My super awesome birthday!!

This last Monday, June 1st I headed up to my big sister's in Skagit County. You see she'd been working on a surprise birthday getaway for me as I'm turning 30 this year. All I knew was that we'd be going to Seattle and I'd need some good walking shoes, a swimsuit and a good book to read.

In my head I'd been flipping through all the possible things she could have planned: a day at the zoo, the food tour walk of Pike's Place, or just a nice relaxing couple of days hanging out by the pool enjoying the company of a good book and each other. How wrong I was.

Monday night when we got to her house after watching my very talented nephew play some basketball I got to open the big box waiting for me. I untied the string and pulled the bag away, out popped a big mickey mouse balloon... I didn't think much of it, I love Disney stuff so thought it was cute. Then I read the scroll she'd attached to it. Many heartfelt sentiments, the kind that bring tears to your eyes were written (I love my sister very much, she's my best friend) and the last line, "I decided we should celebrate your first magical 30 years at the Magic Kingdom!!!"

I was in shock and disbelief. No way would my sister surprise me with a trip to Disneyland, but sure enough she did. I haven't been since 2005 (which I know doesn't sound like long, but trust me it is) and didn't think I would be going for a while, you see my little man is a little bit short, he'll be six before he can get on most of the rides. I was so excited I couldn't even show it properly. Theresa you're the best sister a girl could have, thank you for the trip and the effort you put into it. I loved the shirts you made us too!! I will treasure this memory always.

Here are some pictures.

The reflection of the castle in the "moat" at night was gorgeous.

We decided to get our faces painted.


I'm celebrating!! I'm celebrating!!


Our last day. We were sad but had a great time!!!


Even Christopher got to share in the magic.

My family and I had a great dinner on the 10th. My mom always does such a great job and it really is all I need to warm my heart, getting to spend precious quality time with my family. We joked and giggled over a great gluten/dairy/pepper/tomato/citrus free dinner. I know, crazy right.

Adam took me out to Bonefish on the actual day of my birth and got me a Kindle with a cover for my gift. I'm very excited to get to using it. I love to read and this was the perfect thing to get me. Thanks honey!!

I also want to say thank you to all my loved ones, family and friends that touched base and said hello to me on my birthday. It meant a lot. Thank you so much.

I'll leave you with this for now and will post again soon. Love, Rachel

A quick visit.

On the weekend of the 24th I drove up to Skagit County. I had a quick planning meeting for leadership on the 25th (9-5) so I decided to drive up the day before and stay with my sister and her family. I don't get to see them nearly as often as I like so this was the perfect opportunity to do just that.

My nephew Landy turns 16 this July, my how the time flies. He LOVES sports and happens to be pretty darn good at them. I was fortunate enough to watch him play on the 24th, a double header. I got to see him bat, play outfield and pitch. I might have made a fool of myself while I screamed for his team, as I don't really watch sports so didn't know what to yell, especially for baseball, but I had a really good time.

Landy on the pitchers mound.

Landy up to bat.

I just happened to arrive at the same time as the tulips started to bloom. They are a little late this year due to the weather but beautiful and not quite in full swing yet. I took a few pictures, mostly from my moving car (I'm practically a local and have seen the tulips many many times, traffic is horrendous during the tulip festival.)

I had a good weekend with my family and can't wait to get up there again. Maybe next time I'll get pictures of the twins playing some sports.

Chugging along.

Adam is home after a long week of being gone. He went to Minnesota to visit family and get a little business in. His first day out hunting he downed his deer, a nice young (not to young,) buck that will be tasty to eat. I'm glad to have the extra meat in the freezer as it means less money out of my pocket. So, all in all he had a good time and is happy to be home.

I had an uneventful week. Went shopping with my mom for Christmas gifts, took a Quickbooks class... cooked, cleaned a little. Christopher got to play with Katie and spend some quality time with the grandparents. (He also got to play with Beckett and Grason today, so he had a busy week.)

I've started a gluten free blog. Living Without Wheat. It's not much and I probably won't post more than once a week but I thought it was important that I share what I know about eating gluten free, and that it might be fun to have a food blog. I'm open to recipe suggestions so send them my way if you have any.

Trip to MN (Day 1)

Today Rachel and I traveled 682 miles from Kennewick, WA to Billings, MT (where we are located while I write this post) on our way to Minnesota for my sisters wedding. Chris needed to be changed twice and fed three times while on the road so the stops weren't as frequent as I thought they would be. Since any pictures we would have taken would have been from the car, we didn't take any so I don't have any to share. On our way back we expect to stop in Yellowstone National Park so you can expect some good pictures then.

Tomorrow we are planning on reaching Fargo, ND, which will involve about another 12 hours of driving, then a pickled egg and beer is in store at Laurmen's (if the place still exists).

Congratulations are in store for our friends Craig and Louise who had their first child (Laila Tai) yesterday.. w00t!