Baby Days!

Being an Auntie never gets old.  

As we anticipated the arrival of baby #3 for J&K, it was mentioned several times how it is so hard to imagine how another kid fits into their family (and our extended family).  We felt the same way when Ender was born.  You just can't picture it.  

And yet they just belong.  As soon as they arrive, they have their place and all the sudden you can't imagine life without them.  

Baby girl arrived while Ben and I were on vacation. Awesome.  

We woke up to a text that *she* had arrived. 

(we didn't know the gender...so it was SO FUN to find out). 

This was her first picture: 

Aeslyn Mae

(For those of you wondering the pronunciation...the trick is to not overthink it.  It is said how it looks.  Ace-Lyn.  Long "A" and soft "S."

she is as beautiful, unique and exquisite as her name.

Hospital shot...had to tide us over until we could see more later. 

My first time meeting Aeslyn.  She had so much dark hair like Ender. 

Such a wrinkly, pink, super soft lil' girl. 

Got her eyes open (my goodness she sleeps alot).  And like her siblings, those eyes are a deep, dark brown that you can just get lost in. 

The other kiddos were visiting Krissa's parents in Iowa and so when I went over to meet Aeslyn and hang out, we decided to walk to Panera a few blocks away.  On our way back, we got caught in a torrential downpour.  The kind like in the movies where it starts out with a few drops and quickly turns into a deluge.  When we were at their street, a nice lady offered to give us a ride...but we were practically there.  

My beautiful sister-in-law who kept Aeslyn suprisingly dry. 

It was one of those "First" memories that we'll always remember.  

First outing...got poured on.   Glad I was there for it!

I went back to their house Monday evening when Jim had a late meeting to help with evening routine.  I got a great mix of playing with Karlina and Ender AND holding sweet Aeslyn while Krissa gave the older two some much needed Mommy time. 

caught some epic facial expressions. 

pre-yawn. 

content look...there may have been some super rank gas flowing at this point. 

post-gas mockery.  It really stank.  I think she knew it.  

Biiiiiiig yawn.  I could stare at her forever.  

Two of my favorite lil' girls.  Oh how I love them.

(and yes, for those of you who are hyper-observant...I did have something green stuck in my teeth.  figured I'd just get that out there so there isn't any awkwardness...)

Big sister LOVING her role.  She is a really great age to "help" and understand more of what is going on.  

These three.  Oh how they light up my life.  

I am so blessed to be their Auntie and to spend as much time with them as I have.  Their hugs and kisses for me, their exuberance and joy for life, their tender (ish) care for each other...all of it is so sweet and I cherish every moment with them. 

As many ups and downs as I have had on my adventure to Minnesota...I am forever grateful to you, Jim and Krissa.  Your invitation to come and care for your kiddos changed my life and I wouldn't change a thing.  

So, welcome to the world, baby Aeslyn.  

I pray that as you grow up, you realize how incredibly loved you are. 

Not only by your amazing Daddy and Mommy, but your siblings, your Auntie and all your family and friends...and especially by your Heavenly Father who knit you together, so wonderfully.

Pictoral representation of Portland

Yay for Part 2-PORTLAND!!!  

So originally we had wanted to take a train all the way from MN to OR.  Turns out, that is a little costly.  The next best (and cost efficient) option was to fly to Seattle (significantly cheaper than flying into Portland), and taking a train 4 hours to Portland.  So we got a trip to two fun cities AND a train ride...which was juuuust long enough =)  

Here we are in Seattle about to board the Cascades train.  

Beautiful scenery  out the windows...

TRAIN SELFIE! 

There was such a variety of landscape.  Forests, meadows, farmland, water, gardens, towns...really fun to watch. 

And finally we arrived in Portland.  

So one of the reasons we picked the hotel we did was because it came with free bikes to use.  They were cute cruisers and we had so much fun biking Portland.  

It is an incredibly bike-friendly place.  With very specific instructions on where to go, when to go etc... That does mean, however, that there is a very educated biking populous...and i'm pretty sure they knew we were newbies.  We were being passed, and I think there were a few dirty looks as well... 

Biking Selfie (not as easy as it looks...)

Gorgeous day.  

I loved that we could be so near the water. 

First stop was Voodoo Doughnuts.  There was a line, so that was a good sign.  (Ben and I tried only to go places with lots of people or a line.)  Definitely an interesting place.  

I got the urge to say a prayer as I entered...there were a LOT of creepy things in there, and plenty of voodoo dolls.  

The outside walls were covered in glitter.  so that was cool.

And the doughnuts were super yummy.  They had a lot of strange ones, and most of them didn't sound really great.  So we settled for a delicious classic Apple Fritter and a unique and delectable Maple Bacon Bar.  

Mmmm so good. 

We stopped by a fountain to eat our doughnuts.  And I played in the water...which Ben decided to catch on camera.  

It reminds me of one of those "Celebrities are just like you!  They play in water!" pictures. 

That pink box of yummy goodness went with us the whole way and we would stop and take nibbles here and there. 

beautiful views. 

This was one of our favorite stops.  It was a little park amid a lot of obviously high-end housing (that is a condo building looming).  And before long, some adorable little kids came and played in the water.  We sat in the shade, rested, munched doughnuts, watched kids play and enjoyed the peacefulness of the scene. 

My view most of the day ;)

More water pictures. 

That evening we met up with my cousin Paula (bride who's wedding we were in Portland to attend), and her parents (Uncle Tom and Aunt Heidi), her sister Theresa and T's Fiance Jose, Jose's cousin and a friend of Theresa.... it was a fun evening!  Paula picked out a super yummy hole-in-the-wall Mexican food place for dinner.  I'm talking super yummy.  And then we went to a Portland favorite: Salt and Straw. Unique ice creams like you never dreamed.  

We got a flight cuz it was hard to choose just one.  And I'm not an ice cream extraordinare so I like little bites of many flavors.  

Pictured closest to furthest:

Strawberry, Balsamic and Black Pepper (Superb combination)

Salted Caramel (Actually super salty, but tasty)

Stumptown coffee and bourbon (the winner of the evening)

Gooey Chocolate Brownie (Ben was delighted for that one).

 Other flavors tried but vetoed: 

Bone Marrow and Black Cherry (had an aftertaste like Liver...not my fave)

Honey Lavender (too much of both honey and lavender...but unique taste!)

Green Fennel and Maple (also interesting, but not enough to get a serving)

In all, I would recommend this to anyone going to Portland.  They give you as many free samples as you want (super helpful and fun!) and it is just a great experience. 

The main attraction for this trip was my cousin Paula's wedding.  Growing up, I always looked up to Paula and wanted to be like her in so many ways.  She was a gymnast and a runner.  She was athletic, funny, seemingly fearless and she had so many friends.  I remember only wanting to go to high school because Paula's experience at Maranatha seemed so great!  And I was blessed enough to be able to go to that very high school my senior year...and being her cousin gave me a definite "in" with many of the teachers/staff.  

Anyway, I remember going into her room when I would be at their house and looking at all her metals and pictures of her running or doing gymnastics and thinking she was the coolest.  And then the days I got big bags of clothes from her?!  It was like Christmas. 

It is crazy to think that we are all grown up now.  She is still athletic, funny and fearless.  She has traveled around the country to further her education and has become a Doctor of Psychology.  

It was a joy to attend her wedding.

To top it off, her husband David is a pretty swell guy.  =)

Waiting for the ceremony to begin. 

Family walking down "the aisle"

Flower girls beginning their walk. 

The best shot I could get from where I was sitting.  

It was such a sweet ceremony...and many an eye were not dry.  Both David and Paula were intentional and heartfelt and the entire thing was God-centered and just overall wonderful. 

Story behind this photo: they had a bingo game for the reception and one of the squares was "see someone taking a selfie."  So we took one so our cousin could check that off her list.  

This is my super wonderful Aunt Heidi, Uncle Tom, Uncle Dave and Aunt Kathy playing badmitton.  

The whole reception was laid back, and there were lots of fun lawn games. Everyone was chatting, playing and having fun.  

The bride and groom with almost all of Grammy's children and their spouses (My dad's mom and his siblings).  (Aunt Marybeth had to leave early that morning as her first grandbaby was on the way!  Glad she got to go, sad she couldn't stay longer.)

Re-connecting with Edmund.  What a peach, that one. 

=)

Instead of cake, they had lots of cookies.  Instead of cutting cake, they had cookie dunking.  It was cute. =)

My Dad with my cousin's son, Francis.  He is aDORABLE.  My dad is pretty handsome too =)

Remember the peach of a baby, Eddie? Well these are his fantastic parents, Jonathan and Kali.  They are wonderful, and I like them a lot. 

Anikah and Fischer climbed a dead tree and are loving it. 

The cousins!! (minus a LOT...this is less than half of us...)

Baby Jordyn!  She is so cute and a fearless explorer

overall it was a fantastic wedding.  Great to see family and even some old friends from back in the day.  

Thanks for inviting us to come celebrate you, Paula and David!  Blessings, laughs, and lots of love to you both! 

Then we headed home.  

It was raining when we got home...but there was also a glorious sunset.  *sigh*

Vacation is awesome...but coming back home is even better.  

And so wraps up vacation documentation. 

On deck: Niece post and Misc. pictures. 

=)

Pictoral representation of Seattle

I am doing this in parts.  So make sure you don't miss Part 2 when it comes out.  

Remember when I wrote about how wonderful everything was going on our trip, and that we travel well together?  Well wouldn't you know, that very evening after I posted that, we had our first "run-in."  It wasn't bad, and honestly, it was me being not very understanding and having unreasonable expectations for a certain aspect of our trip.  Anyway, we worked through it...and even though it was a bump in the vacation road, we still were able to enjoy the rest of our time! 

On to pictures of....Seattle!

Flying in, this was our view.  It was absolutely beautiful.  I could have stayed there and just soaked in the view. 

The night we flew in, we stayed at a rather cheap hotel by the airport.  Turns out they overbooked it, and had to send us to their "sister" hotel...which was equally iffy.  But hey, they had continental breakfast...what're you gonna do. 

So glad to be on vacation! 

We took public transportation (metro and bus) to the Queen Anne area of town and this was our inn.  Super adorable, quaint, old...but in a classic way.  I liked it.  

See how adorable the knobs were?  I couldn't get over the knobs. 

This day was Sunday, and we decided to spend some time down by the ocean and enjoy God's creation.  My, my but it was a gorgeous day!  

Technically this isn't even the ocean...it is a little channel off the Puget Sound.  But still...I will count it. 

View of the space needle behind us. 

We went to the Sculpture Garden.  This is the back of a giant sculpted head.  I'm not sure why I don't have a picture of the front.  

Enjoyed some interesting pieces at the garden. 

Okay, so this picture posted twice, but lets just take a minute to enjoy how cute the knobs were....

We didn't rent a car the entire time we were on vacation.  And since bus fare in Seattle was $2.25 a person, we decided to save our pennies and walk.  We were staying near Seattle Center, and walked into Downtown and the Bay (ended up doing 6 miles of walking the first day)

When we got tired, we would find shaded areas to lay down and rest.  This was the view from one of mine.  

We realized that we both like the same amount of activity and resting.  So sitting here and enjoying our sought-out shade was quite enjoyable for both of us.  We just laid here for a while...

The days are blending together...but at one point we went to Seattle Center (a few blocks from our Inn) and walked around the Space Needle.  We got our tickets to go up for later at night...Ben knows how much I love city lights =)

This has no filter.  The sky is just that blue.  

While it is a total tourist trap, it was still magnificent.  And to think they built it just for the World's Fair way back when. 

One of our favorite places was this Fountain Park.  

The slope directly in front of us was much steeper than it appears...and lots of people were enjoying the spray of the water.  We got mistings every time the breeze blew from where we sat on the rim.  

The water was timed with an orchestral piece playing in the background.  There would be loud resounding parts to the piece and the water would shoot up super high and come crashing down, soaking everyone.  It was really fun to watch. 

A really sweet couple ended up sitting down next to us, and through conversation, they found out we had been married a year, and they had been married over 25.  I asked if they had any advice and they said,  "Don't sweat the small stuff, and if you have a Faith, don't ever give it up...it will help you through the worst of times. "  They told how their son had died and that they would never have stayed together if not for God's presence in their lives and their strong church family.  It was such an encouragment to talk to them, share how God's faithfulness has blessed our marriages and had even brought them along for us right then.  

It was a full moon (super moon actually) the night we went up in the Space Needle.  So beautiful!  The city lights were magnificent.  The moon was glowing....it was perfect.  

Off on the other side, the sun had set, but there was a beautiful glow in the Western sky. 

Of course we had to get to Pikes Place Market.  Outside the original Starbucks there was a cute little folk/bluegrass band.  We didn't stand in the ridiculously long line (starbucks is just starbucks), but we did stand and listen to them play. 

Went to the fish market to watch them throw fish.  Didn't get a good shot of it happening but it was quite entertaining. 

This lil' guy was hanging out and people *ahem* gullible tourists would come by and point and comment, and some guy behind the counter would pull a string attached to it and it would jump up and scare the people.  Oh my, it was hilarious. 

One of the nights, we had our "No questions asked" Anniversary dinner.  We decided to forego a fancy dinner back in June for our actual anniversary and instead go out here.  We wanted a place where the Chef used his talent and art to create unique and tasty dishes.  We found the PERFECT spot...

RN74 was the name of it. 

Had a delicious and refreshing cucumber, ginger, icy "Downtown Donkey" 

The atmosphere was fun

I'm super annoyed that I only took pictures of the appetizers.  The rest was just so delicious and captivating.  As Ben says, he had to pick me up off the ground because I practically melted with every bite.  

These are Bacon Deviled Eggs. 

We also had:

Fresh rolls with truffle oil and ricotta honey

Chorizo stuffed rabbit

Salmon with sunchokes

Duck Fat Fries (don't ask...they were marvelous)

Creamy Mac N Cheese 

OH my goodness.  It was so yummy. 

After dinner, we took a walk down to the pier for a sunset Ferris Wheel ride. 

The view was phenomenal.  

Both directions. 

And so ended our lovely date night.  

The Seattle portion of our trip was so fun.  Lots of adventure, plenty of relaxing...and just doing whatever we felt like doing!  Even as I post these pictures and write captions, I'm reliving lots of fun little moments.  Oh how I love memories.  

And even though I did take lots of pictures, I was intentional about snapping a picture and then putting my phone away so that I could soak up the moment and really let it sink into my memory.  Pictures are a great reminder, but nothing beats closing your eyes and being whisked back to a sunset, or the most delicious rolls you've ever tasted in your life (pretty sure I'm not even exaggerating about the rolls.) 

Stay tuned, Part 2-Portland, will be on it's way. 

NOT TO MENTION THE NEW NIECE POST!!  

ugh. so many new things.