. When Dixie and I returned from our morning walk around 11:00, it was only 7 degrees. It supposedly dropped below zero overnight. No wonder my legs were stinging! She and I walked to the downtown area where I took these pictures. The cougar is WSU's mascot. A few weeks ago, someone had wrapped a nice red and gold scarf around the statue's neck, but apparently a living being needed the warmth more than the cougar because the scarf wasn't there for very long. You can see that we got a few more inches of snow over the weekend. And of course, being the ferocious guard dog that she is...this 2nd picture shows Dixie protecting me from the inanimate object...just in case it had any ideas! Notice the hair down her back standing on end.

So on the subject of cold weather...Greg has requested some nice, hot crock-pot meals. I've done some vegetable soup and potato soup, but I really don't have too many recipes for things to make in the crock-pot. Now I happen to know for a fact that there are some really good cooks who follow this blog...so I'm putting out an open request for crock-pot recipes. You can post the recipe as a comment right here on the blog site, email it to me, or just send it via regular mail if you prefer. If anyone needs our address, you should be able to get it from any immediate family member. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but I'm a little hesitant to put our full address on the internet for anyone to see. I look forward to all the delicious recipes we might get!! Stay warm!

Weekend Update

2009-01-24T17:38:00.004-05:00

Ugh...more snow. It's not piling up nearly as quick this time around, but it is making a mess of everything again. And snow makes it very difficult to get motivated to do anything other than curl up under a blanket. We tried to combat the laziness with some fun activities on Friday night and also this morning.

Friday, we hit the rec center to play some volleyball in the pool. The water wasn't too bad, but apparently they didn't have the room heater on. Everyone was hunkered down in the water trying to stay warm. After volleyball, we ventured over to the CUB (the student union) for WSU's version of "Up All Night." This is just free food and activities for students and their guests on Friday nights as an alternative to going out on the town. Unfortunately, WSU's "Up All Night" is not nearly as good as West Virginia University's!! We arrived about an hour after things had started and the food (Chinese food, ugh) was completely cleaned out! We tried to get in on some of the games, but the lines were so long we gave up on that quickly. We tried to get in on the craft, but they were already out of supplies. We did hang around long enough to catch the entertainment act...a sword swallower. He was so booooring that we left before he got to the main part of his act. Oh well...it was worth a try.

Saturday morning's activity was much better. We hit the rec center with 4 other people for a doubles raquetball tournament. Not to brag, but Greg and I cleaned up, beating both teams (once). :) After that, we grabbed some basketballs for a little 3-0n-3 and Knockout. We might have been the laughingstock of the basketball courts, but we burnt off some major calories over the course of 2 1/2 hours. Which hopefully made up for all the gluten-free cookies we ate last night. I finally ordered some different types of flour to make my "all-purpose gluten-free flour" mixture. About 22 pounds of flour actually. It was quite a bit cheaper to order it in bulk. It just arrived Thursday night, so to try it out, I made some chocolate cookies with peanut butter chips Friday night. Wow. You'd never know they were gluten free. 30 cookies disappeared in a matter of minutes. Now you know why we needed to spend so long at the gym this morning!

Earlier this week, we hosted movie night and dinner. We've been having communal dinners with some friends almost every night of the week. I only have to cook about twice a week, but we've been eating some great food each evening. Greg is wanting to start a new tradition for each week. He wants to have a covered dish dinner where each person brings something that cost no more than $2 to make. It will be tough, but it will definitely call for some creativity and maybe a little extra hunting in the grocery store. It's hard to find items under $2 that will feed one person, much less a few people! We'll see if it catches on or not. Dixie and Ginny like movie night though. They both can start snoozing at the drop of a hat, so they get a little closer to cuddling up each time we get together. Greg had both of them on the couch with him this week. They look a little bored with the movie though... Greg must have picked that one out!

As far as our "daytime" life goes, Greg just had his first test on Friday. He should find out how that went on Monday. Still no jobs for me. Being a full-time dishwasher/clothes washer/dog walker/house cleaner/dinner fixer doesn't pay too well unfortunately. Well, I'll be sure to let you all know how Greg fared on his test....I can tell you're all dying to know! :)

2009-01-19T19:12:00.004-05:00

Brrrr! I'm ready for Spring! Although we've been spared the below-zero temperatures that all of you back home are having...things still seem so cold. We have had very heavy frosts that are so pretty. Below is a close-up of a pine tree with all the little spikes of frost. This was taken about 3:00 in the afternoon. For about three days now, we've had frost that stays on all day long. At least it's not piles of snow!

Our yard is so small that Dixie doesn't get to do much playing or sniffing. She goes out to take care of business and then we make her come back in. So we've been walking up the hill to a park to let her (and Ginny) run around and blow off some steam these last two days. It's quite amusing to watch them follow each other around, seeing who can pee the most! This picture was also taken late afternoon. All of that white is frost, not snow. Dixie looks like she's ready to do some modeling...what with the windblown look, slightly open mouth, and "come hither" stare! This is Ginny and Dixie as we walked back down the hill to go home. You don't realize just how small Ginny is until you get her outside. She's only about 7 months old though, so I guess she's got some filling out to do. She and Dixie are the exact same color, so it's pretty funny to watch them walk down the street side by side.

This hill overlooks the park where we were playing. Dixie, of course, looked away from the camera at the very second we were ready to take the picture.
We're liking Pullman a little more each day. Unfortunately, the job I was hoping for didn't work out, so I'm on the hunt again. I guess most people probably fantasize about not having to go to work everyday...getting to stay home and be lazy...do whatever you want. When you have no choice about it, it's not always fun. Hopefully it won't last too long though. I have a few options out there, so let's hope all the pieces fall into place soon.

Greg is still enjoying school. So much so, that he is at the library on a vacation day! Things are coming back to him now, and I think he'll really enjoy it next semester when he gets to switch to a research assistant instead of a teaching assistant.

Our highlight this week was attempting to play roller-hockey. I have a newfound respect for hockey players. It's no wonder they have concussions and only a few of their actual teeth...it can be dangerous! If you're skating with Greg that is! :) Neither of us had been on rollerblades for quite awhile. The rec center has a small enclosed area for roller-hockey, and they rent out all the necessary equipment. I looked like the biggest dork of course...apparently when they got to me, the only helmet left was one with a windshield! It was so scratched up that I could barely see through it. Anyway, we played 2 on 2 with Shannon and Travis (who was an actual hockey player). We started by playing 3 on 1 against Travis...but soon decided that it would only be fair if he had one of us on his team to bring him down a few notches. 2 on 2 was much more even...although Greg and I definitely didn't come out on top. There were a lot of close calls, but there was only one wipeout. Out of respect for the athletes, I won't mention any names though (G-R-E-G!).

Greg didn't fare much better the next day when the four of us played raquetball and I landed a perfect shot right in his eye socket! Oops. I'm pretty sure I owed him from the time he hit me square in the face with a volleyball though. We'll call it even.

Well, I think that's about all the excitement we've had for the last few days. I'll let you all know whenever I find gainful employment...or just employment!

Dixie Goes to College

2009-01-15T00:08:00.005-05:00

Dixie and I are thoroughly enjoying our down time this week. I haven't heard back from my interview yet, but Monday will either bring a job...or me working a lot harder to find a job! In the meantime, I've done some sewing (aside from Dixie's coat I'm working on a shirt for myself), checked out some library books, done some walking and jogging around town, and I've had a few moments of pure laziness.

All three of us should be fit and trim in no time if we keep a pace like we have this past week. The weather has been very nice, so we've taken advantage of that by leaving the cars parked. I went for a jog around the neighborhood today. I think this is the best way to figure out where things are, and the quickest ways to get around. Yesterday Dixie and I walked to a park to meet Greg during his lunch break. In this picture, both of them are more enamored by the piece of cheese that I'm holding than the photographer herself.

Today, I figured Dixie would be too pooped for a long walk, but she seemed eager to get out and about. As soon as I got cleaned up from my jog, Dixie and I set out all the way across campus to meet Greg at the library for his walk home. Dixie was in overdrive as we walked around on campus. So many people. So many potential petters! She was soaking it up. I'd even venture to guess that she was getting more attention than any other girl there. Greg mentioned to me later that he didn't think dogs were allowed on campus...maybe that's why she was getting so much attention. Oops. The walk was a little longer than we planned, and of course we had to come all the way back home, but she didn't seem to mind at all.

Greg is enjoying coming back to school, but even more, he's wishing he had never left. Apparently three+ years was too long to wait in between Calculus 3 and Calculus 4. Who knew??

With some of my downtime, I've been doing some research so that I can order the different types of flours I need to make the gluten-free commitment...again. Now that I'm starting with a fresh pantry, I should be able to avoid some of the more tempting things. I have eaten gluten-free (99% of the time :) ) since our 2nd or 3rd day out here, and I can certainly tell a difference. I made mom's pizza crust last night with gluten-free flour. It was different from the usual, but not too bad really. I could really go for some good brownies though. As soon as I get some more flour I'll give them a try.

Dixie's New Coat

2009-01-11T21:33:00.003-05:00

You can tell that we're settling into daily life when all of our posts end up being about Dixie. My weekend project was making a coat for her. We found this Vera Bradley-like fabric in the clearance section at JoAnn Fabrics, so I got to work. To try it out, we took a walk down the street to Blockbuster. Dixie didn't seem to mind her new outerwear, but Greg was slightly embarrassed to be seen walking a dog in a dress. Oh well...Dixie and I almost matched, so I didn't mind. Below are some pictures before she got it dirty in all the slush.

As promised, we worked hard to get a picture of Dixie and her new friend. They are becoming more familiar with each other with each visit. We managed to get this picture of both of them curled up under Dixie's blanket. The picture may have been staged...and they both look slightly worried....but they'll be best buds in no time I'm sure.

Tomorrow is Greg's big day! He's going back to school....again. He won't admit it, but I think he's pretty excited. My interview on Friday went well, and I should hear something within a week. Saturday evening, we ventured out to watch the WSU basketball game. The Cougars beat Stanford 55-54. The last five minutes were great...the first part not so much. Check back soon to hear about Greg's first week of school.

Dixie's New Friend

2009-01-08T13:59:00.002-05:00

We've been in Pullman for one full week now. We have the apartment situated (after purchasing a couch-in-a-box, aka a futon), we've explored campus and the town, and we've even met a few of the neighbors. Best of all...Dixie is on the verge of making a new friend! Ginny (as in Ginny Weasley from Harry Potter) the weiner dog puppy! They met the other night while some new friends came to visit. After the initial butt-sniffing, both seemed satisfied that the other was not a threat. They bonded over Dixie's "senior citizen" food, with Ginny sneaking one kernel of food at a time when Dixie had her back turned. They were on the verge of cuddling up together, but felt that the first meeting might be a little too soon for that. Maybe we can get a picture the next time Ginny visits.

As for the humans...we're doing fine. Still trudging through the slush and rain. Whenever the sun comes out we'll try to get some pictures of the town and campus for everybody.

Snow, Snow & More Snow!

2009-01-05T14:22:00.005-05:00

A few months ago when Greg and I were calling about apartments, somebody here in Pullman told us that they received very little snow and had rather dry winters. Surprise! We have a few feet of snow during our first week in Washington. Yesterday was so cold that nothing melted. Today we woke to find a few more inches of snow on the ground, and more falling as this is typed. Below is our new place, we're the unit on the right. Notice how much snow has collected on the bumper of Greg's truck!

Although it's difficult to judge from this picture, my car probably has a foot of snow on top of it. Our parking lot is a few inches of ice, topped with a few inches of snow. Did I mention that we live on the side of a pretty steep hill??

This was our last day of driving, shortly after exiting Interstate 90 at Coeur d'Alene. For quite a ways, we were driving through a complete white-out. We averaged 22.5 mph for 90 miles!!

This is in Idaho. I'm really glad that sign wasn't completely buried...I might have missed the warning to watch for ice! :) Just down the road was a sign for a place to put chains on your vehicle that was almost completely buried.

This is the rest stop we took a break at right near the Montana/Idaho border. Check out the roof! Greg talked with a lady from Alaska who was just out driving around looking at scenery. She assured us that the roads would be better in Idaho. They weren't. As a side note, the mountainous section of Idaho is some of the most beautiful scenery we've ever seen. If we hadn't been pulling trailers, the drive might have actually been enjoyable!

We have everything situated in our new place now...just need some living room furniture. We've been exploring the campus and the town a little each day. The rec center looks great! Once school starts, Greg should be in excellent shape from walking straight up and down the hills in order to get to his classes. We are still relying on libraries for internet, as our laptop seems to be on the blink. Well, that's all for today...we'll keep you up to date! Here's hoping the snow stops soon!

News from Pullman

2009-01-04T16:37:00.002-05:00

We finally made it. We're not exactly settled in (does sitting in camping chairs to watch a movie count as settled in??) we are getting there little by little. Our first night in town brought 5-6 inches of new snow on top of the mounds of snow and ice that already existed. Our first full day brought more of the same.

Dixie is adjusting well and has marked every corner within a 500 ft. radius of the apartment. She seems to enjoy having us home all day, and has been getting frequent walks. She even made a trip to McDonalds the other morning for breakfast.

We have some great pictures from our last day of driving that we will try to post tomorrow. We are dependent on the public library for internet right now, so bear with us. As for the last day of driving... it was looooooong. From the time we exited the interstate at Coeur d'Alene, we drove 90 miles in about 3 and a half hours! Ugh. But we made it in one piece.

Our air mattress is back in commission, we've hung a few pictures, and have a respectably filled pantry. Check back in the next day or two for some snowy pictures.

Happy New Year from Missoula, Montana!

2008-12-31T22:39:00.007-05:00

We're still working on those 2500 miles. Some wind and snowy conditions slowed our progress this evening. We are holed up in Missoula, Montana...about 5 hours short of Pullman. Looks like continuous snow is on schedule for tomorrow's drive. Five hours may be optimistic!

Giving Dixie some exercise just after stopping in Missoula.

Somewhere between Butte and Missoula, MT. The weather was starting to go downhill. These pictures don't do justice to the stunning scenery!

Beautiful Wyoming, just beyond Sheridan.

Dixie enjoying her plush travel arrangements. A foam air mattress, her own bed, and her new blanket keep her more than comfortable during travel. She dutifully takes a bathroom break each time we stop for gas, and as always...is a champion traveller!

Dixie enjoying her very first stay on a hotel bed.

I had to wake her up three times to make her snoring stop.

Next stop... Pullman, Washington. Happy New Year!

Hello from Wyoming!

2008-12-30T22:29:00.002-05:00

Well, we're slowly chipping away at the 2500 miles. We have stopped early tonight to stay in Sheridan, Wyoming. The trip is going well, but a little more slowly than we had hoped. The fierce wind coming at us head-on is killing both our time and our gas-mileage. On a good note, the weather has been clear, sunny, and cooperative. But cold. I apologize for the lack of pictures with this post, but neither of us felt up to venturing across the frozen parking lot in the 15 degree weather to fetch the camera cord to download some pictures.

We would love to make it the rest of the way to Pullman tomorrow, but we'll have to see how the weather goes. We just wanted to let everyone know that we're still chugging along!

We'll post more as soon as we can.

Ugly Sweater Contest 2008

2008-12-27T13:23:00.002-05:00

To be a little more "green" this Christmas, our family decided to repurpose some old clothing and have an ugly sweater contest. Some were straight off the rack, some had extra time and craftiness put into them. But they all had one thing in common. They were hideous! Hannah and Randall got things started off when they rang the doorbell, proudly wearing their faux, multicolored velvet and glittery puff-paint creations. Greg stepped things up by adding too-small sweatpants and a motion-sensitive Christmas tree hat. I had on my oversized, super-itchy Goodwill purchase, while Dixie nearly choked to death in her shrunken Christmas turtleneck.

Mom and Dad made their entrance with doo-dads galore. Dad went the extra mile with tinsel and lights that he could switch from blinking to continuous with the mere click of a button in his pocket! Mom's sweatshirt was the only entrant that actually came from her closet!

Jen and Greg were last...but certainly not least!... with their gloriously tacky outfits. Greg's (woman's) cardigan sweater featured beautiful teal accents and sequins. But Jennifer took the cake with her pageant-inspired red suit jacket with red velvet bows, black fleur-de-lis detailing on the sleeves, and the ugliest plastic creation I've ever seen hot-glued onto the back. Melted plastic chips in the form of Santa Claus!!

Gram served as the judge...and what a difficult job she had. So many tacky creations in one room was overload for anybody! I think we've found our new Christmas tradition.

Washington or BUST!

2008-12-26T17:36:00.002-05:00

The journey begins. We departed Beckley, WV around 10:00 this morning (Friday). Our first stop is in Columbus, OH to celebrate Christmas with my family. We will be leaving there on Monday morning to continue our cross-country trek.

My first time pulling a trailer went well. Both vehicles are loaded down with the "few" odd and ends that we thought were left. We estimated that the last few things would fill up my backseat...turns out they filled up my backseat, my passenger seat, Greg's passenger seat, the leftover room in the Uhaul, and even some of poor Dixie's space in the back of the truck! Who knew we had that much junk!!

Well, we'll post when we can during these next few days. Here's hoping for good weather during our travels. Stay tuned...

Merry Christmas Dixie!

2008-12-26T17:29:00.003-05:00

Christmas has been good to all of us so far...and we're not even finished yet. The Sunday before Christmas found us visiting some of Greg's family. Christmas Eve was filled with appetizers and lots of good gifts. Including this brand new blanket for Dixie...from MawMaw Kathy! We're not sure...but judging by the amount of time she spends curled up underneath it, we think she likes it!

Next stop...Christmas in Columbus!

Times Are Tough!

2008-12-15T22:05:00.005-05:00

Only about a week and a half, and we'll be on our way to the state of Washington! We're getting there with the packing...it's a little sporadic, but starting to come together. Who knew two people and a small brown dog could accumulate so much stuff!?! We made progress last weekend thanks to some help from the parents. Anyone in need of a mover... let me send my mom! She can make amazing amounts of stuff fit into very tiny spaces!! We've made some progress this week by selling our living room furniture, delivering our kitchen table and chairs, and giving away some odds and ends. We now have to get down on Dixie's level to eat our dinner (which she loves)!

We've actually got our Christmas shopping taken care of without much hassle this year. Now if only I could get motivated to work on those Christmas cards! I normally love Christmas, but it's hardly registered with me this year. With all the hubbub about moving, and trying to downsize, and looking for a job, poor little Christmas has been neglected. So, per the pastor's advice this past Sunday, and to keep the Christmas spirit at the center of everything, here are...

5 Reasons to be Joyful Today!

1. We have a floor to eat on!

2. We have each other.... and Dixie... and lots of STUFF!

3. We are able to give gifts to those we love this year.

4. No matter how bad the economy, the political environment, the unemployment rate, or the nightly news, we have a much greater hope and a much brighter (eternal) future.

5. I'm not allergic to chocolate! (Now that's reason for joy!)

Last WV Christmas...for now.

2008-12-04T21:44:00.003-05:00

'Tis three weeks before Christmas, we are all about to freeze,

Not a Dixie was stirring, she was being bribed with cheese;

No stockings were hung for we sold all our fixtures,

Dixie finally got her cheese, after taking these pictures!

Thanksgiving Day 5 Miler

2008-12-01T19:59:00.007-05:00

We started Thanksgiving Day in a non-traditional way this year, by running 5 miles... at 8 o'clock in the morning... in the freezing cold! It felt good though. Greg finished in 37:24 and I finished in 43:08. Nothing to write home about, but we felt better for having completed the race.

Just before the race with our matching t-shirts. Yeah for matching!

After collecting our trophies, we cleaned up, and headed to my grandparents house for a nice calorie-laden Thanksgiving dinner! We enjoyed visiting with everyone, and said our goodbyes to those we probably won't see again before heading to Washington.

Then came what we had been waiting for... spending the night in "The Tramper!" The set-up needs some fine-tuning, namely one less large brown dog! Dixie got booted to the garage sometime in the middle of the night for hogging more than her share. That was probably unfair after she held still for so long while we rested the laptop on her to watch "The Patriot." :) At any rate, she'll have her own private suite in the extended cab area so that we can all enjoy our sleep the next time around.

Before Dixie got booted out.

The "Tramper"

2008-11-26T15:29:00.005-05:00

Well, we're gearing up for the maiden voyage in the "Tramper," aka- Greg's truck/camper set-up. He built the handy platform that we can easily disassemble when we need to haul something. We purchased a self-inflating, 4" thick mattress to sleep on (this also functions as our guest bed!). He mounted three pivoting LED touch lights on the ceiling, and we're still looking for a source of heat. Yeah... that might be kind of important come January! We're also still working on getting some curtains up... but the two of us trying to make a committment to fabric is proving rather difficult. :) According to Greg, all we need now is a portable DVD player! Now that's roughing it!

We'll be trying the Tramper out Thursday evening when we stay in Ripley for Thanksgiving. Let's hope it's not too cold! We'll let you know how things work out... and if Dixie takes more than her share of the bed! :)

2008-11-24T20:24:00.004-05:00

We thought it was only fitting that this introductory post be about Dixie. Dixie is our 75lb., nine-year old boxer who dictates the majority of our daily events and decisions. We work so that we can buy food for Dixie. We walk so that Dixie can have exercise. We turn on the heat so that Dixie doesn't turn into a doggie-sicle. She even has her own human-sized mummy sleeping bag rated for 20 degrees.

Make no mistake though...Dixie is not spoiled. She does chew her own food, and she never expects more than her 9/10 share of the bed, couch, etc! We could fill the Met with all the photos we've taken of her. And then there are the videos. And the scrapbook pages. But she remains humble to this day.

Despite her high-maintenance life style...we wouldn't trade her for anything. She is a champion traveller, adjusts well to our many moves, and never complains about having to eat on the floor!

Now you have a reference point for all of her mentions in our future stories!