I Just Can't Get Enough

We have absolutely LOVED every minute of our Seattle summer. I wish it was a little warmer here, but I will say that I have officially declared the myth that Seattle rains all year long debunked!

I didn't believe it at first when seattleites kept telling me it only rains often in the winter, but I am a believer. It has only drizzled twice since I've been here, but this post is thankfully not about the weather. 

I do want to share a couple of our amazing experiences out here in the pacific northwest.

1. Pikes Place Market 

My number one favorite thing has been Pikes Place Market. I don't know why it is my number one, but it is definitely the thing I will miss most about this place.

1. I can walk there in 10 minutes.
2. The produce is so freaking amazing I can't stand it.
3. The fresh flowers are so gorgeous, smell good, and are so cheap!

I mostly just like having a concentrated area full of people, great food, and unique trinkets. 

2. San Juan Island Tour 

Microsoft has been so incredible to us this summer, and one of the many cool things they planned for the summer was a clipper cruise to the San Juan Islands. It took us 3 hours to get there, but it was all worth it.

Mount Baker 

The views all the way there were so breathtaking! Mount Baker, dolphins, and slate blue ocean...I just couldn't get enough.

Killer Whale at Orca Island 

We went whale watching for a couple of hours, again all paid for by Microsoft.














However, the real fun was when we actually got off onto the island to explore! Yes... we got a Scoot Coupe!! I had no idea that a little, goofy car would be the highlight but it was!

We scoot couped all around that island.








 It was the cutest, most charming little island. I instantly fell in love with it. I wish it wasn't a 3 hour trip to Seattle or I would consider moving there!

Just a Couple Changes... Or Maybe a Million.

Good golly it has been forever. Cheers to a quick paced life that has me revamping my blog! 

It has come to my attention more than once that we have started to really confuse our friends and family because we keep jumping all over the nation. And for that I'm sorry... only I am not really that sorry because it has been a BLAST.

I have never in my life been this active, adventurous or fun. I humbly give all the credit to Andy because I am a home body at heart... and soul... and mind. I live to sit in the house and craft while watching a good show. He has really pushed me out of my comfort zone (out of necessity) and boy is it refreshing!! 

So I'm just going to go through a quick timeline to update and later on I will make posts to highlight some of our favorite parts. 

1. GRADUATION DAYYYY! 

BYU-Idaho Fall 2014

Andy: B.S in Industrial Organizational Psychology 

Raven: B.A. in English Education 

                         Biology Education Minor 

2. Grad School Dilemmas 

I am very close-some might say attached- to my family, so when Andy texted me during my 7th grade class lesson that he got into Texas A&M I literally jumped for joy. I am going home. 

Oh you haven't seen us around Texas these days? That is because almost exactly 20 minutes later Cornell (GO BIG RED!) stomped all over our Aggies parade. 

Cornell is THE top HR program, so we were both disappointed about not going to Texas, but ecstatic that Andy was going to be getting an Ivy league education for the next 2 years. So off we go to Ithaca, NY. A town about the size of Idaho Falls that gets 2x the amount of snow. WOO! 

But first.... 

3. The Cincinnati Reds 

Andy got some incredible news- if wasn't already incredible to be venturing to the east coast- that GE accepted his application to do an internship with them at their Aviation business. So we made a little pit stop in Cincinnati before NY. It was definitely different from Idaho, where we had been since 2008, but it was a good change. It was just a little taste of freedom from the Honor Code. 

The internship went well and I tanned a lot at our apartment complex's pool. This was also the start of our more "active" lifestyle. Andy and I started to gradually eat healthier and work out everyday. ALl with the help of our gym guru Spenser "The Hulk" Lowrey of course. 

4. Becoming Big and Red

The Dream Boat himself

Taughannock Falls

We make it all the way out to Ithaca, NY with our poor scared Luca (our cat) and the much appreciated help of Jake "The Dreamboat" Doan. THANK YOU THANK YOU, Jake. 

Andy has now since finished his first year at Cornell in the Masters in Labor Relations program. 

And Me? Oh yeah I have a life too right haha.  I got a job working at Target as a pharmacy technician! Which has proved to be both interesting and educational. I have never met so many.... hmmm interesting people and I learned a lot about pharmaceuticals. Not to mention the people I work with helped to keep me sane through the winters. Someone please fly this bird south for the winters!! 

And Finally.... 

5. Microsoft and Seattle, WA 

HEYOOO. Seattle has given us a big warm hug to say welcome! I had no idea that the summers were so sunny and dry here! Apparently rainy season is in the winter. 

Andy got an internship with Microsoft and we are so freakin' stoked about Seattle and this company. 

I'll be honest I was once again disappointed that we didn't go back to Houston, but I have really grown to love it here... and by grown I mean a miracle growth spurt. I pretty much loved it from day one. 

Microsoft has really given us a fantastic summer in a fantastic apartment right in the center of downtown Seattle. It takes me almost exactly 10 minutes to WALK to Pikes Place Market. 

The produce is to die for. I cannot get enough! The food in general is fantastic... but I will have to save that for a different post. I'll just leave it as the Seattleite life is for us.  

For now we are in Seattle until August 9th, then its back to Ithaca to finish Andy's masters degree! But not before Kara gets married.... WHAT?! 

I know my track record hasn't been great with this blog. However, We have had so many great adventures and memories here that I want to share with everyone, so please check-in week to week for updates!!  

WAY overdue

Hopefully you guys haven't abandoned my site because I never post anything, but if you have I understand...

Whats New? 

First off, I was reading through my blog and noticed that the last time I told you my major and minor and said I would never change it, I changed it. Thats probably not news to you since I never can make decisions, but My major is English Ed. and my minor is biology so it didn't change too much! 

Second, Summer is at BYU-I with me :). It has really been so good to have her here with me. I think that maybe its a little TOO good since we never seem to get anything done and just watch LA ink or Once Upon a Time. Her roommates are all a little closer to my age, but they have really become attached to her haha. They won't even let her leave the apartment anymore because they want to spend more time with her. 

Third, I quit my job! I love Chick-fil-A, but it was time to take a break and really focus on graduating from college. I have been in Rexburg since 2008 so I am MORE than ready to get out of here and poor Andy is ready too. He only has one more semester left and I have 2 . 

Fourth, Andy bought us a kitty!! For our one year anniversary he surprised me with a super cute calico tabby. She is six months old and we named her Luca, after my favorite song from Brand New. She has so many weird little quirks,but it just makes her that much more awesome. 

An Adventure Waiting to Happen... 

Andy and I have decided to move into Stonebrook in the winter (january) with the great and marvelous Joe Allen. He has been a really good friend to us for a while now and in order to save money for the both of us we are getting a 3 bedroom apt. and Joe will be living in one of those 3 rooms. I have to say that at first I felt kind of weird about it.... But now I think that it really is going to be really awesome. I can't wait for the adventure of winter semester to start! He better love Luca by then.

Still Happily Ever... 

I hope that you will be pleased to hear that Andy and I are still doing so awesome! We are just as in-love as the day we got married, and our family is starting to grow just a little bit more with Luca here. We are still not planning on any kids for a couple of years, but I will keep you updated if anything unplanned happen... Heavens knows I don't need any surprise children coming sooner than I can handle them.  Recently to celebrate our first year together we went on a cruise with my family on the Carnival Magic out of Galveston to Honduras, Belize, and Cozumel.

Honduras

In Honduras we went zip lining through the jungle!  It took us 30 minutes to get all the way down the jungle. I may have been a little more than terrified, but I'm glad we did it! Most of the mexicans there either tried to talk to me in spanish or would flirt with me in broken english. Umm no thanks, even if I wasn't married I would prefer to be able to have a conversation with my husband without having to look a spanish english dictionary. We landed in a Pirate themed park and got to hold giant parrot looking things and monkeys!! I wore my hair in a side ponytail that day and it was quite curly in all the humidity so the monkeys were fascinated with it. They kept sticking their heads through it to see if there was anything inside. They stole poor keeka's headband and broke in on a tree branch. 

Belize

Belize was a little crazy I guess and not safe for americans so we had to dock in the middle of the ocean! But it was still awesome because we went snorkling on the second largest reef in the world. I'll be honest it was a really cool experience, but we never saw any exoctic fish or sea creatures so it was a little sub par for an experienced snorkler like me ;) haha jk. It really was awesome but if you are going to snorkel you should do it in Cozumel or Hawaii. 

Cozumel, Mexico

This was my third time being in Cozumel, but I always love it just as much as every other time. This time though was especially awesome because we got to swim inside a cave in an underground river.

It was pretty fascinating to be inside the earth like this and it was a really spiritual experience for the Mayans. Before we walked in we got a blessing from this medicine man and then when we came out at the other end we had a "rebirth" from being in the underworld and rising back up onto the earth. 

Over all this trip was pretty epic! We learned how to play black jack like the pros, had lots of non-alcoholic margarita's and fuzzy navals, karaoked, ziplined, snorkled, swam underground, and became even closer as a family. 

For now Andy still works at Olive Garden, and is going to school. I am just trying to catch up on school so we can finally get out of here. Luca is adjusting to her new home quite nicely :). Catch y'all later!! 

Blob on the couch

Welp... life is pretty awesome for my own taste, but my own taste requires sitting on the couch all day! Just love it :).

I got a new job at Chick-fil-A in Ammon, ID. DREAM BOAT! seriously I love chick-fil-a I miss my fellow chickfilans in Houston, but Idaho is not too bad either. Its also a total dream boat because I finally have something else to do with my day than read until andy gets home. As much as I love to be the Blob on the couch, and im not being sarcastic when i say i enjoy that, its so nice to be able to say I have to be somewhere cuz they are expecting me and need me there.

I also have gotten through seven seasons of greys in 2 months. crazy huh? im just pretty much inlove with this show. I think its unhealthy, but it doesnt matter to me because its the best show I have ever seen. Because i am about to finish my 3rd time watching this show without missing one show i must say i highly recommend it :).

Any way besides greys, reading, chick-fil-A, and our new drapes that keep our house warm :). I dont have any other updates! Life is awesome :).

The Not So Daily News

A lot has changed... hah. Where to start? the beginning.

So I figured out my major TA DA! if you know me well enough this is probably reason alone to start a blog. I have changed my mind and backed out so many times.

THE WINNER IS... Drumm roll please.

Biology Education major, English ed minor.

i know what you are thinking... is this really it!

yes. because i officially can not change my major anymore. hah

I also got a job at Opinionology, it is a call center for surveys and such so answer your phones ;). Its alright because i get to choose my hours and such, but no one really wants to talk to a survey person so its hard. But so far its been an adventure.

I have also been tanning with my bro in-law spenser because we both love some artificial sunlight on a cloudy winter day in rexburg. There is a low of 9 degrees... trust me i didnt forget any numbers. just the one lonely digit.

Im loving my classes of course! im learning so much about photography and i can't wait to try it out on my family :).

BOOKS!

Goofy:

The Wee Free Men By: Terry Prachett- this book is super goofy and is about a girl named tiffany that has to defeat a queen with the help of feegles who are mischievous little blue men that love stealin' fightin' and drinkin'. Made me laugh the whole way through, but a fair warning this book is all goofs. It is a little weird and corky. But sooooo funny

After the First Death By: Robert Cormier- A terrorist group called "freedom fighters" take over a bus of kindergardeners and plan to hold them hostage to get the Americans to do as they say. It is a terrifying and utterly disturbing book because it is often told from the view of the terrorists. It seriously will blow your mind. So many twists and turns and just horrific ideas of how to view the world.

Thats all for today :)

L(if)e.

So my wedding pictures came in.... they are fabulous. Seriously they are better than I ever expected, and I just can't stop looking at them. I even started to tag everyone, and then facebook literally gave me a warning that I was being too annoying. Yeah... what the f bomb right? EFf you facebook... I thought you were my best friend.

I have had some issues lately, but they have led me to a few great things.

1. I get to read lots of young adult literature.

2. I get to spend time on my new found photography passion

3. I have lots of conversations with people I didn't used to have time for (ps... sorry about that).

4. I get to spend more time with my bff Megan Emily the shiz Butler

5. I get to watch a lot of TV shows (greys anatomy, Jersey Shore). I have to save Jersey Shore for when spenser comes around other wise I'm scared he will put me in a choke hold.

So although I have a lot of time and I get to do all these cools things, I really don't get to see Andy too often because his work hours aren't ideal, and I still have a lot of decisions to make. I like lists so let me break it down for you.

1. I have to decided my major...

a. Education

b. photography

c. and option I haven't come up with.

2. I have to look for jobs (this is a decision because I'm deciding to get a job to make sure I don't waste all this time on being sad or bored.

3. We have to figure out what we are doing for the holidays.

a. I want to stay for 2 weeks at xmas with my family

b. My good friend money says its not possible

c. so we have to decide when to go.

So I have to read 30 young adult novels by the end of the semester, and I am absolutely loving it!! So I have decided to promote one book that I have read each blog. I just want to share all these books I am reading cuz they are awesome! (i have a goodread account too if you want more books to read).

Between Shades of Grey. (by Ruta Sepetys 346 pgs.)

This book is about a lithuanian family that gets kicked out of their home by the russians because Stalin is taking over. Its all about the trials and work camps they have to go through. Normal problem novel right? no. this book made me feel more emotion than I ever have. I would look up and forget that I was in my living room because the movie that plays in your head when you read a book is just so vivid in this book. I don't want to go into much detail of the book because I want someone to read it and feel everything that i felt so bad... this book was just so... real. If you read it please tell me cuz I want to discuss it!!

Nostalgia has got the best of me

SO. At big moments in your life you tend to become a bit (nostalgic). I just got married which is something to think about, but something I more often ponder about is-- where has all the time gone?

HIGH SCHOOL. I became best friends with Brad McLea. Basically our relationship could be defined as him teasing me always, and me pretending to be offended. I don't know why but it was always fun for the both of us. I learned my best halo skills from him, and met people who later became my good friends as well from all our halo matches (bryan, garret, wil, alex, derek). I also met Heather Sampson my best friend to this day and continued to become closer to my already good friend Sarah Fischbuch. I met alot of amazing people and I am still friends with them. I also wasn't friends with my family at all. I didn't know much at all about my sisters and I wish I would've taken the time to get to know them then. Before High School I met my BEST friend Haley Capra in the FIRST GRADE. We haven't always been close, but we always seem to slip right back to where we started.

NOW. I never play halo, I still keep in contact with those people, but my most frequent phone calls changed to Megan Butler and Rebecca Johnson which has actually changed to only my family. I am best friends with my sisters, parents, and my cousin Laekynn Davis. Haley is on a mission, Rebecca got married, I hardly ever see Heather or Sarah because they live so far, and I am married to Andrew Lowrey, a guy I thought didn't even notice me for 2 years. How did this all happen?? I mean I have only mention the bare minimum of my life, but there are so many other things that have changed and happened and people I have met and made a difference in my life.

MY MIND? Boggled.