It's Official....Texas Here We Come!!!

Hurricane Ridge in Port Angeles

Well the anticipation is over.....the papers were signed on August 26th and filed the following day. After 7.5  years, we are out of the bar business, done with WA, and headed to our next venture in Tejas.

With getting things closed up, we have been busy and trying to take advantage of what is left in WA.

We were treated to a weekend on Riffe Lake with our friends Patty and Will and their 18 passenger pontoon boat. It was an overcast day...but we still had a blast.  We found a secluded cove... put down the anchor and had fun eating, swimming, and enjoying the good company.

Captain Will

We went for a weekend visit to see Aunt Pat and Uncle Alan. Pat treated us to a trip up to Hurricane Ridge (among other treats since she is always spoiling us!).  It was chilly but beautiful!

Aunt Pat is always ready for walks! I really admire her strength.

Flowers were very limited this late in the season - especially due to the drought conditions - but this blue harebell gave us a lovely glimpse of the delicate vegetation.  since we have blue harebell china - we thought it was a good omen!

Connor's hops did exceptionally well despite drought-like weather all summer. 

Huge.

Coffee Porter - stirred with our trusty mash paddle.

Active Fermentation

Neighborhood minions picking hops.

First wort hopping with THB hops for a Harvest Red Ale.

Willie continues to work on Big Farm Goods.... and attempted his first official show in Onalaska WA at The Mason Jar. There were lots of other craft/homegood/Americana vendors.  

Going for a rustic yet clean... fun yet functional... and definitely timeless look.

He made lots of new bags for this show and sold at discounted prices just to get the word out.  Canvas and leather are his two mediums.  I love all of his creations!

My Bae got me lots of Texas Tees; he surprised me with them when I got home from a week of working out of town.  I wear them as often as I can.  Texas here we come!


We have lots of packing to do and the next few weeks will really fly....this will be our last post from WA.
XOXOX

No news... good news...

Well. Life here in WA has settled into a holding pattern. I can't decide if I like it? Or can't stand it? I mean... we are slowly decreasing activity for life as we know it here...but we can't really work on life as we want to know it for the future.  It might be a few weeks until things feel more final and we can proceed with actual decisions.  So, my brain is in constant thought about all I NEED TO DO...but my body isn't allowed to do anything. You know how hard that is for me. But I also kinda like our leisurely weekends...  Connor is cool, calm, and collected as usual. :)
I decided to do another blog because it feels like a journal of the last few years of our life here in WA. Maybe we won't continue it in TX... so I will enjoy it while I can.

Afternoon Tea at The Empress Hotel in Victoria with Aunt Pat. We wished for Martha, Mags, Amber and Ashley! Such a fun girl's date.

Egg Day 2015...our last one?

Fun! We went to the US Open at Chambers Bay.  It was a great date. Never thought I would enjoy golf so much!

Very excited and grateful that Martha got to go meet little Everly Britt! I think she enjoyed her little trip immensely. 

And we got to meet Evie B through Skype! She is beautiful, bright, and sweet - just like her mama and papa!

Breakfast is a beautiful thing on a cool Sunday morning.

Seriously. This bruschetta was so dang delicious. Toasted bread smeared with a cannellini bean mash, then the chopped tomato/herb mixture, some leafy greens...topped with a balsamic glaze reduction and olive oil. I could eat it everyday! I never had bruschetta with the bean smear before. It made the meal! Take note Mark/Amber - this needs to be in your vegan repertoire!

We are cat-sitting for our neighbor... This is Felix. Connor likes to give him a voice.  Think Forrest Gump and say, "Welcome to my Black Panther par-ty."  LOL.  

Of course...our fat cats keep holding down the fort!

So... no news really. Just the usual blessed daily life. Hope your summer is hoppin!!

Choosing LOVE... Everyday, every way... every year!

Can you believe they're still together??

Another blissful year has past... I still need to pinch myself when I wake up and see my sweet Connor by my side! Our 6th anniversary was simple and perfect...It was exactly the kind of weekend we LOVE. We went to a big junk/garage sale, listened to music, tested out some river fishing (well, I tested out the riverbank for sun rays), watched a movie/made dinner, baked cookies, washed/cleaned the cars, weeded/gardened, grilled, went out for ice cream, reminisced about our sweet past... and dreamed about the promising days to come!

The only fish I want to catch.

Seriously...this was the big catch of the day!

Love these babies! 

I'll spare you all the pictures of delicious food we have been making...this was our anniversary breakfast. We got to enjoy it outside in the sun. <3

ALWAYS and FOREVER.

Texas Dreaming...

Out Texas trip was absolutely perfect.  Since blogging has become more of a keepsake journal for me, I will go right into sharing the pictures from the week.
We started in Dallas with Leigh Ann, Alex, and Sammy. Ceci was able to join us there as well! We were confined by the rain/storms, but Lou had so many fun activities planned for us. And just being with the nephews was all the excitement we wanted!

The boys made me feel so welcome and loved right from the airport pick up!

They LOVED playing with Uncle Buddy!

Ice skating, roller skating, bowling.... so much activity to keep us busy through the soggy weather.

Uncle Buddy's little mechanic...

Sammy was eating breakfast... announces he needs to pee...and heads to the tree!

We baked a strawberry layer cake for Lou's bday!

So hard to leave these little loves...

After Dallas, we headed up to Daingerfield.  Despite the poor weather, we loved our time with Papa, Aunt Kay, and Ceci.  We spent some quality time at Big Farm...It is so relaxing there!

Woke to to tranquil mornings... coffee with Ceci, hummingbirds swarming the feeder, lizards laying in the sun. It was glorious.

Connor and Mom walking to our future cabin site.

Connor's favorite bass pond.

Our tree. The cows sure were curious about us. They followed us from a distance...but spooked if we walked directly towards them.

Should have gotten a better picture of Ceci's garden. It was so beautiful. And producing some delicious produce for our dining pleasure!

Happy-dog was so sweet.

We ended the week in Longview with Rusty and Neana. We also got to see Grand Bet, Ms. Sylvia, Will/Lovie/Anniston... Got a little time in the pool, a good bike ride with Dad, way too much good food, and generally wrapped up the trip perfectly.

Look at all those pretty people!

It wasn't very warm...and the storms interrupted a few days...but we had a lot of fun the day we finally got to the pool!

Connor driving Daddy Bill's (his paternal grandfather's) old Beauville. We think we will put this van to go use in the coming years.

Neana and Sister looking like college girls at the pool!

Rusty and Brother. 

Mostly, everywhere we went, we took in the sweet reality that we  could be coming to live in Texas in just a few short months. All these fleeting good times will become much more readily available. Being closer to family will be a welcome change of scenery for us.
Hoping. Wishing. Dreaming. Praying for all.

Spring - in the blink of an eye!

Well... clearly we have fallen off the blogging wagon.  So much happens!! And then there is no time to write it out!
It doesn't help that we had computer issues in April...and Marie was gone for 3 of the 4 weeks.  But, it was a great month... and May is shaping up to be even better!

Success!  Selfie-stick comes in handy! It only took like 4 tries. 

Easter dinner with Daryl.

Willie is still sewing... this was a creation for Amber- since she loves moo-moos.

Marie loved going to NC to give mom a chance for some time with Mara before she turned 1!

Margaret planned a lovely, simple birthday party for Miss Mara... It was so nice to be there for a girl's weekend.

Lots of quality time with Papa Chuck.  Mom got him a new bag of tobacco... He got his pipes locked and loaded first thing.  

Marie had a week in Vegas for a work conference...and the nights were overflowing too since her high school friend Dana lives there.  Jersey boys was such a fun show. Dana's mom even came with us!

Despite the gorgeous weather, I rarely got outside...but I snuck out on the last day to get a picture of the flamingos at the Flamingo hotel.

Back on the home front.... Connor and the kitties were missing Marie, but they survived.

We pray that May holds more excitement for us... we are dreaming big about the future!  We hope and pray that spring is in full bloom for you!