Friday, September 28, 2012

Ellensburg

We have some friends! And, not only do we have friends, we actually went and hung out with them for Labor Day weekend. Dan and Tamarah Parker, and their two little girls all invited us to their grandparent's home in Ellensburg, WA. For those of you who don't have a clue where it is, which is probably most of you, it's close to Yakima. If that still isn't ringing any bells, think middle-of-nowhere, WA. It's actually quite pretty. Dan's grandparents have a house with some property out there, and it was sort of a halfway point between Portland, and Spokane (where they live), so we met up there.
We had a blast with them. There was a state fair complete with a rodeo (who knew short shorts and tall cowboy boots was the thing?!?), rides, funnel cakes and SCONES. There were fruit trees with ripening peaches and apples. There was a Model A car, and a WWII jeep to be driven. There were blackberries to be picked and made into jam. It was just a charming weekend.


At the state fair. We didn't realize we were in the senior citizen lounge until it was too late. But come on, the ONLY place that had shade was reserved for the older generation? Total ageism.
This is my favorite dress. Only worn on special occasions.
Yeah, we rode in this...
This jeep really was driven around during WWII.
Aw, so cute.
Janie had just woken up. That isn't so much the weird part. How the heck do you fall asleep riding a 70 yr old jeep on mountain trails?!?
The blackberries we picked.
The jam we made. We still froze a TON of blackberries though. Didn't even come close to using them all.
Millie turned one!! Happy birthday! Remnants of the cupcake are scattered about.
This is the town of Roslyn, but this mural was in a show or something awhile back about a small town in Alaska...? We went to the town for their famous pizza place. Yum!


 We had a fantastic time. Brad wants fruit trees.




One year of fabulousness: August 27, 2012

Monday, August 27, 2012, marked a great and historic day. This day we celebrate the day Bradley McNeil Johnson made the best decision of his life by marrying Jennifer Beth Jackson (me).

Brad went to clinical and I had work, but we were able to celebrate that evening by going out to dinner. We didn't even use our phones (except to take pictures) the whole night. It was lovely.

This is actually on the day of our wedding. We didn't dress up like this and pose with a wedding bouquet on our anniversary. That would be kinda cheesy. And weird. But! I totally still fit in the dress.
 We did exchange a couple gifts and stuff. Our trip to Mexico was our big thing. The thing is, Brad is so nice to me all the time, that every day feels like we are celebrating something. I really got lucky with this one. He is kind and considerate, makes me laugh, works hard, and I feel like he puts me first. We are pretty darn happy. And he's cute. It's ok. You can be jealous. ;)
Thanks for marrying me, Bradicus! And, you're welcome.

Evidence...

...that I'm a nice person.

Lookie what I did!! I made delicious clam chowder (even I thought it was delicious, and I'm a little slow to give out the compliments where clam is involved), salad, and orange julius! I even made that bouquet of fake flowers you see there in the background. It was a surprised for Brad, and I'm pretty sure that was like our 11 month anniversary or something... not sure. Actually, I think it was just because I'm stinkin' nice.

Heaven's sake!

I did it. I took a long break from blogging. Not on purpose. There are a combination of reasons, that I could list, but I won't. Ok, I will list one: I haven't had the gumption required to download, edit, and organize the pictures I want to share. The funny thing is, the longer you wait, the more daunting the task seems to get. So, might as well get to it!

Let's talk Mexico.

This is the first time we went, courtesy of my mother and father (well, and Brad bought the tickets I think) in 2011. At this point we were engaged, and look how young we are!!!

We went this year in June during one of Brad's breaks from school. It was our one last hoorah before clinical days, kids, student loans and reality had to hit, so off we went! I guess it was also to celebrate our one year anniversary a little early. 
We met a fun couple from Beaverton, OR in the clear, warm, beautiful ocean one day. We were trying to dodge some tropical fish, and the plethora of Europeans, and happened to bump into a couple of Oregonites, Amber and Peter. We started chatting, and figured out we happened to not only be from the same country, but the same CITY even (pretty much). So, we spent the remaining days of our vacation hanging out with them. They had been there every year since they were married (4 I think) and really knew the ropes. They showed us the cool snorkeling places, got us a fishing tour for cheap, took some cute pictures of us, and even lent us some snorkel gear at Akumal to see some giant turtles.

And here we are again, one year later. Seriously, so OLD.

So, Mexico was a good time. We went to an all-inclusive resort, which made things very simple. It was on the PERFECT beach. It is one of the resorts that are outside the actual city of Cancun, and more nestled in the jungle. We saw some fun little animals every day on the stroll from our room to the breakfast restaurant. If you feed them, they actually climb up onto you. They are not scared if food is involved. We had hot sunny weather most of the time we were there, but did happen to be right in the middle of a tropical storm for a couple of days. We read, and tanned, and swam in the ocean and the pool. We went snorkeling, running, sea-kayaking, wave-runnering, catamaraning, and fishing. Oh. And we ate and drank (non-alcoholic beverages) a LOT. Brad also made friends with 2-3 waiters because he speaks Spanish. And tips. In fact, one of our waiters noticed we kept eating mangoes, and had his wife go to the store and buy us a few really big ones. He was pretty cool.

 Amber and Peter. These people, I swear, are part fish. Peter dropped their camera into the depths of the ocean, and Amber dove into the water after it, without goggles, and retrieved it before it was lost forever. I was impressed.
We were supposed to act like we like each other...? Anyway, looks like paradise, no?

This little pond was on our way to the lobby from our building. That dense jungle surrounded us on all but one side, and that side had an ocean.
Here are the little guys that were always begging for food!
Presh. They had 3 hot tubs, cool, warm, and hot. During the two days it rained, we spent a lot of time in the hot hot tub.
Wittle Wabbit!
Sun...rise? Yep, rise. Wait. Yes. Sunrise.
I actually was nibbled by a fish while in Mexico. This experience changed me.
Our fisherman guide!! He caught that grouper, and then I reeled it in.
Our grouper about 30 minutes later. Circle of life, people. Don't hate.
Sea turtle. Duh.
And another.

Water aerobics. Can I just say, after a week there, I NEVER want to hear another Shakira song again?
Aw... :)
Dinner one night. The one time I did my make-up while there.
At the airport going home. I don't know why he is smiling.

Getting home was tricky. You see, our flight was delayed about 45 minutes when we arrived at the airport. However, since it looked like we would still be able to make our connecting flight, the airport didn't switch us to a different flight. By the time we went through security, etc, our flight had been delayed another hour. Then it was delayed another hour. By the time we got on the plane to Denver, there was no way we were going to make our connection. I was freaking out because, I HAD to be at work the next day. And Brad had clinical, but I didn't care about that as much as work. I'm selfish like that. Anyway, by the grace of God and a little help from the elements, our next flight happened to be delayed TOO. Completely unrelated reasons. The first flight, there were some technical difficulties (some light on the dash wouldn't go off) and the second flight was delayed because of a storm! Long story short, we ran through customs, security, and to our gate right as they were boarding our plane!!! We were soooooo lucky!
I went to work the next day, and wished I was in Denver.