free weekend

Free weekends during the year are few and far between since I coach soccer in the fall and Brett coaches baseball in the spring. So when we do have one, we like to take advantage of it. Whether that means just relaxing at home or traveling to visit friends for a couple days, we soak it up when we can. This was one of those weekends - we went to Astoria to visit our good friends, Scott and Sage, who we don't get to see too often. This picture is from a few years ago at Scott and Brett's graduation. It was the most recent pic I could find of us all.



It was a short visit, but totally worth it. We spent the morning on the beach where Sage was nice enough to take some family pictures of us. Then the boys stayed home to watch football and nap, while Sage and I went out to some antique stores with coffee in hand. . . perfect fall day. We ended the day with a yummy dinner of salmon and steak followed by apple pie and ice cream. It was nice to get out as a family and see some friends at the same time. Hope you all had a great weekend as well!

another auntie sara(h)

Sarah came and spent this last weekend with me while Brett went up to Washington to spend some time with Justin and help him build a deck. We got a little girl time, they got a little boy time. . . it was perfect.

We stayed up late talking, enjoyed some good food and coffee, watched chick flicks, played with Wyatt, and simply enjoyed each other's company. There's nothing like quality time with your best friend and it was wonderful having her here. The pic doesn't show it, but she has the cuuutest baby belly ever!! Just about 1 more month to go and her 2nd baby boy will be arriving. I can't wait to meet him. Our boys are going to be such good little buddies.

The alumni soccer game was this Saturday, which is the main reason Sarah came down, even though she couldn't play (you know, being preggo and all). But I played. . . and I died. . . so out of shape! The alumni ended up losing 3 or 4 to 1 (can't remember the exact score), but at least we scored a goal. It was fun seeing past teammates/friends and it's amazing how much we've all grown up. Some engaged, some married, some pregnant, some with babies, etc. My how time flies.

All that to say, my weekend was fantastic (minus the SUPER sore body when I woke up Sunday morning)! Thanks again for coming, Sarah. We miss you already!

we've been busy (part 2)

4th of July weekend with the Officer's . . .


It's becoming a tradition. Spending the 4th of July in Steilacoom, WA with our good friends. And we look forward to doing it again next year.

with the officer's & muri's. . . like family :)

the girls around the fire. . . while the boys made "fire" of their own with home-made fireworks.

nothing like a small town celebration!

* i know i'm missing any pictures of the bubs on his first 4th of July...but he slept through everything and you can only have so many pictures of a sleeping baby.

we've been busy (part 1)

Woah...has it really been over a month since i last blogged? Oops...ah well, I'm back now and I'm sure none of you really "missed" me. If you did, it was probably more the pictures of Wyatt that you were missing, huh? It's okay, you can be honest. I won't be offended. He's way cuter than me, so I get it. :)

So yes, we've been busy. Busy travelling, spending time with family and friends, celebrating birthdays, watching Wyatt get bigger and cuter by the minute, and just trying to enjoy the summer, despite all the homework Brett's been doing for his master's classes.

I feel like there's just too much to post about, so I whipped up a calendar of what we've been up to for the last month and a half. . . and what we have still coming up. As much fun as it's been seeing family and friends, all the travelling has worn me out! It's good to be home . . . (even if it is only for another week).

Here are some pictures from trip 1 of our summer....more to come later.

my beautiful parents

grandma & wyatt

great grandma & wyatt


grandpa & wyatt watching the world cup game



sara rocks the short hair, doesn't she?

Uncle Sam & Wyatt's first meeting...they really loved each other!

on the road...again

As I mentioned before, more pictures of our summer will be coming later. Look back for "part 2" soon.

A Busy November

I can't believe it's already November. I'm just about halfway through my pregnancy (what...already!?!), the holidays are right around the corner, and so much is going on this month.

I just got back from a 10-day trip to Hawaii with my 2 best friends, Sarah and Lyndsey, and it was such a great time. I'm sure I could take up quite a bit of this blog post with all the fun, relaxing and crazy times we had, but instead, I'll just post a couple of pictures.

The pictures include:

* a hike into Green Sands Beach

* snorkeling at Snorkel Beach

* dinner in our Halloween costumes, provided by Sarah

* and a day at the Hilton

I just returned from Hawaii on Friday night and I'm only home for a week before heading out again to go be with my family. I'll spend a week in San Francsico, helping out with my sister's chemo treatment in the hospital, and then home to Nevada for the week of Thanksgiving. It will be really good to see my family, but my poor husband...he is having to survive without me for 3 out of the 4 weeks this month.

So...in this week that I am actually home...

We get to find out if our little one is a he or a she, and we can't wait. As I've mentioned before, Brett thinks it's a boy, and I think it's a girl. Our ultrasound is on Tuesday afternoon at 4, so come back on Wednesday to find out who's right.

Here is my 19 week baby belly:

Happy 4th!

We were able to enjoy another fun visit with the Officer's this weekend and it was a great way to spend the 4th of July. Hope it was an enjoyable weekend for all of you as well!

A Great Visit

We were so blessed to be able to spend this past weekend up in Washington with good friends.

We arrived on Friday afternoon and just like "old times" Justin and Brett went golfing, while Sarah and I (and Sterling) went to coffee. We also enjoyed a fabulous dinner together that night. Thank you, Officer's - rice and all :)

Saturday afternoon we headed up to Seattle where we walked around for a few hours before heading to the Mariner's game that night. Sarah's mom watched Sterling so we were able to enjoy the afternoon/evening baby free. It was a wonderful time.

Sunday morning the boys went frisbee golfing and Sarah and I enjoyed a nice walk down to the water and around town. It was so refreshing and a wonderful time spent with each other. After a great lunch with Sarah's family, we headed back to Salem.

(yep, that's a lemon in Sarah's hand - he loves them - although this face sort of shows otherwise)

I'm already looking forward to another visit. Hopefully we'll see them again for the 4th of July weekend. We can't stay away for long.

P.S. If you haven't already, click on the picture collage of my sister to the right and take a look at her website. We're updating it with all the latest news. She handled her first chemo treatments like a champ and was just released from the hospital today. She'll be home for about 2 weeks before going back for the next treatments. Thank you all for your continued love and support and most of all prayer. We appreciate you all!

Our Friends

are

a) gone

b) moved to washington

c) miles and miles away instead of seconds away

d) all of the above

We will miss them ... TERRIBLY!

I've truly been dreading this day for the last several months. We spent most of the day helping them pack up. And even while we were taping up boxes, loading the vehicles and cleaning up the place, it wasn't really hitting me that they were actually moving. It didn't hit me until they drove away, but "Oh boy!" did it HIT me then.

Not to worry...we'll be seeing them in 3 short weeks for a quick weekend visit. Thank goodness! I have a feeling those quick weekend visits will need to happen often.

a sleepover :)

On Friday night we had the pleasure of watching this little guy

(don't worry - I let him tear up this old phone book)

so that these two

could go on this birthday suprise.

It's always so much fun for us to have Sterling! Having him overnight gave me my first "real" taste of motherhood and contrary to what others might think about taking a baby overnight that's not yours - it didn't make me any less excited to have my own. :)

friendship like this...

needs no words.

Game Night

We are part of an awesome small group through our church and this week instead of our normal get together, we decided to have a game night. It was all about Rock Band, baby! :) This was my first time playing, but I think I had a pretty decent showing on the drums (even though I'm pretty sure it's the easiest one to do). Maybe next time I'll brave one of the other instruments. Thanks Tim and Jessie, for hosting a night of fun and fellowship.

And just because he's so darn cute and I can't get enough of this face...

:)

When I Can't Sleep

It doesn't happen often, but when I can't sleep...

I organize (or re-organize for that matter). Most of the stuff in my house is already organized to the umpteenth degree - I think some people call it OCD :). Regardless, I reorganize - my closet, my dresser drawers, my kitchen cabinets, my magazines, my craft supplies, my junk drawer (which isn't that supposed to be unorganized?), my email folders, and most recently, my picture files on my computer. As I was going through all of these files, I came across some pretty funny pictures. Pictures that brought back many memories as well as a few good laughs. I thought I would share some of these with all you past soccer girls out there so you can have a laugh or two yourselves. I didn't put captions, but I'm pretty sure the pictures speak for themselves. Enjoy! :)

Classic!