Lake Curlew

We recently celebrated Memorial Day weekend, and with that we took a family trip to Lake Curlew in Republic WA. Getting there was a journey in itself....

 Joel's Aunt and Uncle opened up their lake house for a big family gathering (about 18 people and 5 golden retrievers).  We had a a great time, the weather forecast was bleak, but thankfully God gave us gorgeous weather (a sunny 70 degrees).



The Larson Clan decided to have a fishing derby, er, darby (since you have to have a license from the state to actually have a fishing derby.... we improvised).  Two days to catch the biggest fish. There was a list in the living room where we could include our "big catch".  Thing is, I have never gone fishing, didn't really have that much of an opportunity while I was little, and as much as I wanted to believe it would, dangling a string in the water with no hook was not going to catch me a fish.  Johannes was kind enough to show me how to cast a line and bait a hook and with that I was off! Well, sort of, many failed attempts at casting lines later, I was off.





Maybe it's because I was more determined to catch fish then the others, or maybe it was all just beginners luck, either way I managed to catch 7 fish that weekend, my longest one a grand total of 16 5/8"  giving me second place (next to Zac's 17 1/2" whopper).  There is a picture of me holding one of my fish out there somewhere.... I'll track it down eventually...

And to be completely honest, I can't wait to go fishing again! (Though I'll continue to leave the cleaning of the fish up to Joel.....)

Love,
Carrie

Catchup

A year ago July,  Joel and I went to Washington to visit his family and have a late wedding reception.  I took pictures but neglected to share them! So, seeing as I have no job at the moment I thought it would only be fitting to blog them now, they'll also give you an idea of the beautiful surroundings that I now live in!

Enjoy!

Some of the yummy foods we enjoyed

Steven and Jesse

Josh and Derek

I love all the expressions!

While there that week we went up to Mt. Baker, on the way we stopped for a photo moment of Mt Shuksan- gorgeous.

Later that week Joel and I went on a double date with two of his good friends, who actually, this past June got married! Congrats again Steven and Alanna!

and last but not least some very interesting cars...

A new adventure

As most of you know by now, my husband Joel and I just moved to Washington state from North Carolina- and we drove. Over 3000 miles later (and a whole lot of sitting) we made it! But it was quite an adventure, from baby bears crossing the interstate, to super small towns and almost getting hit by a dear we made it safely- with all our limbs and vehicle still in tact. God was watching out for us on this trip- we couldn't have done it with out him!
While I didn't take a ton of pictures on the journey (looking out bug spotted windows and quickly moving scenery doesn't help) I took a few and thought I'd share them with you!
First off, this was the route we took. We left (a) Kernersville, NC on Saturday and headed to my sisters house in (b) TN. From there we went to visit our dear friend Rebecca in (c) Lawrence KS, next stop (d) Murdo SD then (e) Sheridan WY and then 17hours straight to (f) Bellingham WA (we were tired of driving and decided to just knock it out!).



We stayed a couple days at my sisters house and a few sword fights later we were on our way. Here's a small college of our stay in TN.





We headed out again on Monday morning and made it to Missouri- then it was on to KS... sorry, I didn't take any picture there.... I have NO idea why- so sad.


From KS we headed up to the tiny one blinky stoplight town of Murdo, SD. It was said the closest Walmart was about 70miles away and the only grocery store closed at 7pm. Nice.

When we left the small town of Murdo our next destination was the ever famous Wall Drug store, which apparently got it's start by offering free ice water to weary travelers. After driving through SD I can see why that was a big deal! It's pretty, just flat. and more flat. and oh wait, nope just a mole hill, and more flat. Even today farms are few and scattered a long ways apart. Here's some pictures of South Dakota...

I must say though the whole state was not flat, the more north we headed the more hilly it got, until we reached the Badlands and Mt. Rushmore where it got somewhat mountainous. We did stop at Mt. Rushmore to take a few pictures, mostly saying we'd been there. You climb some steps see some flags and then it's the mountain! It's pretty cool in an anti-climatic sort of way. I do like being able to say I've been there though ;)

After we left there we drove a little ways and then made it to WY... next is a collage of a couple of days, I honestly couldn't tell you which state is which so I put them all together. A little of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho for you.

And finally on Thursday, after driving for 17 hours we made it to Bellingham WA. What a long day that was, but we were so glad when it was over!!

That about sums up our journey. Now for a job... ;)

Thanks for all the prayers!
Love,
Carrie and Joel

Wonderful Washington

Ahhhhh
I'm falling more in love with Washington- and I've only been twice. Granted both times I have gone have been in July, and from what I hear it only gets colder from there- but wow, gorgeous weather in the month of July.
This past week has been a truly amazing one. Meeting new family and friends and having a total feeling of 'home' has been great.
We landed in Washington on Saturday the 18th at around 1am, only to be greeted by Neil and Gail (Joel's parents) his brother Zac, a great Aunt and uncle and two of his best friends (Jesse and Megan). It was so great to see them all and the fact that they made the two hour trip at the weeee hour of the morning to come see US was amazing.
After catching up on the some sleep that evening Saturday was a day of relaxing and preparing for the party on Sunday. We made Artichoke dip, cut up fruit, a tasty cheese sauce and so much more. Joel's Mom had the house looking good and his Dad was working on the exterior. That evening we went to The Woods Coffee (where I got a super tasty Caramel Macciato) with Norm and Angie- what a great time. Those two are hilarious and TOTALLY in love with God. Just being with them is an encouragement for my spirit. God is using them in such an awesome way by them just being themselves.
Party time!! Sunday.... 2pm.... Joel's parents threw us a Wedding reception. About 55 people showed up and we just had a great time enjoying people's company, meeting lots of people I had only heard about and snacking on yummy foods.
The rest of the week was full of hanging out with friends and trying new things (like sushi!). Each day was full and a true blessing. The last weekend we went to Joel's Grandparents house at the canal and had a total blast relaxing by the water and hanging out with family. On Saturday about 10 golden retrievers showed up full of energy- it was funny watching them run back and forth.

Anyways- here are a few pictures from the week- it was a total blast. GOD is SOO good. Remember that.
Carrie