Arctic Blast

We had Idaho cold temperatures a week ago and this picture captured it all...

Shower Remodel

My husband is amazing. He can do anything he sets his mind to and he makes it seem so effortless. I was only the gofer on this project, and other than picking out the tile and helping take out the old tiles, Troy put it all together. The bulk of it took a long weekend and all of the finishing touches took about three weeks. I am so glad to have our shower back. Thank you Troy!

Possibilities

Gulp. I am applying for a new position at work. It is in the very department that I work for now but will be doing actual claim handling vs. claim processing. It will be a promotion for me and a bit scary because of the responsibility, but I am very excited for this new challenge. Positions like this don't come along very often in my department...the last opening was 10 years ago. It is funny how it happened. A woman far north of us decided to switch careers and that left an opening in her department. A different claim handler did a lateral move which opened yet another spot. They decided not to replace this second person directly in her own department but in mine instead. You see, I feel like this was meant to be. I just graduated from college and now this! I knew that I would never be competititve enough for this position until I finished school, and now that I have, this door has opened. I am rambling a bit, so I guess what I am trying to say is please keep me in your prayers for the interview that will likely be happening within the next few weeks.

Kathryn Rockafield

On a more somber note, my Grandmother Rockafield passed away this past weekend. She was born in 1912 and lived to 2009 and was 97 years old. My grandmother was a beautiful woman. She had smooth skin and a quiet voice and was sharp as a tack for as long as she was alive. I admire so much about her...she was a quiet woman, but had strong opinions...I see my mother in her and love that. Growing up, my Grandma and grandpa's house was the best for playing. They had a huge fir tree in their backyard that we would make forts under. The neighbors had a horse pasture with horses that I would always sneek over to pet. If you couldn't find me, I was over there. Grandma was incredibly gifted with a greenthumb and always had fresh food and a full greenhouse. I will always relate the smell of a greenhouse to her. My favorite foods at Grandma's house were cheese and crackers and her angel food cake with whipping cream frosting. She would decorate them with flowers from her garden. I really do miss those days. It has been a long time since she lived in that house but the memories will stay with her family forever. We love you Grandma...it's amazing all of the things you've seen in your lifetime...I feel blessed to be part of you and am happy for you to be resting peacefully.

Thanksgiving Cheer

Troy and I had such a great time at mom & dad's for Thanksgiving this year. We arrived around noon laden with potatoes, stuffing and beans for our side dishes. Mom had the bird, grandma had the pies and Eric was in charge of the condiments and rolls. It was a fun family feast. I especially love Thanksgiving for the pumpkin pie. I wait all year in anticipation for this pie...and yes, it is a long wait but I never like to spoil it by eating pie early. We played a couple of games, Mexican Train dominoes being the most fun. The best thing about Thanksgiving was being able to be together as a family and enjoy the time together. Oh, and rough housing with my brother is a lot of fun too. We have such a great time being silly! What it boils down to is that life seems to be flying by, and for me, spending time with loved ones is something I cherish. I love you family!!!

Perfect Day

Yesterday I met my oldest friend, Renae, for a walk. I have known Renae since I was in the third grade. We grew up together and have remained friends throughout our lives. We have been in each others weddings and look forward to remaining close until we are old and gray. She now has two daughters, Grace 3 and Lilly 6 mo. It was my turn to meet her in Gig Harbor, so that is where we are. It was cold and crisp but not raining or windy, as you can see from how calm the water is. I love our walks together and am grateful to have her in my life!


Renae, Lilly & Grace

All is calm on the water

Fall foliage

Wise Women Weekend

Last weekend marked the 7th annual Wise Women weekend that partakes every year in the fall. It is a group of women that I have become close to and share similar interests with. I am the baby of the group. Our ages range from 35 - 72. There is a lot of wisdom to be had. We stayed the weekend at a family condo of one of the women. It is on the Canadian border in Blain, WA. We pretty much had stormy weather, which made crafting indoors all the better, but the sun did peek out to warm our faces here and there. Debbie is one of my best girlfriends and someone I cherish greatly. We had a fun time combing the beach for aggots and seaglass.


Marina at twilight - Canada in the background

Debbie

Sunset

Vacation

Troy and I are finally back into our routine after having been on vacation for ten days. We started planning, oh almost 8 months ago now, a trip to San Diego and then a five night Mexican cruise. Luckily for us, before making our final payment to the cruise line there was a Swine Flu epidemic in Mexico causing Royal Carribean to reduce their price not once but three times!

We had a marvelous time in San Diego. Troy was able to show us his old haunts and enjoy the tourist attractions he didn't have a lot of time to see when he lived down there...mainly because he was working a lot of the time. First stop was for lunch at his favorite Mexican place called Santanas. They have the best carnitas! We went to Point Loma and took in the breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean and San Diego. We went to the San Diego Zoo, Coronado Beach, Old Town, Gas Lamp and of course the Midway Aircraft Carrier (I'm a bit obsessed after watching the PBS series "The Carrier"). We had Jack for the day so that Steve & Cole could have some time alone. It was so fun! Jack had a great time crawling and climbing on the carrier. The best part about San Diego is that we were able to get a very good deal on a beach bungalo that was one block away from the ocean. It was so much fun!!

After four days we went to board the cruise ship and met up with five other couples who were joining us. The ship took us to Ensenada, Mexico and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Ensenda I don't need to go back to, but Cabo was so beautiful. The beaches were beautiful and the snorkeling we did was so much fun! We saw lots of neat fish and pelicans swan diving into the water right next to us to eat them. It was a bit starteling!! Oh yeah, and I got stung by a jelly fish. It felt like stinging nettles. We took a boat tour on a Tall Ship that was really neat and beautiful with all of its sails. Troy got sea sick, as he usually does, but not before he had the opportunity to take the wheel. It was very hot in Cabo. Probably close to 90 degrees with 90% humidity. Between the sweat, sunblock & salt water my eyes were done. It felt so good to get back on the air conditioned boat and take a cold shower.

We had a lot of fun, and a lot of laughs. Here are several (it was hard to choose!) of our favorite pictures:


Lovers Beach


Sailing on the Sea of Cortez


Pelican Rock


Los Archos


Keyhole to the Pacific


Troy at the wheel


San Diego Marina - it's the perfect climate for sailing


Troy & Jack in the Midway Carrier brig


Funani the Hippo


Lions


Birds of Paradise - they were everywhere


Troy in front of a very old prickly pear cactus


Tall Ship


The Group


Point Loma

9-30-06

Another year under our belts. Yes indeedy, Troy and I just celebrated our three-year anniversary on Wednesday. He and I actually celebrated a day early because he was in school on the actual day. We went out to dinner and then to our lovely Costco for romance (insert laughter here). I will say, no matter what we were doing it was nice to have the time together. With his new schedule, time together is time well spent.

I hope everyone's week has been a good one. Tomorrow is FRIDAY!

Fall Weekend

This weekend was spent doing outside chores before our weather turns this coming week. We are looking at highs in the 50s with rain. How depressing!

Steve & little Jack came over to help Troy move gravel to our garden. We are trying to clean up all of the space that isn't used, by leveling and laying gravel. They put down a couple of layers of newspaper, heavy-duty landscaping plastic, and then crushed gravel. It will keep the weeds and grass down, which will get SO OUT OF CONTROL if we don't do something. It is a lot of added work every spring and fall when we are trying to clean up the yard. It looks so very nice.

After that we went back to Steve & Nicole's house so that the boys could stain their front porch. I watched Jack while they spent four hours staining. It was quite the job, but it was very nice to get it done.

In the meantime, today is a sunny and beautiful day, with a crisp wind. It is my favorite fall weather. Troy and I are takikng a walk to get some fresh air. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!!

Sgt. Pepper's

I love our Sgt. Pepper's dinner club. We always have great food, great chats and loads of laughs. Here are a few of the members rockin' out to Beatles Rock Band...and of course this song was Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band! Troy was quite good at the Bass. Jack loved it so much he wanted to take a turn at playing the drums.

Puyallup Fair

Since when did our country fair become one big infomercial? It seems to have evolved from homespun to imported goods. The craft barn probably only had two booths with honest crafts. The rest was all imported goods. Dissapointing to say the least...at least the animals were cute and interesting. Everything else was not worth seeing. I think we may skip the fair next year.

Rain Rain Go Away Come Again Some Other Day

I think our summer days are over folks. We are expecting a Labor Day weekend full of rain and 60 degree weather. Boo Hoo!

The mornings are getting darker and the sun is setting earlier...I am just not ready for it.

Isn't She beautiful?

This past weekend Troy and I, with our friends Jerry & Jessi, went camping at Mt. Rainier National Park. Jerry and Jessi are hiking the second half of the Wonderland Trail...a mere 65 miles. YIKES! They hiked one half last summer and are back to complete it. We picked them up at Paradise where they dropped their car off because hat is where they will be finishing. The campground was just OK. Nothing like Alturas where you actually have space between camp spots. This campground was completely full and I felt like we were on top of each other. I've gotten spoiled camping in Idaho. :)

Here are some pictures of our beautiful Mt. Rainier (who is practically naked of snow).

I hope everyone has a great Labor Day Weekend!!!

Mt.Rainier


Again from the other side


Jessi coaxing a wild Gray Jay to land in her hand and eat blueberries


Us


Before 65 miles

Dean's List

This week on Wendesday was the happiest day for me, other than my wedding day!!! I received a letter from my university stating that I made the Dean's List last quarter. They were going to be honoring my academic excellence!! Me? Laura? Laura Loftus? I am so happy because I worked so hard throghout this very long journey to get good grades and to continue raising the bar for myself that I feel the hard work is finally paying off. I told my boss and he made a copy of it for his file and for his boss' file! That is great considering I am preparing to apply for another position when it comes available. Oh joy, what a glorious day!!

Lake Las Vegas

Last weekend I went to Lake Las Vegas with my friends David, Corey & Heather. David & Corey had just bought a condominium in the village at Lake Las Vegas, so as a fun weekend to celebrate their puchase and my finishing school, we packed up and flew down. It was only a two-hour flight and we were able to get decenlty priced tickets. Heather moved to Orange County, CA three months agao, so she flew over from California and the flights were timed so perfectly that we landed within minutes of each other and didn't have to wait around at the airport.

When we left Seattle it was drizzling and when we landed in Vegas I immediately changed into shorts bedcause it was 112!! I love the dry heat but this was intense. The first night we were there they had high desert winds blowing through and it felt so nice, even if it did feel like I had a hairdryer blowing on me 24/7. The next couple of days were much cooler with temperatures in the high 90s.

Lake Las Vegas is about 30 minutes or so East of the Las Vegas Strip so we didn't have to deal with the throngs of people, which is what we were trying to avoid. The village is so nice because you basically unpack and you have all of your restaurants, recreation and lounging within waling distance from where you are staying. We were able to get out and swim, walk, and enjoy sights like the Hoover Dam. We had a great time listening to music in the park and eating wonderful dinners. My favoite part, though, was lounging by the pool and riding on the waterslide. What a blast! I felt like a kid again. :) I can't wait to go back!!

Arrival


Heather, Me, Corey & David

Storm moving across the valley


Water line at Hoover Dam


Night view from the Condo


View of the village from Lake Las Vegas


Hoover Dam

Another Happy Couple

August 16th was Kevin & Param's wedding. The ceremony was beautiful and their vows tugged at the heartstrings. This wedding venue was incredible. It was on the top floor (75) of the tallest building in Seattle, the Columbia Tower. Needless to say, we had to take two sets of elevators to get to the top and my ears were popping the entire way. It was a little scary at one point when I thought about how those who were in the Twin Towers during 9/11 may have felt. But, I quickly erased those thoughts from my mind and enjoyed the beutiful scenery. It was a clear day and the view was amazing. You basically have a panoramic view of the city and when it is sunny and clear you can see for miles.

What's funny is that we met Kevin and Param at Troy's cousins weddings. First Richelle's, then Dustin and then Drew's weddings. Kevin is one of Drew's best friends and is like a member of Drew's family, so everyone who has spent time with the Seattle Hanfts has likely met Kevin. Our friends, Kelly and Jen, we also met through Kevin and Param and we love them!

K & P are a beautiful couple and are blessed to have the family and friends they do in their lives. It was great to see everyone dancing and having a fun time. Congratulations Kevin & Param!

Kevin & Param


Kelly & Jen


Views of Seattle