Tuesday, October 26, 2010

September Visits

September was a busy month for us. We started the month with an extended Labor Day weekend trip to Nashville to visit family and ended the month with more family visiting us here. We definitely enjoyed all the time off of work, but enjoyed the time with family even more.

While in Nashville, we spent most of our time relaxing and eating great food! We went to a lot of local places and had lots of great southern cuisine. We went swimming, played football in the front yard, played board games and video games, and stayed up late every night! I couldn’t believe how grown up Lucy and Mae are (although we say that every time we see them, I really mean it!) and we finally got to meet our newest niece Opal Magnolia. We joke that Joey & Brynn’s home has a revolving door because they probably have someone visiting them more days out of the year than not. It’s a busy schedule to keep up with but they are wonderful hosts and definitely know how to show you a good time. Brynn never runs out of great ideas for places to go or things to do and she’s definitely your go-to person if you ever need a restaurant recommendation!

Thanks for such a fun trip you guys! We miss you already and can’t wait to come back!

Playing Life with Lucy & Mae

The guys watching football while Mae updates her Webkins

Straightening Mae's hair


Next up was Lucy!





Brynn & Opal

One of the many yummy restaurants we went to.











Lucy couldn't resist a big soaking wet hug for Joey!



Getting new Webkins at Cracker Barrel

The girls were so sweet to their soon-to-be new girl cousin!

A few weeks after we got home from Nashville, Jason & Jackie flew down to visit us here for the week. We had a great time hanging out, staying up late and sleeping in, watching movies and a Law & Order marathon, and again, lots of eating! This was our last visit with them before we all become parents so we were determined to make the most of it! Our baby is due at the beginning of December and Jason and Jackie’s adoption should be complete right around the same time. It’s been so fun to have someone in the family who is going through so many of the same things at the same time. Jackie and I spent a lot of time discussing nursery colors and decorations, gift registries, and all things baby related! We also made a trip to the Park City Outlets and had lots of fun shopping for our baby girls. They were having some great sales and we ended up driving home with what felt like a whole store’s worth of cute new clothes!


Thanks for making the trip down you guys! We always enjoy our time with you and can’t wait to meet your sweet little girl!

Jackie and I discussing baby gift registries!

One of our many adorable finds at the outlets... how cute will this be on Ayantu?! 
Jackie having a hard time deciding on baby bedding.

We had fun with our scanning guns at Babies R Us!

Making Saturday morning breakfast... yes that clock says 11am!

Jackie our expert waffle maker!


Dinner at Hoppers with the Morton's & Chen
(How is this the only picture I got of Jason?!)

Joelle loves buffalo wings!

Suzie & Adalyn


Jackie & Emmy

The Morton girls brought over a gift for baby Ayantu

The bag was full of goodies, including skinny jeans!!!

Friday, October 8, 2010

Visiting Home Sweet Home – Week 2

Disclaimer: I’ve been working on this post for quite some time! It’s LOOOONG overdue but since I got Week 1 posted I feel like I can’t move on until I finish a Week 2 post. To be honest, one thing that’s been holding me up is my desire to learn how to use Photoshop. I’d like to learn how to edit our photos better but I also wanted to teach myself how to make a simple collage so that I don’t have to post each photo individually. Unfortunately I have a few other projects that have taken priority so this blog just sits. So, for the two people that read this… I apologize if I left you hanging. I know you’ve been checking daily for updates. ;)  And furthermore, I apologize that there is no creativity involved. I simply wrote to get it done.


The second week of our trip to Seattle was packed full of fun things. Jeremy flew in on Friday and things were go-go-go all the way until our flight home!  After picking him up at the airport, we headed down to Puyallup to visit some of his family. We hung out at Ron & Jenny’s, had dinner and Jason & Jackie were able to share a little bit about the baby they are in the process of adopting from Ethiopia for the first time!
Judah, Charlie & Coleman were all knocked out by the time we reached Puyallup.
Jason & Jackie about to make the big reveal!
Then we finally got to meet our newest nephew, Jack Ronald! Jason & Jillian were on vacation in Colorado and we went to pick them up at the airport. How cute is this little guy!

Saturday we went to a movie and the Puyallup Farmer’s Market.
Ron takes charge to make sure we all cross the street safely... he's quite the flagger!
Yummy raspberries at the Farmer's Market

Sunday we got to go to South Hill Calvary for church and were treated by Jason leading worship and a great teaching by Ron. We also got to be there for baby Jack’s dedication!

Monday Ron & Jeremy played golf at Chamber’s Bay. It was a cold, foggy morning, but beautiful nonetheless. While the guys played golf, Jenny and I got to spend the afternoon together and went to an adorable little baby consignment shop in Sumner.
The guys and their caddy's.

That evening we celebrating all the August birthdays in the family (missed you Mae Mae!) with smothered burritos at Jen & Andy’s. Yummy!
Our amazing chefs - Ron & Jenny
Yummy smothered burritos!
Birthday girls - me, Jill & Jen
Judah's solution to his lost helmet - I think that's part of one of his many costumes!
Jackie's all business on the Big Wheel
Jeremy takes it for a spin
And of course Jen had to give it a try too!
Andy - reflecting on his skater days
Strayer in action!

Tuesday morning we got to meet my Grammy Carol for breakfast. I love how well she and Jeremy connect… football, of all things, is their favorite topic of conversation! She is such a special person in my life and I’m so glad that they enjoy each others company.


Tuesday was also Jen’s birthday so we spent the afternoon at Carkeek Park with her and the kids. I used to spend a week every summer at a Campfire Day Camp there so it brought back so many memories I have from my childhood. This is one of the things I miss most about living in Seattle… the trees, the view, the salt water… it was a perfect day!
All Jen wanted was one good picture with the kids... it was just too much to ask for that day. Playing in the sand proved to be too much of a distraction for the boys!
Josie loved playing in the water with the seaweed



That evening we went out for a fancy dinner at Arnie’s on the Edmonds waterfront to celebrate Jen’s birthday and to thank her and Andy for letting us crash at their place for the week. Dinner, dessert and the view were all amazing!


Wednesday evening we had a BBQ with some old college friends at a park on Lake Sammamish.
Barry and Jeremy catch up
Cameron, Joel & Stephanie, Barry & Jamie, Christy & Cory, Carrie & Trey, me & Jeremy

Thursday we got to spend the whole day with Kathy, my mother-in-law. We had Teriyaki for lunch (one of Jeremy’s “must-do’s” when we visit), spent some time shopping, and then Lorne made amazing ribs for dinner. Unfortunately I managed to forget to take a single picture the whole day.

Friday was Seafair day. We spent the morning and the greater part of the day on Lake Washington with my Dad, Shala, her mom Marge, and my sweet little sister Emma. Unfortunately the weather had taken a turn for the worse and it was cold and a little grey. However, it made for an excited and LOUD low air show by the Blue Angels. I was so glad that we were home for this as Seafair and the Blue Angels show was something I always looked forward to as a kid.

Jeremy the master sandwich maker
How is this the only picture we got of my dad?! And none of Shala!
Here come the Blue Angels
They flew right over us - we couldn't believe how loud it was!
In a matter of seconds they were gone!

Saturday we had made plans to spend the day at my Dad’s beach house in Stanwood. Unfortunately the weather never improved (typical Seattle!) and our plans for a fun day enjoying the beach changed quickly. We still were able to go crabbing which I was really looking forward to. There’s nothing quite like fresh Dungeness crab straight from the Puget Sound! The swift current made the task of dropping and pulling the pots quite challenging, but Jeremy, Andy and Nick did quite an incredible job and we ended up with 10 keepers in 2 ½ hours!
Heading out to catch some crab for dinner! Yummy!
Jill, Vanessa & Baby Jack on the beach
Heading out to drop the crab pots
Making the drop... let's hope we catch some!
Our runaway boat - The combination of a quickly rising tide, and a few hours of waiting to pull the pots created a small glitch in the plan. How on earth were we going to get our boat back!
Thank goodness the neighbors had a motorized boat!
Our little rowboat is saved!
Pulling up the pots - success!!
Check out all those crabs!
Judah was a little timid at first but it didn't take long before he was holding them!
"Andy Burgers" for dinner
Vanessa, Jackie, Jill, Traci, me & Jen - Enjoying the catch of the day

Crab Round 2: Nick, Charlie, Jackie, Coleman, Strayer & Josie
Jeremy & his mom
Beach bonfire & s'mores
Charlie & Coleman
"White Rabbit, White Rabbit, White Rabbit"
Toney - the master bonfire starter. Not sure how he did it after such a wet day!

Sunday we made the trek up to Bellingham with Traci, Toney, Nick & Vanessa for a day packed full of fun and visiting old friends. We made it to church at Calvary Northwest… We got to enjoy lunch at a yummy taco place with the Blumberg’s. It was so great to get to spend even just a small amount of time with a family that was such an influential part of our lives while we were students and dating. Once again, no pictures.

Then we headed to our old stomping grounds… the house on H St. that Traci & I lived in, the Taylor Heights apartment that Jeremy, Nick & Toney lived in, Boulevard Park, where we all spent lots of our free time and the place where Nick proposed to Vanessa and last but not least WWU! I think it’s the first time Jer and I have been back on campus since we graduated in 2004. It was fun to walk around and reminisce about our days as college students.
Who knew what the Lord had in store for us! All pregnant together. Traci due in October,  me in December, Vanessa in March! What an answer to prayer!


As if that wasn’t enough packed into our day, we ended the trip to Bellingham with dinner at the Loy’s house. The Loy’s are another family that were quite influential to us. They led our college bible study and Brody was an amazing mentor to Jeremy. They were a great example of a couple with a strong marriage and a Godly household. We couldn’t believe how grown up their four kids are now. I guess that’s what happens when you don’t get to see people very often! I really can’t believe that we didn’t take any pictures of this either.

Although we packed a lot into our time in Seattle, the dreaded Monday finally did arrive. We squeezed in one last breakfast with my Mom, packed our things and spent some last minute time at the Hirschman’s and had one last dinner with the Sanchez family before heading to the airport… back to reality and our other “Home Sweet Home”.
Putting on makeup with Josie
She would mimic everything I did!
Stick out those bellies!
Jeremy helped Andy get the base to their treehouse up
Judah the architect drew Jeremy the plans for what the treehouse will look like
The architect explains his drawing