Adieu Chiot

In March of this year I got a puppy off of Craigslist, a 4 month old black lab that I named Pepper. She had quite the personality in her little black body and was full of energy. She knocked things over constantly with her tail and loved to chase it around my legs. One of my favorite things was when she would have to go to her kennel when she was in trouble and after being in there a little while she would start howling. She was a mix and had a white toe on one of her back paws. She was very long--tail, nose, torso--and I couldn't ever decide what she was mixed with, doxin or wolf:) Some of the not so fun moments were when I found multiple holes in the new carpet, bit marks in the secretary I inherited from my great-grandmother and a smashed oriental poppy bush the week it was going to bloom. There were also the tours around the neighborhood when she got out of the yard and thought it was a game to run away from me. Mostly though she made me smile and want to be the person she thought I was. We would run and hike together, and she was always so excited when I got home, wagging her whole body.

Two months ago she got sick and died. Very few situations in my life have been more difficult than that Sunday afternoon when I found her and the aftermath. For several weeks I would wake up expecting her black nose in my face before I even opened my eyes and felt lost coming home to an empty house. I hope all dogs go to heaven and that Pepper is there digging, howling, running and getting lots of good-girl treats. The holes in the carpet and bites in the furniture remain in her memory and make me smile as I think of the little lab with more energy than she could handle. In the mean time I will focus on house plants...

Pepper was NOT allowed on the furniture, but sometimes she was too cute for me to yell at her.

We went on a girls trip to Homer and Pepper got to come, her favorite part was chasing seagulls on the beach.

My nephew Owen loved to go up into my room and get into Pepper's kennel. She would get very confused and concerned that her inner sanctum was compromised by a little bossy person. At the end of the summer when the twins went back to Utah, Pepper was one of the few word they both would say.

New Hair (well the same, just shorter:)

So I finally got brave enough to cut my hair short! My friend Crystal did it and I like it...but it will take some getting used to. Like getting to know my blow dryer again, can't throw it up or braid it everyday.

Multi-Colored Dream House

When I bought my house it was freshly painted and newly carpeted...well it didn't take me long to add some flair to the place...


Before...

My bedroom

The Dining Room

The Kitchen

After...

My Bedroom

My Bedroom (it is perfect except for the box still serving as my nightstand 6 months after moving in:)

The Bathroom (very, very bright mango yellow...the photo doesn't do it justice)
I am completely happy with my new paint. But based on this experience I think I can echo the advice that you pick the color you want and go 2 shades lighter...not that I will follow my own advice in the future.

The Garden Isle

In January my dear friend Jenny and I went to Kauai. We had a blast. My boss, who knows both of us, refered to it as our "Thelma and Louise trip"...not sure if that is a compliment or not? We rented a Jeep Wrangler and toured the whole island by land, sea, air, foot and zipline. We stayed in a cheep hotel for a few nights, camped on the beach for 4 nights and stayed in a beautiful B&B in Hanalai our last 2 nights. Having been to Oahu and Maui before, Kauai is my favorite!

Jenny and I at a Waimea Canyon lookout.


Rainbow at Ke'e beach, the end of the road on the northwest o the island.

Sunset on the Napali Coast. We hiked in about 4 miles and this was the few from the beach when we got back to the car.

The helicopter we rode around the island. Those 65 minutes were among the most amazing of my life.

View from the helicopter of the southeast corner of the island.

Our last day :( at Wailua Falls. Next time I am buying a one-way ticket!

Western States Tour

At the beginning of October I had a geology training class in Moab, UT, so of course I wanted to make the most of a company trip...I flew to Salt Lake gave Sarah a huge hug! It had been since we were in Hawaii in June that I had seen her. We drove up to Logan to see Jas, Amber and the 2 cutest babies in the world. I got to see Sarah play Air Force, we went down to Provo and saw Michael and Lindsay's new apartment (and them too:)...and that was only the beginning. Then I flew to Grand Junction, CO to start my class, drove to Price to look at rocks, spent 3 days in Moab researching faulting and salt structure formations, and then back to Grand Junction for the next leg of my adventure. As if that wasn't enough, I thought I would just tag a little trip to Phoenix to see Kirstin onto the end of my travels. It was great seeing her and Bruce and their adorable Savannah. Needless to say after 2 weeks on the road and buying way too much along the way (not reccommended with the new airline baggage limitations), I was ready to come home to my new house that I had only spent one night in before leaving!

Picnic in the park with Abby and Owen

The 3 little ones...I thought it was so fun to see Sarah play, but Abby didn't have fun. The loud noise scared her and Lindsay walked around with her outside for most of the match. Owen, on the other hand, loved it and did jumperoo on my lap the whole time while sucking on his upper lip (see above). We were sad Amber had to work:( Abby was the saddest of all...

Owen is a Ute fan in his little red pants!

Friends from my class, we drove to the Colorado National Monument, so beautiful.

Ever been dying to know what a fault looks like? Well here you go...this is about 100 yards from the Arches National Park visitors center if you ever want to check it out.

Chez Moi!!!

I bought a house at the end of September. It has been such an adventure-learning about real estate, the loan process, signing my life away to a mortgage that lasts longer than I have been alive..., buying furniture, raking my own yard, shoveling my own driveway, decorating and have parties!!! It is the perfect place for me. My favorite parts are the fenced backyard and the fireplace...I have big plans this winter to paint and tile. Not that I have any home improvement skills, but I am about to learn!

Katmai National Park!!!

My goal is to visit all of the national parks in the US...and I am one park closer after spending an awesome 5 days in Katmai. It is fairly remote requiring a flight from Anchorage to King Salmon and then float plane flight to Brooks Camp. With 4 friends from work, we saw so many bears, hiked and had a relaxing camping trip.

Daniel, Alice, Daniel and I arriving at Brooks Camp.

A large male bear that came out of the bushes walking toward us. They are fairly used to people, but still enormous wild animals capable of mass destruction...and we did not want to end up like Grizzly Man.

On top of Dumpling Mountain...this was take #9 of this photo, and sadly the best one we got. We just couldn't time our jumping and one of us was always on the ground...

A mama bear trying to look out for danger as she and her cubs came out of the river. I was standing on the viewing platform, and she was about 20 feet from me.

Katmai was originally set apart as preserve land because of the "Valley of 10,000 Smokes" formed by the 1912 eruption of Novarupta which left the entire area covered in ash. Most people associate the park with bear viewing but it was first identified for its geological features. It is also a world renowned fly-fishing destination.

Mama bear with her yearling cubs (born at the beginning of last year). They were trying to sniff out a male bear that was coming their direction. The winds that day were 40-50 mph causing the muddy water, which is usually bright bluish-green.