This is a shot of Marcus on the coast, looking out over the water. We had a wonderful time with the Johnson clan (my dad & step-mom's family). We shared a house in Westport for the weekend, and enjoyed some nice days on the beach, throwing the frisbee, playing games, and lots of catching up. It was a great time.

16 days.

I just got an email from someone who reminded me that it's been 16 days since my last post... so here I am.

Here's a not-so-quick run-down of what I've been up to since August 22:

1. Marcus and I went on a backpacking trip to Rachel Lake. To get there, you take the Lake Kachess exit off of I-90 (near the summit of Snoqualmie Pass), and then you drive to the trailhead. From there, it was about a 4-ish mile hike, with all the elevation gain in the last mile. Ugh. I was tired, but I made it. About half-way through I asked Marcus, "Are you proud of me for still tackling adventures like this." He answered honestly, as always, and said,"I guess I'm a little proud, but mostly I just think you're crazy." Thanks for your support, honey. :) Tee hee!! I've included some photos for you.

This is a photo of Rachel Lake, itself. We hiked up a ridge, around the lake a little ways to take this one.

Another shot on the ridge, looking the other direction.

Some really weird flowering plants. Anyone know what it is?

And another shot of Rachel Lake.

2. Another fun activity that we did was... we went golfing at the Enumclaw Golf Course. It was really fun, and I even got par on one of the holes. By the end of our round of 9, I was hitting it much better, and had two amazing chips onto the green, just a couple of feet away from the hole. It was awesome, and sunny the whole round. Bonus!!

3. We also went to a wedding this past weekend for one of my past students from Sammamish Hills youth group. It was our second wedding of youth group kids this summer. Yikes. I'm not sure how I got old enough for them to be getting married. Alas, the wedding was beautiful, and I got to see lots of fun friends.

Flashback from the first middle school mission trip to Yakima: Barb, Kristin, Kate, and me.
From the second Yakima Mission Trip: Barb, Kate, me, & Lacey

My hottie husband & I.

4. My last big event happened yesterday evening. My sister-in-law, Tammy & I took her daughter Maya & a friend to see TAYLOR SWIFT!! Maya is in love with Taylor, and so we were all super excited to see her. The concert was amazing, it was the most beautiful show I've ever been to, with all of the costumes, sets, and lighting. It was great!

Here's a photo of the 4 of us

Maya and I

5. Besides all of the fun that I've been having, my health is slowly seeming to improve. I'm still needing to get IV fluids twice a week, but that has kept me from passing out and having a good time. (clearly.) I've had a low-grade fever for the past two weeks, and so was prompted to go to the GP (family doctor) to get checked out. After a significant work-up of blood and urine, there is still no answer as to why I'm running a mystery fever. The doctor thinks it may just run it's course, or perhaps it already has? I'll have to keep you posted on that.

Thank you for your continued love and support. And thank God for blessing us with amazing weather in the Seattle-area these past few weeks. We've been driving the Jeep with the top down, enjoying the car since my father-in-law broke his foot, and so has loaned it to us in Enumclaw until he can drive again. Poor Jim, but yay for us.

Hugs and love,

b