Thursday, February 3, 2011

BabyMoon... Destination Seattle

We planned a trip to Seattle for the end of January... for a few reasons:
Jan is David's Birthday Month, I was still able to fly at that stage in my preggo-ness, and well, we have always wanted to hit up Seattle and we figure no time like the present and so we threw it in as a "Baby-moon" trip and made it happen.
Jessica and Kyle Souther came with us, which made it so much fun. David and I like our alone time, but after a couple hours, we really want to be with other people, so trips with friends or family are way better. So here is a recap of our trip in pictures.


We stayed at Hotel 1000. It was great, and we had enough AMEX points to get both our rooms for free for the full 3 nights. This is the tub I want in my house at home. I spent a good amount of time in it each night, and it is perfect because the wall next to it is glass, so I could watch the Food Network while I relaxed... ahhhhh..... :)

Ok, this is the "gum wall"... so gross! Made me want to throw up a little. David is the only one who ventured this close to it.


And of course he felt it necessary to add his gum to the wall... I made him wash his hands before he even came close to me. 2 thumbs up for being a good sport... but so nasty babe!



We took Seattle's version of Disneyland's People Mover over to where the Space Needle is, and we found the Seattle Experience Music Project. This was one of the attractions we felt was worthy of the cost to get in... as David and Kyle are both very talented and interested in music. There was a bunch of recording rooms with different options to play so the 4 of us had a jam session.

This was the boys when the set was over, about to smash their guitars... cause that is what all rock stars do, right?


Jessica and I were doing our best at playing the roll of the adoring groupies :)



Getting into the groove :)


This was the recording studio part, you could actually record a song... sadly, because we were in Seattle, there were no real great song choices unless you are a Nirvana fan... no thank you Kurt Cobain... so i passed.


We opted not to pay the $ to go up the Space Needle, but we got close to it :)


We found this whales tale statue outside the history museum... we figured my whale of a belly could measure up to a photo opt :)


This one's for you, Erin!!! The exhibition was pretty pricey, so we did not go in, but we did our best to "make it work" with Harry. David is casting a spell on me with a "wand" he found on the ground.


This was a cyclone of guitars at the museum, David would love to have in our house :)

Kyle and Jess and the Space Needle.


So we all know, I am not really the big drinker, especially while preggo, but I am a fan of all things food. So instead of doing a Bar Crawl... we did a 4 day Food Crawl. These are the prepared when ordered donuts at Lola. AMAZEBALLS! We ordered 2 times they were so amazing. Giada picked them as her favorite on "The Best Thing I Ever Ate... Fried Food" show on the Food Network, and let me tell you, she did not lead us wrong!



They came out in this bag that they shake up with all the sugar at your table and then they cut the bag open and pour out the yummo-ness for quick consumption!



We ate at Serious Pie (thanks Dan and Darrin for the great suggestion). This was my Yellowfoot Chantrell and Truffle Cheese pizza. And for dessert, my fav... a from the tap, Rootbeer float with vanilla gelato!


A view of the market.


David with his Starbucks at the original Starbuck's next to Pike's Market in Seattle.

Me with Mc Dreamy :)


Who knew David was team Jacob :)


So this is a pretty nice back drop for a picture right... guess where this is? In the middle of downtown Seattle... it is the UPS building. Pretty fancy UPS, no wonder your prices are always going up.



This was the memorial for the fires that burnt the city down back in the day.



Jess and me at a fun diner we ate breakfast at the 1st morning.
We had such a great time. And Lord willing, we will still be doing fun trips like this after the Tiny Human arrives in 9 weeks.

Monday, July 19, 2010

A CarSon 4th of July - Indy Style

4th of July 2009 David and I made plans to do the 4th in Indy the next year, and we did :)
Here are some of the fun times we had :)


Sparklers are fun at every age!


This was just the beginning... the boys really did it up. I was a nervous wreck, but it was fun!


David learned a new game in Indy. It involves a beer in one hand and an empty one balanced on a tall PVC pipe and a frisbee... David was all over it :)



Sadly, Team Josh and David did not come out victorious in this one.


Caleb was killing me, I had me camera on him and he leaned back and told me, "I pose?" So cute.



We spent some time at the pool. This kid is so awesome.







Future Rock Star!


Caleb was just on fire for me this trip :)


There will be more to come... but I am about to head out the door.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Worship in the AM

So for a while now, I have been listening to worship music on my way to work each morning. I used to listen to talk radio and channel surf a lot. But I found that worship music in the early AM helps me focus and rest on the way to work. Sitting in traffic is not too bad when I am focused on worship (don't worry, I am still watching the road). For the most part I have been listening to CD's, mostly because The Fish 95.9 has, in my opinion, less than to be desired morning hosts. But yesterday I flipped on the the Fish on the way to work and this song came on



It is called Our God by Chris Tomlin:


Water You turned into wine
Open the eyes of the blind
There’s no one like You
None like You
Into the darkness You shining
Out of the ashes we rise
There’s no one like You
None like You

CHORUS
Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome and power
Our God, Our God…

Into the darkness you shining
Out of the ashes we Rise
There’s no One like You
None like You.

Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome and power
Our God, Our God…
Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome and power
Our God, Our God…

BRIDGE
And if Our God is for us, then who could ever stop us
And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?
And if Our God is for us, then who could ever stop us
And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?
What can stand against?

Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome and power
Our God, Our God…
Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome and power
Our God, Our God…

And if Our God is for us, then who could ever stop us
And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?
And if Our God is for us, then who can ever stop us
And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?
Then what can stand against?
Then what can stand against?

Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome and power
Our God, Our God…
Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome and power
Our God, Our God…

This song was a sweet and powerful picture for me that morning. We are rising out of the ashes because of Him. I need this reminder a lot of mornings... every morning, some more than others though. God is Stronger, Higher, Healer... and he is ours! He is for us! Our gift. Lovin' this AM worship :)

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Time with Gigi :)

When planning our trip to North Carolina, other than claiming the prize for most awesome cousin's, David felt the urge to also take the title of Favorite Grand Child and go up and visit his grandmother (we call her GiGi) who lives a few hours north of Michael and Allison, in Winston Salem. Barbara, David's Aunt, was so gracious to let us stay with her and cart us around for a couple days :) We met them at church on Easter Sunday morning, followed by lunch where GiGi lives... FYI... I had some of the best chicken fingers ever for my Easter lunch; dipped in glorious ranch dressing... it was great! Any way, GiGi was so excited to show us around her diggs and since we were up for the grand tour, I decided to memorex it so all the other grand kids could see how GiGi is rollin these days...

We started with some yummo snacks she provided in her apartment. We sat for a while and looked at lots of pictures and went over her date book and filled in every one's birthdays and anniversaries for her :)



Then the tour commenced... here they are in the Library... I think their reading choices were spot on!



Then Gigi encouraged David to burn off some of those southern cooking calories he had been enjoying for the past couple days.


Followed by GiGi and giving a little "Gun Show" of our own :)


Then we went outside to GranDaddy's garden. Sadly, since he has past, there is nothing much growing anymore. But it was still great to get to see. We could just picture him out there working on his bounty.



And because you all know how musical this family is... They had to boogie a bit on the piano!
(side note: GiGi, actually played the organ when I walked down the isle to marry David! Such a great memory to have and a real honor too!)

There were the most beautiful Dogwood trees everywhere.

Gigi was so cute. She had said that she really wanted to show me this beautiful piece of furniture. I asked why, and she said because there are two identical ones... just like me (being a twin) Again... could she be more precious?

The tour came to an end when we arrived back on her floor on the "C" Block.

Barbara took us all to Old Salem and we had the most amazing lunch at this old house, turned restaurant... I had the best pasta with cream sauce... mmmmm... I am hungry. What follows are some pictures I took from our time that day.


We got some yummo goodies from the town baker :)

How cute are these signs outside the shops? Love it!

It was a great trip... and GiGi told David he claimed the title of Favorite Grand Child... and also said anyone willing to come visit her could steal the title from him :) She is waiting to see if any of you will take the bait :)

North Carolina Family

Ok, since it has been months since I have blogged I have lots of pictures of fun times we have had... since I love taking pictures, my blog posts will pretty much be that; pictures and some captions. Hope that is okay with y'all :)
A while back, Easter actually, David and I flew to North Carolina to visit some of his family. We have been to Ocean Isle 2 times for family reunion type things with Ann's (David's mom's) side of the family and those 2 times I made a quick connection with Allison (a cousin of David) and we had been emailing ever since. Always talking about us needing to come out there for a visit... and we finally pulled the trigger and headed out. It was an amazing trip!!!! We had a blast with them and we would go back in a heart beat! Michael and Allison have 3 kiddos, Cade (age 2.5) and Reagan and Carson (twinners age 10 months)- ages are when pictures were taken :) As you know, when there are kiddos, there are pictures galore! And with Cade stealing my heart with that Southern accent from the second I walked through the door and the girls being twins (I have a fondness for twins for some reason :P) I had a camera filled to capacity. I have narrowed it down though, for your viewing pleasure :)
This is Carson... she is amazing. She looks at you when you walk in the room, throws her hand up to wave and says (in the most awesome southern draw)... "Hhhheeeeeeyyyy..." It is so precious. I just want to steal her and bring her back to Cali with me.


She can also play sweet and innocent when she wants to :)


This is Cade. Cade speaks in the 3rd person, which is a habit some may think is not good... but I LOVED every second of his little mouth opening up! We showed up to the house a wee past his bed time, but they kept him up so he could greet us, and what a greeting it was! He was great. He took my hand and said, "Cade show you around?" My heart melted! He was such a joy to be around! Such life and excitement in those eyes!

And this is little Reagan. She is a little sweet pea! A little climber too. David put this tent together in the backyard for the girls (and me... you know how I just love the sun :P) to chill in while we all played outside. But this monkey stayed in the tent about 30 seconds before she was crawling around in the sun exploring :)



She is just so sweet. Loved walking when she had something to push around.


Reagan giving me her ZooLander pose :)



This is how Carson sucks her thumb, with the fingers up. So cute.



Big Brother Cade took the girls for a spin in the Jeep, they loved it!



This is in their backyard! Crazy! We are not in Cali anymore.



As you can see, there is no gate up to keep Cade from running into this pond in the back yard... so Allison and Michael have come up with some creative parenting to make sure he stays out of the water. Here in the conversation Cade had with me the 1st night I got there:

Cade: You like worms?

Me: No way.

Cade: Cade don't like worms! Frogs eat worms. Cade likes frogs.

Me: You do huh?

Cade: But trocdodiles eat frogs. Like this... (and he showed me with his arms chomping down).

I then was told that there are trocdodiles in the water in the back yard. And so Cade stays away from the water because he does not want to get near the frog eatin trocdodiles. While I was taking the picture, Cade was in his Jeep and he saw that he thought I was getting a little too close and came yelling and running towards me saying, "Wendy... watch out... the trocdodiles gonna get you!" It was very sweet that he was trying to save me :)


The boys went for a ride around the block in this fun toy :)

He loved all the boy time he had with David. They were buddies!

Hangin loose with their shades


Boys and mud!


She is such a doll... she had turned on the tears for a quick second, then I distracted her with my camera :)


We met up with Charlie, Helen and their kids (Waverly and Hugh) while we were there and we all went to an Easter Egg Hunt at the country club close to their home. Cade decided to steal the show in this picture. Classic.


This picture is for you Lolly... to prove we were actually there, and not just my camera :)

This kid has so much personality!

Carson... not so much the fan of the Easter Bunny!

This is Michael, David's cousin... never saw that big of a resemblance until I saw this picture! They would look like brothers if they had the same hair color!


This was our only group shot from the trip... Some of the kids were not camera ready... but it worked :)

Cousin's hanging out.

Hugh was soooo good on the horse :)

Later that night Allison and Michael took us down to the water front and we walked the pier. Carson made herself cozy high up on David's shoulder.

David and I, admiring the art on the pier.

Cade was showing his sister creatures in the water.
And telling her about sharks :)

It was such an amazing trip. We hope to go back again really soon! Thanks for everything McWhorter's!!!

PS... more blogs to come daily with more of our travels from the past few months :)