Many PNW Adventures Ahead

I spy the Space Needle.

Doesn't get any better than this, folks! We moved to our new home at the beginning of August and instantly fell in love. The ocean! The mountains! Our cute rental home and how all of our stuff miraculously filled the space perfectly!

Have you ever had that feeling that fills you with a sense of home? I have that feeling every time I go back to Sitka, and I've had inklings of that feeling when I drive around our new home. It's the beginning of something special, I think.

We've spent the last month, while Scott was waiting for his first day of work, exploring the area. Here's a list of some of the adventures we've been on so far:

• Discovered some highly-rated area restaurants, including the #1 milkshake in WA
• Visited this nursery which initiated A LOT of yard work
• Took the ferry to Seattle and walked a half marathon worth of touristy paths
• Watched the Sound of Music at an outdoor theater in the hills of Leavenworth, WA
• Meandered downtown Poulsbo more than once (perhaps with the intent of eating MORAs)
• Stalked the deer that were coming into our yard
• Strolled through rows of lavender in the lavender capital of North America
• Took a Sunday walk to our neighborhood marina and watched the seals popping up around a giant pink flamingo floaty
• Played local and grabbed 100 pamphlets at the county fair, complete with all the 4H barns
• Taste tested at the Seattle Chocolate factory store
• Found a peanut butter factory nearby
• Stood in awe at the views along Hood Canal

It feels like we haven't even skimmed the surface of adventure possibilities, especially since we've mostly stuck to our new neck of the woods so far. Currently on our PNW list is: Olympic National Park, water sports in Puget Sound, Victoria and Butchart Gardens, not to mention a Mariner's game. PNW adventure options are limitless and that's exciting!

A New Washington Chapter

Last week Scott signed a contract for his first full time job following medical training!

What a monumental event for us, because we've been building up to this new chapter for so many years - pre-med training, applying to medical school, medical school rotations, interviewing then SOAPing into residency, residency, interviewing then matching into fellowship. Now mid-fellowship year, Scott was offered two different jobs in two different parts of Washington state!

We had long talks about what was most important to us in this first job. We considered location, medical practice preferences, large organizations v. private practices, pay and benefits, potential life balance, opinions of current and former employees. We found that its difficult to look at this decision by logic alone and that everyone seemed to have opinions on what we should do. In the end, the decision came down to prayer and what felt best. Both offers were good, but after evaluating how we feel, one organization stood out to us as the better choice for us now.

So in August, after Scott's fellowship graduation, we will be moving to Kitsap County in the Seattle area for this next chapter in our life, and we're extremely excited! There are A LOT of loans to pay off before we will probably feel like we've moved on to a new chapter, but the thought of settling down in an area for awhile just feels so invigorating.