Trip to Washington: Roommate Reunion

The last night we were in Washington we were lucky enough to have two of my roommates/friends from BYU-Idaho, and their handsome other halves, over for ice-cream. We had a great time with Shauna + Steve and Kersie + Kyle!  The guys were so great to put up with Brooks' shenanigans ;) while Kers, Shauna, and I had fun trying to get Ava to crack a smile (goodness that girl's poker face is unreal) and to show off her new-found baby steps. Loved every minute of catching up...and reminiscing, goodness I miss the good ol' college days. :) Love you ladies!

^^ Coaxing Ava with the phone..."Come on baby girl!" ^^

^^ Kersie and Ava's matching, lime green socks. :) ^^

^^ I can only hope that one day when Ava goes off to college she'll be blessed to have roommates like I had! ^^

College memories & best friend's upcoming wedding

College days with those ladies above were some of the funnest of my life!

I'm so grateful I was able to attend BYU-Idaho...I experienced so much personal growth (both spiritually and academically) and I was introduced to Adam, thanks to his sister Sharla! :) But before that sweet man came into life, it's where I met and became life-long friends and sisters with some of the most incredible girls I know! I went knowing my room-roommate, a friend from home, Shauna...she's pretty much the sweetest person with a heart of gold, lovely inside and out. And we happened to room with two awesome girls in the dorm, one of whom was Alyssa, this gorgeous and hilarious girl from Connecticut. She quickly became another sister. With them I scored the roommate jackpot. :) We shared clothes, went to dances together, took mini-road trips, stayed up late watching Fresh Prince of Belair while eating countless bowls of cold cereal, we "studied" together, met boys together, and shared so many laughs and hilarious moments that when summer came I don't know why I didn't go on strike and say I'm living there with those girls forever. Haha! But the next year managed to be just as awesome. Shauna, Lyss, and I lived off-campus in an apartment with 3 other girls...one of which was Kersie who had lived a few doors down from us in the dorms, and who happened to have grown up in Vancouver with Shauna and I but we had never really met. Kersie has the most giving heart, and always knows how to have a good time! Shoon, Lyss, and Kers made my college experience what it was. I'll treasure the memories we made f o r e v e r.

And while I am heading to Washington to spend time with Corrie before she leaves on her mission, I'm also going to see Kersie marry her best friend!! His name is Kyle and she says he is incredible and has such a good heart. I canNOT wait to meet him. :)  And before the wedding this weekend Shauna is throwing her a bachelorette party for her and to say I'm giddy about it is an understatement. We'll miss Alyssa though (living in Boston)!

The moral of the story is those girls have blessed my life...and I'm so glad we've all found such wonderful men! So, when are we going to plan that couples-campout ladies?? (teehee!)

A short but oh-so sweet visit...

Today one of my best friends from college was in town from Washington and came to spend the morning and afternoon with us!  The kids both adore Kersie...Brooks gave her lots of snuggles (means a lot from my sweet boy with the big personal bubble) and she got smiles galore from Ava.

Having Kers over definitely called for a breakfast of belgium waffles, topped with strawberries and LOTS of whipped cream.  :) Then after looking over proofs for her wedding invitations (she's getting married in August!!) and talking about wedding details, we changed the kids out of their PJs and headed on a walk to the park.  It was a beautiful day! And followed by frozen yogurt (thanks for the sweet treat Kers!), it was practically perfect.

Can't wait to see her again, and finally meet her sweetheart Kyle :) in just a couple months!

scenes from washington

The little man loooooooves mommy's glasses! Kept him busy on the plane :)

Flying to and from Washington, both Brooks and I were excited beyond reason!!!

As we were about to land at the Portland Airport my heart jumped thinking about seeing my family!

Yet after saying our goodbyes to my sweet family yesterday, we couldn't wait to see our sweetheart/daddy! :)

Washington was filled with such fun memories...

Going to Burgerville...twice :)

Making the most amazing blueberry muffins (twice)...will share recipe tomorrow!

Finding Corrie on her working route (she's a pest control salesman, is she not so stinkin' cute in her uniform??) and bringing pizza for a little sidewalk picnic...

Seeing KERSIE!!!

It was AMAZING to see Kersie again! She was absolutely glowing!! Talking and laughing with her made it feel like those 18 months had been just a couple weeks :) And Lauren (another old college roomie) was there too! Brooks loved Kersie too :) And she was so thoughtful to even get him an I *heart* NY shirt...so cute!

Eating Tillamook icecream and watching movies almost every night :)

Going to the Portland Temple with my Dad, Mom, and Corrie...it was practically perfect...just missing my forever sweetheart :)

Fires on the back porch for s'mores and roasting hot dogs...everything tastes better over a crackling fire :)

Listening to Kersie share her testimony and give her homecoming talk at church. I'll be posting more about his on Sunday :)

Happy 8th Birthday to my little cousin Ammon!

A very successful thrifting trip...50% off Mondays...yes please :) And Brooks was a bit of a sleepy thrifter ;) But woke up just in time to play with some fun toys with Grandma, thanks for the toys Mom!

A little trip into Portland...love that city. Brooks LOVED the fountains and giant chess set :)

While looking for granite for my parents' kitchen, Brooks got a "ride" on a fork lift! His favorite part was the horn ;)

Sushi with friends!! Posting more about this later :)

Games...Brooks LOVED playing games with Grandma :) Be it Scrabble, tossing balls, or chase...there was LOTS of chase :)

Cars with Grandpa!

Brooks was a just waking up from a nap when we gave my Dad/little B's Grandpa our belated Father's Day present...Brooks painted it just for Grandpa Stum :)

We said our goodbyes and raced through the airport to make our flight...it was a great flight, and after I was shown such kindness by 3 different people, helping me around the airport with my bags and even making room on a bench for me and my sleeping babe in arms so I could rest while waiting for my in-laws to pick us up (Adam was in a bishopric meeting).

And it turned out Adam had his parents call me as if they were on their way to pick us up...but really Adam surprised us! WE WERE SO HAPPY TO SEE HIM!!!!!!

It was such a sweet trip! But as always, it's wonderful to be home :)