The flight was short and easy. Once we landed my parents picked us up and took us to see my brother, Brad, and sister-in law, Nicole. We went to eat at a great pizza place on their upstairs patio. It was nice and cool in Michigan, and I had so much fun seeing Brad and Nicole. After pizza we slowly made the drive back to my mom's house. Of course my mom's dog Mac was more than happy to see us! The next day we slep in and got caught up on our sleep. That afternoon we headed out to MSU campus with Mom and walked Mac around. We walked to the MSU dairy and all got ice creams, even Mac! Its funny how the campus has changed and yet it really hadn't. Afterwards we went to visit my Nanna and Boppa. I couldn't wait to see them it had really been too long :-) We watched a movie that night, Despero, it really wasn't very good though I was so excited about the story. The next day we went shopping with Mom and she bought a Wii! Once we were home we helped her set it up and immediately began to make our Mii characters. My Dad joined us for steak dinners and then it was time to play. We had fun boxing, playing tennis, and setting up the Wii Fit. Mom was pretty good she and Dad both beat me in boxing. The next day James and I went out to lunch with our friends Devon and Justin. I got to see where baby Violet in Devon's tummy. I had fun catching up with them, I miss having Devon around, but I'm so excited for this next chapter in their lives. My mom planned a big family dinner that night. Brad and Nicole came over early and we enjoyed playing Wii over some brews. Later the rest of my family joined, even my uncle Doug and aunt Jane from Indiana came up for a visit. We all had fun laughing, eating, playing games and catching up. Everyone took turns playing the games on the Wii and it was hilarious! My aunt Terry and uncle Bruce were able to join us and uncle Bruce even made me a necklace out of a collectors coin from 1882. It was beautiful! Cathryn and Matt updated us on married life it was fun to see them. For desert my Dad bought some pies from Traverse City at the Traverse City pie company. They were cherry and so delicious it was amazing. (And I normally don't like cherry pies!) It was a very fun night. The next day James and I headed to the airport for LA. We volunteered to be bumped from our flight and each recieved $300 flight vouchers, and $15 food vouchers. So we hung out at the airport for another 3 hours. We eventually made it to LA after a long day of waiting around. But it was so worth it! We had so much fun seeing everyone on our family tour, thanks to all who helped make it so great! Check out the snapshots from the trip, videos to come soon!
Affichage des articles dont le libellé est friends. Afficher tous les articles
Affichage des articles dont le libellé est friends. Afficher tous les articles
dimanche, août 02, 2009
Family Tour 09
Recently James and I had the pleasure of visiting our families in both Virginia and Michigan. We took a whole week off of work and spent 3 days in VA and 3 days in MI. Our first stop was in VA, James' parents picked us up, and we had fun chatting and visiting with each other. The next day our friend Rob drove up from PA to see us. Shortly after Rob arrived our friend Paul came over too. James, Rob, Paul and James' dad Terry began to play cornhole. Of course regular cornhole was not enough of a challenge and soon they all were attempting to play with moving targets. It was quite a scene, and very fun to watch! Then it was off to lunch and more games at the park. Our friends Kevin and Drew joined us. Paul took us to a special park for kids that he helped engineer, it was like nothing I'd ever seen. (Check out the pics) It was really neat I wish they had parks like that when I was growing up :-) Afterward we headed to another park where the guys were able to run around and play more games. I had fun visiting with Drew and catching up on all that was new in their lives. When we returned home James' mom Doni arranged for the whole family to come over and have dinner with us. It was a beautiful night on the patio and we had so much fun seeing everyone! The next day we decided to go tubing with Terry, Doni, Kevin, and Drew. It was so much fun! We decided to go on the rapid one which took us over some rocks and had some faster moving parts. At some points we would bump each other over the rapids and pummel down the river. Other parts were lazy and relaxing. It was a really fun day and the weather was gorgeous! We came home exhausted but no too tired for friends. We had dinner that night with Kevin, Drew, Paul, David and Arielle. Later on Nancy and Michael came over too, and we were able to meet baby Noah who is still growing in Nancy's tummy. It was a blast to see so many of our friends! We have really great friends, if only they could all live in California....The next day we hung out at the Kanka's house. It was nice and relaxing. We were still tired from the day before. Later that afternoon Matt drove up to see us. He's been playing up a storm with his new band and we got to listen to one of his CDs. They were really good, and it was fun to hear about all that was new for him. Rose joined us all for dinner and we relaxed and enjoyed the wonderful company. Later we went to see Harry Potter with Matt, it was good but not as great at the other Potter movies. The next morning we packed up and headed to the airport to begin our trip to Michigan.
dimanche, avril 12, 2009
Time is Flying By!
Its hard to believe that James and I are approaching our 3 year anniversary! Its even weirder to think that we've been in a relationship for 6 years. I feel pretty lucky to have such a wonderful husband. We haven't made definite plans about what we're going to do for our anniversary but we have a few ideas. The week after this I have taken a half week off of work. Our anniversary is on Wednesday April 22, so we figured we'd sleep in, relax, and have a nice meal out on the town. Then on Thursday we're planning on taking a short camping trip. The only trouble is we can't make up our minds. I am in awe of how much California has to offer and James and I have only experience a little slice of it. We want to travel somewhere new. We both really like the idea of saving money on a hotel and camping is always such a fun experience. So...here are our mini trip options:
As for updates....not to much is new. Last weekend I worked at a conference for School Board members. It was really interesting and I'm glad I have the opportunity to go. It was in San Diego so James came too which always makes the trips better. Our hotel was in the gas lamp district and we were able to walk around at night a bit. On Sunday we went to a place called Hash House a Go-Go, a great recommendation from a co-worker, it was insane in a good way. The plates were huge...platter size. I ordered a breakfast quesadilla and it was about the size of half a beach ball...I didn't even know they sold tortilla shells that big! It was really wonderful. After we stuffed our faces we went to the San Diego Zoo. It was so crowded but so cool! We saw all the exhibits, and if it wasn't for the lines we might have paid to feed the Giraffes too :-) It was so fun but boy did we get sunburned. James and I also finished our Battlestar Galatica marathon last week. For those of you who don't know what that is, than you haven't seen good Sci-Fi until you see the Battlestar series. (Just to clarify its the new one not the Battlestar from the 70s.)
This weekend we got to hang out with friends, grill and of course play games. It was a lot of fun! Its always refreshing to be around friends. Today for Easter Sunday James and I broke out the white linen. He in his pants and I in my coat. It was fun to dress up! We went to church, they had free breakfast, and a great message as always. The very first thing our pastor said was, "He is Risen, He is Risen Indeed", and then he had the congregation join in, in two parts. I instantly thought of home and our Lutheran church how often I would hear that phrase. Together my family and I would answer, "He is Risen Indeed!". It made me smile just thinking about it.
After church I tried to go to the mall...and realized too late that it was closed. But I did however get to knock over a parking sign :-) Ooops! No damage except to my ego of course! On that note I'll leave you with a few pics from our Easter weekend.
Praise the Lord, for He is risen that we might have life!
- Sequoia National Park - I've always wanted to see the giant trees, but do I want to share my experience with the bears? Not to mention, the temperatures can get down to the 30s at night. If we did travel this way we could also see Yosemite as it is not too far. Are the giant trees and beautiful wildlife worth it...or should we wait until summer?
- Big Sur- Camping on a beach cliff...what more can I say? We could also stop by the Hearst Castle on way if we ventured out that way. James and I have seen many of the California beaches and we love them! Waking up hearing the waves would be so luxurious, even for camping, but....by going with the beach would we be passing up an opportunity to see something different?
As for updates....not to much is new. Last weekend I worked at a conference for School Board members. It was really interesting and I'm glad I have the opportunity to go. It was in San Diego so James came too which always makes the trips better. Our hotel was in the gas lamp district and we were able to walk around at night a bit. On Sunday we went to a place called Hash House a Go-Go, a great recommendation from a co-worker, it was insane in a good way. The plates were huge...platter size. I ordered a breakfast quesadilla and it was about the size of half a beach ball...I didn't even know they sold tortilla shells that big! It was really wonderful. After we stuffed our faces we went to the San Diego Zoo. It was so crowded but so cool! We saw all the exhibits, and if it wasn't for the lines we might have paid to feed the Giraffes too :-) It was so fun but boy did we get sunburned. James and I also finished our Battlestar Galatica marathon last week. For those of you who don't know what that is, than you haven't seen good Sci-Fi until you see the Battlestar series. (Just to clarify its the new one not the Battlestar from the 70s.)
This weekend we got to hang out with friends, grill and of course play games. It was a lot of fun! Its always refreshing to be around friends. Today for Easter Sunday James and I broke out the white linen. He in his pants and I in my coat. It was fun to dress up! We went to church, they had free breakfast, and a great message as always. The very first thing our pastor said was, "He is Risen, He is Risen Indeed", and then he had the congregation join in, in two parts. I instantly thought of home and our Lutheran church how often I would hear that phrase. Together my family and I would answer, "He is Risen Indeed!". It made me smile just thinking about it.
After church I tried to go to the mall...and realized too late that it was closed. But I did however get to knock over a parking sign :-) Ooops! No damage except to my ego of course! On that note I'll leave you with a few pics from our Easter weekend.
Praise the Lord, for He is risen that we might have life!
mercredi, décembre 17, 2008
What you get for your money in LA
These past two weeks James and I have been moving into our new apartment. I like to think of our place as our little cottage, because that's exactly how it feels. Apartments in LA just aren't the same as they are on the east coast, or probably anywhere else. We're happy with our find. To to have a refridgerator and a washer and dryer in the unit is big deal out here! James and I are also excited to put more of our money in savings as our cottage apt. will assist us in doing just that. Luckily our friends have been a huge help in getting us situated. While we still have piles of boxes to get through and two more rooms to paint...without the help from our friends we wouldn't have been able to move and get things as far along as they are.
Work has been incredibly busy for both James and I so we've only had the weekend to really get things settled. We've made many trips to Lowes, and are about 60% done with getting everything unpacked. Ughhh....so much left to do....Well anyway here are the first batch of pics of moving in.
Also this past week we went to the E! holiday party. It was wild! It was held at LA Live an outdoor club in the middle of downtown. The sceen inside was a wide range of activity: pool tables, rock band video game, patio area, 2 open bars, dancing, platforms, etc. It was fun to meet more of James' co-workers. But the whole thing reminded me of a more tasteful version of spring break :) James and I had fun dancing! This week is my office holiday party and it will be pretty great if I do say so myself!
lundi, septembre 01, 2008
Mini Reunion and Labor Day Weekend Fun
This past weekend our friends came to visit for a mini reunion vacation. Chase and Elizabeth flew in from Texas. David and Arielle flew in from Northern Virginia. Since Amy and Joel live nearby in Fullerton, CA we were all able to meet up for a mini GMU reunion. It was crazy fun!!!!
As many of you know James graduated from George Mason University, where he became close friends with Chase, David and Joel. Campus life was always interesting with these guys, they are truly more like brothers. Now a little older, and married, their brotherly bond is still evident and distance can't keep them apart! Through my relationship with James and the GMU guys I was also able develop great friendships with their ladies. Elizabeth and I became friends on the summer project where James and I met in 2003. She actually met her husband Chase on that same summer project. I became friends with Arielle shortly after moving to VA, she was one of the first to reach out to me in the new town. I can still remember seeing her relationship with David bloom. Then there is Amy who is my newest friend. I can remember hearing about Joel being sweet on a girl from PA. When James and I moved to CA she was here open armed and ready to help us move and transition to the So Cal. life.
So this weekend was filled with so much fun and laughter. It was great to see our guys giddy to hang out with each other. I can still remember the reaction I got when the girls suggested that the boys could eat at their own table....they were so excited!!! haha! That is how the whole weekend pretty much went.
But for those of you are are interested here's the run down of events....On Friday night we had everyone came for a sleep over ...don't worry everyone had separate beds! In the morning we visited Hollywood and saw the stars. Then we went to Rodeo Drive and walked through Beverly Hills. Of course we had to get lunch at In-n-Out Burger! After lunch we went to Malibu where the boys played games on the beach, while the girls went walking and sun bathing. After the beach, it was a night out in Santa Monica for dinner. It was an action filled day...everyone was completely exhausted by the time we made it home.
On Sunday we all met back up and played put-put golf. James and I came in with a combined score for second place....I think.... :-) Then the guys went off to an NFL draft thing... and the girls went shopping! We spent the night at Amy and Joel's place that night, but not without going to Yogurt Land first!
Today, Monday, we spent just hanging out and enjoying eachother's company before our out of towners had to head back to the airport. Whew! I'm so tired! But this was such a fun and exciting weekend!!!! We felt blessed to have friends who would travel so far to just hang out with us. Thanks everyone!
As far a pictures...we took a LOT!!! I have to edit them still and James has already been working on a short movie clip of our weekend, surprise! We'll post them soon so keep your eyes peeled!!!
As many of you know James graduated from George Mason University, where he became close friends with Chase, David and Joel. Campus life was always interesting with these guys, they are truly more like brothers. Now a little older, and married, their brotherly bond is still evident and distance can't keep them apart! Through my relationship with James and the GMU guys I was also able develop great friendships with their ladies. Elizabeth and I became friends on the summer project where James and I met in 2003. She actually met her husband Chase on that same summer project. I became friends with Arielle shortly after moving to VA, she was one of the first to reach out to me in the new town. I can still remember seeing her relationship with David bloom. Then there is Amy who is my newest friend. I can remember hearing about Joel being sweet on a girl from PA. When James and I moved to CA she was here open armed and ready to help us move and transition to the So Cal. life.
So this weekend was filled with so much fun and laughter. It was great to see our guys giddy to hang out with each other. I can still remember the reaction I got when the girls suggested that the boys could eat at their own table....they were so excited!!! haha! That is how the whole weekend pretty much went.
But for those of you are are interested here's the run down of events....On Friday night we had everyone came for a sleep over ...don't worry everyone had separate beds! In the morning we visited Hollywood and saw the stars. Then we went to Rodeo Drive and walked through Beverly Hills. Of course we had to get lunch at In-n-Out Burger! After lunch we went to Malibu where the boys played games on the beach, while the girls went walking and sun bathing. After the beach, it was a night out in Santa Monica for dinner. It was an action filled day...everyone was completely exhausted by the time we made it home.
On Sunday we all met back up and played put-put golf. James and I came in with a combined score for second place....I think.... :-) Then the guys went off to an NFL draft thing... and the girls went shopping! We spent the night at Amy and Joel's place that night, but not without going to Yogurt Land first!
Today, Monday, we spent just hanging out and enjoying eachother's company before our out of towners had to head back to the airport. Whew! I'm so tired! But this was such a fun and exciting weekend!!!! We felt blessed to have friends who would travel so far to just hang out with us. Thanks everyone!
As far a pictures...we took a LOT!!! I have to edit them still and James has already been working on a short movie clip of our weekend, surprise! We'll post them soon so keep your eyes peeled!!!
mardi, août 12, 2008
Short Trip Home
As some of you may know I took a trip to Michigan for a long weekend. I flew home to celebrate my cousin's wedding shower and my Grandparents' 80th birthdays. I was so excited to go home. My plane was to leave on Thursday at 11pm CA time.
There were a billion things to get done before I got out the of work. As I was heading out of the building I decided to go down a stairwell I hadn't gone down before. Well I got down to the bottom lobby floor and pushed...but the door would not open. I kept pushing and pounding but still it wouldn't budge! I hiked back up to the third floor where my office is and that door was locked too! I had a key so I tried it, but the key was not for this particular door.
It was hot and all I could think was "ugghhhh....I really don't want to miss my flight!" Luckily I decided to call everyone I could think of in the office and pounded on the door as loudly as I could. A co-worker heard my banging and came to the rescue, though slightly confused as to why I was needing rescuing. There was really no time to explain. But I made it home and to the airport fine, despite being stuck in the stairwell at work. My flight was delayed an hour but I still managed to land in Lansing, MI by 10am on Friday.
After working all day and taking the red-eye to MI, I was pooped by the time we landed. But the sunshine did wonders and my Mom, Nanna, and I began to shop for the last minute wedding shower needs. Once home Mom had us help with assembling the decorations and preparing the food. My Boppa even came over and assisted us with putting little boxes together. It was fun to chat with everyone as we assembled the items. Shortly after Boppa arrived my Uncle Doug and Aunt Jane stopped in. It was so much fun! My brother and his wife Nicole arrived with their dog Bailey around dinner time, and my Dad came in from work. We were done with the preparations and enjoyed a relaxing night eating pizza, one of our favorites!
I awoke early the next morning for our double party. The shower first and the B-day dinner later. We packed up the cars and headed to the church. My family is amazing, they all came to the church early to help set up. Everyone pitched in and I believe the wedding shower was truly wonderful and beautiful thanks to everyone's help! My cousin Cathy and Matt had a great time and it was so nice to see everyone there to support them. Shortly after the shower was over, we had dinner at my Grandparents' favorite restaurant called Hersheys. It was wonderful to have the whole group there, minus James. We took pictures, had great food, and spent time chatting and catching up.
The next day I was able to see my friend Devon whom I don't get to see very much. It was such a joy, to see her again and pick up right where we left off the last time. Devon joked that our visits are are like an eclipse, rare and far between. We had fun talking about all the updates and where the Lord is leading us in our lives.Hopefully we'll get some more time again when I come home in October for my cousin's wedding. After visiting with Devon, my cousin Cathy and I had some one on one time too. How fun it was to catch up on her life and to hear all the wedding plans and preparations. It wasn't too long ago when James and I were in the same boat :)
Later on Sunday my Mom, Dad, and I went to the East Lansing Folk Festival. It was great! There were many really good bands playing. My favorite was an Arcadian band from Canada. They sang some songs in English and some in French. They danced and played at least two instruments each. So fun!!! The weather wasn't holding up though and it rained, so we went to see the movie "Swing Vote". A very cute movie with a great message.
Monday during the day my Grandparents and my Dad came over to each lunch with me and chat before I went to the airport. It was nice and relaxing! Before I knew it I was on a plan ride back to CA again. On the flight home someone had an allergic reaction and the plane took an emergency landing in New Mexico. So I didn't get to bed until late. When I came home James had fresh flowers for me!
It was weird to come back to CA where everything is dry, brown, and warm. MI had beautiful green grass and trees. The weather was even slightly cold and rainy. It's strange how when you're here in CA you start to miss the rain...even if it does make you want to stay inside. So that was my whirlwind trip to MI. I miss my family already!
James is working on a music video today! He met some great people over the weekend on the short film project. He went in really early this morning and I'm still waiting for him to get home. I so happy for him to have this opportunity. I can't wait to hear all about it. You'll have to check out his blog for more info on what it's about. I can't wait for this weekend. I'm hoping to finally get some quality hang out time with him.
The next two weeks are a little crazy at work. There are a lot of people coming into the office for meetings. It should be fun but busy! Some other fun news is that I recently found out that I will be going to DC for a work trip the week before my cousin's wedding. James will be able to join me and we'll most likely be able to see our family and friends in the DC/VA area! How cool huh?
Well that's it for now soon I'll post the pictures from my short trip home!
There were a billion things to get done before I got out the of work. As I was heading out of the building I decided to go down a stairwell I hadn't gone down before. Well I got down to the bottom lobby floor and pushed...but the door would not open. I kept pushing and pounding but still it wouldn't budge! I hiked back up to the third floor where my office is and that door was locked too! I had a key so I tried it, but the key was not for this particular door.
It was hot and all I could think was "ugghhhh....I really don't want to miss my flight!" Luckily I decided to call everyone I could think of in the office and pounded on the door as loudly as I could. A co-worker heard my banging and came to the rescue, though slightly confused as to why I was needing rescuing. There was really no time to explain. But I made it home and to the airport fine, despite being stuck in the stairwell at work. My flight was delayed an hour but I still managed to land in Lansing, MI by 10am on Friday.
After working all day and taking the red-eye to MI, I was pooped by the time we landed. But the sunshine did wonders and my Mom, Nanna, and I began to shop for the last minute wedding shower needs. Once home Mom had us help with assembling the decorations and preparing the food. My Boppa even came over and assisted us with putting little boxes together. It was fun to chat with everyone as we assembled the items. Shortly after Boppa arrived my Uncle Doug and Aunt Jane stopped in. It was so much fun! My brother and his wife Nicole arrived with their dog Bailey around dinner time, and my Dad came in from work. We were done with the preparations and enjoyed a relaxing night eating pizza, one of our favorites!
I awoke early the next morning for our double party. The shower first and the B-day dinner later. We packed up the cars and headed to the church. My family is amazing, they all came to the church early to help set up. Everyone pitched in and I believe the wedding shower was truly wonderful and beautiful thanks to everyone's help! My cousin Cathy and Matt had a great time and it was so nice to see everyone there to support them. Shortly after the shower was over, we had dinner at my Grandparents' favorite restaurant called Hersheys. It was wonderful to have the whole group there, minus James. We took pictures, had great food, and spent time chatting and catching up.
The next day I was able to see my friend Devon whom I don't get to see very much. It was such a joy, to see her again and pick up right where we left off the last time. Devon joked that our visits are are like an eclipse, rare and far between. We had fun talking about all the updates and where the Lord is leading us in our lives.Hopefully we'll get some more time again when I come home in October for my cousin's wedding. After visiting with Devon, my cousin Cathy and I had some one on one time too. How fun it was to catch up on her life and to hear all the wedding plans and preparations. It wasn't too long ago when James and I were in the same boat :)
Later on Sunday my Mom, Dad, and I went to the East Lansing Folk Festival. It was great! There were many really good bands playing. My favorite was an Arcadian band from Canada. They sang some songs in English and some in French. They danced and played at least two instruments each. So fun!!! The weather wasn't holding up though and it rained, so we went to see the movie "Swing Vote". A very cute movie with a great message.
Monday during the day my Grandparents and my Dad came over to each lunch with me and chat before I went to the airport. It was nice and relaxing! Before I knew it I was on a plan ride back to CA again. On the flight home someone had an allergic reaction and the plane took an emergency landing in New Mexico. So I didn't get to bed until late. When I came home James had fresh flowers for me!
It was weird to come back to CA where everything is dry, brown, and warm. MI had beautiful green grass and trees. The weather was even slightly cold and rainy. It's strange how when you're here in CA you start to miss the rain...even if it does make you want to stay inside. So that was my whirlwind trip to MI. I miss my family already!
James is working on a music video today! He met some great people over the weekend on the short film project. He went in really early this morning and I'm still waiting for him to get home. I so happy for him to have this opportunity. I can't wait to hear all about it. You'll have to check out his blog for more info on what it's about. I can't wait for this weekend. I'm hoping to finally get some quality hang out time with him.
The next two weeks are a little crazy at work. There are a lot of people coming into the office for meetings. It should be fun but busy! Some other fun news is that I recently found out that I will be going to DC for a work trip the week before my cousin's wedding. James will be able to join me and we'll most likely be able to see our family and friends in the DC/VA area! How cool huh?
Well that's it for now soon I'll post the pictures from my short trip home!
mercredi, juillet 02, 2008
Our Place Last Night
Last night James and I had some friends over for dinner. It was a fun night! Our friend Josh (whom we had met on our Summer Project trip to Wildwood, NJ in 2003) came over and brought his two friends who were married. It was wonderful to meet them, hang out, and chat together. Josh stayed to play the game Settlers with James and I. For the first time in a long while, I won which probably selfishly added to my enjoyment of the game :) haha! But really I think I was rather sneaky, and James didn't realize what I was planning until it was too late :)
It was nice to have people over and host again. It has been a long time since we've had groups of people over. It's quite strange when you think about it.... at our place in VA we would have people over all the time. We love hanging out with others and developing friendships...not to mention we love to play games! Last night reminded me of all of our friends from the DC area and all the dinners, desserts, games, adventures, and explorations we've had with them. I miss them all dearly and hopefully can see them all at some point when we return to visit northern VA. But for now the memories will have to do.
It was nice to have people over and host again. It has been a long time since we've had groups of people over. It's quite strange when you think about it.... at our place in VA we would have people over all the time. We love hanging out with others and developing friendships...not to mention we love to play games! Last night reminded me of all of our friends from the DC area and all the dinners, desserts, games, adventures, and explorations we've had with them. I miss them all dearly and hopefully can see them all at some point when we return to visit northern VA. But for now the memories will have to do.
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