Best Weekend

Mike and I had the most incredible weekend ever! Saturday night the guys hit their dinner goal: Outback. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner of ribs (our favorite) in the company of great friends. Mike and I were able to see Griffin for the first time, one of our friends new baby. He is so stinkin adorable! What a beautiful baby! We are so happy for Jay and Bethany and the new addition to their beautiful family.

That night we only got a few hours of sleep before waking up at 3a.m. to drive 2 1/2 hours to see the sunrise on Mt. Rainier. I really can't describe how incredible this moment was spent on top of the highest peak on Mt. Rainier—Sunrise—watching the morning wake up, eating our bagels and fruit. The weather was perfect—warming up to 90 degrees, a cool breeze blowing, not a cloud in the sky; everything was so peaceful and quiet. It was one of the coolest things I have experienced with Mike; another FIRST! :)

After we walked around Sunset we cruised down to another part of the park—Paradise. We didn't realize how far away it was from Sunset, but we managed to keep ourselves busy—like we always do—with nothing but the craziness of our personalities. When Mike and I get like this I start to FULLY understand why we were meant to be together. There is no one that makes me laugh harder or matches my humor like Mike. We could sit around and laugh for days and days and days and days about the dumbest, most insignificant things. I feel bad for the poor children that will come into our home one day—holy catz their humor is going to be pure INSANITY just from watching their mom and dad interact with one another. Let's just hope it is a blessing more than a curse as it has been for Mike and I. HUMOR has gotten us through countless hard times and situations. I am so grateful I have someone that I can laugh with till the end of my days.

Back to Paradise; it was exactly that—Paradise! As John Muir, a conservationist, once said "the most luxurious and most extravagantly beautiful of all the alpine gardens I ever beheld in all my mountain-top wanderings" is that of Paradise. Mike and I were too tired to do a major hike so we walked to one of the nearest landmarks—Myrtle Falls—which was incredibly breathtaking. Situated amongst the backdrop of Mt. Rainier and its glacier were rolling green hills of wild flower meadows and a beautiful waterfall cascading down large rocks. It was absolutely breathtaking. Sitting there and taking it all in I thought about so many wonderful memories and moments I had spent exploring, pondering life, dreaming, and thriving in nature as a child. There really is no other place that makes me feel so alive and so near to God than amongst His creations. I am so grateful for all of the beautiful places I have been able to travel and see; how awe-inspiring this world is. I have never felt more grateful to be alive, to be able to take this moment and store it next to all of the other wonderful memories I have to look back and reflect upon; memories I cherish more than anything. I am so grateful that Mike is patient and loving enough to always try and fulfill this need in my life—to see such beautiful places that remind me how wonderful life really is and how grateful I am to still be breathing after 30 wonderful years of living. This was a moment I will never, ever forget; nor the feelings that I felt being there and experiencing it with someone I love so much.

Moving away from the seriousness of the experience, the funniest thing happened. Mike saw this trail that led us to the bottom of the waterfall. We were soaking it all in, snapping pictures and then all of a sudden Mike frantically yelled something and I look behind him to see this huge beast of an animal sneaking up on him. At first I thought it was a porcupine and then as it wandered off the trail, minding it's own business, careless that Mike and I were observing it, we realized it was a beaver. WHAT??? I have never seen a beaver in its own habitat. It was so incredible. Mr. Beaver was just minding his own business, finding some good quality wood like a good beaver does, when all of a sudden, Mike watching my back as I was taking pictures of the little fella, his brother Chuck—we named him—starts running towards me. I thought this was the day I would be attacked by a beaver. . . a beaver of all things. Thankfully that is not how it ended with me being life flighted down the mountain from beaver venom surging through my veins. HMMM, how's that for a book trilogy Stephanie Myers: Beaverlight? (FYI I just finished, for the first time, the first Twilight book. I am so glad I waited to read it because living in Washington while reading it is even that much better; you feel like vampires are going to jump out of every wood clearing, either that or the sunlight glistening off the dark mossy trees is in fact the shimmery diamond like effect emanating from Edwards skin:). The end of the story: we walked away without a scratch or scrimmage and we were better people because of it. Now when "I die young" Mike can bury me in these wild flower fields at the base of Mt. Rainier next to my furry Hoary Marmot friends. Guess what? That is really what they are called— Hoary Marmots— I didn't make that up, we found that out on a sign down by the lodge.

Coming back to Renton early was wonderful. We had the rest of the day to enjoy together. We ate lunch, took a nap, went and soaked in some sun at the pool (90 degree weather the past two days—lovin it), and then Mike Visher, Mikes boyfriend (as I tease them because they love each other like homeboys do), was kind enough to let us ride his sweet bike down by a local park situated by the water. ANOTHER FIRST for me and Mike. I have never ridden a motorcycle with him. I think ever woman should do that with their man because it makes you trust them more and actually rely on them for safety/protection. Bikes are hot, I feel hot on one; the faster the speed the better, is my philosophy. Mike and I look forward to possibly getting a harley to cruise on one day. How sweet would that be to cruise the roads of Tuscany and Rome on a harley???? SAW-EET.

After our bike ride we ate some yummy Mexican food at one of our favorite local restaurants—Torerro's—and then we came home and read one of the most amazing articles that Mikes parents encouraged us to read. It was about moving forward with life, having faith in your belief system, and having the ability to tap into your true potential. It was so interesting because after we read that article what we read that night in the scriptures and the movie that we ended up renting from red box, were relaying the same messages; I love it when that happens; when you can clearly detect what the spirit wants you to know and hear at that moment in your life.

It is amazing all of the things you can actually do with your day when you wake up at 3 a.m! It was seriously the best weekend we've had in a long time. I am so grateful, as Mike reminded me in an email this morning, that we have so many commonalities. I am so grateful that we can enjoy nature together, recreational activities, exciting and adventurous, creative, and physical activities, talk about and share things of a spiritual nature, be silly, goofy, romantic, and totally in love. It is so amazing to be connected on all levels and to feel so much growth coming from our relationship. I love Mike with all of my heart; I am so thankful to be married to my best friend! I honestly can say I can't imagine feeling so fulfilled in life without him as my companion.

More Pics of us (all the ones of the scenery I put in a slide show because there were so many)!

This one cracks me up! It looks like I am doing an Indian Dance to celebrate the wonderful harvest we've had; in reality I was falling.

Picking flowers

Mt. Rainer - make slideshow

Nika missed us all day. This is another one of her hiding places; she cracks me up!