top of Mt. Catherine

This past Saturday there was an open house at the Ballard Bowl. Apparently there was a contest too, but we couldn't figure out when it started. Nollie was really interested in the bowl - she doesn't like it when people drop in and she can't find them. It's too cute!


where did he go?


here he comes!

On Sunday we went hiking with Steve. This time we tried two different hikes and actually finished one! We climbed to the top of Mt. Catherine - a little over a mile, pretty much straigt up. The view was amazing!


Sarah in her new hiking boots


at the top (Steve was working on his tan)


I-90 is down there somewhere

hike to Rachel Lake

Mike, Steve, Nollie and I attempted to hike to Rachel Lake in the Wenatchee National Forest on Sunday. It ended up being an 8 mile, 6 hour hike - and we didn't even make it to Rachel Lake. Nollie was exhausted and we kept losing the trail in the snow, so we turned around at the 4 mile mark. The hike was a little more extreme than we had anticipated. There were quite a few river crossings - at one you had to crawl across a log and Nollie attempted to swim but the current was too stong for her. Here is where I fell into the river and Mike had to toss me back up onto the bank before I was rushed away - it wasn't really that bad, I would have eventually stopped. The water was freezing! Anyway, we all made it down in one piece and went to the North Bend Bar & Grill for some much needed nachos!


the beautiful Wenatchee National Forest


Steve


huge waterfall


hooray! we're turning around!


i still have to hike 4 miles down and swim across the raging river?!?


it's all worth it for views like this

knitting circle

Lisa, Brianne, and Sarah

So, this is what I've been doing lately - I've taught myself how to knit! I'm not very good at it, but it has been a lot of fun (a little frustrating at times, but fun). Lisa, my friend from work, is learning too. And my other friend from work, Brianne, doesn't know how to knit very well, but she can crochet like mad! On Saturday I had them both over for a little knitting circle/martini party. We rewarded ourselves by sipping our martinis every time we finished a row. It was a blast!

new grill

Last week and weekend the weather here was amazing - sunny and in the high 70's. We decided to spend our last wedding gift card on a Weber grill. On Saturday we had ourselves a BBQ. We haven't been able to use it again since it's been raining all this week.


putting the grill together

With the nice weather comes beautiful flowers. Here are a few shots of the rhododendron bush in our front yard. We also have irises (I think), but I don't have any photos of them.


you don't want to know how many trys it took to get this shot


Fun WA Fact: the rhododendron is our state flower


Nollie

Swenson family reunion

FRIDAY
Mike's parents arrived in Seattle on Friday afternoon. They stayed at a small B&B in Ballard. Steve, Mike and I went over to check out their place in the evening where we received gifts - cheese, chocolates, and a bridesmaid dress! We then went to the Hi-Life for dinner.

SATURDAY
Mike got up early to skate the Ballard bowl. Nollie and I walked down to meet him and Steve before we all went to Cafe Besalu to meet his parents.


ready to drop in


in the bowl

At Cafe Besalu we all had coffee and pastries. Yum! Even Nollie got to enjoy some dog treats at the cafe.


Mike, Nollie, and Irene


Ken enjoying his mocha

Next, we went to the dog park at Golden Gardens where Nollie acted like her usual lame self and didn't play with any of the other dogs.

The big outing of the day was to Mt. Rainier. We drove up to Paradise where there was still a HUGE amount of snow on the ground. Then we drove down the mountain a little way to do some hiking. We thought we drove far enough to get away from the snow, but the farther (and higher) we hiked the more snow we ran into.


at Paradise


tree moss beard


obligatory photo with Mt. Rainier


on our hike


nice face Steve!


what Mike's looking at

After a very busy day we all went back to our house for pizza, Yahtzee, and Office Space.

SUNDAY
First, we walked to St. Alphonsus for Mother's Day mass. After mass we went for breakfast at Mae's Phinney Ridge Cafe. Later that night we had a Mother's Day BBQ at Steve's house. Nels, Topher, and Claire were there too.

MONDAY
Mike's parents flew back to Wisconsin this afternoon. We hope they had a good time visiting!

our weekend fun

On Saturday Steve, Nollie and I went to Green Lake for a walk. It was a great day to be outside, despite the fact that my new shoes gave me blisters. I guess I shouldn't have worn them for a 3 mile walk! Mike stayed home to work on his research from Madison.

Saturday night Mike and I went on a date to the Santa Fe Cafe on Phinney Ave. It was delicious! After that we got some coffee. We're becoming your typical Seattlites (is that what you'd call us - I'm not sure).

Sunday Mike and Steve went up to Alpental snowboarding. Sunday was the last day it was open for the season. It rained the whole time. But it was sunny in Seattle where I was!

warm weather

We've been enjoying the warm, 70 degree weather. Mike has been skateboarding quite a bit - and even rode the Ballard bowl. He was a little scared, but went early in the morning so not to embarass himself too much. We've also been taking Nollie to the dog park at Golden Gardens a lot since the rain has let up. She met two goldens there today named Mollie and Max.

Last weekend we had Steve and his friend Natalie over for a little dinner party. I made lasagna, garlic bread, and Ceasar salad. After dinner we went for drinks at a bar in Ballard. On our way home Mike and I stopped at Denny's for breakfast.

Work has been getting better for me. I testified in my first case here in Washington on Monday. It was in Vancouver, which is practically in Oregon - three hours from Seattle. The defense attorney was a piece of work. His questions weren't difficult, but he did yell at me. Eh. I keep getting more responsiblities at the lab, which is good because it makes the day go by faster.

Mike's still doing his thing at SDOT. He's really looking forward to starting his abandoned mine project or possibly doing some costal work.

Our first Wisconsin visitors are coming next week. We can't wait to see you!

winter formal

Steve and his roommates hosted a big party this past Saturday. The theme was winter formal and Steve trucked in a whole bunch of snow from Steven's pass to put in his yard. It was a really good time!


Nollie with Willie's dogs


our prom photo - note the balloon arch


all dressed up


Mike playing in the snow

Easter, etc.

I haven't had much time to post lately. We still don't have the internet at home, so I have to come to the library to use it. Anyway, here's what we've been doing.

While shopping downtown a couple of weekends ago we stopped at the orginal Starbuck's across the street from Pike's Market. Even though it was really crowded and we could have walked up a block to a different Starbuck's, we both got coffees. Now we can say we did it.


"I'll have a nonfat mocha with whip."

This past Saturday Mike and I went up to Baker with Topher, Nels, Tony and Lindsay to go snowboarding. We couldn't have asked for better weather in April. It snowed 16 inches on Friday and started snowing again on Saturday afternoon. I was really excited about the Easter egg hunt, but Mike and I only found one egg. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be to find them.


Mike with our egg


Sarah

Steve came over on Sunday for Easter dinner - Eldorado style. I made spinach enchiladas, chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, black beans, corn bread and two kinds of salsa. It was pretty good, if I do say so myself.


Salsa? Salsa.


frying up some steak


our Easter spread

not much is new

I've been busy working and going to yoga classes. Both are going well.

Mike has been working and snowboarding on the weekends.

Nollie went to the groomer for the first time on Saturday. She came home wearing a bandanna with butterflies on it.

And Steve broke his collar bone a little over a week ago while he was snowboarding with Mike.

new chair

The leather chair we ordered back in September finally showed up on our door step last week. Thanks Uncle Cliff and Aunt Khristy for the great wedding gift - we love it! It looks really nice with our couch.


the new chair

crazy snowmobilers

Mike and Steve went snowboarding in the back country yesterday. They took Steve's snowmobile to get there. Apparently it was a lot of hard work and they only got one run in each - not exactly worth the effort if you ask me. Here are some photos they took of their adventure. I am glad I wasn't there because if I had seen what Steve did in person, I think I would have had a heart attack. Mike said it was pretty insane.


Steve


Mike getting ready for his one run or finishing his run - not sure


Steve's huge air

I hope I don't get Steve in too much trouble with his parents for posting that last photo. He's crazy. And don't worry, he didn't get hurt.

Mike's 26th birthday

Mike turned 26 on Monday. He had to work but when he got home we celebrated. Of course, he got some gifts (new brown belt, polo shirt he had his eye on, and a book with local mountain biking trails). We went out to dinner at Pete's Pizza with Steve for calzones. Then Steve, Topher, and Nels come over to our house for Cold Stone ice cream cake. I think he had a pretty good day.

snowshoeing at Alpental

Mike and I bought snowshoes this past week and decided to head up to Alpental with Nollie and Steve on Saturdday to do a little snowshoeing. Nollie loved playing in the snow and we even let her roam around off leash. She got stuck a few times when she wandered off the trail - it was very humorous. This was my first trip to the mountains since arriving in Seattle. The fresh air, exercise and scenery were a nice change.


Mike, Nollie and Steve (way off to the left) on the trail


my new snowshoes


Nollie


on our way back down

thanks for the flowers

my gorgeous flowers

I received the most beautiful flowers yesterday for my birthday. I don't get flowers very often so it was a nice surprise. They look great on the coffee table and they smell great too. Thanks mom and dad Swenson!

Sarah's 26th birthday

Well, I turned 26 on Saturday. It was a pretty low key day, but I really did have a great birthday. I woke up to lots of gifts all over the house. Mike got me a Gravis yoga bag, a Gravis purse, a balloon, cherry pie and a Wee Little Garden Gnome - he's really tiny. I'm really excited to use some of my birthday money to start taking yoga classes here in Seattle. And I have my cool, new yoga bag to carry all my gear in.


note Nollie for scale of my Wee Little Garden Gnome

We spent the day doing whatever I wanted. We went out to breakfast at Dish, took Nollie to the dog park, went to Fremont (the neighborhood next to ours) for Cold Stone ice cream and coffee and to browse the shops, and then went to dinner at Madador here in Ballard. Their only downside was we had to wait an hour and a half to get a table. Mike thought it was a little too trendy. I thought the food was delicious.

thanks for the cheese

I got a great surprise in the mail today from my parents - Wisconsin cheese! I was having a difficult time out here not have the vast selection of good cheese that we have in Wisconsin. My mom asked me if there was anything I wanted sent to me and I said cheese. My parents followed through and sent me 5 different kinds of cheese, including 2 bags of cheese curds from the cheese factory up by their cabin in Wautoma, WI. They even squeaked when I ate them. And since Mike doesn't like cheese, I get to eat it all myself. It was the best surprise! Thanks mom and dad!

Wednesday night we went to the Society of Forensic Toxicologists night out. It may seem like a weird thing to do, but this is how it happened. My bosses from my job in Madison, Pat and Laura, were here in Seattle for a Acadamy of Forensic Sciences conference. At this conference there are toxicologists, pathologists, ballistics specialists, etc. All the toxicologists got together one night for a social outing and that is what Mike and I went to. It was at Gordon Beirsh downtown and there was free pizza and beer. It was really fun to see someone I know from home out here. We were introduced to a lot of people, some of whom I may be working with some day. I had an interview with the Washington State Patrol's toxicology lab yesterday and I think it went really well. I'm very excited and optimistic. I should know in a week or two if I got the job. Keep your fingers crossed!

SURPRISE!

Steve & Gretchen

This past Saturday was Steve's 28th birthday. His friends threw him an awesome surprise party. He had no clue! It was great! We weren't really sure if it would actually happen. Gretchen and Steve went to dinner close to the bar he wanted to celebrate in, so the hard part was getting him back to his house where we were all waiting with balloons and silly string. Gretchen's plan of forgetting her cell phone worked and Steve was bombarded! I think he has some great friends and had a great birthday.

Happy Valentine's Day

cupcakes from Cupcake Royale

Our first Valentine's Day as a married couple and our first Valentine's Day in Seattle was a success. We went out for a nice dinner at The Hi-Life - aka where Topher works. The food was very good and I love that it has an open kitchen so you can watch Topher make your french onion soup. Next time we eat there I want to sit at the counter so we can bother him while he works. We then went to Sonic Boom where we bought some CDs. Next, Cupcake Royale for coffee and cupcakes. We ended out the night at home drinking a bottle of wine from our honeymoon, watching the Olympics, and listening to our new CDs. The only bad part of the day was that Nollie was afraid of the heart-shaped balloon I gave Mike. She wouldn't come downstairs while it was in the living room - too cute!

Greetings from Seattle!

We rolled into the city about a week ago and so much has been happening since then. Our first order of business was to find a place to live since we were homeless and staying at Steve's house. I know everyone was nervous about us moving out here with nowhere to live, but the house hunt went surprisingly fast. We ended up renting the first house we looked at. It's in Ballard (about 10 blocks from Steve's house) and in a very nice neighborhood. The house itself is a small cottage built on the back of the lot - there is just a front yard. The yard is huge with lots of big trees and shrubs - basically we can't see the road from inside the house. Nollie loves the yard and runs around like a wild woman everytime we let her out.




front of our house


view of the front yard from our porch


view of the house from the road

We've also had some time to explore the Ballard neighborhood with Steve. My favorite coffee shop is Cupcake Royale. We have also frequented the Tin Hat - the Paradise of Seattle - a couple of times. They don't have fried cheese curds, but they do have good nachos and PBR on tap. We love Taco del Mar too.

It hasn't all been fun and games. We spent the good part of Tuesday setting things up here - new driver's licenses, new license plates, new bank account, library cards (so I can get on the internet), etc. Mike started work yesterday at Hart Crowser so I've been on my own finishing up the unpacking and whatever else needs to be done to settle in. So far they have him working hard!