Kim's a Harrington!

Kim & Erik's wedding was yesterday, July 10th, and I was a bridesmaid. The days activities started at 10:30 with my hair appointment but I woke up at 5am with Miss Hannah. It was still so hot in our bedroom that she woke up early & I couldn't get back to sleep after feeding her (no AC) so I took a shower, pumped, got Ethan's clothes out for the day (he showered with daddy after I left & after a hair cut), dressed Hannah, got all my stuff together (dress, undergarments, shoes, jewelry, etc.), fed Hannah again, left instructions for the day with Marcus & left. On the way I stopped by Dollar Tree and got cheap vases for the bouquets to set in & be decorations after use on tables for Kim. I got my hair done & then met up with Kim at her apt. I then drove her to pick up her dress from the dry cleaners (it was being pressed) and then we went to Shannon's hotel to meet up with her & Megan to do lunch. We got lunch at an Indian place near by and then went back to Shannon's hotel to get the cupcakes to take to the wedding site (Erik's folks house). Once there Shannon & I made the bouquets and Kim & Megan put decorations on the tables with some helpers. Then we all did our makeup and got dressed. Then it was time to take some pre-wedding pictures of us ladies by the photographer. Then the show began. It was such a happy wedding nary a tear was shed. I was just so happy for her. They make such a good pair! The ceremony was short & sweet and then it was party time. Marcus was super daddy with the kiddos the majority of the time. I made sure he was able to get food and go to the bathroom but other than that he was tending to their needs. The food was great! They had red & white wine and of course a keg. And champagne for toasting. Erik's mom had champagne glasses engraved for the wedding party which I thought was super sweet of her & a nice keepsake. Kim's gift to me was a travel jewelry box which I packed my jewelry in for the day & love, it's pink of course! Marcus had to leave early, around 9pm so after that I felt a little like a wall flower but it was a fun night and I was happy to be there for Kim & help make her day perfect. I hope she is happy with how it all came together & thinks back with good memories of her special day! Love you Kim and I wish you & Erik nothing but the best!

Old friends

I mentioned in my previous blog that Kim, my best friend from college lives here, but I forgot to mention the Carlsson's and Sesnon's. Karen Sesnon, formerly Carlsson, lives here with her family. I know her and her family from BMPC, my home church in Chico. She was one of my Sunday school teachers and I babysat her kids. Now her kids are all grown up, she is remarried and she lives in Tigard. Her youngest, Haley, still lives at home but will be leaving for college in the Fall and her second youngest daughter Chelsea, is currently living with her & her husband Bob too. She is the new manager at Teavana in Clackamus but she is interviewing people at the WA Square location, so I got to see her when we all met for lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. Marcus, my mom & I met up with Karen & Haley for lunch back when we were still looking for a place to live. Chelsea joined us too. Karen gave us all kind of advice about the area while we were looking, had us over for dinner and has kinda taken our family under her wing. I look forward to getting to know her better now that I am an adult. I also look forward to having Haley, who I babysat, babysit for me for Kim's wedding in July. We plan to try their church, Sherwood Presbyterian, on Sunday. I will blog about that Monday maybe.

Stolpps signing off...

Park play

We may have not gotten the house with the neighborhood park, but there are plenty of parks to choose from we just have to find them. We found Cook's Park which is just down Durham from us by Tigard H.S. It's great but can be VERY busy. It has a lot of sports fields and every weekend they are full and so are the parking lots so weekdays are best there. Weekends we have gone to the near by elementary school playground but it's not very well shaded so an overcast day is best for there. Metzger Park, I found a few days ago on Hall going toward Washington Square Mall and it's small but cute. It's close enough that on a hot weekend day we may have to check it out cause it's very well shaded. Kim told me about a couple with water features that she will have to show us sometime as well. Having her here is nice. This is the first time we have moved to a place with a friend already there. Marcus & Erik even get along so that is awesome. We are in a slightly different place in life than they are but they are a lot of fun! They get married in July. Soon we won't be so different. They are still in college, we have been done for 4 years now. They don't have kids but want them so we should be a good source of advice to them in the future. I am so excited to meet their future beautiful babies!

So ya, I am getting to know my surroundings and can get around our general vicinity without the GPS pretty well. I could also probably find my way to parts of Beaverton without it and maybe even Marcus' work. We are close to lots of supermarket choices, the WA Square mall (indoor), the Bridgeport mall (outdoor), Costco, Winco and 2 Dutch Brothers coffee shops! I think we are in a great area!

I can't wait until the weather gets more consistently clear, Marcus can get a weekend off (or at least 2 consecutive days) and we can maybe go to the beach or the zoo. We plan to get a family pass there so Ethan & I can go whenever we want without worrying about having the money. There is a pass that gets 2 people in and one guest & that is the one we plan to buy. So on Marcus' days off he can go or we can take Kim or a visitor. Everyone says that the weather being raining right now is not normal. We don't mind it cause we felt like we didn't get enough of the rain in Fresno, but t would be nice for Ethan if the weather improved. He loves to play outside and rain makes that harder. But his room is coming together and I hope it's a fun place for him when it's all done.

Stolpps signing off...