Bring it On, Texas!

The Smith's are moving to Dallas! We have known for a while, but the time is drawing near. All we have is 1 week left in Seattle....*cue the tears.

For some weird reason, I still hadn't taken Steve on a ferry ride. So we went to Bainbridge Island, my first time ever going to that particular island. But holy cow, I didn't expect to get this great view of the city from the water!

Kind of funny that this picture fits the theme of this post...leaving Seattle? Some things in life just work haha.

Sure, the weather is super crummy most of the year. And sure, it takes an arm and a leg to keep up with cost of living! But we have felt so much love and made great friends in our ward! Being able to spend time with Joel and Abby has been the hightlight of living in Seattle! I have gotten to know Abby so well just in this year, and she is one of my best friends I have here! It seems so weird that we won't be living in the same place. Steve is going to miss being around Joel at work too. I see a lot of similarities between those guys, it's funny to watch them interact like brothers do. I will just try and channel Steve's luck and try to get us in the same city again sooner than later! But leaving them will be so sad. *cue more tears  

Something else is killing me too. It's not just us who have been changes coming the end of March. Joel and Abby will be having a new baby girl!!! And if things go the way they usually do when Abby has babies....we are going to just barely miss meeting her.  Nooooo! I am crossing my fingers/legs/toes whatever, that she goes into labor before we leave! We will see if it works :) 

Oh wow this wind. I reminded me of when I was a little girl and I would run around the deck with Ashley, jumping from benches and dancing in the wind! My family would go on fun trips like these quite often! 

Leaving our ward will be really hard for me. I have been a recipiant of service by so many people. We have been so welcomed into the ward, they seem like family to us now. My calling with the Young Women has been a huge blessing and I have learned so much the other women in the organization. They have taught me what it means to serve with fervor. And I have grown because of their examples. I feel like Heavenly Father guided us so we could meet all these wonderful people, and we are so blessed because of them! Saying goodbye in general is really hard, I never like the idea of not seeing someone again...especially those young women! I love them so much, they are so sweet and funny. I really am going to miss them a lot....

Steve was like a little kid, it was so cute! He loved the big boat. It was so weird to him that we just drove on, and there we were out in the Sound. Isn't it absolutely gorgeous?? I know for a fact that Dallas won't have anything like this...a different kind of beautiful, but not this! I am using every ounce of my being to soak it all in while I can. The pacific northwest has the power to make your jaw drop! I will really enjoy these pictures in the future :)

We attempted to take a selfie. You got problems when you add a baby yanking at your hair behind you! This is the result. Moment captured perfectly! 

Bainbridge Island is so cute! I did not know what to expect, and honestly I was thinking there wasn't going to be a whole lot to do. But we went shopping down main street for a while, had teriyaki (gotta get that while we can too), and ended our evening with some crazy good ice-cream and melting chocolate cake. We were going to go play around the beach, but it started to rain pretty hard. So we are go to do that another day.

Now enough with the sad. There are GREAT things to look forward too!! Well for starters....spring weather (I'm talking about the kind with sun) is litterally 1 week away! That alone gets me pumped. But also we get to live only 6 hours away from my Brittany!! We already have a trip planned to drive over to Mississippi. I'm hauling my lazy bum over there to kill it with my first Mud Run! Brittany is doing it too, so it will be a blast and a half. What else is there...oh BBQ. Delisious BBQ.

Who knows...we might come back one day! This was our view on the way back. This picture does not do it any justice but it was so so so cool! 

We already found a 3 month temporary apartment, and then we will go house hunting and move into something bigger later. We are so excited for change and for adventures in  moving! Bring it on, Texas. 

The Charm in Charelston!

"The Charm" meaning my family of course! Graham had yet to officially meet Grandpa, Olivia, and Haley. And Nonni, of course, was dying to squeeze and kiss that little baby! So we scheduled to fly myself and Graham to the land of palmettos and sunshine. South Carolina. 

Wait, did I say sunshine? Well normally yes, even in the winter! But his particular week was probably the worst time to travel. The entire South was basically in it's own version of Frozen. Tons of states were hit with cold wind, snow, and ice storms!! We were worried that either my flight out of Seattle, or my connecting flight to Charleston would be cancelled. 

To make a long story short, my connecting flight to Charleston was cancelled (flights were getting cancelled every five minutes). And after waiting in a very long line, with a baby, it magically worked out that if I took two more flights (nooooo!) then I would still get there that day (okay that's better).  

First time flying with a baby. Was I nervous? Very! But he did really good! It was just really cramped. And thank you to the lady on my first flight that offered to help me if I ever needed it! Without her I would have had to hold it for 4 straight hours...

So at 11:00 pm FINALLY we landed to the small Charleston airport. And there was my family anxiously waiting for us!!! I love the feeling of anticipation when it comes to seeing the people you love! 

We finally made it!! Everyone wanted to cuddle Graham when we met up with them. He was the star, and I was totally okay with that! You see Haley's hat? She likes to wear it even when it's not that cold haha, but she had perfect reason to wear it that night. It was freezing in the airport even!

Oh, and the airline lost my suitcase full of mine and Graham's clothes. I did not pack my diaper bag well with warm clothes for the baby, and we had no idea when my bag would be found. But honestly I was just SO happy to be there that I wasn't too frustrated. It came a couple days after we arrived so it worked out okay!

No suitcase and no clothes? No problem! Grandpa to the rescue!! The evening after we flew in my we went shopping to get Graham one or two pairs of sleepers to wear. My Dad was going from store to store saying "Oh, we should get him this! Okay now what else does he need??" I have never seen my Dad like this when it comes to shopping. Haha! We ended up finding a baseball blanket at our last stop, and Dad insisted that we get it. It's really cute and very durable too, so we promoted it as the "drag around" blanket that all kids have. 

Look at him touching his face...so dear! I love this little connection they had. He loves, loves this baby! There's nothing like seeing the people you love with your own child.

With Olivia after her show! She has high heels on...that girl is not taller than me! 

Olivia had a super busy week! She had two shows she was performing that weekend and tons and tons of homework! OH the life of a junior. She was torn because she wanted to spend all this time with us, but her responsibilities got the best of her this week. I don't blame her for being bummed out, but we made it a fun week to be stressed out at least! Haha! She is growing up so much and she is seriously so beautiful! I remember when she was little and I treated her like my little dress up doll. Ash and I would do her hair, dress her up, do a photo shoot. That and so many other fun memories I have with this girl.

I am blown away with her serious talent in theatre! Her voice is like ten times better than mine and she has so much personality that her acting is phenomenal. Hardly have I seen her actually perform now that she is older, and now that I have, I totally get why she loves doing shows! I can't wait to see where her life takes her! I get so excited thinking about all the change and fun she is going to have in the next few years.

Oh my gosh, I had to share this. Haley sleeps like this very often, and she tends to look...well she tends to look dead. We all find it so hilarious! 

Soooo cute! Mom and I went on a little outing and stopped by the beach! Time to introduce Graham to sand!

This was his initial reaction! Not too bad! 

Now time for the ocean water! 

"Whaaat is this? Cold water?"

"Okay, I don't like it!"

"Get me out-a here!"

Can you tell we're related? The cold was gone after a few days and I was so happy to be in the warmer climate! I can spend all day with my mom. She has turned into one of my best friends!  

This Jersey guy took these pictures for us and made us laugh! 

Watched Dad play in his band! I heard people around me talking about how good they were! Dad brought the "umph"!

Heart melting! We may have been the reason for putting off homework till later :) 

Was it creepy that I took this picture? Mom is so cute with the primary kids in her ward! Church is so fun with my family! We caught Graham singing with everyone during the opening song at sacrament! We all got a good laugh out of that! 

Haley, such a good babysitter! 

Superbowl playing, wings within reach, grandson in arms. Perfect day for any Grandpa.

And ummmm Seahawks WON!!!! The first time I've really got into a superbowl game.  

Out and about with Nonni! 

These two poor people in the back, both so tired from working. Dad was being brought into work so much that week! Sometimes for a couple hours during the middle of the night!! Sheesh! I took this picture after Dad came home early and we all picked up Olivia from school, by the time we got home this is what happened. 

Every time we get together, we always play tennis as a family! It is one of those things that we love to do together! This is something I really want to continue for my own family! Dad is more than willing to run the drills for us, and we are so lucky that he can give us mini-lessons like that. When it's time to play the match, we are a lot more silly than normal. 

Haley doesn't really play, but she will gladly sit by Graham in his stroller or be our ball getter :) 

For my birthday, Mom and Dad got me some new tennis shoes that I love and have been desperately needing! I'm so grateful for the generous gift!! They're blue, they're fiesty, they're awesome. 

Mom played three tennis matches with her team while we were there, and she won all three!!! Woooo! She actually had me sub in for one of her teammates, and I played a doubles match! I have to say that singles is usually my thing, and being rusty with my game didn't help us win...but I had so much fun! It makes me want to get back into playing regularly. I am going to make it a goal to find a team and start playing in Dallas!

Ooooo!

Can you say Hibachi!! Our last night in South Carolina. This was my first run with this kind of dinning, and it was just heavenly. 

I am so grateful that I was able to go see my family! I feel like I'm making a habit out of leaving Steve to visit people haha. But he is so willing to give us up for just a little bit. What a guy :)