A Blessed Life

Seeking Waterfalls

Our friend, Tawni, was in Seattle this weekend so we took the opportunity to hang out, hike, and cook some delicious food.  First we visited the actual Granite falls. We took lots of pictures from the platform nest to the river, then we decided to get a closer look and climbed across the rocks right up next to the river.

From there we went to the ranger station and got some advice to do the lake 22 hike because there we several waterfalls along the path leading to the lake. Since it was getting late we all agreed that we would hike to the first waterfall we found and then head back. Only going so far was a good thing since we literally found a water “fall”. Tawni and I decided to climb under the bridge and across the rocks so that Bryan could get a picture of us in front of the falls. It started out as a good idea until I tried to follow Tawni only to find out I was about three inches too short and would have to find another route. Then once we got onto the rock in front of the falls I slipped and landed in a puddle. Fortunately, for everyone else, Bryan got a picture of the fall and Tawni trying to help me back up. Unfortunately, my pants were soaked for the hike back and the ride home.

Later that evening Tawni and I stayed up until midnight making the most delicious brownies. They were layered with brownie on the bottom, white chocolate caramel on top of that, then dark chocolate ganache, and candied pecans to top it off. They ended up being super delicious when we finally ate them on Sunday morning. We always have tons of fun when Tawni comes to visit so we are looking forward to our next adventure.

Tawni and Shorty do Humboldt!

For the past 5 days I was in Eureka, Ca visiting my good friend from college; Tawni.  On Friday night we went to a concert featuring some Irish band. It was fun, except that the 2 opening bands were horrible. Then on Saturday we went to a BBQ with some people that Tawni works with.On Saturday afternoon, we went to the Jetty and had fun climbing around and taking pictures. On Sunday we went to Fern Canyon. It’s this long narrow canyon that ferns have grown all over the sides. It also has a small stream running the length of the canyon. Tawni informed me that they filmed parts of “Jurassic Park” there. So, we spent hours there taking tons of pictures and having lots of fun. After we left the canyon we went to a nearby beach to watch the sun set. It was absolutely amazing. Then, we had some fun jumping off the driftwood into the sand.  

On Monday, we went to Patrick’s Point and College Cove with Tawni’s friend Rebecca. At Patrick’s Point (on the California Coast) we climbed a huge rock and looked at the beautiful scenery. Then at College Cove we walked through trees, over bushes, and down sand hills to our destination high above the water. Tawni found an awesome blowhole in the rocks where we had tons of fun taking pictures. Then Sunday night we went to dinner at a tipenyaki restaurant with Tawni’s family and had tons of fun. The chef threw broccoli in the air and had everyone try and catch it in their mouth. I was the only one who couldn’t catch it, even after 5 trys. It even hit me in the eye once, so I was glad when he finally ran out of broccoli to throw.

Unfortunately, the fun ran out on Tuesday morning when I had to go home. However, we had such a fun time while I was there and we got so many amazing pictures. (We got pretty good at setting the timer and the camera and running!) Check it out below because I posted several of them.  

Adventures of Tawni and Shorty!

Last weekend, a friend of mine from college, Tawni,  flew up to visit. Since Bryan and I haven’t been living in Washington for that long I thought it was a good opportunity to go explore all that this beautiful state has to offer. On Friday we decided to hike around the Mt. Baker area. The weather was beautiful all day until we got to the trial head. We hiked about half of the hike when we decided to turn around because I was freezing. As luck would have it, it stopped raining a bit after we turned around. However, we did manage to capture some beautiful pictures on the way back.

On Saturday we rode our bikes to Lake Cassidy. The Lake was so nice and peaceful that I think we ended up staying at the lake longer than it took us to get there. Then, on Saturday night I taught Tawni how to roll some sushi. Turns out she can produce a pretty awesome roll of sushi!

On Sunday Bryan joined our adventures and we explored Whidbey Island. First, we hiked around beautiful deception pass. The views from the trail were amazing.  You could see miles across the sound, even as far as the San Juan Islands. Then we headed to the small town of Lanagly and enjoyed some ice cream. I feel so blessed to live in such a beautiful place.
*Most pictures taken by Tawni. Thanks T!