Time Out for Erin

A few weekends ago I had the amazing opportunity to go to Time Out for Women with some of my great friends. Time Out is a women's conference put on by our church with speakers, musical presenters, question and answer sessions, and just a time when women of all ages and situations can come together for a little time to themselves and to be uplifted and strengthened. And what a terrific time we had. I felt so blessed to be there with such beautiful friends, and to be among such inspirational women. We had a fabulous time. What really stood out to me the most was the message that came across about all of us having self-worth, an incredible purpose, and how much our Heavenly Father loves each and every one of us individually. It was truly a powerful weekend, and one that I am so grateful for. Thanks girls, I loved every minute of our fun-filled weekend, and am so thankful to each one of you for your example in my life!

Me, Erin, Jen, and Karine taking time out for dinner before the event on Friday.

The four of us with Ardeth Kapp, the former YW general president. She was truly amazing!

When we were about to leave the event we saw Laurel (who we are standing with in this picture) at a booth near the exit. Laurel was the MC for the weekend and the most hilarious person! We just loved her, so we asked her to take a picture with us. She thought we were pretty silly, but we sure enjoyed it! :)

Poppi's "Truck"

At this point in time, the boys are OBSESSED with trucks. Every time we see on while we are driving in the car, they yell (yes....YELL) out "TRUCK!" Especially Dylan... he gets so excited about it that I sometimes think he is going to jump directly out of his car seat. For a special Daddy/Son outing the other day, Teage took them to the truck stop just a few exits from ours and let them sit in the back of the car and watch all of the trucks go in and out....what an amazing experience it all was for them! They yelled, they waved, and they ate McDonald's french fries while doing it...what could be better for two 20 month old little boys? :)

The other day while we were with my mom (or better known as Tutu) and stepdad (Poppi), they decided to surprise the boys by going to look at Poppi's "truck" (a large forklift that Poppi uses in his warehouse). When we got to the warehouse the boys seemed a bit confused, until Poppi showed them that the "truck" moved, and could pick up large crates of just about anything! Then they couldn't stop saying "truck truck!" and laughing hysterically. Poppi even let them sit on his lap in the stationary "truck". It was the cutest sight...they had a fabulous time and still talk about it weeks later!

Thanks Poppi!!!! :)

A Day of Surprises

I had a fantastic birthday this year! Thanks to some amazing friends and family, this year was a really special one for me. My great friend Kim arranged a day of surprises for me, starting with her coming all the way down from Bellingham to surprise me at work and take me out with my mom to lunch and a movie. Then another surprise when we met up with Karine, who I had no idea was here, for some shopping and girl time. Then last but not least, a big dinner where all of my wonderful friends throughout the years got together to surprise me with one of my favorite meals (a huge seafood fest at the Crab Pot!). What an amazing day. I even got flowers from my husband, and a gift from my boys. What more could a girl ask for???

Thanks so much Kim, and everyone, for making me feel so special on my birthday. I really had a terrific time and couldn't ask for better individuals to have around me. I love you guys!

This background is for you Mr. Rich!!!! :)

Miss you guys!

Celebrations!

So, I have a good friend who really loves to celebrate....well, anything. :) And since I am pretty much the same way, we came up with a plan to put a whole bunch of celebrations into one fun night and go to a play at Village Theater together. We were celebrating Teage's birthday, my birthday, Valentine's Day, my baptism anniversary, AND the fact that Teage and Nick both received job offers within one week of each other. Added bonus, they get to work in the same building even....and get to have lunch together practically everyday. What can I say? They were pretty darn excited about it. :)

Jen and I completely took advantage of a night out "on the town" (Issaquah is very exciting you know!), got all dressed up and made a big deal about where we were going and what we were doing. We saw the play 'The Importance of Being Earnest' which was put on amazingly by the cast. I couldn't believe how many lines they had to memorize! We watched in awe, had some silly fun during the intermissions (again...a night out for us is pretty great!), and took a ton of pictures. All in all, a great evening out with some great friends.

Thanks Jen and Nick, we had a fabulous time!!!

The girls...

The guys...trying to look non-chalant

Jen and I pretending we are a part of the show....boy are we silly! :)

Nick and his famous candy bar