Ellensburg Rodeo 2008

what better way to spend a hot saturday afternoon
then to go to a rodeo!

we took a little time for the meet and greet.
for those that don't know, rodeos are one of andrea's
favorite things!

these guys were so noble.

this my friends, is call bare-back bronc bustin'!


these guys had no idea what the were in for!

cattle tackling;

cattle roping!

up next were saddle-back bronc bustn'.

through out the day i kept thinking about my college
roommate who left school to become a rodeo cowboy.

'half time.' the one arm bandit.

out came the barrel racing girls.

the funniest event of the day: cow milking!

really, they have to lasso and then milk the cows!
hilarious!

the rodeo finish off with bull riding! these guys are crazy...

both the riders and bulls!

we had a blast at the rodeo. we'll be sure to check back in next year!

birthdays, bbq, and whiffleball

we were invited to a birthday bbq and whiffle ball tournament by our friends matt and danelle. since i'm not one to turn down bbq...or whiffle ball...or matt and danelle for that fact, we excepted the invite and headed out to maple valley for a sunny sunday.

fun was had by all, and all were had by fun. [yeah, whatever that means!]

here's a brief synopsis of the whiffle balling.

the birthday boy: matt. complete with an old school
seattle mariner lid.

it was a couples tournament: couple versus couple. the girls
were more competitive then the boys; if you can't tell by the photo.
the couples were, from left to right:
danelle and matt v, andrea and brook t,
megan and matt t, and kayla and aaron y.

andrea was a killer pitcher...i'm glad i didn't have to hit
off of her!

the playing field.

mighty casey. yes, i struck out two or three times. you should
never swing for the fences in whiffle ball...unless you are a fan
of dislocated shoulders!

slugger. she scored two runs... and my heart.

happy early birthday matt! we'll play whiffle ball whenever you want.
but first, i think i need to go ice down my shoulder!

blue skies to full moons

It's always hard to stay inside when you look outside to a beautiful blue-sky day. So as soon as we got home from work last Tuesday we made sure to take advantage of it. We jumped in the car and drove up to Columbia City to grab some Jones' BBQ to go, then to Seward Park, which sits on a peninsula on Lake Washington.
We missed most of the sunset (it goes down so quickly this time of year) but were able to enjoy the soft glows of pinks and oranges as the sun faded into night.

Mt. Rainier rising so eloquently on the horizon over Lake Washington


Brooke, taking some quiet out of a busy day to enjoy God's serene creation


I love every minute spent with this man...


It's always a good day when BBQ is involved!


Grubbin' hard on some Jones'


A perfect 70F day for a kayaker to be cruising by at the base of Mt. Rainier


The alpenglow of the mountain....awesome


After the sun set, we took a night hike/walk through the park. Much of Seward Park is Rainforested, and has many hiking trails that take you throughout the park. The nearly-full moon lit most of the surrounding landscape, and created a beautiful glow upon the lake.