Baby Girl Showers!

I can't think of any party sweeter than a baby shower. I love everything about them, especially the oooing and aaahhhing over the tiny little clothes. Lucky for me, I have lots of friends in that stage of life so I have gotten lots of opportunities to take part in these precious celebrations.

A couple of weeks ago, we had a baby girl shower for my friend Kristy, who expecting baby #5 mid-June. Here are some highlights...

Kinsleigh's nursery is done in a sweet birdie theme, so we planned the shower to match & called it a "Birdie Brunch."


Guests left their fingerprint and signature on this painting for Kinsleigh - I think it will make a cute addition to her super adorable nursery!

...and let me add that I stressed so much over painting that tree, but am happy with how it turned out. The single creative bone in my body is geared to impress preschoolers, and even then, it fails me sometimes, ha!

So many great friends...


So many gifts to show love to Kristy & Kinsleigh...


By the end, I had written a pretty long list.


It was a perfect day and I just can't wait to welcome Kinsleigh Hope into this world!

And just last night...

We got to host another baby girl shower, this time for my friend Laura, who is expecting baby #2 mid-June (yes, mid-June, just a day or two away from Kristy!). This will be Moises and Laura's first daughter. They already have super adorable Levi, who you probably remember from a blog post or two. ;) I just can't wait to meet Lexi(e)...(spelling of the name is yet to be determined.)

Check out this picture...

Kristy, Me, Laura, Terry, & Amanda

This was taken in the fall of 2010 when Laura was expecting Levi - this was the first baby shower I got to help plan since moving to the Northwest. Funny that since this photo was taken, Kristy and Laura are now both expecting & Terry had precious twins Tesa & Tyce. (Amanda already had three sweet girls.) Geez...I think I'm falling way behind! But one thing is for sure, my life is full of sweet little ones to love!

So here we are a year and a half later...I am so thankful for Laura and her friendship. She is just wonderful!


My friend Sarah was sweet enough to host in her home and let me tell you, she is a decorating professional! Seriously, amazing!


We planned a fun dinner menu for our "girls night out" themed shower.


Drank punch (not moonshine!) out of these mason jars.


Such a lovely group of ladies...


We had this adorable station set up for friends to create headbands for Lexi.




Super cute! Lexi(e) will be so stylish in her custom headbands. :)


Maria organized some really fun games for the night. Like this one - how many clothespins can you pick out of a bowl of rice in one minute? This was sooo hard...the next time you get bored, just dump safety pins into rice, blindfold yourself, and see what you think!


Chelo dominated with 18 safety pins!


Then it was time to open gifts...have I mentioned how much I LOVE this part??


We even played a game during the gift reveal...fun!


There were so many adorable gifts, including this homemade ruffle-bun onesie that Molly made, so crafty!


Or this absolutely precious blanket that Mary-Hayden made...I wouldn't even know where to start!


Wait...you thought I said she was having a girl, right?

This story is so cute...

When Laura had her first ultrasound, she was told she was having a boy. At her next ultrasound, and in the one that followed, she found out that it seems a little girl is what God is adding to their family. Sweet Chelo never got the news that things had changed and bought the most adorable baby boy gift. We had some good laughs, but really, it was the cutest gift!

It was a great night!

Now comes the not so fun part...saying goodbye.

This is me with Laura, Mary-Hayden, Jaclyn, Sarah, & Libby. Sadly, Jaclyn is moving to Georgia this weekend. The military has a way of moving people around, but this time, Jaclyn's hubby is getting out of the Army and going into the reserves so they are moving back home to be closer to family. My heart is happy for her, but seriously sad that I won't be seeing her or her sweet family any time soon. (Did you know that her five year old, Aubrey, is my bff?) Such is life here in the Northwest when you live near an Army base.

We'll miss you Jaclyn! You have such a special place in our hearts!

A Brand New Date

Sometimes dinner & a movie can get old...and expensive. Don't get me wrong - I looove dinner and I looove going to the movies, but it's always fun to change things up a little!

Not long after we moved here, some friends told us about a drive in theater not far from here. I guessed it slipped our minds and we never got around to checking it out until this past weekend. We drove over after church on Sunday night (yes, I said AFTER church...the movie can't start until dusk, which is about 9:30 p.m. these days).

After pulling the car in both forward and backward, we decided on leaving it in reverse. We brought plenty of blankets & snacks, got all bundled up and settled in for a movie marathon. The cool thing about this theater is that they always show a double feature and this night they were showing Battleship & The Avengers - did I mention they only charge $7 per person for BOTH movies?!? By the time Avengers started, it was 11:30 and I did pretty good for the first hour, but after that I was completely zonked. What an old woman I've become, ha! Thankfully, my sweet husband didn't mind loaning me his shoulder for the rest of the movie - he's the BEST!











Can you read my shirt? It says "My husband rocks." And yes he does! Love him and our fun dates so much!!

Wedding Math

This revelation just came to me in the last hour...I knew I had to blog it or I would forget it forever.

Derek and I were married on June 9, 2007. Today is May 9, 2012.

We have been husband and wife for four years and eleven months.

What's so special about that you ask?

Well, four years and eleven months is fifty-nine months...and today is May 9.

59 Months on 5/9 - how cool is that?!?

The math nerd in me just loves it when numbers work out like that. So fun!


So you know if today makes 59 months, then in one more month it will be 60 months - our five year anniversary!! I have no idea what that holds, but I can't wait to share it with you! One thing I do know is that I am still the happiest girl in the whole wide world!

Wait...didn't I already blog that?

That was my thought when I realized that I never shared the pictures that our wonderful and talented photographer friend Dawn took for us last fall. Seriously...last fall?!? We used a couple of them for our Christmas card and I think I just forgot to take it any further. But since I know our family would like to see them...I'll fix that problem right now. Better late that never, right?

We went down to Portland (where Dawn currently lives) on Veteran's Day weekend with our friends Mark and Tif and spent the whole day catching up and having fun. Dawn had scoped out a park downtown and it made for a perfect location. Good times. Great memories!

















You can see more of Dawn's talents on her website - Fly a Kite Photography. She's the best!

Spring Break Makes Five!

April 2009 - July 2009 - April 2010 - July 2011 - April 2012

My Mom has been to see me in Washington five times!! She is the BEST!!

Lucky me, Mom & I had the same spring break again this year!! Mom loves to come hang out on her spring breaks, but in 2011, I had started a new job and our spring breaks just didn't match up so I was super excited that it all worked out this year and Mom got to have another vacation in Washington.

Since this was her fifth trip here, I had to do a little thinking on what sort of new adventures we could have. I decided to take her to Oregon! We drove just outside of Portland to let Mom see beautiful Multnomah Falls. It was a crazy weather day...sunshine one minute, pouring rain the next. Okay, so maybe it was more typical than crazy. Either way we had a great time and the falls were gorgeous! The Columbia River Gorge drive wasn't too bad either. :)








First we made a stop at Wahkeena Falls




Then it was on to the main attraction!



















After our explorations were complete, we finally arrived in Portland!


And I gave Mom her surprise early Mother's Day gift - tickets to see Wicked!

We met up with my friend and fellow Wicked fanatic, Dawn, and we had a fabulous time.

We spent the night in a hotel downtown and set off for some touristy adventures the next day. For lunch, we picked out a pizza place but not just any pizza place. We went to Old Town Pizza - "Portland's Haunted Pizzeria." I didn't see any ghosts, but I did see the lights flicker once. And besides, the food was so delicious, I'd gladly share it with a ghost. :) You can read more about the mysterious haunting here.



Other than the ghost and the great pizza, this restaurant also offers bicycle delivery, how fun!


Then, in true Portland tourist fashion, we waited in a ridiculously long line...for donuts!


And while we were waiting, I noticed for the first time that the brick walls are covered in sparkly glitter, voodoo glitter, I'm sure.


The last time we were here - about a year and a half ago - the place must have been under some type of construction because we entered through a side door into a teeny tiny room and not through the front entrance like we did on this day. It was neat to see the larger inside, love the funky decor.


And just check out all of those crazy donuts!!


We each picked out a few of our favorites and left with our very own pink box.


You're looking at a maple bacon bar (don't knock it til you tried it!), M&M donut, a super delicious Mango Tango treat, lemon powdered sugar, & a raspberry romeo. What you can't see hiding below is a gigantic apple fritter that is half the size of the box - that's the good stuff!


We made a stop at Powell's to show Mom the city block of bookstore.


And then we headed back to the hotel to retrieve the car and start for home. But not before one last stop at a really cool frozen yogurt place called Tart Berry. Patrons are encouraged to leave inspirational and positive quotes/messages on the walls, love it!


After a fun couple of days in Portland, Mom wanted to catch a Rainiers game on their opening weekend and how can I say "no thank you" to baseball? I love it!


It was a beautiful day but I knew once the sun went down, it would take every degree of warmth with it. So here we are at the beginning of the night...


...and this is how I ended up by the end of the night. Burrrr....


We really enjoyed the Friday night fireworks show...baseball and fireworks just make me so ready for my favorite holiday, the fourth of July!


And in case you were wondering, the Rainiers won!

I did a little Pinterest inspired Easter baking over the weekend.


And then Easter Sunday arrived! This was our fourth Easter in the Northwest but only the first where I wasn't shivering in my dress. Seriously, it was 70 degrees and gorgeous!





I am so happy that Mom got to spend her spring break and Easter with us. It's always so wonderful to have her here. It takes an investment of time, money, and effort to come see us in Washington and not to mention there are a million things one can do on spring break and I'm so very very thankful that she wanted to spend hers with me. I am a lucky girl! I'll spare you the teary details of airport dropping off...some things never change. =)