-Boatin' on American Lake-

Jason Cane, the CEO of Nationwide Security Solutions, threw out an incentive for the boys. If they hit a certain # of sales then he would bring down his boat and take us all boating! Well we hit our incentive and to top it off Jason rented a Lakehouse too! So... we took the next two days off and enjoyed the lake! Here are a few pictures of our boating excursion and video of Mark wakeboarding! xoxo

Mark getting ready to Wakeboard..

Mark jumping the Wake

Just loaded the boat in to  the lake!

The Lakehouse:)

If Mark was not on the boat then he was in his paddle boat... hehe

The weather & the scenery was BEAUTFUL!

Jason ordered A LOT of KFC Thursday Night... YUM!

This is a huge house right on the lake.. it is being renovated right now!

Mark and Darren paddled WAY out in to the middle of the Lake to fish....

Darren fishing by the dock.... this is all that he did haha

The Nationwide Crew had so much fun these last two days... they were so beat in the morning! THANKS to Jason Cane, Mairin Cane, and Billy for bringing the boat down, renting the Lakehouse and all the great food we had! We are so blessed to be working for Nationwide- who gives back to the company!

What an amazing two days:)

-Overlooking Seattle-

We all went to the RedSox VS. Mariners game this last Saturday!! It was such a good game... the Mariners actually beat the RedSox 5:1 and there were even two grand slams! Darren, Sawyer, Mark and I went to the Rainforest Cafe before the game and met all the boys there! This was my second MLB game!

After the game Darren, Sawyer, Mark and I went to Kerry Park. Kerry Park is on Queen Anne and was about 15 minutes away from the Safeco Field. What a beautiful view!! It overlooks all of Seattle... when you look out to the left you can see the city buildings, and the Space Needle. And when you look out to the right you can see the ferries crossing the bay. This is the view that most Seattle postcards have on them!

At Kerry Park they have a little statue that the boys decided to climb and play on. They climb on everything! I swear they are like little kids :D You can take great pictures on it because in the distance you can see the Space Needle! 

 I am going to miss views like these!

SEATTLE TEMPLE

Mark and I had a date night with Zac and Carla Whitworth:) Saturday night we drove to the Seattle Temple! It is about 45 min from our Apartment... but it is worth the drive! The Seattle temple is very pretty and is a smaller temple... 

After the Temple, we were all CRAVING Chili's! We found one about 15 minutes from the Temple, BUT when we got there it was nowhere to be found!! We were so dissapointed! I suggested to find a Cheesecake Factory! We were all so starving and it was  a 45 minute wait... but we finally were seated and ordered as soon as we sat down:) Mark and I got a Guacamole appetizer and Zac and Carla got the Calamari appetizer. I am pretty sure we had the waiter bring 4 bread baskets too! I got my favorite: Lettuce Wraps! Mark ordered the Pasta Jumbalaya. Zac got a steak dinner and Carla ordered fish tacos! Yum! After all that food we all split a slice of strawberry cheesecake! I mean come on!! You can't go to the Cheesecake Factory and not order Cheesecake! Even if you are stuffed to the max!

I LOVE going on date nights to the temple! You have such a peaceful feeling after being there and dinner is always a must! This is one tradition I hope that Mark and I will continue to do as a family... I was so stoked to be able to go to the temple when Mark and I were first married! I still LOVE it!

#1 HUSBAND!!!

My husband is the MOST AMAZING guy ever!! This morning I woke up to the sound of a vacuum going... he quietly shuts my door and continues to vacuum. Mark then comes in to my room and leans over, kisses me and says, "What can I make you for breakfast.." I tell him toast with honey, two peach halfs, and a glass of milk:) With a big smile on my face I get up, throw on my silk robe and walk out to the kitchen. There on the table was......

.... the PRETTIEST bouquet of roses! AND my breakfast was all ready; he even put my laptop on the table because he knows I like to get on first thing in the morning:) I look around and the dishes are done, and the place looks spotless! He cleaned everything!! He is such a sweetheart! Geez I love him so much! Mark is the best husband in the world! He is always thinking of me and wanting me happy:) and I am! I am the luckiest girl in the world. Thank you babe!!! I LOVE you sooooooo much!

Bladin' Puget Sound

The Chambers Bay Golf Course is ranked one of the top 10 in the United States! They will be hosting the 2015 U.S. Open and the 2010 U.S. Amateur Championship here.. it is gorgeous. 

Around this Golf Course there is a walking/running trail that is about 3 1/4miles long.. There are two trails that connect together. One is the Soundview Trail: this trail is about 2 miles long and very difficult. It takes you up and down hills and back up a small canyon to connect to the second trail Grandview Trail: this trail is about 1 1/4 miles and is atop a 200 foot bluff. You can see out all over the Chambers Bay Golf Course and Puget Sound. It is a pretty difficult trail to run... considering I am used to a treadmill! But it is gorgeous and EVERYONE is out running, riding bikes, walking their dogs, and roller blading. Which brings me to my next point!

I HAD FORGOTTEN HOW MUCH FUN ROLLER BLADING IS!!!

Darren's "new" girlfriend that he has been dating, Sawyer, had plenty of pairs of roller blades for us! When the boys got home from working we drove to this trail and bladed along the top of it! It is about a mile and a half stretch from one end to the next... it was so much fun, but scary because it was so dark! 

Mark's big 23rd Birthday was the last Tuesday as well! 

 And boy did I stress about it! He hates spending money and he "doesn't want/ need" anything. (or so he says) So what was I supposed to do!? So Monday night I went to Safeway and bought Waffle Mix, Chocolate Milk, Orange Juice, Eggs, Bacon, Hash Browns, Peaches, Strawberries and Syrup! I decided to surprise him with a big breakfast... Tuesday morning I woke up early and told him i needed a few things at the store. I drove up to the boys apartment and got started on this birthday breakfast. Darren called Mark and told him that he needed help moving the ping pong table and asked if he could help. When Mark walked in we all yelled SURPRISE! He says that he had NO IDEA! but it really is so hard to surprise him with anything! Mark had two packages to open and a gift from me as well:) I forgot my camera this whole day so I have no pictures :s but at least we have GREAT memories! Mark actually went out and knocked the whole day... that night we went to El Toro (Mark's favorite place to eat!) 

 and then we went and saw -Grown Ups- HILARIOUS! 

I hope that Mark had the best birthday ever!!:) Love you babe!

Baseball.. Fireworks.. and odd little gifts:)

Geez! Time really does fly when you are having fun:) This year, celebrating July 4th was "different".. haha 

For one: it was freezing!! We were bundled up in blankets... Two: we had to camp out in front of the ocean for 4 hours to get a good spot, and three: fireworks were shot off a barge in the middle of Chambers Bay. The water lit up every time a firework burst in the sky!

  We bought lots of treats and played a short game of Phase10 while waiting for the firework show to start! The whole city of Tacoma gathers together to watch this show... all day there is a fair and fun events going on. It was so pretty to watch the fireworks sitting next to the ocean:)


I thought that this wall looked sweet!!!

The BUBBLE GUM wall in Seattle:)

Mark forgot to bring some gum to the game... he wants a piece haha

GO YANKEES!! Mark's favorite baseball team is the Yankees.. they played the Mariners at the Safeco Field in Seattle! So when we heard they were coming we bought tickets! They played a series of 4 games and the Yankees won 3 of the 4 games, AND the game we happened to go to... the lost :s haha but it was an intense game towards the end!!

About 2 weeks ago, Mark and I sold an alarm to a funny guy name Arthur James Russel lll. He owns a cute little yellow house.. after going through the paperwork he cut a rose off of one of his rose bushes and wrapped some wet toilet paper around the stem and then wrapped the stem in tinfoil and gave it to me. haha he was so funny! And he was sold :D

Words of Wisdom...

...that will keep a smile on your face, keep your motivation in place, and help your dreams come true.

You're good, but you're going to be great. You're the best, but you're going to get better. Sometimes the paths we take are long and hard, but remember: those are always the ones that lead to the most beautiful views. Challenges come along, inevitably; how you respond to them determines who you are - deep down inside - and everything you're going to be. Increase the chances of reaching your goals by working at them gradually. The very best you can do is all that is asked of you. Realize that you are capable of working miracles of your own making. Remember that opportunities have a reason for knocking on the door, and the right ones are there for the taking. You don't always have to win, but you do need to know what it takes to be a winner. It's up to you to find the key that unlocks the door to a more fulfilling life. Understand that increased difficulty brings you nearer to the truth of how to survive it - and get beyond it. Cross your bridges. Meet your challenges. Reach out for your dreams, and bring them closer and closer to your heart. Get rid of the "if only's," and get on with whatever you need to do to get things right. Go after what you want in life, with all the blessings of all the people who care about you. And find out what making your wishes come true really feels like.

-Collin McCarty

Laugh often and Love lots

Well.... It has been a GREAT week! I have been thinking alot about Mark and I being up here and how blessed we are to have this opportunity! I realized that you have to LAUGH often, be positive and LOVE every experience to have success.

Mark and I have had the best week of sales this week and it seemed like we LAUGHED more this week than ever! Finally, I am able to shrug off the people we encounter while knocking doors:) The other week, I was knocking with Chase and he said: While on my mission, my companion and I played a game while knocking. He said that it helped him overcome feeling down while knocking. Its a challenge: who can overcome more objections and stay on the door the longest. It is hilarious to see what you can come up with to annoy someone. There was one door that the guy literally slammed the door so hard i thought it broke off its hinges! Chase walks off the doorstep and says, "That was 5! I win." 

I have come to LOVE where we are at in our life!

Karli, Indra and I had fun on Saturday with the boys! Ruth's plane left Saturday afternoon.. we were sad that she had to leave so soon. We went to Outback Steakhouse for dinner and then drove to Jack Hyde Park to watch the sunset and lay on blankets to watch the stars! This is what I LOVE most about Washington! It is just gorgeous here... Mark and I layed on a blanket, and watched the sunset all in front of the Ocean. We LAUGHED all night- It felt like we were dating again:) 

You have to laugh at this picture of the boys having some bonding time:) Who knows what they were talking about...

There are so many things that I have learned up here that I will take with me. One is that -The more you prepare the less fear you will have. It is with everything that you do.. if you are competing in a sport, knocking doors for work, or just life in general. The Lord asks us to have a food storage to prepare for tragedies, this way we won't have as much fear in a tragic event. Today in Church the speaker said two things that caught my attention. She said, "The Lord doesn't ask us to prepare EVERYTHING, but he does ask us to prepare every NEEDFUL thing." Sometimes I get caught up in my to do lists and stress myself out about getting everything done... She said, "You need to put your list into 3 categories 1.essentials 2. necessities 3. nice to do's!" This way the Gospel is brought more into your home and blessings will follow leaving a happy home. I hope that this week continues to bring blessings and that it beats last week!!