Sisters weekend away

In addition to all the other fun that Kaitlyn and I had while she was up in Seattle, we were also able to get away for a weekend for a girl's trip. We headed out on Friday evening and drove up to Bellingham and camped at Larrabee State Park along Puget Sound.
The park is beautiful and the spot that we were able to get was a walk in site, so we were smooched in between a bunch of trailers. I haven't been camping in years and years and it was AWESOME! I really loved it. We set up our tent, made a fire, roasted hotdogs, ate baked beans, and made smores. It was classically wonderful. We did forget some critical things like...the hot dog buns...that was disappointing. We also forgot the can opener, so Kaitlyn used the foil cutter on the wine opener to destroy the top of the bean can so that we could enjoy our nasty baked beans. We stayed up well into the morning talking and enjoying the quite night air. Oh man, just writing about it makes me want to go back and do it again. I just love being outside so much. Sleeping in the tent was great though I did think that there was a bear outside waiting to eat up. Instead it was a raccoon eating our marshmallows...simple mistake. We survived.

The next morning we packed up the campsite and headed north to Whistler. Pat and I had just been to Whistler the weekend before, so I was excited for Kaitlyn to experience it too. The drive up the Sea to Sky highway is amazing. It is just what is sounds like, a road that takes you from sea level just north of Vancouver, BC up into the mountains. The day was clear and you could see all of the mountain peaks. When we got up to Whistler, we headed out to the mountain biking trails and biked around for a bit. We did the non-lift version of mountain biking this time around which didn't require renting a bike or paying for a lift ticket. It was a lot of fun and a lot of work having to power up the hills on our own. Kaitlyn did awesome on the trails and we were definitely worn out by the end.
After biking, we headed back to the hotel room and had a luxury meal of microwave mac & cheese and spinach lasagna purchased earlier at the local grocery store...tasty! We spent our cash on Albino Rhino beer later in the evening and watched the Whistler craziness unfold.
and took a picture by the Olympic rings...
The next morning, we went out for crepes and cinnamon rolls at the greatest breakfast spot, Hot Buns and walked around the village for a bit before heading home. We stopped at a few spots on the way down the Sea to Sky highway to take pictures of the mountains.


It was a great trip. Can't wait for our next one! Props to Pat for watching the little lady while we were gone!

10 days with a sister

So, I have or will have separate posts for my birthday and my trip to Whistler with Kaitlyn, but this post captures everything in between. We packed a whole lot of fun and activity into 10 short days. At some point, I am going to fly myself down to Tally and kidnap Kaitlyn and make her move up to Seattle. While I'm at it, I'll nab Lindsey. Neither of them will be able to escape my evil plot for sister togetherness. It is taunting to be able to spend 10 days with Kaitlyn and then have her fly back to FL. We all definitely need to at least live in the same state.

Anyway, here are a million pictures from our fun adventures as jobless and free sisters...the jobless really only applies to me full time but Kaitlyn was jobless for 10 days or so she pretended.

On her first full day in the sunny northwest, we didn't have too much time (we had a show downtown in the evening) but we managed to fit in a trip out to the Mt. Baker National Forest for a 2 mile "hike"/walk. Lucy, true to her baby form, lead Kaitlyn all over the place by the hand...nearly breaking Kaitlyn's back for sure from all the leading over.

mid swing with mom
heading up to the ice caves
Lucy walking Kaitlyn all over the place
On Wednesday, we headed to Greenlake for a chill day in the NW sun. Again, Lucia pulled Kaitlyn around by her arm as she showed her every weed in the park. This was the same evening that Lucia started walking!
Thursday we headed out for a full day hike up to Lake 22 in the North Cascades. This hike is not messing around. It is only 5.4 miles but it is steep and rocky and sort of challenging while carrying a toddler on your back! It was beautiful though. The hike goes through old growth forest, then out to a bit of a bowl and back into forest before you pop out at a stunning lake. The weather was perfect and the views were amazing. As usual, Lucia was a total trooper and loved it. She fell asleep on the way back down.

view from the top

that is Kaitlyn up there
Lucia dragging Kaitlyn around as usual
Playing with sticks and weeds. I could have stayed in this field all day long.
This way mom!

Old growth forest
near the beginning of the hike at a waterfall. Lucy points out every trickle of water by hollering "wawa, wawa, wawa"
Friday through Sunday, Kaitlyn and I took off and went camping and up to Whistler. I'll post about that trip later or this post will never end.

On Monday, the big event was the zoo which Lucia loved. We'll be back there many times this summer, I am sure. This picture does not show her enthusiasm very well. Perhaps she was more interested in walking than the bears.
Checking out the bunnies
On Tuesday, we visited with Great Grandma Shirley. She made the trip across the water to our place and we sat outside in the sun.
Wednesday was Kaitlyn's last day in town, so we headed up to Capitol Hill, went to Volunteer Park, played in the grass, and had lunch at Joe Bar then came back to the house and played with Lucia in the backyard. I think that the highlight for Lucia was playing with a cup of ice. That evening Kaitlyn and I went out for Ethiopian food for dinner...our favorite!

highlighting Kaitlyn's tatoo and Lucia's baby neck
messing around at Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill
picking "flowers"

My Baby Walks!

Well, Lucia is now a walking little lady! I guess it has been a few weeks now, she started on July 14th, but she already walks like a pro. It is almost like she has been scoping out the walking scene and just know decided that she is down with it. Kailyn was here the day that she started walking and we had been encouraging her during the day and she had made it 4 or 5 steps in the afternoon. I wanted to show Pat that evening, so I set Lu up to take her 4 or 5 steps and she just kept going. It was amazing to see. Her little pudgy arms were stuck out trying to balance and she was concentrating on the process but she walked all over the backyard being encouraged by the promise of chips. She just kept going and going and hasn't stopped. She is now a fearless walker.

Here are a few video clips of her walking on July 14th

30th Birthday Bananza

It is official...I am thirty! On one hand, I can't believe it but on the other hand, it seems good and right. I am so happy with my life. I don't have big regrets at all which seems unlikely these days. I am married to a good man who I love, I have the cutest and sweetest kid in the world, I have a wonderful family and meaningful friendships. Life seems very sweet right now. Sometimes I wish that I could freeze time so that I could better soak in the good. My baby learning to walk, good conversations with my husband, weekends away with my sister, and growing friendships. 30 is good so far. Anyway, on to the fun stuff that ushered in the new decade in life.

On my actual birthday, Kaitlyn flew in from Talli, FL. It was so wonderful to have her here for 10 days and be able to spend time with her on my birthday. She spend October-March with us this past year, so it felt like old times to have her with us. I love having her here and so does Lucia. I just with that all of my siblings could live close. So, Kaitlyn and I hung out during the day on my birthday and then Pat got home from work and made us fondue, shrimp, and salad...my favorite! We opened gifts and had "cake"/top pot donuts.

Lucy welcoming me to my 30's

Sweatshirt from Kaitlyn that I quickly made use of on our camping trip the following weekend.
Kaitlyn refusing to pose for a bday picture
Fondue dinner, sangria, and Kailyn unhappy with the camera
The next day, Kaitlyn surprised me with an awesome girls night out. I cannot even tell you how much fun it was to hang out with her and my friend Lindsay.


I wish that I could repeat that evening every few weeks. Kailyn had done a bunch of research to find a show for us to see. We ended up going to the Triple Door downtown which is now by far my favorite venue. We got literally the front row booth in the middle of the room. We had the booth to ourselves and just got to sit back, drink our beer and shots and enjoy the show.
We saw Katie Herzig, who I had not heard before, but she was amazing live.
During the show, she brought out Brandi Carlile and Kaitlyn nearly flipped out when that happened. After the show, Kaitlyn shamelessly got pictures of all three of us with Katie and then one of Kaitlyn and I with Brandi. It was a great few days of birthday celebration. Thanks to Pat, Kaitlyn, and Lindsay!

10 years of wedded bliss

I have a few things to catch up on as far as blog posts go. So, I will start with our 10 year anniversary trip to Whistler. First, I would like to say that I am married to the greatest man. 10 years have gone by and I still think that I am the luckiest woman. We get to spend our years together trying to figure out life, marriage, parenting, and our own personal transformation. I am thankful that this life will be spent with someone that I respect, someone who can make me laugh, understands me, is willing to let me change, listens, encourages, and loves me. I am blessed. God knew what I needed and He gave me Pat. Props to my kick ass husband.

Pat and I headed out for a quick weekend trip to Whistler on July 9th while Kathy watched Lucia back at home. It was so nice to get away just Pat and I. We are not able to take much time away just the two of us so it was a total luxury even though it was only a few days. We arrived on Friday afternoon, hung around in the village and had dinner out watching the crazy partier people. On Saturday we went to our favorite breakfast place, Hot Buns for crepes and a cinnamon roll....so tasty! Then, after many trips of watching the downhill mountain biking with envy, we finally got to go ourselves! The downhill track is crazy to say the least. You take the same lift that you would in the winter time to ski but instead it is adapted to haul mountain bikes (and us) up the hill.
We rented full suspension (front and back) mountain bikes because our own bikes only have front suspension. You get plenty of protective gear to go along with the bikes. It was an 80+ degree day. We were crazy nasty by the time we were done. We biked for 6 hours with a lunch break in the middle and a short stop at the end of each run. We managed to do four runs with each one, including the lift, taking about an hour. By the time I got to the bottom of the hill after each run, my legs were so sore from holding myself up the whole time. You never really sit on the bike; you just hold on for dear life and hope you don't fly over the front of the bike....well, that was me anyway. It was so much fun. I would do it every weekend if we could afford it. I love being outside and working at something that fun. Here are some pictures of us on our bikes.



After the biking, we rushed to get as cleaned up as we could, then we took a different lift to the top of Whistler for a mountain top BBQ. It was so unbelievably beautiful. I love the mountains so much. I just wanted to stay up there to soak it all in. The air is so crisp and you can see forever into the mountains and the valley. I'll take that for an anniversary dinner any day over a fancy restaurant!

Heading up to the BBQ
Views from the top

Messing around on the gondola back to the village


On Sunday, we took the lift up to the top of Whistler again and then on the peak 2 peak gondola to Blackcomb. We were planning on taking a hike on Blackcomb but the trails were snowed in, so we hung out for a while and then headed back into the village.
We were able to grab lunch and one last beer before heading back to the real world. It was an awesome trip and an awesome way to celebrate 10 amazing years of marriage. I am so blessed to be married to a man that I love, respect, and genuinely want to spend my life and experiences with.

Cheers to 10 years of awesomeness!