The Kohlmans

6. sew a skirt for myself  Here is it... I made it out of some old jeans - without a real pattern, even. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. 25. have dinner guests (not family members - ones I will actually clean for) I don't have any pictures of our actual guests (because it's a little awkward to tell your friends you have to take a pictures of them so you can blog), but we had our friends, Ty and Melissa, over last night.  They have a lot to celebrate these days - Ty got a job with New York Life and passed a big test yesterday and they're expecting their first kiddo in February. We were happy to party with them! We grilled some burgers, with the typical chips and baked beans for sides. (Kind of forgot about the fruit salad in the fridge... oops!) And of course, there was chocolate zucchini cake for dessert and a few rounds of Catch Phrase after we ate. (I do have to make the disclaimer here that I didn't actually clean for them. Brad volunteered, sinc...

Chocolate Zucchini Cake 1/2 c. oleo 1/2 c. oil 1 3/4 c. sugar 2 eggs 1 t. vanilla 1/2 c. sour milk 3 T. cocoa 2 1/2 c. flour 1/2 t. baking powder 1/2 t. salt 1 t. baking soda 2 c. shredded zucchini chocolate chips Cream oleo, sugar, oil. Add eggs and vanilla. Alternate adding dry ingredients and milk. Add zucchini and pour into greased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and 2 T. sugar and nuts (I don't use nuts). Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.

...of room. Don't worry. We have plenty of salsa and jam. Good thing we have a basement. This is the haul from today alone, our biggest day of canning... so far. Ha. Actually, I kind of promised Brad that this would be the last of it. Maybe. I think. He hopes. Everything is canned in pints or half pints. I just did an official count. (Bear in mind that we have already opened and given away a few pints.) Plum jam: 5 pints Peach jam: 13 1/2 pints Strawberry jam: 18 pints Tomatoes: 2 1/2 pints (just the leftovers from the salsa-making) Hot salsa: 7 pints Mild salsa: 10 pints Anyone want to barter?! I have jam.... Maybe it is time to stop. What I really want to do next is frozen applesauce, anyway.

4. take and print wheat pictures  It's printed on canvas, which I just think it pretty darn cool. 9. can salsa and possibly tomatoes/tomato sauce   It was an adventure. My biggest pot was almost overflowing. But we were successful; all the jars sealed. It tastes pretty good. And no one has gotten sick yet! 18. organize coat closet I can't find my before pictures, so the afters will have to do. You'll have to trust me - it used to be a disaster.  Updated list found here.

On the last day of our trip (besides travel home), we went to the Pacific Ocean. Brad had never seen an ocean before, so we had to go! Brad frolicked in the waves. The rest of us just waded. After a picnic and a stroll on the beach, we went to check out the town of Westport. There wasn't much there. a big harbor huge crab pots and of course, some great tourist trap shops! Then it was back to the city for Brad's birthday present - Royals @ Mariners. It was fun to walk around a "new" (to us) ballpark and see the Royals win . (We got to watch the game where the fan grabbed a fair ball off the field, which meant the Mariners didn't score a tying run in the 8th!)

1 . Pike Place Market 2. Seattle Underground Tour - a must-see if you're ever in Seattle!

Sunday! So, obviously, in the life of two pastors... church! We went to Sarah's church since she was preaching, but we did get a tour of Jamie's place of worship on Saturday night. The collage doesn't do my pictures justice. The sanctuary and chapel are beautiful with all the stained glass! These are a few shots of Sarah's church. It feels strange to be snapping photos of a church on Sunday morning, so I don't have very many. It was also strange to watch my big sister preach for the first time. She's all grown up.... Since Sarah had to be at church super early, we took a little drive to the beach that is nearby. It's weird how there are random bodies of water all around the city. It was fun, though. We also visited the Locks on Sunday, but I don't have many pictures of that. Just a few more days to report on....

On our second day, we went to visit Mount St. Helen's. This was especially exciting because Sarah and Jamie, in all their PNW adventures, had not been there yet. Unfortunately, it was an overcast day, so these were the best views of the volcano we could get. At one point I think we were actually inside a cloud. We never saw the top, but we learned lots about how that volcano happened. We had a picnic lunch in the car and then went hiking... Big Foot may or may not have been spotted in that grove of trees. On the drive back to Seattle, we found a great business opportunity... For the low price of $349,000, you can own prime real estate - 9 acres of beauty.... and.... ...an A-frame house half-buried from the mudslide after the Mount St. Helen's eruption.....  and and gift shop. AND.............. Big Foot himself. That's right. Only $349,900. Brad was so excited he could hardly contain himself. So who's on the next plane to Seattle to snatch that ...

Our travels to Seattle began early on July 1. Mom graciously dropped us off at the airport, and we were on our way. As soon as our plane landed, we hit the ground running. Our first stop, after picking Sarah up from her Thursday volunteer site, we headed to Rob and Lee's, where we got to stay for free for the week. After dropping off our luggage, meeting the chickens, and grabbing a quick bite for lunch, we drove off to catch a ferry to Whidbey Island to visit my dad's cousin, Kevin Horan , and his wife, Nancy . At some point in time, Kevin and Nancy had caught wind of my plan to try seafood. So when we arrived, they announced that they had "big plans" for us. Crabbing! We happened to be there on the first day of crab season, for the debut of Kevin's boat. We were leery, but it was so much fun! On the way back to the house to cook our crab, we stopped at the Star Store for a few ingredients for our dinner. It's a great little spot that has every...