Friendsgiving

So this past weekend we had some friends over for a Friendsgiving. It was super fun. A bunch of friends, kids, and good food definitely make for a great time. We did it potluck style so everyone brought a part of the feast. Jordan made delicious mashed potatoes. Our friend Becca used a fantastic brine on the turkey. Add in some yummy fruit salad and stuffing and we were set. Seriously, so good. It all felt pretty grown up and we kept joking about how we are now using phrases like "no running in the kitchen" just like our parents use to. The night wouldn't have been complete without a group photo op followed by a Katy Perry and TLC dance party. I don't want to brag, but we've got some serious moves.

The kids table was a pretty happening place too. One of the kiddos kept asking the others, "Are you ready for Friendsgiving?"

This is a pretty cool group of people. We have been friends for awhile now. When me and Jordan moved to Portland from Bellingham, we hung out with a friend of his from high school and her husband. They introduced us to some of their college friends. 6 years later, we're all still hanging out. Its been so cool to tackle parenthood with these people and to just tackle life. I feel like Jordan and I had been praying for solid, deep friendships for awhile. Looks like we had them all along.

Away

So a couple months ago it came to my attention that Jordan and I have not been away from the kids overnight except for Young Life related outings. I was shocked. I mean, Lu is 4. So we decided to remedy this. We had lots of ideas of where to go but none really fit into our budget (meaning free) so we landed on Seattle. My parents live in Federal Way, so we decided to just do a house swap. They stayed at our place with the littles and we headed up to theirs.

The weekend started with a yummy trip to the Melting Pot downtown Seattle for dinner. Always a good pick, especially when a Living Social is involved. Next we hit the Great Wheel. Cheesy and touristy but I had to do it! I've been on a ferris wheel before and didn't anticipate being nervous but I kind of freaked. The whole thing is glass and I don't know, it just threw me off, looking down at all that water below. But I got over it and the rest was really fun.

The next day we went to Pike's Place Market which I love. We had lunch downtown at Tat's Deli. So good. So many different kinds of sandwiches and a line out the door, but totally worth the wait. Then off to University Village. I love that place. Such good stores. We headed over to Belmont but stopped at Kerry Park first for an awesome view. After we met up with some YoungLife kids turned friends for dinner in Fremont.

When Jordan and I first got married we lived in Bellingham for a year. We hadn't really been up there except for driving through since we left 6 years ago so we decided to take a day up there too. We hit up all our favorite spots, including walking the boardwalk where we got engaged, and even some new ones. Antique shops, the ReStore, LaFiama Pizza, The Rocket for donuts, and The Woods for coffee. Perfection. We closed it down with a movie night back at my parent's house.

It wasn't a crazy or eventful weekend but it was so relaxing and just so so good. We definitely should've done this sooner and plan to do it more then just every four years. The kids had a great time too so that made it even better. When we got home, Lu came running out of her room with a huge smile, so happy to see us. Jacksen was pretty groggy and out of it when he woke up from his nap but as soon as he realized what was going on, he was happy too. How is it they look bigger even after just a few days? So good to be away but so good to be home.

1. Things I just don't understand.

There are a lot of things I don't understand. Some of its serious and some of it is just annoying. This one is annoying.

1. I don't understand why cats are allowed to freely roam the neighborhood.

People like cats and thats great. I'm not one of them. I'm not anti-cat. Just anti me having a cat. I do have a dog though. This is Charlie. I think he's pretty cool. We adopted him from the Humane Society a couple years ago and he is a sweet boy who, as it turns out, likes to run off. 

When Charlie has run off, have we just figured he'll be ok and let him galavant around? No. We combed the neighborhood, calling his name, even putting up posters when he went missing over night. We invested in a collar with my phone number embroidered on it and it has come in handy. 4 times. Do people with cats do this? Debatable. Why is that?

Just the other day our neighbor's tail-less cat wandered into our garage. Is it a big deal? Not really...but kind of. Is it my cat? Nope. My husband also just reminded me of a cat squatting in our shed. Literally. He calls that trespassing. I see cats running around the neighborhood all the time and often wonder, where do you belong? Whose are you? Its always so hard to know. Why have a cat if he's spending all of his time in someone else's yard? If you have a cat, could you tell me why its acceptable to let your cat wander around on its own? I just don't understand.

October 31, 2013

So Halloween was a couple days ago and ours was super fun. The night before Halloween, her preschool had an Octoberfest for Dads and kiddos. She was so excited to get to go to a party with just her Dad. Too cute. On Thursday they had a pajama day at school which is always fun. We ended up scoring a baby giraffe costume for Jacksen from a friend!

Once it was time to get our Trick or Treat on, we headed over to a friend's house for baked potatoes and chili. I have to say, baked potato bar and chili is such a good potluck type meal. Everyone can bring a side and its so yummy. Anyway, we got the kids suited up and made sure to snap some pictures of the little crew.

When we were all ready, with warm beverages in hand, we gave the kids a little pep talk. Last year there was a little confusion for Lucy between Special K bars and candy. Given the choice, she kept choosing the healthy option. Meanwhile, her friend Bennett was scoring loads of candy, grabbing handfuls. So this year, we made sure Lu knew what was up.

The weather was perfect and the kids had lots of fun running from house to house and Jack did great cozied up in the Ergo. They are such sweet little friends and its so fun to watch them together. Love this picture from Becca. We ended up with a great candy stash at the end of the night. Our favorite stop was the house where the sweet lady insisted we all take a full size candy, even the adults. Don't mind if I do.