This and That

Thanks to the heat last week I am enjoying piles of red delicious garden tomatoes...

I am enjoying lovely tomato sandwiches each day and I made a crust less garden quiche last night with 5 ingredients from my garden! (potatoes, basil, tomatoes, peppers and zucchini)

I am happy to share just come on by!

It is soccer season again and this year both of my boys are Kodiaks!  I love that they are playing on the same team again!
They have won their first two games!  Go Kodiaks!

Yes, I enjoyed every bite and I didn't feel sorry for him one bit!

I hope you have a splendid day!

Frychik

Time flies when you're having fun!

It was perfect!

Perfect friends, perfect weather, perfect location...

Sigh and now it's just memories....

Why does it take so long for something to arrive and then it is over so quickly!

We had a fantastic weekend with our lovely Georgia friends!
We ate too much, laughed too much, showed them the sights, kept them up way past their eastern timezone bedtimes and my husband spent the entire trip teasing Connie and trying to make her laugh...

After picking them up at Seatac we headed to dinner and then somehow timed it perfectly to catch the "sunset" ferry to Bainbridge...well Connie and I did but since we were in two cars and the boys were not as quick as the girls they missed the ferry by 1 minuet!
The ferry was gorgeous!  Full moon, city lit up, gorgeous sunset, me with my camera....and no SD card! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR So just picture it in your mind because I got nothin!

Woke up to a gorgeous morning on Bainbridge Island and had breakfast at a lovely diner

Then we walked along the Marina...

Then we stopped at Paulsbo and picked up a little friend...which I quickly dispatched of...limb by limb (see FB pictures) YUMMY!

Then we went and visited some wildlife...I could totally relate to this guy after eating the guy above...

Encountered some hungry, slobbery, snotty "wildlife" ...

EWWWWWWWWWWWW! Look at the tongue!  I will admit to some screaming...

Stopped at a beautiful beach...

Drove up to Hurricane Ridge where the weather was perfect!  No wind, gorgeous sunset to the west and full moon rising to the east...Just incredible!  I assure you they just don't have stuff like this in Georgia...really why would they ever want to leave???



We had such a great visit with our friends!  It was very sad to see them go...



Bye Y'all...come back soon!

Frychik

I'm so Excited!

Today after teaching my classes and loading up 40 girls there bikes, tents, sleeping bags, suitcases, food, etc Jeff and I are headed to Seattle to meet up with our dear friends from Calhoun!

Last year when I was traumatized thinking I was moving to Florida they drove 8+ hours from Calhoun to spend the weekend with us in Florida which made the whole ordeal so much more enjoyable!  They are just those kind of friends!

 Before that trip they drove all the way down to the Atlanta airport to visit with me for an hour during my layover to Peru.
But this time they are headed our way! Well actually they have meetings in Victoria next week but they are coming out a few days early so we can all hang out in Seattle.

We love these guys so much and can't wait to have them on our side of the country!  They are good old southern folk and its just fun to get them out of their environment and into ours!

When Jeff and I moved to Calhoun we didn't know anyone.  We didn't have any family around and when Darrel and Connie heard that they said "you're our family" and we have been ever since!  They were so amazing to us as we (I) struggled with adjusting to southern living.

When we were all in Florida together Connie was spoiling my kids as usual and in particular was doting on Tyler at the moment asking him what he wanted etc and Ty looked at me and said "I love that woman!"  LOL!  Sadly, the boys can't join us they are heading out for Boys Club Campout.

So our weekend will be exploring Seattle and showing the sights off to our friends.

I hope your weekend has "adventure" in it!

Frychik

Adventure

So, last weekend was my birthday which meant I get to decide what I want to do for the day.
I of course, choose "Adventure"

Jeff and I like to hike and from being pregnant to carrying them, the boys have always joined us.
But as they grew and could no longer be carried their enthusiasm for hiking did not grow.
So in an effort to avoid the complaining I no longer called it a "hike" but an "adventure"...
It didn't take long for them to make the connection... bright boys

Not only did I get to choose what I wanted to do, but there was no whining allowed!
We headed to the Gorge to explore some "new to us" trails.  This is my favorite kind of adventure.  When you don't really know what will happen along the way.

 We started at Oneonta Gorge.  If you've been there you know that it is a narrow gorge with a small river flowing through it and a waterfall at the very end.  The water is glacier melt and extremely cold!

 Jeff, Josh and Ty all swam it.  I had my camera so I managed to do some tricky rock climbing in the name of protecting my camera....

Here we are at the end.  Of course to get back means to swim the ice water again...

We found a new trail that was called "Rock of Ages".  Having grown up here I was excited to discover this in a book.  I had never seen it before and I thought it sounded like a fun adventure...

 The hike was really, really steep! Like climbing a ladder steep (in some places).  My mom and her hubby joined us and we all made it to the arch and the incredible Gorge views.

Jeff and I then did another trail leading up another stream to what was supposed to be "triple falls" but there was only one fall?  But it was beautiful and it involved some waist deep ice water.  We felt so adventurous!

 There are several forest fires in the area which made for a smokey gorge with some beautiful lighting!

I have no words...

After our various hikes the 6 of us headed to Red Robin to celebrate birthdays.  When we told our waiter that 4 of the 6 of us had birthdays (Ty 29th, Me 3rd, Jeff 4th, and Mom 8th) she didn't bat an eye and we all were treated with birthday sundays and singing.

Today is my Mom's birthday! Happy Birthday Mom! You are an amazing, inspiring, strong woman and I'm so thankful you're my Mom!  Love you!

Frychik

Garden Bounty

Tomatoes are in!

So one great thing about the heat so late in the year is that my tomatoes are thriving!
Everyday I go out and pick another bag full!
Last night I had a few surprises that made me laugh!  It seems my "special" veggies are back :)

I had an awesome birthday weekend!  But life has been so crazy busy that I haven't had time to mess with the pictures, let alone blog about them.  I hope to tomorrow.

But I just had to share these with you today.  I hope they make you smile like they did me!

Frychik

What I love

I love summer...
I love the freedom...
I love the flowers...
I love the warmth...
I love being outside...

I get severely cranky about going into the classroom when it is 80+ outside
Needless to say I was severely cranky last week when school started at it was close to 90 outside!
I love to teach and I love my job but I would like to propose "Sun Days"

Forget Snow Days - we don't get enough of them
We need "Sun Days" Which would mean that anytime the temperature goes above 82 we MUST let school out immediately!
I truly believe it is what is best for the children!!!

Have you ever taught in a classroom full of teenagers when its 88 outside and 100 inside because there is no air conditioning??? I have and I will tell you there is not a lot of learning going on! It's extreme inhumane conditions and it really needs to stop!

So who's with me?  Let's get this "Sun Days" passed!

"Sun Days"

Frychik

Summer Break

So I've taken the summer off from blogging...
In spite of my efforts I still haven't figured out my stupid problem.
However, I have decided I miss blogging enough to get back at it even if I can't comment.

Here are some things that have changed about me since I last blogged

1.  I have ridden my bike over 700 miles this summer!!!!

2.  I can now say I have been to Priest Lake Idaho and I loved it!!! Like seriously loved it! I an 100% sure that I would be perfectly content to live on a lake for the rest of my days!  There is something so peaceful about living on the water!

3.  I am 15lbs lighter than when I was at Priest Lake because I saw the pictures of myself and said "enough is enough girlfriend!" (Jeff has lost 12lbs!) Being able to bike and all the fresh produce has certainly helped us.  I am stressing about how to maintain our progress once winter arrives...

4.  I got an A in my first class in my Masters Program!!  Such a relief! I was completely intimidated as I began the class.  Writing that research proposal was not my idea of fun!  I begin my next class US Constitutional History on Monday

5.  My baby turned 14 and I turn 43 on Saturday....sigh.  Jeff turns 45 on Sunday and Josh 17 Oct. 5th...How is it that we are all getting so old?!

 The school year has begun and I feel so blessed to be at the same school with both my boys!
Thanks for reading. 
If you have trouble commenting please let me know on Facebook.  I am trying to fix this problem.

Frychik

We are blessed!