Copper Creek Inn with Sarah

My friend, Sarah, who lives in Seattle, drove down to Spanaway to have dinner with me. As we were driving out, she noticed the spectacular view of Mt. Rainier and wanted to know if I was up for driving the 40+ miles to get there. I said "Sure!" We went to the Copper Creek Inn Restaurant that sits at the bottom of the ascent to the top of Mt. Rainier.

This restaurant is know for it's blackberry dressing, perserves and of course, their pies! I was only tempted enough to try the dressing, though. It was very good.

After dinner, Sarah and I drove about half way through the national park to get a better view of the peak. I wasn't prepared for hiking and it was too dark to dare go out, but we did stop at a viewpoint to take the view in. It was breaktaking!

Puyallup Fair

Me, Lori and Erika in front of some of the pumpkins on display:
Monday we went to the Puyallup Fair. Lori went with Erika, Brian, the kids and me. First stop was to get the famous scones which are raspberry-filled and not as dry as regular scones. They were delish!

The queen bee was marked with a white spot on her back to help the kids find her:
There were a ton of exhibits and vendor booths to peruse, as well as animals to see and pet. The kids got to try milking a cow on a plastic cow that had water in it's udders instead of milk. The other day Rebecca said she'd like to water a cow, but I had to explain to her that it was called milking and that watering meant you put a hose over the animal or you give it a drink.



The kids really enjoyed themselves on all the rides they go to go on.
Brian took Kaylen on a special trip on the carousel:


I had to take a picture of one ride that was available (for adults) at the fair. It is a two-seated open contraption that is attached to cords and they fling this chair up and down. It looked insane and I don't think I'd ever catch myself on it!

The last official ride (excluding the last one on the carousel) before looking at more animals at the fair was the huge slide. The Steip Family raced down and had a good time.


Petting the animals was a real treat!
I think the highlight for everyone was the dairy room where you could purchase delicious soft serve ice cream and watch a cow being milked while you enjoyed your ice cream! They also had chocolate milk samples that tasted like Wendy's Frostees. Yum!

At the end of the day we stopped at the hair cutting area, where my niece Amanda (Lori's daughter) was working to cut hair. Sebastian got his hair cut and was excited to have his cousin do it! You can't tell by the picture because he was being a good boy and concentrating on staying still. :-)

Candyland and Scrabble

Sunday night after church, Brian and I decided to play a game and first chose Candyland for some odd reason. That is a tougher game to play than you'd think! ;-)

After we played that, we decided to play a more adult game: scrabble. I am not a huge fan maybe because I hardly ever win--but I did this time by some miracle! Yeah!

WA visit and Erika's Birthday

I decided to go to Washington state to visit my sister, Erika (and her family), my brother, Kent (and his family) and my friend, Sarah, since I am now unemployed. Might as well enjoy my time off!

I also figured I could be productive by helping Erika and her family get unpacked since they just moved here a few weeks ago. Well, so far that hasn't happened but I am hoping to be able to do that my second week here. The scheduling is difficult because the kids are homeschooled in the morning (at which time I go for a run) and then they have lunch and then naptime. Then it's time to get dinner ready. Erika naps at the same time as the kids so that leaves out the possibility of unpacking some boxes then. Next week we will focus on it!

I arrived on Sept. 10th. I was happy to be able to come to Erika's birthday dinner. Erika and Brian hosted it at their place and we all had a good time. Kent, Lori and Andrew came over. We had dinner, played with the kids (they were dancng around the bare living room) and chatted and then when the kids had to go to bed, we ended up playing Sequence. It was great spending time with family.

Me and my sis, Erika:
The birthday girl and Lori:

Happy birthday to Erika!

Andy, Erika's bro-in-law, gave the best gift of the night (not including her hubby's gift):

It's a moroccan cookbook that she mentioned she wanted while they were driving from Colorado to Washington. He is so thoughtful!

Here we are playing Sequence:

Mini Notebook Gift

I just received a mini notebook computer as a gift from my three staff, as well as 2 of my coworkers that I would go to lunch with on a regular basis. Words can't express have overwhelmed I was (and am) at the gift!

I will be taking it on my trip to Seattle so that I can figure it out--my new toy!!!

I feel very blessed to have had the experience I did at HCP. It helps to know that there are some people there that care. :-)

Laid Off after 5 years at HCP, Inc.

Today I was laid off from HCP. Our department was restructured and I was the carnage! :-)

God has been preparing me for a change for some time, so I was very calm when I came to the conference room where I was told. Of course, I prayed while walking to the elevator, in the elevator and through the lobby to the room! I did not want to lose my composure, and I didn't, thank the Lord!

I came back and told my staff. They were in shock and some shed tears. I got a tiny bit choked up, but I know that this is God's will for my life and I can accept this. I had a discussion with my boss, Arcy, and found out that her role, as well as her bosses role is changing as well. Arcy is taking over my work. My biggest concern was for my staff and how it would affect them, but I know that they will be okay.

I had a brief meeting with our tax department after that because I work with them extensively and I wanted to thank them for being so great to work with. I then went to see Mike Julian and Sellers Stough, my two buddies who I worked with on a regular basis. They were discussing my departure so it was perfect timing that I popped in to say goodbye but not forever because I'll come back and have lunch with them.

My staff and two other coworkers, Patrice and Curtis, who I went to lunch with on a regular basis, took me out to Mimi's Cafe for lunch. It was a nice lunch and I used the opportunity to put them at ease about the fact that I am okay with this change.

When I got back to the office my computer was shut off which meant that I couldn't send the files out that I wanted to send (my staff had asked me for their performance evals and all of that). Reid came to my office to say goodbye and that I could use him as a reference (which I am sure I will do). I just had to pack up my personal things and I was on my way. Thankfully, the entire department was meeting to discuss the departmental changes so I was left to pack up in peace.

I am not sure what my plans are exactly, but please pray that I can de-stress in this time off and that I can be directed in what I should do. Thanks!

Rebecca's Game Night Goodbye

Last night was bible study. We decided to have a game night as a way of saying goodbye to Rebecca, one of our members. She took a position in New Mexico and she is moving there in the next week.

From left to right: Bryan, Shelley, Rebecca, Lisa, Nicole and Angie:


We decided to play Scene It which I am relatively good at, but was terrible last night. I have been fatigued so I just could not think straight! Shelley was on it, though! She did really well. Rebecca happened to be on the winning team, which was nice. At the end of the night we all prayed for Rebecca and her new life--new friends, new church, new bible study, new home!