soaking up summer

living in a new place is weird, exciting, disorienting, and adventurous all at the same time. although i grew up in WA, i have only visited the Vancouver/Portland area once or twice before. now we LIVE here. it's been a little over a month, and i am slowly learning my way around. Brodie wakes up early and goes to work all day landscaping with his dad. sometimes he doesn't come home until 6 or 7pm. soooo i have lots of time to myself. i spend most of time at my school studying curriculum, decorating, and setting up. i also have a lot of time to read, blog, and explore our new home.

{places i go} 

Dorothy Fox Elementary (my new school !!!) 

Fred Meyer 

Vancouver Public Library 

movie theaters 

Sonic 

MOD Pizza 

 MAXX train station 

airport

Jamba Juice 

Home Goods 

Learning Palace (my newest discovery . . . they have AWESOME teacher supplies!!) 

Ikea 

Camas School District Office (ughhh applying for Washington State Teaching License = lots of visits!)

Dollar Tree (of course, how could i live without it??) 

post office 

church  

{things we do} 

take frequent trips to the library

set up/decorate my classroom

so relieved to read this . . . i had to wait until august until i could rearrange the furniture in my classroom!

spray paint items for my new classroom :)

watch beautiful sunsets

go out to eat

make frequent trips to Sonic to get half-priced shakes after eight!

adventuring and rope swinging

learned how to grill . . .seriously shocking, i know

 scoop nasty things like THIS out of the pool!! i almost fell in just to take this pic. which would have been even worse and horrifying

picnicking and bubble blowing

school officially starts two weeks from tomorrow! i am nervous/excited/anxious to get started. i have nearly finished my classroom and will be posting pictures soon!  

county fair

 || an assortment of pictures from the Clark County Fair ||

just loungin'

albino bunny petting

sea lion show

jungle animal exhibit

skittles sheep!

the fluffiest chicken I ever did see

yummy nummy shakes

let the motocross show begin!

craziness!!

anniversary celebrations

Last month we celebrated our one year anniversary! The past year has been a crazy, fun-filled blur of hard work and adventure. Below are some of the highlights of our first year of marriage: 

 honeymoon to Mexico {i need to blog about that still!}

first big purchase: buying our flat screen tv!

first year of teaching at Reagan Academy in Springville 

working together at the Branbury to earn our rent {definitely had it's ups and downs} 

Lambert Family trip to Norway

Fish Family trip to Hawaii

making new friends - spent a lot of time with the McBeths and Perdues

serving together in our ward as the Nursery Song Leaders {best calling ever!} 

Brodie graduated!!!! 

got our new puppy, Luna {i am obsessed with her!!}

Brodie was accepted to chiropractic school at UWS in Portland, OR

moving to Vancouver, WA 

I got a job in Camas, WA teaching 5th grade

to celebrate this past year, we spent three days away at the Fish family beach house in Ocean Park, WA. We haven't been on a trip by ourselves since our honeymoon, so it was nice to unplug, get away, and spend time together, just the two of us. On our first day, we spent time thrift/antique shopping - one of our favorite things to do together! 

we bought some 25 cent baked goods at a garage sale

Hobo Junction was our favorite stop. Although we didn't buy anything, the owner (aka the hobo) gave me an old, oak suggestion box that I was looking at ($18) for FREE because it was our anniversary! I am going to put the box in my classroom for the kids to write me notes!

sooo much old, awesome stuff!

the Rodeo Parade came through town while we were shopping!

 buying some salt water taffy

we thought this was the funniest store combination: scrapbooking, espresso, and tanning?

ate lunch at Streetside Taco 

stopped at McDonald's to take advantage of the 2 for 1 deal :) 

to finish off the day we played Monopoly, drank hot cocoa, and watched Robocop

On day two, we woke up and played another game of Monopoly before hitting the beach. It was windy, but a beautiful day outside! Brodie was excited to try out the new skim board that we found at a thrift store for a couple bucks. 

driving on the beach

reading books on the beach

enjoying the sunshine :) 

On Sunday we went to church, played Scrabble {Brodie kicked my butt!!} and then headed home. 

Here's to another happy year of marriage! :) I love you Brodie Macklin Fish!

Summer in Seattle

One of the perks of living in Vancouver is that we are only three hours away from Seattle! We have spent the last week and a half at my parents house enjoying a mini Lambert reunion. It was fun to be with family, especially our energetic nieces and nephews. Here are some of the highlights!

+ picking raspberries to make yummy jam!

 

cute raspberry picker :)

 +beautiful sunsets from the balcony

 + golfing at the country club. i definitely have not improved from my 6th grade golf camp days!

+ wake boarding & skiing 

brodie tearing it up

getting in some jumps on the wake board

with only some crashes . . . :)

still trying to reach my goal of crossing the wake

+ paddle board & sea doo 

We leave today for our anniversary trip to the beach house! We are excited to chill at the beach and shop at the thrift/antique stores down in Ocean Park. I can't believe there is only one month left of summer! 

Ragnar #4

This weekend, Friday/Saturday, I ran my fourth Ragnar!! Ragnar is a 2 day, 198 mile, 12 person relay race. My Ragnar 2012 blog post includes a more detailed description with an awesome video :) This year was Ragnar #4. 

Ragnar 2011 // Wasatch Back // Utah

 Ragnar 2012 // Wasatch Back // Utah

Ragnar 2013 // Northwest Passage // Washington

Ragnar 2014 // Northwest Passage // Washington

This year we ran Northwest Passage in Washington. The race began in Bellingham and ended in Whidbey Island. In our van of 6 we had me, Brodie, my mom, Derek, my Uncle David, and my cousin once removed (hahah I think?) named Bryce. Overall I ran 18.7 miles, barfed only once (training would probably be a really good idea), and my legs are definitely feeling it today. Already putting together a team for next year!! 

Go team Oreo Speedwagon!

matching tattoos

i wanted to hug this every time i ran by

best baby wildlife discovery ever. i love baby seals!!

i also love Brodie Fish, as declared on the Ragnar Finisher banner

cute pie face

To sum up Ragnar 2014 in one minute and 30 seconds, watch the below video :)