Celebrating a very special mama-to-be

Sometimes magic happens at work. 

You meet someone you feel like you've known for years. Someone you can't believe has been missing from your life up until your first conversation...the one in which you're basically finishing each other's sentences by the time you're finished. 

That's how I've always felt about my friend Kali. 

And now Kali's a mom! But before her baby said hello, we honored her with gathering her favorite ladies for stories, suggestions, lots of laughter, mimosas, and plenty of coffee cake (mom's choice!).

 Photo backdrop for a book I still haven't finished for the mama.

 Bevs, and Kal's Hot Tamales.

 "Kali's favorites" raffle.

 The spread.

 Terrible photo proof of all the lovely ladies in attendance.

 Blurry shot of the mom-to-be and her mom.

The sisters-in-law and ma-in-law.

And then the holidays happened

No matter how hard we try to make the holiday season last, it always just speeds on by, leaving us with fat bellies, yards of tangled Christmas lights, and a completely combustable tree. 

I don't think I even took a photo at Thanksgiving, sadly. A couple days later I ran my one-and-only half-marathon of 2015 and then boarded a plane for Asia. I think that chunk of time away from the sights and sounds of the season in our home and our city put a tiny damper on my holiday spirit.

But it reignited the moment I got off the plane and walked back into our house. This was our first year of hosting Christmas dinner, something I've looked forward to my entire adult life (I am my mom's daughter, after all). We also hosted our niece Hazel for her first official sleepover, which was quite a highlight to our holidays.  

Then we packed up the car, loaded the dog, and headed north to see the Lagreids in the winter wonderland of Spokane.

 Can't seem to find the original on this...at our realtor's annual Christmas tree u-cut. I die every time I look at this.

 I was not about to let another year pass without an extra-large tree. Success.

 Getting festive.

 No lights too close to the bottom. Thanks, pets.

 Found this in the sea of photos...must have been a good day!

 Spreading Christmas cheer at work...

 Sara must have really prepped Audrey because this photo is perfection.

 Annual Christmas Eve with the whole Klar crew.

Naturally blurry attempt at getting a shot of everyone in their Christmas cracker crowns.

 Auds and Auggie in their Christmas jams.

 Christmas morning run attire.

 And then we got to host Hazel's first sleepover, which she asked to be a tradition.

 Picking up the fixin's for s'mores.

 Helping Uncle Taylor make a fire.

 Indoor s'mores.

 Her first!

 Hazel's choice for breakfast...cold cereal?!

 In love with the animals. I told her she could take the cat home with her.

 On to Spokane for New Year's!

 This is how they do New Year's Eve in Spokompton...partying it up in an extra-large garage.

 Cheers to the best friends...and to another year of Bethell-Lagreid bonding.

 Snowshoeing from their front door!

And what would a seven-hour drive home be without a pub crawl in the Columbia Gorge on the way?!

Happy 2016!

730 days of marital bliss

May 3 is my favorite holiday. Our anniversary.

I love our anniversary because it's a private holiday. Unlike a birthday, very few people actually remember your anniversary, but there's that special little feeling...a glow you wear around all day--just like it's your birthday. It's special.

And because our anniversary comes just after the end of tax season, it's been our tradition (can you call something a tradition if you've done it only twice?) to lie low...to plant our garden and tidy up the yard...to splurge on a farm-fresh locavore dinner out in wine country.

And we like keeping up with the traditional wedding gifts.Two whole years of marriage is commemorated with gifts of the cotton variety. I got Taylor a new set of cotton sheets for our bed, with our monogram in our wedding colors. Taylor laid out new cotton beach towels (extra long!) and sunscreen for our upcoming summer of paddleboarding and outdoor adventures. His presentation was on point.

It's hard to believe we said "I do" two years ago. There are details of the day I can recall like yesterday, but then there are other moments that are already slipping away into the depths of my memory. We've already packed a lot of experiences into our marriage.

Not every day is a honeymoon, of course. I can say with certainty I know I am a difficult person. And Taylor is quite a saint for putting up with me and loving me unconditionally. I am so thankful for Taylor's patience and compassion. His threshold and tolerance for my moments of near-insanity is uncanny. Our minds work differently--his more analytical, while mine more creative, but we tend to complement and balance each other out. Taylor is really good at pushing me beyond my level of comfort when we're out exploring. We climb a little higher, run a little farther, and always take the scenic route. We're *always* in agreement when it comes to "the experience," and have no qualms about prioritizing and paying for the things that will make us memories versus material things.

Finally got that wedding album made...and a special foodie treat from my mom.

Nice presentation, T.B.

Our new favorite winery: Vista Hills--where they jam to records on the record player.

Of course we brought man's BFF along...

This guy's always wanted to take me to the rooftop bar in his college town, so we sipped margarita above the town of McMinneville.

We actually ended up at Nick's Italian, a well-regarded resto in Mac-town...crab lasagna and this beast of a pizza. Not too shabby.

And finally, some recently uncovered wedding photos of Hazel and Leo.

Until next year...