SLO for NYE11

Matt and I just got home from another amazing college roommate reunion. And this time it was in SLO. Thank goodness. We ate the whole time (as usual). Seriously, this is what the girls did on Saturday:

Wake up and snuggle til 1:00
Eventually shower
Head downtown and eat the following:

Jamba Juice
Mondeo's wraps
Sweet Potato french fries
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory
Turkish Delight Hipster Coffee Shop tea
NOVO everything
Yogurt Creations

(3 huge baskets of fries is sufficient for 10 people, right?)

Did I forget anything ladies? Probably. We were straight MOUTHS the entire trip.

But really, eating is just an excuse for all of us to sit down and talk straight to the heart. It was great to see old friends face to face again and catch up on dreams, both old and new.

Here's to Buchon!

(Vanessa, Janne, and I stalking our old house late at night)

I Heart My Niece

Oliapeson is my favorite little girl ever. She is proudly onenhaf years old and is smarter than any 4 1/2 year old I know. Matt and I went to his cousin's daughter's first birthday party yesterday and had a great time hanging out with his family.

It was a pool party, but the pool turned out to be freezing and the spa was a normal pool temperature, so all the kids piled into the spa. Matt hopped in too since he is the best uncle ever. And he played in the water with Olivia for her third time ever.


If you look closely, you can see that the massive pool toy is actually a giant baby-kicks-it-in-pool-device. Lyla's little hand is poking out. She didn't last very long. Her older brother Cole doused her a couple minutes after this picture was taken.


Practicing her freestyle kicking. Her parents were both awesome swimmers, so she already knows a couple swimming and water polo terms.


About to launch off the step at Matt.


Playing with the jets.


And mastering the jets. Mega-pro. (No, Matt isn't doing that.)

We sang happy birthday to Lyla and had to blow the candle out twice so all the kids could help her at different points. Poor Olivia tripped and fell, but she had good timing. Cake and ice cream were being served and that quickly put an end to her problems.

She inhaled a large piece of cake and scoop of ice cream. I think "dump-trucked" was the verb her own mother used to describe how she devoured the cake and ice-cream. And because she has a rockstar mom, she got a second piece of cake which went down equally quickly.




Olivia, I love you!

Quarter of a Century Club

I had an amazing birthday last week. On National Kathleen's Day thankyouverymuch. And I was glad to see that at least one person got it right. My baby brother. He is a genius. Check out the card/wrap job. Functional, with a little beautification. Plus the said card mentioning the specific date.


Yes, each and every one of the other four people in my family have birthdays that fall on a Holiday. Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Halloween, and Thanksgiving (OK, this one is only every 7 years, but STILL).

In honor of the day, Matt and I went camping. Mystery camping. And mystery hike. It was all very exciting and turned out to be in Sunol. Rowdy gave me one of the best presents by actually playing and swimming in the creek. She has been such a sissy and it breaks my heart, but she was a CHAMP last week chasing sticks.


We roasted hot dogs, marshmallows, and bacon during our one night stay. And we fell asleep looking up at the silhouettes of the trees, watching the embers of our campfire burn out, and listening to the nearby creek. PERFECT!

That night we had another birthday celebration at my parent's house. It was so fun! My mom even decorated the patio with streamers and fun bday tablecloths. And my dad made his famous chicken (Daddy's Famous Chicken to be exact). And Matt made this beautiful watermelon bowl that held the fruit salad.

And I didn't take any pictures because I was tired of messing up the moment to take a picture. So you don't get to see any evidence. But I remember it and it was lovely.

The Langes

At the end of our wonderful college roommate getaway right here in our backyard, I drove Lindsay and David to the airport. And they weren't just flying home. They were flying to a new home...in AFRICA! Lindsay is finishing up her grad school requirements by living abroad and working at a non-profit and saving the world. As far as I am concerned anyway. So they were off to Sierra Leone, and I got to take them the first step. (OK, driving to the airport isn't that cool, but I was still honored to get the last hug).

Matt and I enjoy every little piece of this couple. I love watching their relationship, and oddly enough, I think I have learned a ton by watching them argue. Through choice or necessity (we were roomies after all), they allowed their relationship to be seen in the good and the bad times. And while everyone can easily enjoy the good times, it takes a real couple who is dedicated to each other to still smile at each other through the bad times.

In our premarital counseling, I learned the fancy schmancy counsel-y word for this. Repair attempts. Immediately, I thought of the Langes, and thought of how David makes Lindsay laugh even when they argue. And how Lindsay extends mercy back by graciously laughing no matter how silly or out-of-place the joke is.

When it comes to relationships, I think we are all still learning, but I am grateful to the people who are strong enough to let us watch them through the struggles.


See you in December you goobs.

Marsh Vow Renewal

Matt and I had a tricky decision to make recently: hang out with our college roommates for one more night while they visit and before many of them move far away (some even to Africa for 6 months) OR go to our pastor's vow renewal ceremony. It was one of those obvious choices, but still one that had a great opportunity cost. But after attending the rededication it was clear that this was an evening that forever changed the way we both looked at love, marriage, and the church community as a whole.

Because this was much more than a party to celebrate their 13 years of marriage, it was a gathering that was something that they had been looking forward to for years. You see, years ago, Adriane had Leukemia. And the party was to celebrate her life and the fact that she has been cancer free for five years. Which in the medical community means that she is officially cured since the chances of it returning are the same as you or I being diagnosed.

Watching our friend Travis, the very same person who married Matt and I 3 years ago look at the bride of his youth was perhaps one of the biggest challenges and blessings to our marriage. She was beautiful. Not because of her ivory dress or because of the flowers in her hair, but because she shone with God's love and hope while she sat in those hospital rooms years ago. Because even in her physical weakness, she brought the strength that he needed and the confidence that our church community needed during those dark times.

After their short ceremony, Travis invited us inside to watch a video that he has been painstakingly putting together over the past several months. It had pictures of Adriane as a child, a college student, a girlfriend, a bride, and a mother. It had interviews of their close friends recalling the time when the diagnosis hang heavy in the air. It had a video of their family going to the beach and burning all the paperwork associated with the disease that was so critical to keep five years ago. And it ended with Travis speaking on camera to his bride and his wife and his best friend. He explained to her for the first time that every time he drove to and from her hospital room he would listen to one of her favorite songs "Lady in Red." A song that she had wanted to dance to at their wedding but decided not to since it is about a man in love with his wife of many years. He confessed that he listened to it every time but never let himself finish it. He was waiting to finish it while they danced when she was healthy again. And he ended by asking her to dance with him.

Driving home that night Matt and I talked about what a real marriage should look like, and how beautiful God created it to be. We talked about how honored we were to be there even though we are newer friends. About the church when it is seen at its best. About love.

As we pulled into the drive, I saw my best college girlfriends sitting around our dining table talking, laughing, and looking at each other with discerning eyes that only come with time well spent listening and watching each other's lives. I sat down with them and cried tears of joy, sadness, and hope. And they cried with me. And we laughed and smiled at each other and repeated how much we love LOVE.