Happy 1st Birthday, Lanie!

Today marks our little Lanie's 1st birthday, so of course we are celebrating! She hasn't opened her gifts yet, but she did get to wear her new party hat.

Happy Birthday to our little furry bundle of joy!

Hello 2011!

Well, it would seem as though we haven't blogged since December 6th...whoopsies! Although we're well past the New Year's Resolutions period, maybe we'll make it one of ours to be better bloggers. But like any good resolution, we'll see how long that lasts. :)

We have been very, very busy the past month and have hardly had any time at home (hence the scarcity of blogs). In mid-December, Shaun took off to Mt. Baker for his annual guys' trip and I was off to Leavenworth with six of my besties for our second annual 'Sistah Summit.' We found an amazing log cabin a few miles out of Leavenworth that is likely to be our set destination for every girls' trip from here on out.

Next, Shaun, Lanie & I road-tripped home to Montana for a white Christmas! We had so much fun getting to and from Great Falls and enjoyed our time with my family very much. Shaun and Lanie got to see where I grew-up and also got to take a tour of my dad's farm in Big Sandy. It was freezing, but so wonderful being home. We did miss the Kehrberg family Christmas though....it was much more quiet then we are used to without four dogs and two kids under the age of 5 running around. Not to mention it was Shaun's very first Christmas away from home. :)

We made it back from Montana just in time to get a few days of work in before taking off to Whidbey Island to ring in 2011 with amazing friends! We rented a great house right on the beach and spent most of the weekend in sweat pants, one of our favorite past-times. After returning home, we were off to Tacoma to meet our dear friends, Sheryl & Nate's, new bundles of joy. Reese & Rory (a.k.a. the Brown twins) were born on December 20th and are the most amazing little gifts ever.

We were then lucky enough to have my siiiiiiister in Seattle for a visit the first weekend of 2011! Jaymee had a work trip so decided to make a weekend out of it. We had so much fun shopping and doing siiiiister stuff, which included finally purchasing my wedding dress! And to top it off, when it was time to pay for half of my dress so they could put in the order, Jaymee sneaked her credit card to the owner of Belltown Bride before I knew what was going on. It was the most surprising, generous and meaningful wedding gift ever from my MOH. I'm so lucky and can't wait to wear the dress on August 27th!

Finally, we took this past three day weekend to send off one of our favorite couples (and one of my besties of all-time) on their new adventure in Pittsburgh. Sara & Mike are off to the Steel City to take advantage of a job offer that Mike couldn't turn down...although he promised to have her back to us in two years! It has only been three days and I already miss my L.P. so much. Shaun & I are looking forward to visiting them in their new home when the Hawks play the Steelers in Pittsburgh during the 2011 football season. And luckily I'll get to see Sara numerous times this year for all of the activities surrounding our weddings!

Here are some pictures from our above adventures. Enjoy!

Christmas Tree Excursion

Lanie's First Christmas Tree

My mom emailed me last week asking if we'd like to take her pre-lit, artificial Christmas tree off of her hands because she recently bought a smaller one. I had to gently explain to her that Shaun would NEVER allow an artificial tree to pass through our front door. :) Instead, we headed down to Copper Creek with a group of friends to cut down our very own tree this past Saturday! We ascended up one seriously snowy/steep mountain with Lanie in tow, and after an hour (or two) of searching we found the perfect gem. Although...note to self: trees seem MUCH smaller when on a mountain surrounded by gigantic trees than in one's living room. However, after removing a few feet off of our tree we got it through the front door. Tonight we begin the decorating!

The Ladies

The Group

The Descend :)

Saying Thanks...

Warning: Do not continue reading unless you are ready for a corny, cheesy post. :)

The holidays are a time to indulge in endless mounds of turkey, stuffing, wine & pie and to also celebrate all that we are thankful for in our lives. 2010 has been filled with the highest of highs and some of the lowest of lows, but I am truly grateful for everyone and everything that has made this year a blessing. And I've decided to dedicate a blog post to that very thing. :)

For Shaun: I am beyond thankful for waking up to the most amazing fiancé and my best friend every single day...you continue to make me want to be a better person. Thank you for always making me laugh, for putting up with me when I'm grumpy, for thinking I'm beautiful even when my hair is a mess and I refuse to wear anything but sweatpants, for rubbing my shoulders when I'm stressed, for making my favorite meal every single week, for losing with grace to me in fantasy football :), for always making me laugh, for making every day of my life so much happier and for asking me to spend the rest of my life with you. That was the easiest decision I've ever made. :)

For my family: I am so blessed to have such a wonderful and supportive family and to have a siiiiiister I also call one of my bestest friends. Thank you for all of the time we were able to spend together this year, for traveling to Seattle to visit us numerous times, for supporting me through difficult times and for always believing in me. You challenge me to push myself to my limits and to never settle for anything less than what I deserve. And to my new family, the Kehrbergs...thank you for welcoming me into your home and into your family with so much love. I definitely won the lottery as far as in-laws go! I can't wait to meet the newest baby Kehrberg this summer and to get to call myself an actual Kehrberg this coming August. :)

 For my besties: A girl could not ask for a better group of ladies to call her best friends. Thank you for continuously making me laugh, for always supporting me (even through my poorest of decision-making), for making my work days more bearable through witty emailing and i.m. convos, for the genuine happiness you showed me when Shaun proposed, for helping me pick out 'the dress', for loving me even though I’m the epitome of a ‘homebody’, for our sistah summits that can never come soon enough and for simply being the most amazing and loyal friends on the planet. I love you all to the moon!

For Bill Heinlein: First of all, thank you for your part in bringing two of the biggest blessings in my life into the world. Liz & Kellan are pretty rad. :) But also thank you for showing such courage, grace, sense of humor and strength through the most difficult of obstacles. You have inspired us all to live each and every day to the fullest and have helped put life in perspective for so many people. You are truly an inspiration. Thank you for continuing to fight.

For Miss Lanie: Thank you for all of your puppy hugs and kisses, for greeting me with pure excitement every time I come home, for snuggling and keeping me warm at night, for all of your silliness that continues to make us laugh on a daily basis, for loving us unconditionally and most of all, for helping heal our broken hearts after losing Harvey. Harvey left some pretty big 'paws' to fill, but I know he would have approved.

I am so excited to see what 2011 brings...I know it will be the best year yet! I love you all and thank you for putting up with the cheesiest of posts.

Dad's Weekend in Seattle

About a month ago my dad, Dennis, decided he was going to take a VERY long road trip from Montana, to Seattle and on to San Francisco to visit his two daughters in one fell swoop! And this past weekend, Shaun and I were lucky enough to spend four days with my dad, something I cherish very much living so far away from my family.

My dad got into town just in time for dinner on Thursday and left for San Francisco early Monday morning. Friday, Shaun and I decided to take him out to Port Ludlow to show him the destination of our upcoming wedding and practice walking down the very long, gravely isle. And we stopped by Pike's Place Market on our way home to pick up fresh halibut for Friday night's dinner (it was delicious!). Saturday morning, my dad and I went to brunch with the Leander's, who were like a second family to me all through college...not to mention our dads bonded over the course of four dad's weekends at WSU while visiting their sweet daughters. :) Saturday night we were off to the Heinlein Casa for little Kellan's 2nd birthday party and Sunday we headed down to Gig Harbor to spend the day with Shaun's family and stuff ourselves full of Pam's amazing food. It was a busy, but extremely fun weekend! Shaun and I are looking forward to our road trip home to Montana for Christmas in just over a month so Shaun can finally see where his wife-to-be came from.

Ferry Ride to Port Ludlow

The site for our upcoming August wedding.

 Family Picture

 

 Kellan turns two!

Happy Halloween!

Once we landed in Seattle from spending the weekend in L.A., Shaun headed to the Sounders playoff game on Halloween night with the fellas and I was off to go trick-or-treating with my bestie and her little man, Kellan. Isn't he the cutest little bug ever? We think so. :)

We also found out some VERY exciting news over the weekend! Shaun's older brother, Jason, and his wife, Francie, are expecting their second child this coming summer! 2011 is shaping up to be one exciting summer for the Kehrberg family!

Here Comes the Bride...

Shaun & I spent this past Halloween weekend in the beautiful sunshine of Manhattan Beach, CA for Cuz Erin's wedding! The weekend started bright and early Friday as we left Miss Lanie in Gig Harbor for her weekend with Grandma & Grandpa and headed to the airport to catch our 7 a.m. flight to L.A. My mom, sister, Shaun and I all arranged our flights to get in around the same time so we could share a cab ride to the hotel...a cab ride filled with our driver honking and yelling at everyone around him, including his passengers. :) But once we made it to the hotel, everything was in walking distance which was so great! Friday day was mostly spent bumming around MB, getting manis & pedis and just taking in the sunshine. And Friday night we were headed down to Stu & Erin's, which is a block from the beach, to watch the autumn sunset. At dusk, we were off to a neighborhood restaurant for the rehearsal dinner with all of Stu & Erin's closest friends and family.

Saturday was the BIG day and it started off with some flower arranging. My cousin is extremely crafty and resourceful and decided to do her own flowers for her wedding. I removed leaves and stems and left the arranging up to the other ladies. But the finished products were amazing...you would never know she didn't go through a florist! After delivering the flowers to the hotel, us cousins headed to the salon to get our hair done and then back to the hotel to get the bride in her gown and make-up and Jaymee & I in our bridesmaids dresses (which were so cute!). We even had time to sneak in a mimosa, or two, before the 5 p.m. ceremony. :)

The wedding was absolutely stunning...you would never have guessed it was put together in only two months! Erin & Stu put so many personal touches and thought into every detail of their wedding, including a 'facebook' for each guest that was made up of a picture and description of how they knew each and every person at their wedding. I only hope Shaun & my wedding is as beautiful as theirs. Congrats Cuz Erin & Cuz Stu!!

The lovely couple!

Rooftop Welcome Party

Enjoying the sunset.

The Beautiful Bride!

Bridesmaids

The Bridal Party

 My handsome date. :)

 

 Cousins!