Boston/NYC

BOSTON!

I had no idea I would fall in love with a city so quickly. From the amazing history, the easy-to-navigate subway system, the fantastic food (and even more fantastic sangria), the clean streets, to the unique pride its residents take in their town, Boston may just be my new favorite city.  Not to mention the town was totally taken over by Dodger fans/Laker fans while we were there, which created a fun atmosphere as we explored the city. Add on top of that traveling with wonderful friends, and seeing our beloved Dodgers battle against the Green Monster, it was an all together AMAZING trip.

Dave and I and Peter and Toni met up with Matt and Sam and Jay and Jill for lunch one day (it was breezy...that's my dress billowing in the wind, not my belly...)

After dinner and the most amazing sangria EVER - Great friends!

NYC!

We took the train from Boston to New York City, where we bravely navigated the subway...during rush hour...with enormous suit cases. Quite a feat. Anyway, we survived and went about enjoying the city. My cousin Scotty lives in the city and was a gracious tour guide while we were there. He took us to his favorite places in the city, showed us around his neighborhood, and (my favorite) got us into a speakeasy!

The Scott A. Taylor freedom trail 

Going through a phone booth within a hot dog dive to get to the speakeasy...how fun is that?!?

Times Square and MEMPHIS (so good!)

The American Girl Store - here I am with Molly. The store was everything I thought it would be and more, but I am sad to report Kirsten and Samantha have both been discontinued :( Who would do such a thing??

All in all, we have a fantastic trip - it was so much fun exploring these cities with a couple we love!

Passport Weekend Reunion

A year ago this week, I graduated from pharmacy school. I probably could not have made it to graduation without these people:

Our friendship was formed when we had way to much to do in addition to our classes. These were the people I studied with into the wee hours of the night with, the ones I drank waaaayy too much caffeine with, the ones who introduced me to really good wine, the ones I celebrated with when somehow we all managed to pass our classes, and the ones who shared the good times along with the bad. Even though we've gone our separate ways, we've decided to reunite once a year to do what we do best: drink good wine, eat good food, and catch up on our lives. 

Tulip festival!

Skagit county tulips are magical. Seeing fields and fields of brightly colored tulips against a stormy sky is absolutely breathtaking.

These Monte Carlos are my favorite and will (hopefully) be making an appearance in my front yard next year!

In addition to fields of tulips as far as the eye can see, this tulip farm boasts stunning gardens featuring the fruit of their labor.

Family trip

A couple of weeks ago, our little family took a big trip. We left early one Saturday morning, in a Sportsmobile stocked with plenty of coffee, dog chews, and tennis balls, and headed for a little island in Washington. Dave and I were a little anxious about taking our pups on a road trip consisting of over 1,000 miles and ferryboat ride, but in the end, it was totally worth it. The boys were on their best behavior the entire time - from hikes to Shark Reef, to fetch off the dock, we loved every minute of our family trip.

Remington exploring the meadow

Nanaimo waiting to play fetch in the forest

We totally plan on taking them the next time we go - we were so impressed with these two!

it's a boy!

Meet Remington, the newest member of our family!

He's a silver lab who was born on Christmas. Amazingly, he's even cuter in real life. We couldn't be happier with our newest little boy - welcome Remi!