Lunch with Friends

Tate and Debbie were in Indiana for Christmas and came up to Grand Rapids for a visit! We all met at Amy's for lunch. The one toy Amy has happens to be a giant stuffed Elmo (Abbi loves Elmo). Sorry, i caught you mid-bite, Derek.

 Amy, Debbie, Margo, and me. It was great to catch up!!

Engaged!

Hi Ladies! How are you? It's been a while since we posted on here, and I figured it was time for an update :)

So, after 3 1/2 years and a few adventures, Jaso

n and I are engaged! We have been talking about getting married for a bit now, and Jason started asking me some suspicious questions, so I thought he might have something up his sleeve. We were in Ripon the night before he left for Sydney, and Jason asked my dad for permission. We went out for desert, and I had a funny feeling about the whole thing, but by the time we were almost done, nothi

ng. So I said to Jason, "Do you think we should get married sometime?" He got deer in the headlights eyes, and then recovered quickly, pulled out the ring and asked me if I would marry him! hehe. Jason said he had decided to ask me while we were in Ripon so I could celebrate with my family, wh

ich I thought was sweet. Here are photos of my ring, which I love! I've always wanted something besides a diamond but wasn't sure what I wanted, I'd never told Jason this, but he picked this one out for me, and it's perfect!

Adventures with Armani

Our dog Mani had surgery in November because he had a tumor (which ended up being cancer). We couldn't keep him from running, licking, removing his head done, and removing his bandages, so he ended up having a second surgery. We STILL couldn't keep him under control, so 2 surgeries and >5 vet visits later, they decided to make him some pants! It's actually a 0-3 month old baby onesie (the elastic bottom kind) with strategically placed holes. We called them his "hammer pants" because they were MC Hammer style!

He's better now!!

our kitchen remodel

We remodeled our kitchen! It was a big project because we decided to do a lot of it ourselves (although, I must confess, Tate did a lot more work than I did).

Before...Laying tileAfter!!

After with the undermount lighting!

Sydney!

Hey Girls!

I've been in Sydney for about a month and am heading home on Sunday.

A few weeks ago I went on an overnight backpacking trip with Jason and his parents to the Bluegum Forrest in the Blue Mountains. The hike only took about three hours but it was incredibly steep, with st

airs almost the whole way. At one spot it was so steep it was easier to walk down backwards, like you would on a latter.

The views of the orange bluffs and valley full of green Bluegum trees was beautiful, and our campsite in the valley was sweet, we found a grassy open spot surrounded by the tall trees, and a creek nearby. It was the hardest hike I think I've ever done, but was very rewarding to get back to the top and look all the way back down and say "I was just down there!"

Wow. Life.

Boy, have things changed since the last time we really updated anything on here! Our suite has moved to different countries, had babies, adopted babies, become dog owners, homeowners, and I think we missed a birthday in there too (sorry Jenny!). Any cute photos worthy of the web out there (new babies, new doggies, new homes, you know the normal stuff)? Here's a photo of Abigail and I hanging out today: 

 and one of where we wish we were (although it is in the 60's here, just no palm trees).

Happy Birthday, Jes!

I know your birthday is probably technically over in NZ, but stateside you've still got a few good hours left ;) Love you tons!