Mount Si Hike

It is sad that I grew up in the Snoqualmie Valley and have never done this hike before (it is also pretty sad about how long it has been since I posted, but we don't need to get into that and other than Katelyn, I doubt anyone is too worried about it). Given my crazy dog and her need to be the only dog in the area, we elected to take the road less traveled and took the less used route (Don't forget your Discover Pass).

http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/mount-si-via-mount-teneriffe-road-trail

We (Me, Dan, Matt (Dan's friend from college who has been visiting us for a bit) and Gabby) ended up hiking higher and more distance than this, our route ended up being about 12 miles round trip per my fitbit  and we didn't even get to an "end" and could have kept going.  If you want an easier hike in the same area try Little Si.

Recommendations for this trip:
- Pack more snacks than some trail mix and shotbloks, this is probably a given for the experienced hiker, but I always tend to try to pack light because I hate carrying a lot of stuff.
- Layer up if you are going to go any time soon, I saw people in coats and bundled up pretty good and the at the top there was a guy in shorts and that was about it. I was pretty cold to start, warmed up pretty good through the hike and then started to get a lil chilly as we made our way back down.

All and all, we were hurting a bit the next couple days and maybe that wasn't a great get back into hiking trip, but we made it and are all ready to go on another hike or perhaps some snow shoeing with my lil sister after Super Bowl weekend.

GO SEAHAWKS!!!

Here are some pictures from the hike sorry for some Instagram duplicates.

You can kind of see Rainier if you look closely. My sister was snow shoeing over there the same day...I am pretty sure if you look closely you can see her. :)

Hopefully there will be many more hikes and posts. I am excited that Katelyn is moving back to Washington so we can go on a bunch of hikes this summer.

America's Cup...

So...on a random trip to California in July to see my lovely Kate. I was educated on America's Cup and found out that it was going to be in San Francisco this year.

Per Wikipedia, America's Cup (affectionately known as the Auld mug) is a trophy awarded to the winner of the America's Cup match races between two sailing yachts. One yacht, known as the defender, represents the yacht club that currently holds the America's Cup and the second yacht, known as the challenger, represents the yacht club that is challenging for the cup. The America's Cup is the oldest international sporting trophy.

San Francisco's waterfront was all done up for the event. First there was the Louis Vuitton Cup. This is the event that determines who will be the challenger and will race against the current cup holder (USA). This year New Zealand won the Louis Vuitton, and it looked like they were going to win America's Cup, but the US pulled it together (thanks to Dan and I being there to give them a pep talk when we came to watch them race in September. The whole event is over the course of a few months.  Here are some pics for the trips to over there.  We had an amazing time visiting Kate and Jack despite Dan being on his death bed for our trip.  We even got to see the actual cup...Dan was like a kid in Disneyland. :)

Extensions...

I never thought I would play with or have a use for extensions. My best friend, Katelyn (http://mrsofamedstudent.blogspot.com/) always told me that she uses them to have hair like mine, just like I want to get lash extensions for my lashes to look like hers.

However, I have always been curious. In my blog reading while chilling in San Fran with Kate, I came across Amber's Blog (www.barefootblonde.com) and found some hair styles (http://barefootblonde.com/hairideas). I started reading along and found that I could have a use for extensions!! So excited to play, Kate and I busted hers out and got all decked out for or America's Cup outing (See America's Cup Blog Post). I just ended up doing her extensions because we didn't have time. We ended up trying the braid in Amber's blog...

When we got back from the Cup, Kate busted out another set of extensions and said I needed them and that she was going to play with my hair (thank you so much Kate!!!). She ended up putting all of them in my hair and then in a ponytail. Although it looked awesome (still need to color the extensions), it was heavy and once she braided it, my head was already feeling the pain of the weight (i don't know how people with dreads do it) . Some pics...

I was playing in my hotel in Portland last night and trip the braid as Amber describes at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElcddThnrCs&list=TLnC-kJZCroqw and it wasn't so painful.

Once I dye them, they will blend a bit better, but not too bad. They are fun and an easy way to spice it up. 

Brand: EURONEXT

Color:Chestnut Brown

Length: 18 inches