Hugs and Kisses

Don Engdahl, my dad's good friend from high school, came to my parent's house last Friday night to meet Lucy for the first time. His dog Buddy died about the same time Max did and from what Don says, Lucy and Buddy could have been siblings. Don sat on the deck, Lucy crawled up on his lap, wrapped her arms around his neck, and licked every inch of his face. Don seemed to love every minute of it. Don and Joan came out to the lake on Sunday evening and Lucy repeated her "love fest" with Don. Seems like she can spot a true dog-lover from a million miles away. Lucy now thinks this is okay behavior- Looks like she'll be headed back to puppy school! It was great to see the smile on Don's face. I really think Lucy is destined for greatness and I'm excited to see how many lives she can brighten.

2 Wonderful Years

On August 5th, Steve and I celebrated 2 years of marriage. We were at Chelan and had a great day of sun, friends, and relaxing. We came back to Shoreline that afternoon and dined on Thai takeout on our deck. The romantic dinner included candles, wine, and lots of mosquitos. As a gift to each other, we decided to buy a new car before our trip to Chelan. Lucy loves her new Subaru wagon! What people will do for a cute puppy....

How lucky in love we are...

Lake Chelan

Steve and I visited Lake Chelan on August 3-5 and had an amazing time visiting with Britty, Charley, Gail (Britty's mom), Rush, Stephanie, Jason, Kayla, and Karter. Lucy had an incredible time and it turns out, she was destined to be a lake dog. More info and pictures to come.

Taitum is 8?

It doesn't seem possible. Just a couple weeks ago, my niece Taitum turned eight years old. Kids seem to be a benchmark that every year make you realize just how fast the time can pass. Lots of exciting things and changes have come in the last eight years for the ever evolving Brooks clan; a couple more nieces, our wedding, lots of rain.

Ma and Pa Brooks came over from Spokanthrax for the festivities at Bill's house. Actually, Mom flew over on Friday to see Taitum's school play and boy was she impressed and proud to be there. Dad drove over on Saturday for the party
and we all feasted on BBQ salmon and other tasty fixins.

Mom and 2/3 of the nieces.

Here's the other one. Looks like she is preoccupied.

Craig and Courtney made shirts for the girls (see Megan's above) with their age on them. Funny how Craig was wearing a '8' shirt too... Curious...

No blog is complete without a picture of goofy Uncle Steve:

Mr. and Mrs. Eugster

Steve and I were lucky enough to be present for the wedding celebration of Andrew Eugster and Erin Long on Saturday evening. We both went to high school with Andrew and have gotten to know Erin over the last few years as well.

It has been raining in Seattle for quite a few days, so we were all very lucky that the rain held off for the ceremony. The rain, however, came back with a bang for the reception. The wedding and reception took place in Fall City, WA at a farm. It was a beautiful piece of land and it turned out to be a high school reunion of sorts. I wish we had taken some pictures, but the evening was already over before we knew it. The happy couple set off this morning for 10 days in Italy- Steve and I are both quite jealous...

Congrats Andrew and Erin- welcome to the marrieds club!

Richmond Beach

Our neighbors, Yaakov and Riva, mentioned that they were heading to Richmond Beach (the shoreline of Shoreline) with their dog, Nala, to watch the sunset. Since Lucy was cleared on Monday to hang out with random dogs (such as those at the beach), we thought it would be a great opportunity to have some fun with her. We packed her into the car, headed over, and had a great evening of romping in the sand. Lucy was a bit jealous of Nala, who got to go swimming off-leash. Luch was allowed to splash and do some "wading". Needless to say, we brought home a dirty puppy! She definitely is not afraid of the water, strangers, or other dogs.

Napping

We didn't do much of anything this weekend. It was filled with studying in the sun (I'm very sunburned...), taking a few much needed naps and hanging with with our friends, the Skippers. We also got to hang out with Craig, Courtney, and Hero (the 4 pound Chihuaua) on Saturday to keep them company as they held a garage sale at their house in S. Seattle. Lucy got her last round of shots today as well as her rabies tag, which she is trying to remove as we speak. She managed to pee 3 times at the vet- I think it's a record! Other than today, she seems to be doing really well with her potty-training...knock on wood. We are loving the weather in Seattle and are sitting on the deck every chance we get.

I'm currently a bit overwhelmed with taking 4 classes at Seattle University. Four weeks down, another 4 to go. I'm averaging about 3 papers per week and I'm tired! I also have two clients that I'm tutoring (one in college Spanish and the other in 5th grade math), so that keeps me busy as well. We hope all of you are well!