Rain, Green Grass, and Starbucks, Oh My!

This past month, we went on an epic road trip with some of our friends.

Anyone that has known me for awhile knows that Seattle has been my top place to visit for quite some time now. I have always been intrigued by it and the allure of lots of rainy days has always made it a must in my book.

So when a couple of our friends invited us to go on a road trip that would involve stops in Oregon and Washington, I knew this was finally my chance to make my dream come true.

We started off the first night of our trip camping near some awesome sand dunes in Oregon. We had a lot of fun exploring the dunes and taking lots of pictures and videos. It was so incredibly beautiful. We got to enjoy our dinner and s'mores around the campfire before it started to rain. And it rained all.night.long. Thankfully, our tent kept us dry and the sound of the rain actually made it quite easy to fall asleep and stay asleep.

On our way!

 The dunes

 My friend K.M. and I

 The boys being crazy

The next day, we drove up to Seattle. As this was my first time in both Oregon and Washington, I was pretty excited passing over the state lines. We were able to clean up and head out for a night on the town. We ate at this really awesome restaurant called Local 360 (I highly recommend it if you're in the area). My mom had told Josh that we needed to try the king salmon when we were in Seattle, and lucky for me, it was one of the specials of the day at the restaurant. And let me tell you, it was amazing! After our amazing dinner, we went up the Space Needle! I was super excited to do this, even though it's a pretty tourist-y thing to do. The views from the top were incredible. After that, we walked to a place called the Pie Bar, which is just what it sounds like. We lucked out and were able to get seats inside, which was hard as they were super busy (and the place is really small to begin with). We each ordered a different kind of pie and a beverage to go with it. We left there incredibly full and very happy. Every pie I got to try even a small taste of was delicious. And you can order it to go!

 Local 360

 View from the bottom

 And from the top

 Desserted Island pie with strawberry champagne

The next morning, we got ready and headed back into the city. We started our day trying to find the original Starbucks. We got the address wrong at first and ended up at a different Starbucks, but soon figured out it couldn't have been that location. So we walked down to the Public Market and finally found it! It was well worth the 30 minute long line just to get in the store. It was a very tiny location with no seating inside or outside, but they had some fun finds that you could only purchase there, and they treated everyone that walked into the store so well. I'm so glad we were willing to wait for experience that.

 First Starbucks!

 I had to get a mug to commemorate our visit

We continued to walk through the Market and stopped to watch the famous fish guys do their thing. As it was a Saturday, the Market was really busy but we were able to walk through the whole thing and check out all the cool stuff there. We wanted to eat a cheaper lunch, so some of us bought food from street vendors and others of us had chowders from Pike Place Chowder (which was incredible). We continued our day after that by walking around the city some more and ended up taking a ferry over to Bainbridge Island. As it went from pouring before we got on the ferry to being extremely warm when we got off the ferry, we didn't stay on the island too long. We walked down to the waterfront and hopped on the next ferry to take us back. After that, we walked to a bakery I had looked up before our trip that was supposed to have incredible cupcakes and macarons...and it did not disappoint. We then headed back to our hotel, as we had done a lot of walking that day, and ordered pizza for dinner. We ate our goodies from Yellow Leaf for dessert and went to bed semi-early, as we had more driving to do.

 These guys are hilarious

 On the ferry

The macarons we bought at Yellow Leaf

The next morning, we packed up and headed for Oregon. Before arriving in Portland, we stopped at the Multnomah Falls. It was so beautiful there. We were able to get some great pictures of the falls and enjoyed our little pit stop there. We then headed into Portland and grabbed some lunch from some of the food trucks downtown. It was incredible how different it felt to go from Seattle to Portland. After lunch, we headed to Distillery Row and bought passports to go tasting at the different distilleries. The passport allowed for each person to taste at six different distilleries, and you didn't have to visit each of them in the same day. As six would have been a lot to do, we decided to only try four. We had a lot of fun and it was really nice that the ones we choose to go to were all within walking distance of each other. After that, we headed to our hotel to check in and get freshened up before dinner. We went to Deschutes for dinner and it was amazing. After dinner, we walked around downtown Portland a bit. We tried to go to a fun ice cream place for dessert, but the line was super long.

Our whole group in front of the falls

On the bridge

One of the cocktails they made us at one of the distilleries

The next day, we headed back to downtown Portland and walked along the waterfront while one of our friends that went with us (who is a professional photographer) did a quick photo session with a couple he knew. After that, we headed to Voodoo Donut and each ordered two amazing donuts. We then walked around downtown for awhile and headed into Powell's Books. It was a little overwhelming, as it has multiple stories and tons and tons of books, but it was definitely my kind of place. After doing some more walking around, we decided to head to Por Que No for lunch. I wish I could say that I enjoyed it, but I didn't. I think part of it was because I wasn't feeling the best at that point (I think the heat and all the walking was really getting to me), but I also think I'm a little spoiled where I live to have some really good Mexican food. And to me, this was more mediocre. Since I wasn't feeling the best and everyone else was tired of walking, we headed back to the hotel to take naps and rest a little. It was much needed and I felt so much better after. Later that evening, we headed over to Salt and Straw and got ice cream (this is the place we tried to go the first night). They had some crazy flavors (like Pear and Blue Cheese) but even the weird sounding ones that I tried were good. I ended up getting a scoop of Birthday Cake and Blackberries, and Strawberry with Cilantro Lime Cheesecake. So good! After that, we headed back to the hotel and ended up getting some dinner a little while later (nothing exciting for dinner). 

 We had to wait in a little bit of a line to get into Voodoo

And the next day we headed home!

Overall, I can definitely say that Seattle is my kind of place. Portland was fun to visit, but it wasn't really my most favorite place. There definitely seemed to be some other interesting places to eat that we didn't get to try, but I felt like we got to see most of the popular sights there.

I am so glad we were able to take this trip and experience these fun places with good friends. And now I can check Seattle off my Bucket List!

Hello June

It seems my blogging these days mostly consists of monthly updates as to what I've been up to.

While there are times that I miss sharing more personal thoughts on a regular basis, I do really enjoy being able to have a tangible place to save memories of fun times.

Since I last left off (not including our friend's wedding), we celebrated the birth of my oldest friend's baby (who is due to arrive any day now!). It was a really special time of being able to bless her and to celebrate new life.

 Me and the glowing momma

And with my sister

We spent Father's Day with my family and had a great lunch together. It's always so good to spend quality time with everyone all together.

Later that week, a couple of friends and I went for a girls day out. Sometimes you just need some quality girl time and I'm so glad that we did it. It was a really good day with serious conversations, good food, and a lot of laughs. We walked around a city, went wine tasting, and enjoyed two meals together. It was a really fun day.

Also mixed in the month of June were Bachelorette nights with my sister-in-law, our marrieds group, a couple of friend hang outs, a concert that our friends's band was a part of, lots of Harry Potter reading with my book club friends (and lots of discussion about it), and a really fun trip that deserves its own post.

We are friends with all of the guys in the band. They played some newer songs they've been working on that were awesome!

All in all, June was a good month. We had a little more down time than we've had in previous months, so that was pretty exciting. I've been really enjoying the fact that I've had more time to read (and have had friends that I'm reading with that are helping me to kick my butt into gear when it comes to reading). It's also just been nice to have more time to spend with Josh and to have more down time. I'm a girl that needs quite a bit of alone time to function well (introvert, anyone?), so that's always good for my soul.

Precious Love

We spent this past weekend celebrating love.

One of Josh's childhood best friends got married to the love of his life. Josh was asked to be a groomsmen, and got to go on a fun white water rafting trip for the bachelor party last week.

We went to the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner on Friday. I was blown away at how beautiful their venue was, as I'd never even heard of it before. The restaurant the rehearsal dinner was at was really nice and located in a really cool building. We had a great time that evening laughing, eating and drinking with some good friends. The food was phenomenal! I didn't hear anyone complain about anything they ordered. It was really, really good. It also happened to be the restaurant that our soon-to-be married friends went to on their first date. So it was a pretty special night for all of us.

Me and my handsome date at the rehearsal dinner 

The groom-to-be saying a few words

The groom's dad gave the most precious speech at the rehearsal dinner. My favorite thing that he said was, "What started as a twinkle in your eye has become more than a best friend. This is your life partner and by looking upward you are welded in a bond that many people will never experience". It definitely made a lot of us a little teary eyed.

We snuck in a few pictures before the ceremony started

The following day, the boys had to be at the venue early for pictures, so I rode to the wedding later with some of the ladies. The ceremony itself was incredibly precious. Seeing our friend crying as his wife-to-be walked down the aisle to him was so sweet. It is very obvious how much they love each other.

3/4 of dot35 

dot35 wives!

This was the first wedding that I've been to that the dates of the wedding party got to sit at the head table with them. It was a nice surprise. We had a really yummy dinner and then toasts. I cracked up and cried a lot during the toasts.

 Toast time

 Brothers

Sisters

The first dance was precious. They had obviously practiced a little routine together and it was really sweet. I had to stop myself from bawling during the father/daughter dance when Butterfly Kisses came on. It's been a long time since I've heard that song and it just was a little overwhelming to watch this beautiful girl dancing with her daddy to that song. And the mother/son dance was also very precious.

First dance

Father/daughter dance

 Mother/son dance

We had a lot of fun dancing. All of the husbands danced with their wives (woohoo!) and we had a couple of huge groups dancing during certain songs. The bride and groom left the venue in-between two lines of sparklers. It was so fun.

 dot35

 dot35 wives in order of marriage (from left to right: last to first)

All the boys and their wives 

The boys helped load some stuff up and then we went out for drinks and snacks. It was a very full weekend, but it was a really fun one. This best friend of Josh's was the last in his group of friends to get married. I'm sure I've mentioned dot35 before on this blog, but it's what they've called themselves ever since jr. high. It was really fun to officially welcome the last dot35 wife into the fold. And even though they will be living out of state for awhile, we are really excited that the group is now complete.

I love these girls so much

It's amazing to me that my husband has had such a solid group of guy friends that have walked through life with him, in all sorts of different stages, for the past 17 years (or more). I am so thankful for who these men have been and will hopefully continue to be in his life. And I'm thankful for their wives and what they've already been in my life.

Cheers to our newly married friends!

Life is Beautiful

This past month has been full of so much goodness.

I've been spending a lot of time with my friend who was overseas. We've been able to get together weekly since she's been back here. It's been a lot of fun being able to catch up with her, as well as to get to know my goddaughter better. Josh and I went out to dinner with the two of them last week and had such a good time.

Our littlest dinner date...our gorgeous goddaughter  

My oldest friend and her beautiful daughter...I'm so excited to meet my nephew (who's hiding in this picture) in about a month or so!

We saw SpiderMan and X-Men with some friends.

Josh went on a short guys' retreat and I spent the evening with some beautiful young women. We ate pizza, hung out in the spa, watched The Pirate Fairy movie, and talked about Jesus. It was such a fun night.

We celebrated Mother's Day and my dad's birthday with my family. We were able to spend the whole day with my parents, and my sister and her husband. It was a really fun day.

My book club friends and I decided to start reading Harry Potter together, as one of us has never read it before! As my friend Megh and I are in love with all things Harry Potter, we decided we had to read it together. It's been so fun being able to re-read the books and to chat about them.

I went to a bridal shower for the fiance of one of Josh's best friends (the last of dot35 to get married). It was a lot of fun.

We also went to a wedding reception/open house for our friends that got married a couple of months ago. They had a very small ceremony and decided to do a little party to celebrate with those they weren't able to invite to the wedding.

I just love this kid

My oldest niece turned 7! Even though we weren't able to celebrate with her, we were able to chat with her on FaceTime on her birthday. I can't believe she is already that old! It seems like just yesterday we were heading to see her after they brought her home from the hospital.

A collage I made of my niece for her birthday

I had a fun wine night with the friends I went wine tasting with in January. We have decided to try and make our wine nights a more regular occurrence. It's just a fun evening of eating, sipping a little wine, and diving into each other's lives. I'm really enjoying our evenings together.

We went to a two-year-old's birthday party. I can't believe how quickly these kids grow up. I went to see this little beauty in the hospital after she was born. And her first birthday seems like it was just a month or two ago. It's crazy how fast time flies...

We celebrated my sister-in-law's birthday with a fun night of Mexican food and the Bachelorette. And a little bit of wine and milkshakes from Sonic. It was a good night.

This girl loves Uncle Josh. And loves playing on his iPad with him

I went dancing with some friends at our favorite place. We always have a lot of fun dancing to some of our favorite (and even a few of our not-so-favorite) songs.

And this past weekend, our friends from CO flew in to celebrate the graduation of an awesome young man that Josh and I have had the privilege of knowing for the past seven and a half years. It's hard to believe he'll be heading off to college in a few months!

I went over on Saturday morning and stole my CO bestie so we could grab breakfast together. It was such a good start to the day. We seriously have the best conversations and she always challenges me and encourages me in such amazing ways. We then went to that young man's graduation party. It was so fun to be reunited together with some friends we haven't seen in a while or don't get to see in the same capacity anymore. Josh and I spent most of the day over there with them and then went out with our friends from CO. We laughed and had some more good conversations and laughed some more. Our friendship with them is so easy and we are so grateful for them.

 I made sure we took this picture, especially since we didn't take a lot of pictures when we went to CO this year...and we took no pictures with John!

Today my book club friends and I were able to get together in person, as my CO bestie is a part of our club (and happens to be the one that is reading Harry Potter for the first time!). We met up in a Starbucks and talked Harry Potter for almost two hours...and then kept the party going with lunch. Our friends had to fly back home today, which is always so bittersweet for me, but I am so thankful we were able to spend so much time together. There's never enough time, but the time that we do have together is so sweet.

My BCB. Otherwise known as my CA bestie and my CO bestie. I love these girls so very much

And tonight we celebrated my brother-in-law's birthday. It was a really fun evening spent with both sides of the family (his and mine).

A couple of not-so-fun things happened this month as well:

My grandma had to have brain surgery, as she had some complications from a bad fall earlier this year. Thankfully she made it through just fine and is at home recovering. It was definitely a scary couple of days, though.

I also tried something this month to try and help with my pain issues. As hopeful as I was that it would make a difference, it really just made me miserable and jacked me up a bit. It was a two-week thing and I've been done with it for over two weeks now...and I'm just now starting to feel more like myself again. I'm glad I tried it, to rule out one more thing on this journey, but I really wish it wouldn't have been so awful...and that it would have helped!

Overall, this past month was a really good one. The rest of June is pretty busy and crazy...but it's also going to be a lot of fun. I'm really looking forward to all we have planned.