A review in pictures...

I was looking through my phone today and realized just how many pictures I have taken while here. Some were taken with the purpose of sending to my family, others were taken for the purpose of posting here... which I promptly forgot to do after taking the pictures!

Anyways, enjoy a little taste of life in Washington. :)

We don't get snow often in Seattle. In fact, if there is any snow fall at all the city shuts down! This happens for two main reasons:
1. The city is simply not equipped to deal with snow... no salt or sand for the roads and only a few snowplows. I believe someone told me that all of Seattle had less then 20 snowplows. Wow!
2. Add snow and ice to the hills around here and *BAM*! Quite literally... bam. Accidents everywhere. People don't know how to drive in the snow. And people who come from snowy areas (*ahem* Yours truly) don't know how to drive in the snow on the hills. It's quite a different matter. And so. I had one snow day this year. And this is what it looked like outside:

Just a dusting shuts down the city!

I went back to Indiana for Christmas and nearly froze my nose off! It's amazing how quickly our bodies acclimate to new climates. Besides nearly freezing to death, I got to spend a wonderful nine days with my family. I'm so thankful for the long breaks I get on a teacher's schedule!

Lots of hugs from this kiddo! My Sethie is growing up so fast!

Levi and I hanging out at Nana and Papa's on Christmas.

After Christmas, school picked up again for another month and a half before our next break: Mid-Winter Break. Now, before coming out here, I had never even heard of a Mid-Winter Break! My first thought when I realized that I would have a break in February? To surprise my family with an unexpected visit home! It was tricky saying goodbye after Christmas break because my family was all sad thinking we wouldn't see each other until summer. I tried to be honest and appropriately sad at our parting. 

The surprise went better than I expected. I was sure that at least one somebody would be suspicious! But it all went off without a hitch. I even got my parents to pick me up from the airport without them knowing that they were picking me up! I told them someone from Seattle was flying into Chicago and needed to be picked up from the airport. Of course they agreed to pick her up (because they are awesome and generous like that :). I set up a fake e-mail account and even went so far as to put google voice on my phone so I could text them when I landed and they wouldn't recognize the number. The look on their faces when they saw me standing outside O'Hare was priceless! The surprised looks continued all week long. :)

The timing of my surprise visit was perfect for Christy.
I was so glad I could be home with her for this week!

My Scott and Seth! They are such cuties!
I miss them so much!

In March my mom came to visit. I was so glad she could meet my class and fellow teachers! We did some sight-seeing and just general hanging out. I have the best mom ever!

Mom brought me a new hat. I usually can't pull off hats
but Mom did a spectacular job picking this one out.
I wear it a little less than all the time. ;-) 

While Mom was here we drove to the Washington Coast. The drive was a bit lengthy, but completely beautiful! We stopped at Port Angeles and could look across the water to Canada:

The visitor's center lady in Port Angeles gave us some excellent suggestions for spots to drive to to see. Here are a couple:

I don't remember the name of this little fall, but it was beautiful!

And then there was Crescent Lake. Words fail me for this part of Washington. The pictures will do a better job, but even they are not sufficient:

We did make it to the Pacific Ocean, even though we kept stopping along the way to take in the views. And the Ocean... well, the Ocean was (and still is!) magnificent. If you wonder about God's power, that is the place you need to go. There is no doubting His greatness and might as you stand on the edge of the Ocean.

The Ocean's waves are not like Lake Michigan's. They come up much farther than you think they will.
Watch out Mom! Here it comes!

Whoops! Well, now you know!

Wait... I thought we already had this lesson!
Run Mom, Run!

Foamy, salty waves

Spring started peeking out in March. The flowers and greenery have just blown me away. And the aromas... oh my goodness! They are so lovely! You can be driving down the road (or even the freeway!) and catch whiffs of heavenly aromas. They just fill the car and you can't help but break out in a smile of appreciation for God's creation. He could have just made the flowers beautiful without the wonderful smells. Or he could have made them smell good without the wonderful aromas. But he made them both look beautiful and smell beautiful! And here in Seattle they haven't stopped looking and smelling beautiful since March. Most of these pictures are from March and April. (Yes, I am trying to make you envious so that you will move out here! ;-)

The tree in my front yard is just filled with these blossoms!

Lawn freshly mowed... in March.