new jersey 2012- tracy's wedding.

cousins, aunts, uncles-- how i love these people!

you know i take a lot of pictures, right?
well- not all the time.
sometimes pictures are annoying to me.
like when i'm on vacation.
i get home and just kick myself for not documenting important events.
blah.  here are some iphone shots and pictures i scrounged off facebook...

next, todd, eve and i flew to New Jersey to see my cousin get married.
i left my other kids with friends here in town.
(how grateful i am for good friends!!)
it was a quick weekend trip and it was SOOO good to be back east!
(just walking around newark airport and SEEING all the people, HEARING their jersey accents... i felt like i was home.  i LOVE these people.)
my cousin was BEAUTIFUL!!
(too bad i don't have pictures- dang it!)
we arrived late in newark, got changed in the enterprise bathroom and flew to the wedding.  we were 30 minutes late, but arrived just as the preacher was starting.
my aunt nancy (whose daughter was getting married), has always been one of my favorite people.
she hosted every family gathering as we were growing up.
her home is lovely (I have learned MUCH from her about entertaining and decorating and just being.)
when i walked into her home, i just started crying.  it felt like i was coming HOME.
my aunts and uncles and cousins just loved up on Eve.
they parent just like i do.  they sing the same songs i do.  
eve LOVED them-- because they are like me.
it was so nice to visit!
my mom and sister couldn't come to the wedding-- i missed them.
and, my cousin closest to me growing up couldn't come because she was pregnant and too close to delivery!
(she still hasn't had the baby, by the way.)  i was SO excited to see her cute, pregnant.  Missed you tiff!!
it was fun to hang out with cousins and remember times past-- i LOVE my cousins!

sweet katelyn!! i have loved this girl since the moment she was born!!

me with my cousin carissa!  she is beautiful and KIND and so fun.
she is like me with her big, motherly heart!  i love this lady!

{want me to tell you something dumb?  i lost a button on my blouse during my cousin's wedding.  i was self conscious to begin with, because i was very under dressed-- think church clothes at a black tie event.  And then, i lost a button.  in all the pictures my cousin's posted on facebook, i have my hands folded up by my chest-- trying to cover the broken button.  DUMB.  who needs clothes anyway!!  ha!)
and my aunts!!  i love them!!

it was fun to go to the beach!
it was fun to go to the boardwalk and eat funnel cake and REAL boardwalk pizza!!
i have craved jersey shore pizza for the past YEARS!!!  there is nothing like it!!

i got to see my FATHER (and my aunt sue and uncle john from his side of the family)!

i haven't seen or talked with him for years.
when i hugged him, i felt his love for me.  i loved him so much.
my family is GOOD.
it was good to see everyone!  so good.
good to remember who i am and where i came from.
our flight home was delayed 100 times.  we arrived at Newark 10:30am on Sunday morning and didn't get home till 4:00am that night.  blah.

thank goodness todd was with me.
it was SO fun to share that time with him.

i can't wait to go back to the jersey shore.
i can't wait to bring my family.
i know my cousin is going to LOVE married life!
what a fun summer weekend!!
more about our summer visiting to come...

oregon with Puzeys- part 3. Tillamook Cheese.

on our last day together, we followed them up the coast to tillamook.

it is a long, beautiful drive and we made sure to stop and enjoy the sights!!

we loved the kite-flying beach!

good thing puzey's had packed their kite!

this is not a good picture, but there was a group of people flying tandem kites... it was SO cool watching them maneuver in the wind-- reminded me of the air shows we used to go see in virginia, with flying Jet airplanes.

we have to go back to that beach sometime this summer!

we love cheese!

and, turns out we love cheese factories!!

tillamook cheese factory was so fun!

free cheese samples and fresh ice cream!

yum!

do you love squeeky cheese?  i do.

thanks for visiting puzey family!

 we were so sad to see you go...  (poor baby eve with her blistery mouth.)

see you next year!

oregon with Puzeys- part two. Digging for Clams.

Wow!! it was fun to look back over our pictures and remember all the fun we squeezed into their trip.
Todd's cousin Diana and her family came to stay with us the week after our kids got out of school.
They have four, darling, dang perfect, kids.
Tanner is their oldest and leah climbed on him from the moment he entered our home  (sorry tanner).
one thing i will say about leah, she does pick GREAT boys to, um, hang on.

diana and casey are really fun to talk to.

it's a shame we're getting so old and need to go to bed-- we could have stayed up all night talking!

i think my favorite part about our trip was the pace.
we did a lot, but it was slow and savoring.
this land that we live in is SO beautiful.
it was fun to enjoy it with people who SEE what we see!!

This is another picture-filled post!
Hope you enjoy scrolling through and seeing life through my lens.
LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL!!

Casey's one request of Oregon-- he wanted to go clamming!!
one thing i will say about clamming-- i like the experience better than the end result!
(store bought clam chowder is fine with me!)

but OH MY GOSH!!  look how lovely this was!!

we LOVE living in Oregon!
and, there is still more to come about our visit with the puzey's.
can you believe it?