Year in Review (Part 2)

In July, Barbara and Steve came to visit us for the fourth of July.  We had such a great visit with them!  They came again to see us the day after Thanksgiving, but I didn't take a single picture that weekend-what was I thinking?!

 

I get a kick out of this picture.  Grant and I wanted to look like smoke monsters...we failed a bit!

  Later in July, when Grant was away on one of his millions of youth trips he leaves on, my parents flew me down to Austin for the weekend!!  I was/am so grateful for this trip!  Summers can drag out as I'm left behind week after week.  Most people's jobs require them to work through the summers, so doing so wasn't a strain, but having Grant come and go again and again can wear on me.  I had SO much fun seeing my fam!

...and of course we took the obligatory underwater pictures that we ALWAYS take at Ma and Pa's house-and we EVEN got Grandma in on the fun!  She's so funny!  I'm wearing a t-shirt because I got a TERRIBLE sunburn from all of the playing in the pool.  It turned into a nice tan, but me oh my, it hurt.  Amy looks totally comfortable and gorgeous because she's a punk and looks amazing even underwater!

Later in July, I got a surprise call from my old friends Josh and Brad.  They were touring with their band and needed a place to stop through.  We had so much fun together (namely, they bonded with Grant-so cute!) that they stopped back through a second time as they headed home!  It was great to catch up.  The last time I'd spent any time with them, I was living in Colorado, a teenager-it was lifetimes ago!  It was great to show off my husband and home and get to share in those things with them.

 

Later on in July, on a very special Sunday, Grant and I rushed over to Abi's church after our church let out to witness her baptism!  It meant so much to us to be there for that event and to celebrate this important landmark in her (and our) spiritual journey.  This picture is a picture of my family here in Wichita.  It's one of my favorite pictures of all time!

 

In August, Mom and Grandma took a roadtrip just for the sake of a roadtrip-and to celebrate Grammy's birthday.  We had such a GREAT visit! 

Happy Birthday, Grammy!

Over Labor Day weekend, Marianne and Nathan, from Denton, TX and Grant and I, from Kansas, of course, drove out to Little Rock to visit our old campus minister and his family.  Eric and Hilary played an important role in my spiritual formation during my college years-and they are super sweet, super funny people, so it was great to see them!  The last time we'd spent any time with them was the day that Eric officiated our wedding!  It was a trip SO worthwhile!

 

At the end of September, Grant and I went on a trip we'd waited and saved and waited and saved for.  We flew out of Wichita and into Seattle where we met Christi and Tim.  We spent just one night and a day there before making the drive up to Vancouver, BC.  The trip was full of food, laughs, beautiful views, meeting new friends, GREAT experiences and more.  The following three pictures don't display much of the aforementioned, but I sure do love the people in them!

 

 

I love this picture because it's one of the only adult pictures of the two of us in which I truly look like the "kid" sister.  I love it!  It kind of captures us-maybe not as glamorously as either of us would prefer to look, but it's sweet.

 

In October we got back on our normal sleeping and eating schedules-which was a challenge after such an epic vacation.  This is us at Woofstock-it's a local event the Humane Society puts on to raise money and awareness every year. Look at how Dakota is smiling!!

 

In January I became friends with Jennifer, pictured here to the left of Tracy Jordan-and this is us celebrating her 30th birthday!  She had a "30 Rocks" party and it was a blasty blast!  She is by far one of the biggest blessings of 2009-and she continues to be so!