Blogging Catch Up.

Yes. It really has been 6 weeks since I last did a post. In my defense- we moved in to a new house; and had to paint and unpack, etc... A week after we moved in we went to Seattle for Nick's graduation and then headed up to Wolf Creek (in Eden, UT) for a family vacation. And so on...

None of these posts include anything about the house- but I will get around to that sometime. It is so nice to have a permanent place to live.

I have done the posts in somewhat of a chronological order (the most recent ones being the last, and the older events being the first. I think they take up like; 10 posts). So, for those of you who have time on your hands, enjoy the long time it will take you to look and read all of them.

The most, recent, recent event was our trip to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house. The LDS temples are such beautiful buildings. The craftsmanship and exquisite architecture are breathtaking! Here are a few pictures from that little outing.

Also, I just wanted to post a few pictures to show how much Reagan loves her Grandpa Kevin. My Dad is so good to play with Reagan and he spends hours upon hours walking around with her. I think these pictures are so cute.

Wolf Creek

And that concludes my million recent posts of praise about Seattle (but, yes- it really is that great.)

A day after we got back from Seattle my parents treated us all to a family vacation at the Wolf Creek resort. Heather is 8 months pregnant so any real travel is out of the question. This is the second time my parents have booked a vacation at the resort and it is the second time we have had a lot of fun. The house they rent is enormous and nearly new. To give you an idea... along with everyone having their own bedroom and bathroom the house also includes a game room and a theater room. Who wouldn't have fun?

One of the days at Wolf Creek my Dad rented a boat and we went out on Pineview Reservoir. Of course, Reagan-being the water baby that she is- was in Heaven. She loved the sandy beach, and the water. She wasn't as in love with her lifejacket that we made her wear when we were out on the water; but at least she didn't cry because I made her keep it on. She did, however, cry when I went out to go wakeboarding. My Mom said that when I jumped in the water Reagan started to cry, and that after that she was nervous and kept scanning the water looking for me. It felt good to know that my child is attached to me; but I was kind of disappointed that I had to get out of the water to comfort her. I was doing halfway decent on the wakeboard and I think with more practice I would have gotten even better. Oh well, it just meant that I had to leave my little brother, Brian, to do all of the impressing stuff on the wakeboard.

Grateful

Living in Seattle while Nick attended the University of Washington turned out to be such a blessing. At first I was devastated that we would be moving to Washington. I didn't want to step outside of my comfort-zone. I wanted stay in Utah near my family, near my job, etc... In fact I can still vividly remember crying as my Dad left for the airport, after helping us move in to the apartment and begging him "not to leave me here". Turns out, the move was the best thing that ever happened to us. Nick got a superior education, our marriage was strengthened, we both ended up with jobs we loved, and we made the most amazing friends.

I want to take this time to thank everyone who made this experience possible.

Our parents were by-far the biggest supporters. We'll never be able to repay them for all of the many things they did for us. We were so glad that both sets of parents were able to be in Seattle with us to celebrate. Without them none of it would have been possible. We love them, and Reagan is so lucky to have grandparents that adore her so much. Mom and Dad's, you're the greatest.

We also have our friends, that we also refer to as our "Seattle Family". When things were hard, at least I knew that I wasn't the only one going through it. Nick and his three friends were infamous in the pharmacy program. Never fail, the four of them sat on the back row of every class (I am sure they were partially goofing-off and partially learning :) They did several intramural sports together- including winning the championship for football in Husky stadium!

Four babies were born to the four couples that comprised our Seattle family. And four jobs are taking all four families away from Seattle to experience life in other parts of the U.S. Nick and I both get sentimental when we think about our life in Seattle, and these people were a big part of making Seattle such a good experience. It is kind of sad to know that chapter of our life is through. But I get cheered up every time I think of the trip we have planned as a sort of class reunion. The four of us are doing a 5 year reunion in Hawaii. Can't wait.

The BIG Event! Nick's Graduation.

Nick Graduated!!!!! My handsome husband now has a doctorate degree. Who would have thought that the goof-off from Cyprus High School would have made it this far? ME! I always knew Nick was brilliant. I saw the potential long before we ever got to this point.

The ceremonies were all wonderful. Every time I saw Nick in his graduation robes my heart welled with pride.

Here he is at the hooding ceremony, where they hood the graduate candidates with their doctoral hood.

Nick's best friend, Garrett, was chosen by all of his pharmacy school peers to be the one to deliver the graduation speech. The speech was a rousing- call-to-action for his fellow pharmacists to make sure that pharmacists have a voice in the health-care field. Nick and Garrett both spent so much time playing XBOX 360 at night that I sometimes wondered if they were both getting their homework done??? Apparently, they were- because they both graduated; and both of them passed the pharmacy and pharmacy law exams.

Once again, I just have to brag about how amazing Dr. Nick is. My hubby is a genius, and now a Doctor to boot!

More Seattle.... St. Edward's & Good Friends

We went to St. Edward's park. This park is amazing. It is right on the water of Lake Washington AND the playground is really cool. We took Reagan and she had a great time!

I was so happy to be able to spend time with my two best "Seattle Friends". I wish I could have taken them both with me to UT.

Kathleen was my fun friend! We always had a good time & she was there for me any time I needed her. She is so sweet to Reagan, and I really wish that she were closer so that Reagan could see her more. While we were in town Kathleen and I met up for Breakfast at Sunflour cafe. Reagan was a bit of a pill (she spilled her juice onto Nick's crotch as we were walking in to b-fast. So, Nick spent the rest of the time walking around with Reagan strategically held over his shorts. I thought it was hilarious. Nick, not so much.). Anyway, even though Reagan was fussy, she still loves Kathleen. When she sees this pictures she points at Kathleen with her chubby little finger. :)

Kris and Phil were kind enough to have us over to their house for a BBQ. Kris was my confidante and all-around best friend in Seattle. We went through the crappy times together (working at TCB) and the great-times together (working at Viking). I miss Kris more than words can say. After all, I spent 8 hours a day with her M-F; for over three years! I will be forever grateful that Kris was kind enough to hire me all of those years ago, and I am very glad that we became the friends we are.

Of course, I was looking forward to seeing Kris- most of all! And showing off Reagan's cuteness. But Reagan had other plans. She was a little monster- at their house! I felt like I kept having to assure them that she really was a good baby. We will have to get together again- so that I can prove that Reagan is an angel. (in this picture Reagan is shirtless because she spilled Rootbeer all over herself- AND Kris's floor AND Kris's dining room table.... in this picture Reagan is also trying to terrorize poor Bella. I am sure you get the idea of how the evening went). Oh well, it was good to visit and be with friends.

Pike's

A Tourist destination Nick and I never got sick of was Pike Place Market. We used to get up on Saturday mornings and we would head to Pike's to eat, eat, eat. We still miss not being able to do that on a regular basis. It was one of our favorite traditions.

So, of course, we had to make a trip. Donuts, Phiroshky's, Taxi Dog's, Shrimp Cocktail- samples, samples and more samples we filled our tummies! Just thinking about it is making my mouth water. We have a million pictures of us standing in front of the Market sign. But now we have one with our little Seattle family. I love it.

Ducks

We lived in Seattle for over 3 years and thought we had done most of the "touristy" stuff. But while we lived there we never rode the Ducks (the Ducks are land and water vehicles that were used in WWII. You can ride these vehicles on a tour around the Seattle streets and then they "splash down" in to the water and you get to go on a little boat ride around Lake Union-without ever having to leave your seat). They are pretty cool, but I thought the cost was too expensive. We finally choked up the $25/ticket while we were there, and had a good time. At least now we can say we rode the Ducks. Reagan was tired and slept most of the trip, thankfully, we didn't have to pay for her ticket :)

Seattle Water Baby

Reagan is all about water. She has started liking bathtime again (thank goodness!). I think the reason she loves water is because she was born in Seattle.

While in Seattle we went to U-village (a shopping mall). There was a fountain outside of H&M (I miss that store SO much). So, while I shopped Nick let Reagan play in the water. If he would have let her, she would have jumped in fully clothed!

Also, Reagan had a great time running up and down the pier while we were eating dinner at Duke's Chowder House. Nothing beats dining outside on the water! Nick and I still lament, ON A DAILY BASIS, the fact that there are no dining establishments that are anywhere near the caliber of those in Seattle. McCormick and Schmick's- PLEASE build a restaurant in Salt Lake City!

Home Sweet Home- SEATTLE!

As soon as we stepped off of the plane it felt like we had come home. My skin was grateful for the moisture in the air! I hardly used any lotion while we were in town- as opposed to the gallons I have to SWIM in each day because of the arid UT climate. Also, everything was just familiar- and we were able to recall so many happy memories. I knew it would be hard to go back to Seattle, knowing we wouldn't be staying. It's almost funny, because I hated the first year of living in Seattle (mainly due to the fact that I had a job that was miserable!). But once we got settled Nick and I adored Seattle, and feel more like Seattleites than Utahns!

We stayed in the surprisingly nice AND clean Studio 6 Hotel. Thanks to Jill for giving me a heads-up on how to travel with a toddler! We put Reagan's pack-n-play in the kitchen (the idea being that we could have space between each other- so that she wouldn't see or hear us and get distracted from sleeping). It worked as well as things could, considering that Reagan wasn't in her own bed at home.

The only downside to the whole trip was the rental car. First: I felt like I was living in the Seinfeld episode where Jerry has a disaster at the Rental Car Counter "yes, I will take the rental car insurance, because I am going to beat that car to hell!". When all was said and done we ended up with a sweet (not) Chevy Impala. At one point we had six people in the car- with my parents and me riding in the front bench-seat "cowboy style". It was totally ghetto.

Kicking off the summer by heading to the zoo!

My Dad got a job for the summer at Morgan Stanley in New York City (he works there M-TH and comes back to UT on the weekends). It's not too much of a change, because he worked in NYC and Chicago a lot with Merrill Lynch. But we thought we'd do something fun before he started his first day, and so we decided to take the kids to the zoo. It was super-hot (I had forgotten about the intensity of dry heat in the desert.) AND most of the time we had to wrestle with Reagan because she wanted to get in to the animal enclosures! I am not an "animal fan"- how on earth did my child turn in to an animal lover?!