bachelorette weekend for Kristen

One of my closest friends for the past 18 years, Kristen, is getting married on August 30th and I had the honors of planning her bachelorette party, which was last weekend. We rented a big beach house (in Lincoln City); about ten of us girls came and had an amazing time with Kristen before she gets married! Here are just a couple of pictures...we did several fun things--one of them included going crabbing which was definitely a humorous experience we will never forget! I am so thankful for such a sweet and genuine friendship, and so excited to be a part of the wedding!

my hair still smells like campfire

WE LOVE CAMPING!! There's something about the camping food, campfires, relaxing and reading books, getting cozy, and oh the outhouse! Last weekend Jeff and I camped with our friends, Justin and Jess, at Timothy Lake up by Mt. Hood. The weather was wonderful, and it was so nice to escape to the stress-free wilderness. Our camp site was right near the lake and the water was so warm! Our biggest surprise was how much Chloe (our 12 lb. dog) LOVED to swim! She was tentative at first, but once Justin jumped in she was soon diving in after him! We were proud. :-) Jeff and Justin exercised their manliness while attempting to spear crawfish in the lake with wood sticks they carved themselves...definitely entertaining! Sometimes a weekend of macaroni and cheese, breakfast burritos, and top ramen can be a truly wonderful thing...

Brian and Kim's wedding

On Saturday, we all (Jeff's family) attended the wedding of Brian Ford (Jeff's cousin) and Kim Sedlak. It was gorgeous and such a joyful evening! Great opportunity to take some good pictures of the good lookin' family :-)....notice we are somehow all color-coordinated...

CONGRATS, Kim and Brian!

Three happy years...here's to many more!!

We celebrated our third wedding anniversary this past Wednesday. So amazing how fast time flies by when you are having so much fun and with the right person. We are blessed to have each other. Jeff took me to Multnomah Falls as a surprise for dinner at the lodge...something different and unique and it was beautiful up there! Here's to many more wonderful years.

a weekend at Mt. Rainier

This past weekend we spent with my family at a house they rented right in the woods near Mt. Rainier National Park. My parents, sis, her two friends, my cousin Adam, and us had an awesome time exploring and relaxing. I loved just being in the middle of nowhere for a couple of days! We explored the trails, took in the breathtaking views, hottubbed, wandered near waterfalls in the woods, had wine on the deck, chatted, and played games. The smells of being in the forest were perfect...so refreshing. Thanks, Mom and Dad! :-)

4th of July in San Francisco

In the beginning of July, we took advantage of our new hybrid by driving down to San Francisco for a few days. It actually wasn't a bad drive...about eight hours and road trips are always an adventure! We spent five days with Brook and Andy (Jeff's brother and his wife) who are currently living right in the city. This was a different and more authentic experience than past trips we've taken to the city, to be able to eat at restaurants and walk around neighborhoods that aren't so touristy, but more visited by locals of SF. We waited in long lines in popular bakeries, coffee shops, and cafes and were never disappointed! The weather was mostly just fabulous and sunny, tempting us to pick up everything and move here--seriously, we LOVED everything about our time there. One morning we wandered on down to the Embarcadero and spent a few hours on the pier at the farmers market, tasting yummy fruits, eating breakfast, and sampling local foods. Saturday night we went to the Giants vs. Dodgers game...we almost lost our voices screaming so loud, and yay the Giants won! What a great game--I learned how much I hate the Dodgers. We did lots of shopping in boutiques and wandering around in some of the more quaint neighborhoods such as Haight Ashbury and the Mission District. On the fourth, we took a little day adventure to the beach and enjoyed the scenery on the 30 minute drive out of the city. Can't believe how close it is! What a fabulous place to live--we want to move there ASAP! :-) Food and shopping aside, one of the best parts of the week was definitely just spending some GREAT time with Andy and Brook, catching up and laughing (often!), and doing things we all love to do together. Wish you guys lived closer!!! We love you.

Georgetown in Washington D.C.

Jeff and I had a wonderful time in D.C.! I remind myself every time we go somewhere that traveling is such a luxury, and we feel so privileged to be able to do it as often as we do! Seeing the world and all its history is so important to us!

Our hotel (The River Inn) was in historic Georgetown, an elegant neighborhood just walking distance from the monuments and White House/downtown. We LOVED this hotel. It was also only a couple blocks from the metro, which we took everywhere when we weren't walking. One thing we both loved about D.C. was how clean the city is, how easy it is to get around, and the neighborhoods near downtown are fabulous. Impressive for such a big city.

Things we saw: Holocaust Museum, all of the monuments (so many!), National Gallery of Art (containing hundreds of famous paintings!), Smithsonian museums, Arlington Cemetery (where white grave stones go on as far as you can see), White House (including a press conference going on in FRONT of it with the prez), Ford Theater where Lincoln was shot, John Edwards :-), Embassy Row...and the list goes on. We discovered some fun restaurants in our neighborhood of Georgetown, but also ventured into the "hip" and young neighborhood known for its nightlife, called Adams Morgan. Ate everything from scrumptious homemade pasta to some unique Latin-American food.

What a great little East Coast adventure we had.

Falling Water

After a week in Ohio, Jeff and I drove through Pennsylvania on our way to Washington, D.C. Our main stop along the way was a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, called Falling Water. The house was designed in the 1930's for a wealthy family and was constructed directly on the top of a waterfall. Jeff and I definitely enjoyed touring this house! Wright designed the house in a way that pulls nature inside, by using lots of windows and placing them just so. He also designed all of the furniture, which is still original. No rocks or boulders were removed; instead the house was built around them and you can see this from inside. So cool!! I just read that Falling Water is listed among Smithsonian magazine's Life List of 28 places "to visit before ...it's too late." You gotta go!!

lakeside in Ohio

Well, we arrived safe and sound (and a DAY EARLY! ha ha! We'll never make that mistake again). After flying into Cleveland, we found ourselves saying, "What just happened?!"

It began with such a whirlwind, but what a relaxing week we had for the first part of our trip to the East Coast. Jeff and I stayed at my Grandpa and Grandma Dymale's house, which happens to be on a gorgeous lake in Canton (and Ohio's cleanest lake too)!! We loved floating and swimming for hours in the warm weather, fishing, boating, and getting to spend time with cousins and family. Definitely a highlight for Jeff was when my Aunt Kathi and Craig took us to a Cleveland Indians game, which Jeff was SO EXCITED about, especially because we sat right behind home plate. It was so great to hang out with my cousins--we haven't seen Jina, Justin, Jordan (triplets) and Michael in a few years...so it was long overdue! And we definitely enjoyed just the fun talks we had with Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Chris while sitting on the deck in the evenings. Thanks again too all of you who entertained us...it couldn't have been a better, more relaxing week for both of us.

barely made it...

Yikes! So after a miscommunication on our flight info (if you saw on your ticket a red eye for Monday at midnight, wouldn't you think "MONDAY NIGHT", or would you think "SUNDAY NIGHT"???), and after much scrambling to get packed in literally not much time...we are all ready and about to get picked up to go to the airport TONIGHT, not tomorrow!! Ha ha ha! This has been quite a night. Silly me. We will be gone until next Wednesday the 18th but will then have updates on our trip! ;-) We're off!