Better late than never...

My goal of getting at least one post up a month has severely failed... July to, oh, wait, what? It's now December. I guess I don't have to write about how busy this quarter has been. It's hard enough going to class 3 nights a week, but now it's cold and dark at 4:30. Finals are over now though and I have a long list of things I want to accomplish over the break. 

In hopes of getting this up before the new year... I'm writing the super abridged version. 

July: 

Ellie came up for her first visit to Seattle. By herself! It was a birthday present from her mom and me. I got her concert tickets to see Bruno Mars - her favorite. I wonder what she'll think about that if we read this 20 years from now. :) 

We had a lot of fun and I learned a lot from her. A lot. And she learned that my opinion on fashion doesn't mean anything to her.

We went to Golden Gardens and hung out at the beach. We tried to go to a floating market and ended up at the Museum of History and Industry (it was actually her idea and I was not supposed to tell anyone she wanted to go). 

We drove to Portland on Friday and spent the night there. We had great conversation on the ride down. I don't think she took to Portland like Seattle, but it was fun. We went to the farmers market and had a caricature done. She decided it wasn't worth waiting in line at Voodoo donuts. She's probably right. :) 

Ellie's underwater camera

At the Rose Garden

Bruno Mars was actually quite entertaining and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. 

I fairly certain I took 1,000 pictures of her. There could be some modeling in her future. 

Raising a teenager is exhausting. 

Dustin flew to Denver to bring his motorcycle back to Seattle. His dad and stepmom rode their bikes with him to Montana and I met them there in the car. We stayed the night and then I followed him home. It made for a long weekend... more so for him... but the scenery was pretty.

August: 

Dad was going to White Salmon, Washington to perform a wedding ceremony - so we all decided to meet him there and make a weekend of it. Dad found us a fun house to rent nearby. Dad, Greg, Owen, Dustin & I went horseback riding on Saturday. 

Dustin & I went to the wedding with Dad. It was a gorgeous place for a wedding - the views were incredible.

September: 

The biggest news in the past few months was when mom texted me a picture of David K asking her to marry him. They weren't going to make a big deal of it, but I insisted that I get to be there. They finally decided to invite all of the kids and actually have a little ceremony instead of going to the courthouse. 

Greg also flew in for the weekend and Jeni & Ellie took the train. My friend Anissa was involved in a 5k that weekend and I convinced everyone to run/walk it. It was mom's first 5k! I was so proud to have so much of my family there. Aubrie even did it!

We then had a girls day... got manicures and pedicures and did some shopping for mom. Then we all got together for a family dinner that night. 

Sunday was the wedding. We did some last minute preparations and decorated the room (Mom rented the space in her apartment complex). We helped her get ready and tried to keep her from being nervous. She looked beautiful and I was so happy to be there to witness the joy. 

Most of David's kids were there, so there were a lot of new names to learn! His family is twice the size of ours. :) The ceremony was short, but sweet. Then we enjoyed some waffles and fruit and even some cake and champagne toast (well, sparkling cider). 

Jeni, Ellie & I decorated their hotel room.

I could not be more happy for this lady. :)