May in the Northwest

So the good news is we are alive and now living in Texas! Pictured to the left is how we hauled all our belongings here. Yay for roadtrips where you can't go over 55 mph. Phil started dental school on Monday and I am hanging out until my job starts at the end of this month, which will give me plenty of time to update the much neglected blog. Be warned that this is a long post.

Here I am in Seattle feeding seagulls at Ivar. A must for anyone visiting Seattle.

 We went to see the Seattle Symphony. It was amazing. The soloist was amazing. Just one look into these beautiful gypsy locks of hair will have you convinced.

 We visited with my grandparents and Dustin for a day in Moses Lake, WA.

 Then we ventured to Spokane, WA where we enjoyed a day with the Crespos checking out the falls

 and merry-go-rounding. We miss you guys!

 The next day I ran a half marathon and Phil ran a full marathon. It was a beautiful race.

 Another day we went to Portland and checked out the infamous Powell's Books. It was hugnormous.

 And we went hiking to Tunnel Falls. Which was beautiful!

 And we do this all with Loral! It was so good to see her. I sure wish we lived closer. She introduced us to an amazing BBQ joint called

Podnah's which got me really excited for Texas BBQ... which I still have yet to try.

Here we are exhausted/sweaty from the hike and ready to dig in.

 Then in Seattle we went to the top of the space needle. I love the view from up there!

 That evening we went to a Mariner's game. And they won. And these are my parents.

 And these are my friends Kathryn, Tyler, and baby Brynn who met up with us for the game.

 Safeco Field
I love baseball

 Phil in his logger shirt with the logger sign

 Hurricane Ridge. Great views. So much snow.

 Sunset at Hurricane Ridge

 On the ferry as we depart for Victoria, British Columbia.

 Parliament building in Victoria. Gorgeous.

 Back to the USA at Sol Duc hot springs. This is a trail we ran on every morning. It doesn't get much more beautiful than this.

 Me at the Sol Duc lodge where they serve the most delicious food.

 Sol Duc falls

 The wild Washington coast

 This is the trail that takes you to the coast.

 One night we stayed in Forks, WA. Home to Bella's truck.

hiking around the Hoh rainforest 

rock skipping contest

lake quinalt lodge. In love with this place.

That is Mt. Rainier in the background.

hiking around on Rainier

 These last 3 pictures are from a breakfast we had when two of best bestest friends were also in Kennewick. I love these people!

And that was the month of May

Before I turn 25

I turn 25 in 6 days

Crazy

25 will be such a great year!

But before my birthday comes I want to:

1) Finish my masters thesis

2) Have my sickness go away, along with the return of my voice

3) Backpack in Canyonlands

4) Make a ton of awesome reeds

5) Lose one more pound (I have lost 6 since Christmas break. woot!)

6) Do more nice things for other people- Sometimes I forget to do this and I want to be better at it

This is a lot to do in 6 days

Pesto Cheesecake Recipe

I made this for the reception that we had after my graduate recital.

We served squares of it with crackers. Also delicious to melt over hot pasta.

The recipe came from Shannon Jones. She always has such a beautiful garden.

A few people have asked me for the recipe so here 'tis!

p.s. it may sound complicated, but I made it successfully on my first try so you can too! and it is so worth it!

Ingredients:

1/2-2/3 c purchased or homemade pesto

1 Tbsp butter

1/4 cup fine dry bread seasoned crumbs

2 Tbsp grated parmesan

16 oz cream cheese, room temp

1 C ricotta cheese

1/2 C grated parmesan

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp cayenne, or to taste

3 large eggs

1/4 C pine nuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325. Rub butter over the bottom and sides of a 9-inch spring-form pan. Mix breadcrumbs with 2 Tbsp parmesan cheese. Turn pan to coat with the crumb mixture.

Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, ricotta, and parmesan, salt, and cayenne in a large bowl until light. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Transfer half of the batter to a medium bowl. Mix pesto mixture into remaining half. Pour pesto batter into prepared pan; smooth top evenly. Spoon plain mixture over; gently smooth to cover pesto layer. Sprinkle with 1/4 C pine nuts.

Bake until center is no longer jiggly, about 45 minutes. Transfer to rack to cool completely. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 6-24 hours before serving.

Moab Trip

This weekend we went to Moab

with our nature photography class.

It was freezing

but mainly beautiful.

I took 1,033 pictures in 2 days.

Most of them look like I don't know what I am doing

which is true.

Some are ok.

Some are really cool.

What a beautiful part of the world.

twins

Nephews
Top: Anders
Bottom: Oliver
last weekend we got to babysit these cuties
we ate fishsticks and grapes, played with blocks and cars, danced to Billy Idol, brushed teeth, read books, and went to sleep
we love them

tuesday

Dear Tuesdays,
I hope it gets warm today
but my hands are always cold.
French toast in my tummy
happy feeling
ready to face the day.

monday

Dear Mondays
I think you are so hard because
I have been spending time with my sweetheart
and then we have to be apart
but the sunshine helps