The Hidden Gate & Nearby Park

So last week Matt and I finally explored our apartment complex a bit (after living here for a year and a half) and discovered a hidden gate behind a dumpster! Of course, I got a little over-excited about this and decided we needed to come back the next night when I had my camera. Here it is:

So of course, once we went through the gate and continued on our walk, I had to snap a few more pictures (I did have my camera with me). Here are a couple of my favorites:

Then, for church on Sunday, we met at Burfoot Park. What a fun park! In addition to the typical playground and open grass they have woods and a beach. Okay, so the beach isn't a real beach (not one with sand that you can go surfing on), but it's still a great view.

While we were there I snapped a few pictures of a few friends including my friend's daughter. Here are a few favorites:

July Fireworks, Baseball & Softball

I have a few hours with absolutely nothing to do for the first time in a while...and it is great! I've been enjoying the Giants game on Sunday Night Baseball while surfing online, reading a book and drinking a homemade smoothie. I figured I could take a break from reading to update my blog :)

Fireworks on the 4th were super fun - I even set one off! I think I still enjoy watching more than creating the show, but it was a good experience. I was able to snag a few photos, too. Here are my favorites:

The next fun event of note was Thursday night, when my small group spontaneously decided to go to a Tacoma Rainiers game together (too bad we missed the Grizzlies by one week). Sadly one of our friends is moving to Minnesota, and she mentioned she hadn't been to a Rainiers game yet and she wanted to go, so a couple of women stepped up and pulled it together overnight to make it happen. Here are a couple of pictures:

Then, the next night, our church softball team had a game - and we won! After 2 forfeits and 2 losses, it was really fun to actually win one. Here are a couple of pictures my friend Sarah took:

This week also included a trip to the mall where I actually found several items I liked (I'm really picky). I kept forgetting there was an Old Navy in Olympia; now that it moved to the mall I'm much more likely to stop by. The sad news from my trip to the mall: I found out both Auntie Anne's and Wetzel's Pretzels are gone! Of course, upon this discovery, I started craving an almond flavored pretzel. I might have to venture up to Tacoma sometime soon...

Pictures!

This one isn't mine, but I love this picture by huffmans. It's a combination of two of my favorite things - rain and Disneyland.

I've really been loving polar bears a lot recently, too. Here are a couple of adorable photos I saw online that I just needed to share (one by Per Breiehagen and one by kayarebee).


And here are a few of my favorite photos I've taken recently:

Random side note: Apparently I published 27 posts in 2009 and 26 in 2010. Interesting, especially as I started this blog over halfway through 2009. Apparently I tapered off last year. My goal is to post a little bit more regularly, although blogging also isn't a major priority so when I get busy it falls away. Anyway...we'll see how this year goes.

Why I Don't Like Naps...plus Fall TV I'm Excited About

I'm not a fan of naps. Most people love them, but I find they screw up my sleep schedule. I tend to be groggy for hours after I wake up from a nap, and once I recover I don't get tired by the time I should go to sleep again. Such is the case tonight. I actually took a nap this afternoon and now I'm just not ready for sleep yet. It's a little bit annoying.


I can say that I'm SUPER excited for TV shows to start again. The shows I'm especially excited about include Castle, Glee, Survivor and Bones. I've also been really excited about all the rain recently. Usually Fall through Spring weather is gray skies and a fairly regular drizzle, but over the past few days we've had real rain. I had so much fun playing in the rain Friday afternoon, evening and night. Here are a couple of pictures I took:

I do think it's kind of funny that, despite all the rain, I've seen a lot of sprinklers still being used. I even hear our apartment complex's sprinklers on right now. It seems like there would be plenty of water to go around at the moment...


Okay, I'm starting to get tired, so I'm going to try to sleep. Good night!

Someday I Want to See...

Russia! St. Petersburg to be more specific. My whole reason for wanting to go might sound a little silly, but about a year and a half ago I was looking at this person's pictures from Russia and there were photos of a gorgeous park where you could rent big puffy dresses and take pictures! After seeing that, I was hooked. I have no idea what the park is called or what else there is to do near St. Petersburg, but if I were to actually go I would do some research first...plus I could walk around singing "Rumor in St. Petersburg" from Anastasia.