Warren and Katelin's Wedding on Whidbey Island

Thanks to GJ, Brandon and I were able to go on a quick trip to Washington for his cousin Warren's wedding.  Here is the view from our cottage.  Whidbey Island was so charming.

We walked all the way down to the water the first morning we were there.  The beach was mostly pebbles, it was beautiful.


Daddy and Bumpa decided to work on a little project to let the kids know we were thinking of them.


Here is Bumpa's work of art:


And Daddy stuck with initials.


Later in the day we went and got brunch at Useless Bay Coffee Company.


I felt like I was eating with celebrities GP and JT.


The old Langley firehouse was converted to a glass blowing studio.




The wedding was that night and we all got dressed up for the big day.  Sadly I must have eaten too many muffins that morning because I broke the zipper in my dress and wore this sundress instead.  Thank goodness I brought a back-up dress!




The setting for the wedding was spectacular.




This barn was catering central.


Aunt Debby is Aunt Brookie's godmother.


Isn't Aunt Juli's dress fabulous?  What a gorgeous mother of the groom.  It's no wonder she was an art director for Nordstrom!


Sheila and baby Janie.


Amy and I posing with Uncle Mike, father of the groom.

A shot of all the North cousins.


Lots of artwork by one of the best men, Jaime the architect.




I LOVE the table assignments on vintage doors.


Beautiful tents with stunning table linens, chairs, place settings and centerpieces.


Aren't these bars adorable?


Creative lighting in the tents.


The cupcake table.....yuuuummmm.


Arrangements in vintage glassware and tea tins.


Scalloped blankets for when the chill sets in after sunset...they really thought of everything!




Brooke and Kit were eachother's dates for the weekend.


The food was unbelievable.  I don't think I've ever had salmon this tasty, with curried couscous, chickpea salad and orzo salad.  I wish I could recreate this.


I stalked Brooke and Bumpa for this shot.




Ryan kept the party going long after we got back to the cottage.  I guess that was no secret at the airport the next day.


Again, a big, HUGE thanks to Grammy Jane for watching over and keeping the kids safe while we went on our quick trip.  We had a fantastic time and can't wait for our next romantic getaway!

A little trip to Cincinnati

We took another quick trip while in OH down to Cincinnati to catch up with old friends.


We killed time at the Montgomery pool.


The girls had trouble making themselves at home.


This time Jenny hosted and invited Heather, Lindsay and their families over for a little birthday celebration for moi!  Jenny is sneaky like that, it was so fun to get together.  It was not quite like the UC days thank goodness for the kids sake, but was very cool to see the next generation of Bearcats get acquainted pre-University!

Here Heather is with Maggie, she has the chubbiest cheeks an her curls are adorable!


Tommy was smitten, there were so many prospects for a ladies-man like him ;-)


Here are Guy and Lindsay's girls Laura and Caroline playing together.  It is so cute to see Laura with her little sis.




They made short work of the basement!


The next day we headed over to Amar's house and zipped over to Entertrainment Junction for some Choo-choo fun.  There we met up with my cousin Amy, her husband Rico and baby Rohan.  He is such a handsome little man, isn't he?



Tom-tom was in awe of all the train displays.  We will definitely stop here next year.  




Rohan waited his turn very patiently.


They had loads of fun playing trains together and picking out train loot from the gift shop.


Rohan has the biggest brown eyes you have ever seen, and boy do they melt everyone he sees!


I love quick trips, so glad we were able to make it to Cincinnati, and a big thanks to the Barkers, Amar, Uncle Tari and Auntie Jasminder for hosting us while we were in town.

Good times in Maryland

We took a little trip to the Chesapeake this past summer.  Isn't the it beautiful?

We actually stayed at the Hyatt, but that gorgeous home was just down the shore from us.


They had a beautiful pier that we would walk out to each night.


It was our first family vacation outside of going to OH, and it was super fun!


I promise I was there, here's a picture to prove it.


Elle spotted jellyfish just off the pier.


Khera and Tommy tried to get a closer look.


I love that they get along...sometimes.


The resort had a sweet water slide that the girls went on about 300 times over the course of the week.


I couldn't tell if they liked it.


The Disneyworld song keeps running through my head...please.stop.


We made s'mores in the outdoor fireplace.


Tommy thought it was some sort of sword.


Meanwhile the girls chowed down on several helpings...


... maybe that's why they're called s'mores?


Dinnertime was mostly peaceful, Tommy had ample room to play cars while we waited for food.


Elle enjoyed the puzzles.


And Khera, the iPhone.


It was so peaceful there.






The sunsets were spectacular.


We took advantage of the resort's putt-putt course also.


Lining up Disney cars was Tommy's mealtime routine.


Anushka joined us for our last full day in Maryland.  We met up with her (and Jena and Ram) in Annapolis.  While the boys golfed, we took the kids to the Naval Academy.






We took in the sights, and got a little climbing time in as well.


The highlight of the entire trip for us was going on the pirate ship adventure.


Khera got a mermaid tattoo and a pink glitter mustache.

Elle got some glamour make-up and a mermaid tattoo also.


Tommy got a tat of his girlfriend Ariel too.


Tommy and Anushka spied a scurvy pirate in a boat out at sea.


Jena and I giggled most of the time.  We were glad we took the kids and not the dads, they may not have found the excursion as humorous as we did.


Beleive it or not, this is one of the better shots of the 3 of us.  I think Jena took about 20.


They found the treasure and each got to fill a bag with booty.


The kids had a blast, I'm definitely going to check out some of the pirate ships in the Tampa Bay Area.

It would be nice to take visitors on something like this if they exist in Florida.

Afterward we went out to dinner and met up with the boys.  It was a fun-filled day, Jena and I were exhausted.  Thankfully, Anushka helped us finish our dessert.


A swash-buckling good time was had by all!


We were so happy that our first family vacation was a success and can't wait for our next one.
Maybe somewhere in the NE? or the Carolinas?