Wordless Wednesday

The Traveling Duo

I recently returned from a 10-day trip to Oregon. Initially, I planned to head north for my 10-year high school reunion because I was in charge of planning it. Planning every high school reunion from graduation until I die was not something I remember in the job description when I ran for Senior Class President in high school. Fortunately, I was able to find some classmates who were willing to help do a lot of the legwork since I'm out of state. Everything came together and people seemed to have a good time. So much so, in fact, that many are requesting another reunion in 5 years instead of 10! I guess that's the sign of a successful reunion! We wanted it to be cheap, low-key, and no pressure, (and fun), and I think we achieved all those things.

I got to spend a few days in Seattle with some dear friends from college. One of them is headed to Tanzania long-term with her husband and their two sweet girls in just a few days, so we wanted to have a girls' trip before we had to say good-bye.

I have a lot of pictures from this trip to Oregon. I posted an album here on Facebook, and also here of the trip to Seattle, but I thought I'd share a few highlights over the next few posts.

My mom took us to the zoo with my brother's family. I wasn't sure how much Ellie would notice or take in, but she seemed to love it all. She pointed at animals, got excited and smiled and was very observant. Pretty good for a 10-month old! Maybe all the books we've been reading and all the stuffed animals she has at home started to make more sense to her. The pictures tell the story:

"Cousins"

Last weekend we decided to head to southern Oregon and visit our dear friends from college, the Barsalous. We've adopted the kids as "cousins" to Ellie because they may never have any real cousins. Of course, as we told one of the boys, Ellie is the kind of cousin it would be OK to marry someday.

Ellie had a blast playing with the kids. Four kids makes for a busy and fun household, and Ellie loved every minute of it. Haddie loved playing with another girl, I think.



As "Aunt Melissa" (formerly known as Uncle Lissa) I had to bring some fun projects. Every morning one of the boys would come find me and ask, "Can we have our surprise today?" Such precious kiddos! We painted frisbees one day, colored calendars, and made foam puppets.

We took a day trip to a nearby river. Our little water lover was excited, despite the very cold water.

Michael and the babies.

Dads and daughters.

Ellie and Lillie...future college roommates?

Of course, we had to have a photo shoot and get some pictures of the kids. Hudson took the job of holding Ellie very seriously.


We love this precious family and can't wait to visit again. These kids sure do grow fast, and we never get to see them enough!

Wordless Wednesday: This past week

Wordless Wednesday