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!
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Judah, Charlie & Coleman were all knocked out by the time we reached Puyallup.
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Jason & Jackie about to make the big reveal!
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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.
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| Ron takes charge to make sure we all cross the street safely... he's quite the flagger! |
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Yummy raspberries at the Farmer's Market
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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.
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| 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!
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| Our amazing chefs - Ron & Jenny |
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| Yummy smothered burritos! |
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| Birthday girls - me, Jill & Jen |
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| Judah's solution to his lost helmet - I think that's part of one of his many costumes! |
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| Jackie's all business on the Big Wheel |
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| Jeremy takes it for a spin |
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| And of course Jen had to give it a try too! |
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| Andy - reflecting on his skater days |
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| 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!
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| 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! |
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| 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.
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| Barry and Jeremy catch up |
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| 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.
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| Jeremy the master sandwich maker |
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How is this the only picture we got of my dad?! And none of Shala!
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| Here come the Blue Angels |
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| They flew right over us - we couldn't believe how loud it was! |
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| 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!
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Heading out to catch some crab for dinner! Yummy!
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| Jill, Vanessa & Baby Jack on the beach |
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| Heading out to drop the crab pots |
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| Making the drop... let's hope we catch some! |
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| 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! |
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| Thank goodness the neighbors had a motorized boat! |
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| Our little rowboat is saved! |
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| Pulling up the pots - success!! |
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| Check out all those crabs! |
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| Judah was a little timid at first but it didn't take long before he was holding them! |
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| "Andy Burgers" for dinner |
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| Vanessa, Jackie, Jill, Traci, me & Jen - Enjoying the catch of the day |
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| Crab Round 2: Nick, Charlie, Jackie, Coleman, Strayer & Josie |
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| Jeremy & his mom |
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| Beach bonfire & s'mores |
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| Charlie & Coleman |
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| "White Rabbit, White Rabbit, White Rabbit" |
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| 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.
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| 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”.
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| Putting on makeup with Josie |
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| She would mimic everything I did! |
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| Stick out those bellies! |
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| Jeremy helped Andy get the base to their treehouse up |
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| Judah the architect drew Jeremy the plans for what the treehouse will look like |
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| The architect explains his drawing |
