Cross Country Adventures

What a whirlwind! We are back from vacation and I cannot believe how fast it sped by. Looking back, it was a fabulous vacation, but not particularly relaxing. It was so much fun and we got to do and see so many things, but now we feel like we need a vacation to recover from our vacation! Still, I don't think I would change any of it and I am so thankful for all the new experiences.

We started out in Seattle, where we did the "touristy" things like going up the Space Needle and going to a very cool market - more about that in the next post. Brad loved Seattle and said he wants to go back. I had fun but was much more excited to head to the mountains.


Next stop - Vancouver, British Columbia. A dear friend was getting married (apparently she hasn't told all her friends that she was getting married this summer so I'll post pictures later so as not to ruin the surprise...just in case!)

But, this is me and Brad at the wedding. Lovely day, nice and laid back, perfect weather, lots of laughter, backyard wedding. It was great and I'm so glad we were able to be there.

My very favorite part...heading to the hills! I don't know what it is about mountains but I just LOVE them! I think I pretty much talked about moving to the mountains for the whole trip (don't worry, Mom, just talk). They just make me remember how big God is and how little I am. We were able to go to the top of Grouse Mountain and see some incredible views.

We were also able to visit with some of my family while we were there - my Uncle Malcolm and Aunt Val, and two of my three cousins (Ian, sitting beside me, and Anna sitting across from him with her fiance Brian). I have seen Uncle Malcolm a few times in the last few years but I had not seen the others in 20 years! It was so good to do some catching up with them and I hope it won't be 20 years before I see them again.

After dinner, Uncle Malcolm took us out to his workshop where he does glass blowing. He makes some amazing pieces and I was excited (and nervous) to learn that he planned to teach us how to do it, too! We had a crash course and he helped us along the way, and Brad and I were able to make a beautiful paperweight. Brad's blue flower turned out much better than my red one (which is on the other side of the paperweight) so every time we show it to someone he says really loudly "I MADE THE BLUE FLOWER!" just so that they know. Thanks, hon!

I would have to say that my favorite thing about the trip was just being with Brad. I don't know if this is normal or not but sometimes we find that our marriage has grown a bit....stale. I don't know how else to explain it. It's not that it's in trouble or anything, it's just that everyday life takes over and we get busy and tired (which sometimes leads to crankiness) and it's easy to stop having fun together. By the end of the trip, Brad and I were just laughing so much and enjoying each other again. It was good to feel close again, and to be "on an adventure" together. Trying to navigate the streets of a big city you've never been to will definitely bring you closer together!

I have more to share but it will have to wait.

I think this layout has to go, too. Turns out I don't actually like it that much!