Living Her Life

Today I voted at the WA state poll, it was the last time in our state that we will have actual polls, so it was fun to fill in the bubbles one last time, and yes I got my "I voted sticker".  What was most important for me today was that America voted for someone who I think will be a great leader of this country and for someone who I believe has reminded me what it’s like to feel patriotism for such a great country. 

Barack Obama was elected our 44th President of the United States and our 1st African-American President in history. 

I was so proud to vote for him today! 

I must say though I voted for Obama I was so glad that John McCain was such a powerful opponent and I would have been happy had he been elected as well.  I don’t agree with all his policies or his selection of VP, but I have no doubt that McCain loves this country and that he would always put what he felt was it’s best interest above all else.  I took the time to watch both speeches tonight and I was moved to tears by both.  To be able to sit comfortably on my couch, in my house knowing that today I had the right to vote, as a women and an American, and then to watch democracy take it’s course reminded me of how blessed we all are to be Americans.  I have heard from others that were either disappointed, sad, or just too tired that they didn’t watch the events/speeches of the night…that makes me sad, because I don’t think there are many historic moments that take place in our lifetime and I think this night was one of those moments.  I think people remember exactly what they were doing when Pearl Harbor was attacked, when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, when JKF was shot, when Nixon resigned, when MLK gave his "I have a dream" speech, when 9/11 affected all our lives and for me I will always remember that I voted on this day with millions of Americans, and that I voted for Obama, and that I watched both amazing speeches from two great men that love this country.  

I am convinced that Cooper is the sweetest dog in the world!  He is 3 Years old this month. 

I am so behind on my blog. 

Back in August we went to Yellowstone National Park and rented a house on the Lake outside West Yellowstone with the Carruth family.  We had an amazing time and we all wished we had been able to stay another week or two!   Mike, Patrick and their dad got to put their fly fishing lessons to good use and were able to get about 4 times, they loved exploring all the different rivers.

The kids knew everything about the park, as Uncle Monkey had bought a Yellowstone DVD for them prior to the trip…it’s amazing the things they learn and remember.  They had every day completely plotted out and could tell us all the names of the Geysers, when they would go off and how high they would shoot up.  One morning Mike and I headed out about 6:00 am to see if we could see any wildlife eating in the fields.  We saw a huge elk that scared the hell out of us.  Then we we were able to take in hundreds of bison crossing one part of the park into the valley.  We got there early enough that we were able to get a spot in one of the pull offs.  We stayed for about 2.5 hours, just watching them come across, stopping traffic and grabbing everyone’s attention.  It was a really amazing experience.  You could just see the families of bison that were coming over and watch how there was always one in the group that was protective of the rest.  We took about 200 pictures of them and some were very close, we actually had a tripod sitting out and as we made our way to the back of the 4 Runner as some of them were a little to close (I guess we were a little too close), one of the baby bison came up and licked Mike’s tripod. 

Other wildlife we saw: Bison, Eagles, Elk, Mule deer, we did see a black bear across the way.  Mike and I were able to take in a couple hikes, the first was Elephant Back Mountain.  It was so green and peaceful and view at the top overlooked Yellowstone Lake, it was so amazing.

The second hike was one we had done back in 2003 on our fist trip to Yellowstone, Mt. Washburn.  In 2003 there was a snow storm heading our way, it was mid June and no one else was on the hike, it took a long time to get to the top and the picture we have of me from the top in 2003…shows my frustration and fear.  It was so important for me to make sure we hiked this trail again, so in my new picture…I am very HAPPY!!! (Having not seen any grizzly bears along the way made had something to do with it).

We went back to Wolf Pack and enjoyed a beer at the bar for old times sake, thanks again Steve…love this place.   The “sisters” drove to Bozeman one morning to pick up a custom cake we had ordered from a bakery for Pop’s birthday surprise.  Pops turns 60 this year and the boys have been planning a cruise to Alaska for the 3 of them for a while now. 

He was pretty surprised and they have already started planning their trip for next July.   After being in Montana for 7 days I am pretty sure we will eventually own land and live there, it’s an amazing place…it’s overwhelming. It was an amazing trip and we all looking forward to our next National Park adventure together. 

  Right after our visit with Paul and Kimberly I had the opportunity to head back to Atlanta for Microsoft’s MGX conference.  I was able to stayed with my parents and drive downtown every morning to Philips and WWCC.  What a crazy event….the first morning I get down there and walk into the Philips Arena which was all ours, it’s 7:30 AM and they have strobe lights going every where and rock band playing.  There was about 13,000 Microsoft employees from around the world there…so overwhelming.  The day was packed with special awards and recognition and of course Steve Ballmer and Kevin Turner lighting up the stage. I had head about all their excitement, but I must say you have to experience it to understand.  We were busy doing working sessions, sitting on keynote US speakers, and soaking it all in.  At night I was able to see my family and friends (thanks Britain and Lisa for stopping by).  Friday night I was able to drive up to finally see Tiff and Tom’s lake house, so neat and I can’t wait to come back for a long weekend!  Saturday at lunch Pat, Liz, and Megan headed all the way downtown to have lunch with me during my break.  So nice to have friends that rearrange their plans for you when you come in town…miss you guys!  I headed back Saturday evening after the conference, but MS had rented out Six Flags for us as an attendee party….I thought Six Flags been there done that, but what I didn’t know was Pink and Daughtry performed for us…pretty cool. 

What a GREAT visit!  Sorry for the long delay everyone, I’m am behind yet again.  So the second week in July bought back together with some of our dearest friends, Paul and Kimberly.  It had actually been 5 years since we had seen them, we vowed the first night never to go that long again.  We had blast visiting with them and showing them all around Seattle.  We stopped off in Kirkland and showed them Lake WA and then headed to our favorite mexician restaurant, Cactus for some toasts around margaritas.  We spent a day at Mt. Rainier, where we saw some waterfalls, Paul held up snow, Kimberly visited her 1st National Park,  and we got to see her majesty at her best.

We spent a day downtown showing them Pike’s Place Market, the Waterfront, and also took them to Snoqualmie Falls and hit our local brewery.  The last day we headed to Woodinville for some wine tasting and dinner at the Brooklyn.   Oh we also took them to see the Elk that live near us, it was perfect timing there was a ton out there. 

It was so good to see them, thank you guys for all your efforts to making the journey out here.  Life is funny, I never thought we would go that long without seeing them(or for that fact I never thought I would have not known Dave’s wife…yet….in due time) but one thing I do know is that good friendship is so much stronger than distance.  Love you guys!

Last Wednesday night, Mike and I adventured onto the golf course…TOGETHER!  We have hit balls from the range together and I have played a couple times with some girl friends, be we have never actually played together.  It went pretty good if I do say so myself.  I think he was not only impressed but excited that this might be something we can do together on vacations.  I’m not saying I’m Tiger Woods or anything, but I can hit it straight and it usually goes more than 50 ft.   We had a great time and it was fun to be outside enjoying the summer of the Northwest…certainly beats sitting on the couch watching a reality show on TV. 

And no I didn’t even have to yell FOUR at anyone. 

I just completed my first day of orientation at Microsoft.  Wow!  My first day was shared with about 199 other people’s first day at Microsoft.   So organized, informative, motivating, and just really COOL!  Currently there are 39,000 employees at MS just in the Puget Sound area and to date the company employees about 89,000 worldwide.   They shared with us what the original mission statement for Microsoft was back in 1975 when Gates and Allen started the company, it was ” To put a PC on every desk and in every home in the world.”  I don’t think they accomplished that completely, but pretty close too it.  In 2000 the mission statement was revised to reflect the current state and responsibility of the company.  Today it is “To enable people and businesses throughout the world to realize their full potential”.   You should see the number of things the company and it’s employees do to make a change in the world.  So I might just be drinking the “Kool-aid”, but I was really touched today to know that I will be working for an amazing company the will provide me the tools to make a difference in how things around the world are done.  Having been a contractor for the last year I know that no one watches to see if you show up 10 min. late or if you take an 1.5 hour lunch because (for the most part) the people working here are passionate, driven and intelligent…they are excited (and the company tries to make sure they are excited) about what they are doing.  There is such a diversity in this company and they consider this to be a huge strength for them.  Diversity was not a “PC” term today, it was a word used to describe the range of perspectives that are shared along with the ability to reach people globally.

It’s too much to go into, but  I remember the day I graduated from Auburn University and walked across the stage…I was proud and today sitting in orientation I had the same feeling.  I knew some day Mike work at Microsoft and that we would live in Seattle, but I never thought I would be working at Microsoft….I guess I’ll start dreaming bigger.

Woo Hoo…I’m a blue badge!

Just got back from a great trip down to Gulf Shores, AL with my family.  It was so nice to be back in the south and in the heat!  Nothing beats the beaches of the Gulf Coast.  We had such a wonderful time, in all there was a total of 30 of us!  My whole family with all their kids were there along with my brother-in-law, Tom’s entire family.  13 kids in all ranging from 17-4 in age, they all play so great together and are never bored.  Sunday night we had a great luau on the beach for Father’s Day and stayed out there until about 10:30.  We all wear our tropical attire, everyone makes a dish and we set up shop right on the beach.  Rest of the days we soaked up as much sun as possible, drank a few Coronas, played in the ocean and pool, made lots of dinners, did a little shopping with the sisters, and Mike went fishing with Dad one morning.  I really think at some point in our lives we will own a house on the beach, it feeds my soul like hiking feeds Mike’s soul…I guess we will have a house in Montana and one in Destin. Here are a few pictures from the trip.  Oh and we of course had Chick-Fil-A a few times.

It might be a small historical town, but there are things to do. Not only do we have the amazing and indescribable Snoqualmie Falls and the historical NW Railroad Museum, but we have Snoqualmie Brewery and Taproom.    Saturday night Mike and I went out for date night in Snoqualmie and had a GREAT time.  We started at Snoqualmie Brewery and enjoyed some tasty beverages (PGA for me and Copperhead Pale Ale for Mike) along with a pizza.  We watched several people come in and have jugs and large liters filled with their beer…assuming to enjoy with their own home cook meal.  After dinner we walked over to our local bowling alley…Adventure Bowling.  Keep in mind…small town….8 lanes total and we used a pencil to keep score, it was awesome!  Of course Mike kicked my butt, but we had so much fun!

I never thought I was a small town gal, but I LOVE where we live.  We are surrounded by mountains, rivers, evergreens and beauty.   

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