Coda's First Mini Hike!

Today we took Coda on his first "mini hike" (2.5 miles round trip to be exact).  We went to this nice little place called Meadowdale Park in Lynnwood.  This is a beautifully wooded trail that has a steep decent down and a good climb out.  If it wasn't salmon spawning season we would have been able to go onto the beach, but they had it blocked off.  It was a nice way to kick off the start of some longer hikes for Coda and us in the near future...we already planned our next one :)

Coda did great!!!  He was ready to go the second we stepped out of the car.  I think all the new smells got his little nose excited and he just wanted to "mush" (I think sometimes he secretly wants to be a Husky).

We also enjoyed our little photo session at our destination point.  Coda is just too cute to not take pictures of!  (P.S. I think I am becoming a biased puppy parent).

Coda had a lot of fun.  I think he also secretly enjoys everyone coming up to pet him and giving him attention.  We were trying to count how many people stopped us to tell us how cute, athletic and adorable our dog was, but we lost count.  We were shocked at how many people actually knew that he was a Shiba Inu though (it sure is fun to take him out....we meet lots of new people and lots of other dogs).

Jason working on some commands with Coda

Jason and Coda watching the train pass by

Jason and Coda heading back up the trail

Now onto the next bigger hike!

Happy Birthday Jason!

Another year flew by and we celebrated Jason's 27th birthday!!!  I cannot believe that the years go by so fast!  On Jason's actual birthday, January 7th, we just went out to dinner with the two of us to Ivar's by the ferry and then had ice cream pie (Baskin Robbins of course) and presents later that night.  The following night we went out with all of his friends to dinner at Rock Bottom and a billiards place called The Parlour.  It was a lot of fun to be with friends and just be hanging out (we hadn't seen each other since before the Christmas break).  And of course we all wanted to celebrate another great year with Jason!

Can't you tell how excited he is for this picture to be taken?!

Jason, Matt, Meghan, Abbey, Brady, Jay, Mary Ellen, Nick, Lindsey, and me at Rock Bottom

The boys (Jay, Jason, Brady and Nick) discussing the game seriously

The girls...Lindsey, me, Abbey, Meghan and Mary Ellen

10 Great Things About the Birthday Boy...

1. He is an amazing husband

2. He is a superior friend

3. He is dedicated to his job

4. He has the drive to live life to it's fullest

5. He loves his family

6. He is loyal and honest

7. He is motivating

8. He has an amazing sense of humor (it's rubbing off on me)

9. He inspires those around him

10. He always knows what's best for those around him

Your wife, Rascal and Coda LOVE YOU!!!!  

A GREAT Start to the New Year!

The New Year could not have started any better for my job situation!!!  A week or two before Christmas Break I got called in for an interview for a part time Primary Support Teacher (PST) position at the elementary school where I began the year as a kindergarten teacher, Horizon Elementary.  For those of you that aren't up to date with my whole job situation this year, here it is in short...I got hired at Horizon (different from my school last year) to teach part time morning kindergarten.  They couldn't give me a contract though because they needed to make sure that enrollment would be up and they would for sure need me.  I taught for the first two weeks and then got told by the principal that enrollment was not enough and I would not be able to keep my job.  Apparently the principal really did want me back and this was the perfect opportunity.  Part time was exactly what I needed right now because of Coda and not wanting to crate him for more than 5 hours a day.  Luckily I got chosen for the PST position, which happened to be taking over for a teacher that resigned.  So this is going to be my job for the rest of the school year!

The week before break I went in to meet the kids and observe the teacher.  Talk about getting my feet wet quick...she had me sub for her right away and then I got to observe.  I don't think there is any better way to learn a new job than by doing.  After one day of subbing and two days of observing I was feeling pretty confident that I could handle this job.

This is my first official week of the job and I already successfully completed two days of it.  I like the kids a lot, I love the small groups of six kids or less and I LOVE LOVE LOVE the part time schedule!!!  I get to spend my afternoons walking and napping with Coda!  Rascal likes having me home too...he just doesn't show it like Coda does.

What a way to start the new year.  Please pray that something comes from this job at the end of the year!!  I could totally dig this part time work for a while!

WE ARE FAMILY!

Christmas was sure special for Jason and I this year! We were fortunate enough to have both families come up to Washington and spend it with us. They didn’t really have a choice though…if they wanted to see us they had to come here since we now had a puppy (their grandpuppy you know)! Oh the start of the parents traveling on holidays instead of us. It’s kind of nice!


Jason’s brother was the first to arrive on December 17th. We had a blast with him the few days before his parents arrived. A few days later on the 21st, Jason’s mom and dad and dog, Piper, arrived at our house. We were very excited for their arrival because Jason’s dad, Scott, was coming to build us a Pergola (covering for our patio in the backyard). Boy was I a little naïve at how long this project would take to finish!! Scott worked long hours for about 2.5 days, right up until Christmas Eve. But now we have this beautiful covering for us to stand under when outside in the rain.

While Jason was still at work, Scott and Brian worked on the Pergola and the girls worked on preparations for Christmas dinner and some baking too.

Amongst all of this, Coda and Piper were trying to figure each other out. All Coda wanted to do was play, and Piper was a little freaked out by that playfulness. And Rascal…well he was nowhere to be found for most of the Lumsden parents’ visit.

Christmas was great this year, minus the stress of having to watch a crazy puppy every second! Also visiting us for Christmas morning were Jason’s grandma and aunt, Lolly and Faith. We had a great time all being together! Coda made our morning just a little more stressful than it needed to be by eating any wrapping paper in sight, tissue paper, tags off of clothes, a little trailmix here and there and even tried to eat a silica packet (that was the final straw!). The trailmix was found later in his poop (oh boy was that fun to look at whole nuts in poop). And the silica packet…who knows where that went (we think most of it just went all over the floor). I guess it’s true that puppies will eat ANYTHING! It made for a memorable Christmas for sure!

After a wonderful Christmas dinner made mostly by Jason’s mom and grandma, we went off to pick up my parents from the airport. We celebrated Christmas with my parents the following morning and enjoyed a few days of both of our families being in one place at the same time! We didn’t do much, but just being together was enough.

It was a very Merry Christmas to say the least!!!

'Tis the Season to PARTY!

We hosted our 3rd Annual Christmas Gift Exchange with friends.  Thankfully, each year the number of friends increases, but our house is beginning to feel a little smaller every year, as this year we had 11 in our little living room!


We continued with the rules we used last year to keep the activities more exciting and drawn out. Instead of just opening gifts and stealing, we play games for the gifts. After our experiences last year, we decided only store manufactured games are allowed (Jason’s made up battleship was a NO GO this year since it took nearly 2 hours to play last year!). Each person brought 3 gifts: a gift from home, a $10 gift and a $20 gift. Each round we make a random "pot" of gifts with one from each pile (based on value).  We play a simple game such as Scattergories or Boggle (only one or two rounds) and whoever wins that game is the winner of the pile of gifts. You get to steal if you win multiple games. Sometimes this goes on a little too long and I feel for the poor person 5 hours later that still hasn’t won a game and opened gifts…poor Matt!

I happened to be the first one to win a game and just as my luck would have it, someone picked 3 of the gifts that Jason and I brought. So no surprises for me! I did like my $20 gift that I brought (now I know why I shop for things that I would want)…a super Waterfall Finders book for Washington. I was less than thrilled about my home gift coming back to me…a lava lamp that I have been dying to get rid of!!!

The best part about this gift exchange is that the same home gifts come back every year!!! Oh how fun it is to see that Beer Dispenser that we thought was so funny to give 2 years ago come back every year. Please don’t ever let me end up with it!