27 Waterfalls, Rio Damajagua, Dominican Republic

This is an ad for a trip we did the day before we left the DR but did not have our camera. It was alot of fun.

Thorp Lake Overnight

Aaron is officially thirty-something. For his birthday, his parents, Duane and Peggy, my sister, Kirstan, my niece, Alex, and our dog friends Tippi and Gib all backpacked to Thorp Lake for an overnight trip. It was great fun. It was beautiful weather for the trip and the bug were minimal (not our luck last year). After hiking into the lake we took a gingerly stroll around the lake and explored some very cool places. The moon was like a spot light and cast very cool shadows in the woods. The next morning we packed up and headed to the lookout about a mile above the lake. Views from here are incredible. You can see Snoqualmie Pass, Mt. Stuart, the Leamh's and two volcanoes, Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams. After enjoying the views for awhile we headed down and back to the vehicles. All the photos from the trip can be seen and saved at the link below. (I finally figured out how to hyperlink)

http://picasaweb.google.com/AKdogtown

Look at our new additions!

So we have added 2 new friends to the family. OK one is just a shed but boy is the extra storage nice. And the concrete pad under it is a beauty. The other addition is an '86 VW Vanagon Syncro. For those of you that are not familar with Vanagons a syncro means all wheel drive. Our hunt for a new car took us from a new Prius to all the way to the vanagon. Pretty much the vanagon is the best vehicle for our lifestyle and after road tripping with Kirstan, we could not say no anymore. We did some searching and then this one showed up. It is beautiful and was very well kept (you should see what some of the other looked like for almost the same price). Tippie already likes it and say that it is her new favorite vehicle. Thanks for listening to my gush.

Aaron's little buddy (Preying Mantis)

Aaron found this guy while building our new shed. When he first saw him he had a bug in his mouth and one in each pincher. By the time Aaron got the camera he had eaten all his treats. Then he posed for multiple pictures and did not seem to mind that Aaron was there. Last night we show a second preying mantis at our friends house and he was white. They are very cool to watch. More photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/AKdogtown

The Katmai bears

On July 22nd Aaron got to visit Katmai National Park which is where the brown bears feed on spawning sockeye salmon. There are bridges and platforms to view the bears but you are pretty close. These guys are pretty well feed at this time of year so they are not really interested in all the people watching. This is an area that Aaron has wanted to visit for awhile and this year there was finally time.

Many of the bears hang out on these falls, Brooks Falls, trying to catch their next meal. The top males sit at the foot of the falls and let the fish run into them. The other bears have to fight for their even after they get a fish.

This is one of the bigger males going to eat his catch!

To see more pictures go to http://picasaweb.google.com/AKdogtown/Katmai07

Thorpe Lake

Here is another belated but well worth it post. Last Saturday (the 14th) my friend Holly and I head up to Thorpe lookout and lake. It was a beautiful place to hike and go swimming. From the lookout you can see Mt. Daniel, the pass, the Stuarts and much more. It was very impressive. Then we headed down to the lake for a quick and every freshing dip. Bram and Sherry you were right this was the best swimming around! Thanks for coming over Holly it was great to get to hang out.

Holly heading down off the top!
Me and Tippi (my little buddy)

Time sure does fly!

Wow, it is already July 9th! Well that last 3 weeks have been full of fun and work. Aaron headed out for Alaska and he has been fishing away. On the 4th of July they caught 20,000 lbs. of fish, I said that right. That is a lot of fish.

On the 27th, my Mom visited the Burg and we went on a great hike. This was the 20th anniversary of my Dad's passing. It is hard to believe that so much time has past. Our hike was the best way to spend this day. We went to Manashtash Lake. Only a few mosquitos. Here are some pics of our day.

Mom, Tippi, and Gib on the trail.

I have also gotten to do some cooking for friends and celebrate another friends birthday in a very beuatiful place. Tippi and I floated part of the Wenatchee River. She is definitely the best dog ever! Thanks for reading my gosh about last few week. Check back in a couple weeks and we should have some cool photos of Aaron fishing.

Look how far our house has come!

Here are some photos of how far our house has come since we began. Many of the after are a little old but you should get the idea. This summer there should be some more big changes that will be fun to compare to the before pictures. Hope you enjoy!

BEFORE-Kitchen 2003

AFTER-Kitchen 2004

BEFORE-Dining Area and Bathroom door

AFTER-Dining Area (It was used as a living room for a while as we finished the living room)

BEFORE-Living Room, First week in June 2003

AFTER-Living Room, 2005 (without fireplace)

BEFORE-Master Bedroom 2003 (looking in the door)

AFTER-Master Bedroom (Look Duane is kneeling where the closet use to be...)

Wedding and Mountains!

Well, Aaron, Kirstan, Alex, Peter, Tippi and I all loaded up in the VW van (AKA the vanaru) and headed for CO over Memorial Day weekend. This was a weekend to celebrate the marriage of our brother Clint to his amazing wife Maddy.


It was a long drive but very fun. Gunnison, Almont, and Creste Butte are beautiful places. The whole weekend was a blast with lots of family, mtn biking, river rafting and the occasional drink. There were pinatas at the celebration and Alex made good use of it after the beating was over. Look at our very cute Strawberry shortcake!


On June 2nd, Aaron, Bram, Tippi and I headed up Mt. Adams. It was a long hot day but very satisfying when we where finished. The views were spectacular and well worth the pain of getting to the top. This was my first volcano ski. There were many people on the mountain that day but on the way down we had the mountain to ourselves. This was Aaron and Tippi's 2nd trip in so many days. They are studs!

Me trugging up the south false summit with Mt. St. Helens in the background.

Bram on his wasy up!

Oh! What a day!

I did it! Today I finished my thesis and have submitted it to the Graduate Office. This was the final step to complete my thesis. This has been a long time coming and I know that many of you will be happy to not hear me complain about it anymore. This is a real weight off my shoulders. Walking in graduation will feel really good in a couple of weeks.

Now it is time to drink some wine! Have a great Memorial Day weekend!

Peggy and her Dragon Boat!

On May 5th, we went to see Aaron's Mom, Peggy, in a Dragon Boat race. It was on opening day of boat season at UW. The boats were very cool and her boat won their race. That day we got hang out Alexis (Aaron's sister), my Mom, my grandparents, and lots of dogs. I wish we could have seen my grandparents more but we had to get over the bridge before it was raised for 4 hours. But all in all it was a great day and fun to see Peggy kick butt in her Dragon boat race. FYI, she is in the back of the white boat that is pictured.

Earl Peak

This pic is from the other day when we went skiing with friends. This is us heading up Earl Peak in the Teanaway. Earl Peak is a great hike in the summer also. This day no dice on seeing the th view but the turns on the way down where really nice.

Our New Blog

Hi Everyone,
We have decided to start a blog to help with keeping in touch. We can be bad about calling and even emailing so hopefully this will help. We are ramping up for a busy summer. Aaron winter job with WSDOT is winding down and my work is ramping up for a busy summer season. Aaron will be off to Alaska soon then back for a possible remodel on the house. We are also hoping to get a garage build during late spring. We maybe biting off more than we can chew but we will see.

I hope to add to this twice a month if not more. This will also be a good outlet for me when things get crazy.

Hope you enjoy reading this and we would love to hear what you are up!
Thanks,
AK