Update...FINALLY!

I know, I know..I had just about given up on myself ever updating this blog.  I have thought about it often but have just not taken the time to do it.  So lets see a recap of the last (almost) four months.

February - May 

We completed our DC adventure on February 12th.  After packing up we drove south to the Carolinas to spend a week with family.  We had a wonderful time in Charlotte, North Augusta and Edisto Island.  Jimmy even fit a quick guys golf weekend to Florida in before we jumped on a plane and headed home to Portland.

Shortly after arriving home we were overjoyed to find out that baby #2 in on the way.  We expect the arrival sometime around Halloween.  We will hopefully find out boy or girl on June 2nd.  I will post an update.

Other than that we have been busy house hunting and thankful for our comfy temporary housing at mom & dad's house.  We put an offer in on a house about a month ago but found out it is a short sale.  So we have been playing the waiting game waiting for the bank gods to see it our way and just say yes.  If not, we will be back on the hunt.

Jimmy, Audrey and I ran away for a quick vacation to San Diego and Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago.  We were finally able to introduce Audrey to her great-grandma and Papaw (Jimmy's grandparents) and enjoyed visiting with old friends.  The weather was beautiful and we had a great time hitting all our old favorite spots.  We even had our morning coffee and The Coffee Bean and Tea House in Beverly Hills.  We used to go there and just people watch and listen to the crazy conversations.  This trip didn't disappoint.  Too much fun.

All in all it is wonderful to be back in Portland and enjoying our friends and family.  

Here are some pictures of our adventures!

Audrey & Cousin Ava on Easter

Driving on the beach in Ocean Shores, WA

Meeting Grandma & Papaw 

Audrey's first trip to "The Temple" aka Dodger Stadium

Edisto Island, SC

Inauguration

Well today is certainly an exciting day to live near DC.  It is VERY cold here and I have elected to stick close to home with my Sister-in-law and nephew and am watching all the festivities on TV from the comfort of our living room.  Jimmy on the other hand decided it was very important for him to share this historic day with his daughter so we bundled her up and attached her to daddy and they headed out to brave the masses and make their way into the district.  I am nervous but supportive of his desire to share this day with her.  I am sure he will tell her about it for many years to come.  It took me awhile to warm up to the idea, but I am okay with it now.

Last night Jimmy, Christa and I attended the South Carolina Society Pre-Inaugural Ball!   I am so glad that I have a SIL who is well connected I doubt I will ever get to experience such an event again.  It was held at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum on the Mall near the Capitol.  We rode the Metro in our formal attire and was happy to see many other tuxes and dresses.  Now that is something you don't see everyday.  

Christa is good friends with one of the organizers so we got the first class treatment.  We were even invited into the VIP are for a bit.  I felt so important.  Christa and I were stopped by a photographer and asked if we would like to be photographed for The State newspaper.  We of course agreed, Christa checked the website first thing this morning and sure enough we made it!  Here is the link (I think we are about the 40th picture): http://www.thestate.com/slideshows/gallery/656683.html#http://media.thestate.com/smedia/2009/01/20/02/231-spotted0057.standalone.prod_affiliate.74.JPG 

Now for some of our pictures...enjoy!

I'll Be Home For Christmas!

Well the laundry is done and the bags are packed.  I am heading home tomorrow.  Wish me luck that no weather issues get in my way, I am traveling thru Denver.  But they know how to handle planes in the snow, right??

It is going to be a long birthday for me.  Three extra hours to be exact, and I am going to get every extra minute.  Audrey and I don't land at PDX until 11:40pm...if all goes as scheduled.  That is okay.  I can't think of a better birthday gift than going home to friends and family.

We will certainly miss Jimmy.  He will be making a very short trip home, just the 24th-28th.  At least we will all be together for Christmas.

I am so excited to see the Portland snow that everyone has been talking about and even more excited to see everyone.  Hopefully weather won't inhibit the visits too much.

See you all soon!!

-Kristen

Sigma Kappa

Last Sunday, November 9th,  I went to the University of Maryland campus to attend a Sigma Kappa Founder's Day celebration.  Happy 134th birthday SK!  

This was quite an amazing event.  The brunch was attended by approximately 300 women, comprised of the collegiate SK chapters of University of Maryland, University of Delaware and George Washington University as well as the alumna chapters of North Virginia and Washington DC.  I was invited by a friend whom I have met here who is a SK alumna from Texas Christian University.  I was really overwhelmed to say the least.  It has been so many years since I have attended a SK event let alone being in a room with more than 300 sisters!!

I had a few laughs as I was watching the girls arrive.  Audrey and I had arrived early so we were sitting outside the hall.  Hearing all the heals and chatter instantly brought me back to the sorority days.  Even 11 years after graduating you are instantly brought back.  The collegiate's speeches also made me chuckle.  They were full of inside jokes and crazy house stories.  The faces were different but I could see my fellow Alpha Phi (UO) Sigmas in these girls.  There was at least one Remi and one Traci Ryan!!  

I only knew one woman at the event and yet it all seemed so familiar.  I felt thoroughly welcomed even though I was sorely underdressed (no formal attire with me).  Audrey loved the chance to entertain a room full of women.  She was the only little one there and was a huge hit.  Especially when she enthusiastically clapped for everything!!

Going to this event has inspired me to check out the Portland alumna chapter after all these years.  I get invited to everything and have yet to attend.  I will have to check into it when I get back.

In Sigma,

Kristen

Happy Halloween

I wanted to share a few pictures from our Halloween adventures.  The first few are from Portland.  We were invited to my nephew's elementary school harvest party.  We didn't have Audrey's costume with us but we were able to borrow one of Noah's old costumes.  I thought she made an adorable Tigger...

We are back in DC and Audrey was all ready to show off her sweet little bee self..

And here is a great shot from our Baby Boot Camp Halloween celebration

To add to the fun Halloween festivities we have been hosting four of Jimmy's law school buddies.  I love these guys and it has been so great to see them again.  Tim P. came all the way from London, Tim R from Kansas City, and Luis and Paul came down from NYC.  We have rented a car for the weekend and Audrey and I have had two days of adventures picking guys up in Baltimore (BWI).  Yesterday she greeted Tim R. in her Bee costume.  Once everyone made it to town we stopped into a bar for happy hour.  I think Audrey definitely won for best costume.  We left the boys to play in Dupont Circle and headed home.  It was so cute this morning to walk out and see four grown men sleeping on little mats in our little living room.  We all went to watch the duck game at the UO Alumni bar in Virginia.  Audrey are now back for a quiet girls' night in.  The boys have elected to rent a hotel room in district.  I can't blame them.  We only have one bathroom after all.  Hopefully we will all meet up again tomorrow before they start their travels home.  

Take care and I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday.

-Kristen

A Walk Down My Parents' Memory Lane

My parents arrived in DC this past Friday.  We have had a wonderful time touring the city and seeing old sites that my parents experienced 40 years ago when they lived near DC.

On Saturday our first stop was the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.  The highlight of visiting this museum was watching my Dad look at the plane in which his father flew in WWII.  My dad never had the chance to meet his father because he was tragically killed in the line of duty a few months before my father's birth.  Seeing this very rare plane (I believe there are only 3 or 4 left in the world), for a moment, brought him closer to his father.  It was a wonderful thing to see, and I am so happy that we were able to give my dad this experience.

The museum was pretty amazing.  They had the NASA Enterprise space shuttle in the space section.  I have been to the Kennedy Space center in Florida, but this was the first time I actually got to see a shuttle up close.  I can't believe how enormous it is.  You see footage of it strapped to the rocket boosters and it doesn't appear to be much bigger than an airplane, that is just not so.

Here are some more planes...

We left the museum and headed out towards Quantico.  We were excited to find a Chick-Fil-A along the way.  Yummy!!  I thought I was going to have to wait for our Thanksgiving trip to Charlotte to indulge in some sweet tea.  I guess we went just "south" enough.  

Forty years ago my parents lived on the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia while my father completed his Marine Officer Training.  My brother, Scott was born there and I have heard references to Quantico my whole life.  I was excited to finally see the place.  We did a quick drive thru the base and spent the rest of the afternoon at the National Museum of the Marine Corps.  We all learned what it means to be a Marine, how cool and tough the Marines are and much of the history of the Corps (all the way back to the late 1700's).  Poor Jimmy, it had to be tough for an Army guy.  My dad was on cloud 9 the whole day.  I am sure it will go down as one of his most favorite days ever!

We spent Sunday wandering the Mall and checking out more DC sites.  Here are some more photo highlights:

Hope Diamond

On Monday morning we received the sad news that my grandmother (mom's mother) passed away from a sudden heart attack Sunday night.  Although we are very saddened by her death we are so happy that she is finally at peace and that she didn't suffer.  She was 94 years old.  Grandma raised four children and thoroughly enjoyed her 14 grandchildren (I am the baby of the group), 30+ great-grandchildren (I have lost count) and at least two great-great-grandchildren.  She lived a full life and I am comforted to know she has been reunited with my grandfather and all her loved-ones who have passed on before her.  

I was able to get a ticket on the same flight as my parents, so we will all be heading home to Portland today.  Thank you for all the well-wishes I have we received.  I can feel all your hugs.

-Kristen

Bye Grandma. I love you...

In loving memory

Gertrude Moeller

April 24, 1914 - October 12, 2008