Washington Week by Week

As many of you know, Steve and I moved to Washington to live with Steve's parents back in the middle of July. Things weren't really working out for us in Texas and our funds were very limited so we decided it would be best for our financial situation to move in with Steve's parents in the Seattle area and try and make more money up here! Steve's dad owns a roofing company and has worked for him before so we said why not try and do that again and save up some money! When we got up here I tried looking for jobs everywhere and applying to a bunch of places but didn't have much luck. We were only going to be here 7 weeks and no one wants to hire you for that amount of time. I did get an offer from Bed Bath and Beyond but the start date wasn't until Aug. 27th and we were leaving the 16th of Sept. so I had to turn it down. Since I had no luck finding a job Brenda (my mother-in-law) said she could keep me busy around the house and their apt. complex they own and I could clean and do random jobs for them. I've gotten roughly 20 hours a week with work and everything and it has been so nice. Some of you know my sister lives up here in the Seattle area and I have gotten to see her at least once a week!! It has been so nice to hang out and see my niece so many times!!! They even came with us to the cabin twice and had a lot of fun.

We leave TOMORROW to start another semester at BYU-Idaho on Monday the 16th. I'm happy to say it will be my last semester at BYU-I and I will graduate in December. Steve will be taking his last semester of classes on campus and will do the rest online and graduate in April!!!

So here are some of the things we have done since we have been here!!!
Sorry this post is gonna be long!
I don't remember what we did Weekend #1 so I'll start with #2.

Weekend #2: Lake Cavanaugh
Steve's Dad and his siblings own/share a cabin up North at Lake Cavanaugh. It is always so much fun to go and have fun on the lake.

Top Left: Me on the tube. Top Right: Bryson and I at the cabin. Bottom: Clayton and Ethan dock starting with the tubes :) 

Weekend #3: Lake Cavanaugh with my Sister
My sister decided to come up with us to the cabin and we had a lot of fun! It was Ella's first time on the boat!

Left: Ella hated that life vest that she had to wear but was a good sport about it.  Right: After Ella just woke up from a nap. Bottom: Me holding Ella!!

It was such a fun weekend with Holly and Ella!! We got to go on the tube a few times together and Holly tried to throw me off the tube and succeeded two times! 

 My sister and I at the cabin!

 

Barbeque with Grandpa McCasland

Steve and I with Grandpa McCasland (Steve's Mom's Dad) 

This was my first time meeting Grandpa McCasland!

Steve and I with his Mom and Step-Dad

Steve and I with his niece Tiara! 

Weekend #4: Downtown Seattle and the Temple

Steve and I got the chance to go to the Seattle Temple to start off our day.
Then we went to Dick's Burgers (one of the best burger places). And continued our way downtown!

 

Steve on one of the Pier's in Seattle and holding my flowers he got me.

I always love going to downtown Seattle to get some flowers. They are so gorgeous and are soooo cheap!!!

Always a tradition to get a clam chowder bowl from Ivar's while in Seattle.

Overall we had a very fun weekend exploring downtown. We always go to the same shops and do the same thing, but it is so much fun!!!

Weekend #5: Fishing in Puget Sound

Steve, Me, Bryson, and Lonnie went out fishing super early and caught a few fish that day. It was fun to bring them home and smoke the Salmon they caught! 

 Steve caught a starfish! 

We caught two Salmon that day! They were so good smoked in our smoker!!!

Steve with his fish he caught!

Me holding the fish we caught from that day.

Weekend #6: Evergreen State Fair
Steve and I went to the Evergreen State Fair which was in Monroe! It was a lot smaller State Fair that I was used to in Wisconsin, but it was still fun seeing all the differences from WA to WI. I am a cheap skate when it comes to fairs and I hate spending money on fair rides and games, so we just relaxed and walked around and did all the free stuff :) It was a lot of fun!

 

Steve and I at the Lumberjack Show! Those guys are strong!!

We loved seeing all the animals :) 















Weekend #7: Paige Comes in Town and Lake Cavanaugh Again with my Sister
My sister-in-law Paige came in town to visit her family and it was so nice we got to see her and meet my nephew Vince for the first time!

 

Vince was always so smiley! 

My brother in law Creed was away at a nerd convention so I decided to invite my sister and niece to come with us to the cabin again and it was a lot of fun! She stayed the night this time and we got to spend a lot more time together! My mother in law even made some homemade Apple Crisp which we enjoyed while we played cards and yahtzee!!

I love this lake and cabin so much!! 

Left: Steve and I
Right: Clayton playing with my niece, Ella! 

My Sister Holly with Ella! She's adorable! 

 Steve getting some nice air on the wakeboard! 

Holly and I on the tube! We had a lot of fun!

Weekend #8: Fishing in Puget Sound and Hiking Mt. Pilchuck on Labor Day

We took the boat out again and went to Everett to fish in the Puget Sound! This trip we had much more luck with fish and crabs and brought some home! 

Left: I caught the first Salmon of the Day!!
Right: Steve pulled in a nice Salmon!

 Left: Another Salmon (We caught 6 that day but had to put 2 back).

Right: We caught 5 crabs but had to let them all go because they were either too small or were female

It was fun to see the Seals and Sea Lions!

Mt. Pilchuck 

Steve has always wanted to hike Mt. Pilchuck and Labor Day weekend we had the chance to hike it with Steve's Dad and little brother Bryson. It was a 6 mile round trip hike and it took us just under 4 hours to hike it!

  Such a beautiful view from the top

 Left: Steve and I almost to the top! Right: All of us on the lookout tower enjoying the view!

 The many views from the top! I started getting cloudy but it was still gorgeous! We were literally standing in the clouds!

Well that pretty much sums up our time here in Washington and we're going to be so sad to leave! We leave tomorrow and start the new semester on Monday!!