A letter to a dear friend...

To my dear friend Joanna,

I didn't get to make a toast at your wedding, but I have been thinking for weeks of what I would have wanted to say if the opportunity had arisen. I even went as far as writing it all out on paper and then practicing it in the car on my way to Seattle that weekend... just in case :) After the rehearsal and wedding were over and you were off on your honeymoon to BC, I thought I would just write it in a card to you. But as I was sitting here ready to post a bit about the wedding and show some of the lovely Kate's photos, I thought - why not just write to you here! Then everyone else can see why I love ya.

I remember (vagely) meeting you during the first week of novice crew practice. I remember you had on boxer pj's and a t-shirt for workout clothes - super casual - my kind of gal. At the time I was still thinking I might row and hadn't swung over to the coxswain train yet, so we didn't get to talking a whole lot those first few weeks. Well the year flew by, and by the end of it we were fellow coxswains, friends, and looking forward to seeing each other next season when I returned for my 3rd year with SPU crew, and you returned for your second.

That second year we became "workout buddies" for erging (I kicked your butt), running (you kicked my butt) and lifting (we were STRONG for our size!). Sometimes we skipped workouts (don't tell coach) and just had coffee in the SUB and talked. And talked... and talked... and became fast friends. I always think it is crazy how similar we were (are) and how awesome it was that we had the chance to experience this part of our lives together!

You know you have made a good friend when she's the first person you call when your boyfriend breaks up with you (thanks Steve) because you know she'll know just what to say, when you need retail therapy (and HELP with fashion advice), when you want to go climbing at the gym (Yay Stone Gardens!), go for a run or walk through Fremont, Wallingford, or Queen Anne, hit up Trader Joe's... Maybe mix a few drinks :) That was my Joanna. We made became FAST friends that year at school, and decided the next two years - hey, we should be roommates!

You know you have a good friend when you can co-exist in a room the size of a walk-in closet and survive. Not only that, we actually enjoyed one another's company! Enjoyed sharing clothes, chats, meals... enjoying life together.

Joanna - we have been asked if we were sisters how many times? 10? No. 20? No. I don't know, but my guess is somewhere around 75 times. Actually, I got asked a few times at your wedding if I was your sister! What a compliment. Perhaps because of our shared petiteness (though I sometimes feel like a giant around you)... but I like to think that it was because people can see that we share a special bond, like the ones that sisters share!

I remember chatting about the boys we wanted to someday marry -- you had such a high standard for this man -- someone who could match wits and energy with you, keep up in an argument or discussion (not easy), obviously a very good looking man, kind, intelligent, motivated, with shared interest such as running/hiking/boating and of course a love of dogs. And honestly Jo, I had to wonder -- did this man even exist?

And then I got this call after you were in Sarah's wedding... About this boy you met who was a groomsman... who was SO cute. Nice. Funny. Smart. Good looking. the list went on. It was Lee! And it was so fun to hear about your friendship over the next few years. Which turned into a relationship. Vacations and traveling, marathon phone calls, shared interests... love. Plain and simple. And I LOVED hearing about it. So of course when I FINALLY got to meet Lee, I had super high expectations... and luckily he was awesome. I felt at ease at once with him! (Could be because we are both a little nerdy... civil engineering and all...) What a blessing. I am SO glad that you went from "we'll see..." to "we're engaged!"

I felt so blessed and priveledged to be one of your Matrons of Honor and get to share your special day with you. Jo -- I know we both have wonderful sisters who we love and cherish dearly (Kirsten, Kendra, Gina) but I want you to know that I think of you as another sister of mine because of the bond we share. And I am so happy to welcome Lee as a brother. You two are fantastic together. I can't WAIT to visit you in Las Vegas!

Love you dear Joanna.
Love,
Jenn

P.S. I had to post a few of your lovely pictures -- you are SO BEAUTIFUL!!! Thanks to the lovely Kate McElwee for letting me take these off her website and post here. Also you should check out the slideshow... it is amazing... not gonna lie - I cried. Again.

Mr. and Mrs. Turcotte

The Bridal Party

Dancing with her daddy-o

Gina and Jenn have too much fun with props in the photo booth. And yes, I know my boob is huge in this picture.

productivity

Things I did today:

Slept till 5:30.
Enjoyed a cup of coffee with Steven.
Balanced joint checking account.
Paid 4 bills.
Sorted baby clothes and shoes.
Moved "full sun" pots into full sun. Blocked ugly recycle can (partial block). Trying to bring a little beauty to our 5th wheel.

Hung out in side yard with Oly and the doggies while Steve stained the trim.
Put together (huge) full shade pot with hosta, dogwood, sword ferns, moss, and some other things which Shannon gave me, that I have no idea what they are. (Which goes against my summer rule of learning the names of each plant which I put in the ground or a pot... well, I have the little tags outside so I still plan to learn them.)
Ate cheerios with Olaf and Serenity.
Mowed the side yard.
Planted some impatiens.
Played with the effects on the Mac (sepia, vintage, b&w)...


That was all before lunch. At 3:00, I went over to Mountain Springs and Jaimi and I PLANTED OUR GARDEN!!! Well really it is mostly she and her dad's garden... but in exchange for helping plant, weed, water and harvest I get a good share in all the veggies. I think that's the way to go - sharing a garden. More folks to lend a hand, more veggies produced, and more fun time to spend with eachother.
All in all a LOVELY Monday.

giveaway!

Not mine though...

My friend Aubrey over at Blush has a great giveaway going right now. For those friends and family who read this who don't know what a giveway is, I will tell you my understanding of them in the blog world. Some bloggers are nice. Very nice. And they want to give things away to the folks that faithfully read their blogs! For instance, crafty people who blog about crafts may give away a hand made item, design bloggers may give away home decor items, etc. etc... And all you have to do to win the contest is leave a comment on the blog owner's page, or maybe follow their blog to win it! (winners drawn at random). So ANYWAY, I encourage you to check out this fun giveaway because A. it is COOL and B. You might find that you really enjoy reading her blog and looking at her design ideas!

Someday when I have time perhaps I'll do a giveaway.... or perhaps I will just continue to enter other folks' giveaways :) Who knows.

looking like a whole different house...

Wow, crazy different eh? If you didn't know how different it looked in the beginning, you might just think we popped up some new construction instead of an insane remodel. Here are some additional spring sights around our home!

Steve and John working on the cedar fascia (did I spell that right?)

Look -- my hostas (which I separated from Mom's and planted last fall) are starting to come up in the corner of the side yard. Notice the stone pathway behind which I am busy uncovering one stone at a time - it is currently covered in way overgrown grass and weeds. Slowly, but slowly...

My potting shed -- getting ready to put all that in the pot. Thanks to Shannon and Plain Hardware for helping me pick out plants! I will post a picture of the finished pot if I ever get around to taking one... perhaps tomorrow?

gumbi

How in the world do kids sleep like this? I would be in so much pain if I woke up from this sleeping position. I found Oly like this in the middle of a nap and was so impressed by the gumbi moves I had to photograph it.



Hope you are all enjoying your weekend! We just got back from a whirlwind weekend in Seattle... hopefully with pics to post soon of a wedding and a birthday party!

the day when it pays to be an enginerd

Most days I sit at a desk, in meetings, discussing, brainstorming, filling out checklists, checking design manual constraints, emailing, scheduling, updating, summarizing, and generally doing a lot of nerdy tasks. That's mostly my life as a transportation engineer in a design/construction office.

However some days are better than others. Like the day we wrangled a helicopter to come to our office and fly over a bunch of future project sites so that we could have someone create a "design visualization" displays to take to open houses and community meetings.

So some of us luckys got to ride along.

Looking west towards the Cascades (Cashmere, Leavenworth, and Stevens Pass are that direction). Hwy 2/97 on the right side.

Centered over Hwy 2/97 looking west.

Over the Columbia River, looking south towards the pipeline/pedestrian bridge (foreground) and George Sellar Bridge (Background). Wenatchee to your right, East Wenatchee on your left. Yes they are two different towns.


Looking north up the Columbia River towards Lake Chelan.


If you are ever wondering why people from Washington think they live in the most awesome place in the U.S.A... (I have heard the term "mountain snob"...) maybe these pictures will help tell the story. We don't mean to degrade where anyone else lives, we just LOVE it here! And just know that about 2 weeks after these photos, the WHOLE valley turned white and pink as the apple and pear blossoms in all the orchards bloomed. Drop. Dead. Gorgeous.

I love my job. It rocks.
I also love my home. We are so very very blessed.

If ANY of y'all are ever in this area and would like a free place to camp (our back acreage) or a tour guide, or a cup of coffee, just give me a holler because I would love to introduce you to the valley and the mountains!

Also, Annie and Kyle, the Wenatchee Valley misses you -- come back soon!

progress

slowly but surely...
the turtle won the race, right?

a special day

Sunday was a lovely day full my two boys, no cooking, flowers and family. All together wonderful. And I wanted to share these pictures of my day with you!

My mom and I pulled the little old red radio flyer over to Plain Hardware for our free Moms Day lattes and flowers while Steve and Dad pressure washed the house, and Olaf took a nap. We spent over an hour there trying to pick out various flowers and plants with which to create the perfect container garden :) I am trying to do one for full/part sun, anchored with a red dogwood, and one for shade, anchored with a hosta. I will post pictures once they are done, but for now here is a picture of our spoils...


Olaf wore a pair of vintage OshKosh overalls today (circa 1979/1980) - yup myself and both my sisters wore those when we were little. TOO DARN CUTE.


Also Steve specifically wanted me to post this. He said "Ah yeah... that's BBLLLOOOOOGGGG worthy"!

Happy Mothers Day!

To all the mom's in my life...
Because you still love your children, even when they are doing this...
YOU ROCK. Hope your day is filled with laughter and lots of love!

Sharing a bit of Hawaiian sunshine with you

Today is Saturday. I will be home ALL day... how nice! It is sunny and warm and no wind (crazy for Plain in the springtime). We already walked around outside for 20 minutes or so, and I again felt so blessed to live here!

Schedules have been crazy lately between work, remodel, softball games, bridal showers and bachelorette parties, work gatherings, and friends and family. I wish I had taken pictures at all of these events... but alas I did not. However I am still far behind on telling you all about Hawaii, so here's a little bit about that!

We went to Kona, on the west (dry) side of the Big Island. Some of the best snorkeling in Hawaii is on the Big Island, so I was excited to try it! Our first full day (day 2, as day 1 was spent flying) was spent at "Snorkel Beach". Not much of a beach (sand etc) as it was a lot of lava flows, but the fish were awesome! Olaf got his first feel (and taste) of saltwater, and LOVED it.





Oly wasn't feeling too good on day 3 (fever, cold, teething...) so we decided to do a driving tour of part of the island so he could sleep all day in the car. We scoped out a few beaches, toured a macadamia nut factory, watched some surfers on a crazy erratic wave up north, and looked at the "LOST" like jungle of trees. The picture below is at the surf spot we stopped at.


Day 4 Steve, Olaf and I drove down to tour the City of Refuge, then took turns snorkeling across the bay. Later in the day we met Mom and Dad at the old airport beach in Kona for more snorkeling and sunning.





Day 5 Stevie finally got to SURF at Banyans. My folks were busy going to the Volcano, so Olaf and I hung out at the condo and he slept, and I studied for the PE exam (bleh). That afternoon we went shopping/touring around the City of Kona, and then all met up for dinner at the Kona Brewing Company. YUM. Randomly, we met a guy there from Wenatchee who now lived in Kona. It's a small small world.



Day 6 we went to a VERY nice beach at Mauna Kea resort. They only let like 20 non-guest cars into the lot, and we got lucky, squeezing in around #18... It was one of those GORGEOUS white sand beach, palms, shade, waves to splash in, and more good snorkeling! I really liked this beach, and so did Olaf. After that we stopped in just to "check out" the Hilton Resort down the coast aways. It was ANOTHER WORLD I swear. I saw a 10 year old wearing what was probably a $300 outfit... and it was just a bikini, sandals, and a posh little hat. The people watching was incredible - these people had MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY! Not that I wouldn't stay there if I could afford it - because it was a really nice place - just attracts a different style of folks!

Day 7 we flew home. Pretty uneventful except I (accidentally) let Olaf get his fingers stuck in the rotating belt at baggage claim, garnering many mean looks from other passengers as he WAILED and WAILED and WAILED. But he luckily was just fine so PHEW because I felt awful!

All in all it was a needed break. I didn't think about our remodel, work, or finances for a whole week! How fantastic is that?

I miss you, Hawaii... Can we come back?