Go Hawks!

August 20, 2009
Seattle Seahawks vs. Denver Broncos

While our good friend Paul was in town, we decided to hit up a Seahawks pre-season game. We grabbed some 300 level seats at the last minute and caught the 22 down to the stadium. Pre-game we met up with Heather and Shawn for a couple of adult beverages at Sluggers and then made our way over to the stadium to find out seats. After climbing up to our seats Brad quickly announced, "I am not a 300 level kind of guy." Apparently he was serious asthe next day he purchased season tickets in the Charter Club. Whee!

Brad and Shawn looking tough...(yes, that is a disgusting beard that Brad has on his face.)

From Seahwaks 2009_2010

Little Pony Sire (Heather) and Kimmy.

From Seahwaks 2009_2010

Our view from the 300 level. Too high!

From Seahwaks 2009_2010

Paul and Brad refusing to take a normal picture for me...

From Seahwaks 2009_2010

I just love this guy...beard and all.

From Seahwaks 2009_2010

Maybe blogging just isn't for us?

Well, as you can see, it has been a LONG time since there has been a new post to the blog. Maybe blogging just isn't for us? I will try harder but can't promise much. Here is a quick recap of some of the things that have gone on over the last 4+ months…

Kim started school, in pursuit of her Master's in Teaching, and is already half way done with the program. She interned at Van Asselt Elementary in Beacon Hill and enjoyed every minute of it. She worked with a great 4th grade class and decided to return to Van Asselt to finish her other two internships and student teaching with the same teacher. She will complete the program by the end of March and hopes to have her teaching certificate in hand come the beginning of May.

Brad continues to work hard in and out of the office. He is still a complete super star at work (although he would never admit it) and without fail, is in the gym each day. He has been fortunate enough to work with some really great fighters over the last number of months and build his "trainer resume" by adding names such as Jens Pulver and Rich Franklin to the ever-growing list. He even got his referee license for the state of Washington and ref'd a few weeks ago!

Some of the biggest and best news to share was the amazing wedding that took place June 13th. All of the hard working and planning paid off and the weather even cooperated. Check out this blog (the photographer's) to see some of the incredible pictures that were taken. More to be posted later.









After returning from Chelan, Brad and Kim spent two weeks recovering from the wedding before heading to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic for eight days of fun in the sun. The week was spent drinking, eating, sleeping and sunning. The weather cooperated the entire week, providing some optimal picture moments. Upon the return to the states both Brad and Kim hit the ground running again and were back to work and school the next day.







As many of you know, Tyler and Tami, Kim's brother and his wife, were expecting twins in October. However, the little buggers decided they didn't want to wait an extra 15 weeks to join us and decided to come on July 7th! Tami likes to say that they were waiting for Auntie Kimmy and Uncle Brad to get home from their honeymoon...and that they did. Both Brad and Kim were anxiously waiting in the Swedish Hospital waiting room with Grandma and Grandpa Johnson and Cousin Gracie for the good news of the twins’ arrival. At 6:30 and 6:31 p.m., the world was graced with the presence of Avigail Taylor (1 lb 7 oz) and Deacon Ace (1 lb 10 oz.) Now, after nearly eight weeks of being in the NICU at Swedish, the little blessings are each over 3 lbs and continuing to grow and amaze everyone with their resilience. They will be joining Mom, Dad, Tank and Dakota at home in early October and Tami will be showered with love at her (rescheduled) baby shower in late September at the Kertson residence.

Avi less than a week old...



Avi almost 2 months...



Dad putting Deacon to bed (1 week)...



Deacon nearly 2 months...



Outside of school and work, Brad and Kimmy have been keeping themselves busy with household activities, spending time with friends and simply enjoying married life. They already have a few trips planned for the next number of months. Notably, they will keep up the tradition of visiting a new major league baseball field each year by seeing a Red Sox vs. Angels game at Fenway in September, followed by a weekend jaunt to NYC to visit friends. That trip will be followed by another cross-country adventure to Washington D.C. in January for the wedding of one of Brad’s college football buddies. Lots of sightseeing to be had in DC, but it will probably be done wrapped in coats and scarves!

I promise to TRY to be a better blogger moving forward but nothing is guaranteed...

A Very Wedding Weekend

The time had come for Brad and I to venture East and settle a few wedding related tasks...

Friday
I stayed home from work in order to get a move on with the invitations and left for Wenatchee by 3:45 p.m. The drive wasn’t bad and we arrived at Kelly’s house by 6:30 p.m. After settling in and seeing the Benzel Abode I did some more work on the invitations and then headed out to get some dinner at El Porton, a Mexican restaurant that came highly recommended by Kelly and Todd. After a full day of invitations and driving both Brad and I welcomed a drink (or two) and feasted on some good Mexican eats. After filling our bellies we headed home for more invitation making, some television watching and then it was off to bed as we had a long day that started bright and early ahead of us.

Saturday
We left the house by 7:45 a.m. and waved goodbye to La Casa Benzel. We grabbed a cup-o-joe and then headed off to meet “Becky” for our cake appointment at 8 a.m. Becky had lots of delicious samples waiting for us and we dove right in and started tasting. By the time we left we had agreed on six different flavors of cupcakes, fillings and frostings and signed on the dotted line. (We will also have a small cake for Brad and I to cut into and save for our one year anniversary.)

Next on the list was meeting with Chris at the Grandview on the Lake at 10 a.m. in Chelan. After many phone calls with Chris over the last number of months I was excited to finally meet him face to face and thank him for all of his hard work and patience. He happily went over the rooming lists with me and gave us a tour of all of the unit types we will be using. I was truly in awe of how beautiful the units were and absolutely floored by the “presidential suite” that Chris had so graciously upgraded us to at no charge! Seriously, it is a million dollar condo with the most amazing view. I feel so spoiled and lucky.

Since it was nearing noon and we still had a full day of meetings ahead of us we decided to grab Subway and take Colie to the park. She stretched her legs for a bit and cautiously watched the ducks as they waddled by. Once we were fed we were on our way to Tsillan Cellars to meet with the venue’s coordinator, Colleen, and our caterer, Pam. We discussed just about every detail you can imagine and did a walkthrough of the venue as well as a quick “here’s how it will go on the day of” tour. Between meeting with Colleen and Pam we took a slight “break” to do some wine tasting and select the wines we will be serving at the wedding. I have to say, by the time we were done tasting the whites and the reds I was pretty “happy!” The wines have been chosen and we will place our final order one month out from the wedding. Both Brad and I were rather chipper during our meeting with Pam, the caterer, and we breezed through it no problem. My mouth is watering for some of the items on the menu already…final numbers due to Pam in 5 weeks! Wow…time is flying.

After finalizing things at the winery we headed to the Eagles lodge to see the space and hopefully meet with our contact. Our contact wasn't in but "was maybe going to be back between 4 and 4:30 p.m." We decided to hang around and meet the local Eagles that strolled in and out (and yes, to have a cocktail mid-day!) We of course supported the cause by having a beverage or two ourselves. Brad filled out his application to become a member and some local Eagle "sponsored him." He also explained to Brad that when he filled out his own application years ago he was too drunk to remember it. Ha! Our contact, Bebe, arrived at 4:15 p.m. and we chatted with her. She is REAL excited to have us. The place is a total dive (in a good way) and the dance floor is hilarious. There is a rotating disco ball above it and Bebe was very excited to show it to us. Honestly, this place is going to host one hell of an after party

After we were done at the Eagle’s Lodge we headed to Leavenworth to meet the flower lady, Patti. She is amazing and her home is insanely gorgeous. It’s cabin like but VERY nice, something you would see in a magazine. (She also does interior design.) I gave her all the stuff I had cut out of magazines and screenshots from pictures on The Knot that I liked and pretty much said....”do what you think will work.” I gave her a Save the Date and an invitation to see my "style" as well as a color swatch of the bridesmaid dresses and a few other pictures so she could get the "vibe” I was going for. We ended up staying longer then we had planned and bringing Colie in to play with her dog and meet the fam. After that we headed out....got home around 9 p.m.

It was certainly a full day but GREAT day as well. I can’t explain how much better I feel about everything and I’m actually starting to feel like a wedding might just come out of all of this planning. We’re hoping to have the invites completed and dropped in the mail by Wednesday so be on the lookout for and orange envelope in your mailbox!

The Twinners in "3D"

I'm blogging about these babies as if they were mine...call me crazy but I can't help myself! I'm SO excited for Tyler and Tami and want to share the news with everyone. When asked how my weekend was by the Starbucks barista on Monday I replied with, "My brother and sister-in-law are having twins!"

Below is an email that Ty and Tam sent out just a little bit ago and below that is a picture of the little ones that was taken this a.m. Baby "A" is on the right and Baby "B" is on the left.

"Our ultrasound went REALLY well this morning. Both of the twins look very healthy and are growing a little ahead of schedule :-) It was extremely amazing seeing 4D views of them (stil photos in 3D/video in 4D.) It's incredible how developed they are at this point in the pregnancy.

The doctor is giving us his best guess on the gender (based on internal genitalia). We see him again in 6 weeks (May 20th) and he will confirm if his guess it right. As of now he suspects the following:

Baby A: Sugar and spice and all things nice. That's what a little girl is made of!
Baby B: Frogs and snails, and puppy-dogs' tails. That's what a little boy is made of!

Love, Tyler, Tami, Tank and Dakota"



I love that you can see heads, arms, legs, etc. They REALLY are little people already!

TWINS!

Yesterday we had the pleasure of learning that later this fall, we are going ot be Auntie and Uncle to TWINS! Kim's brother and sister-in-law (Tyler and Tami) are 12 weeks along with two little babies...currenlty nicknamed "A" and "B." The announcement came over lunch while celebrating Kim's dad's 65th birthday. Tyler tricked everyone by casually announcing that they were looking to get a new car...a bigger one...because they would need more room....because Tami was pregnant! Lots of screams and whoops and hollers were let out and it wasn't until 5 minutes later when Kim's mom said, "I'm so glad I kept all the baby stuff..." that Tyler said, "Well, do you have two sets of everything!? It's twins!" Of course more screams...more whoops...and more hollars!

Little "A" and "B" will be gracing us with their presence this fall (official due date is in mid to late October) but it sounds like we might get to meet them at the end of September if they're ready! Both Tami and Tyler will be in our wedding in June. Good thing Tami thought ahead and secretly ordered her dress two sizes too big! Her belly is already starting to show as Little "A" and "B" set up camp inside.

We couldn't be happier... We are already so blessed to have 2 nephews and a niece (Riley 13, Spencer 11 and Gracie 6) and welcome with open arms the Dynamic Duo!

The Flip

For Christmas Nanci, Brad's mom, gave us (me) a "Flip." For those who don't know, a Flip is a handheld camcorder that's smaller than a camera and weighs only 6 ounces, I've been wanting one ever since Megan Kennedy got one awhile back and taped all the girls stating their New Year's resolutions at the beginning of 2008. (Mine was to get out of the "fat girl pants" that my college girl friends had so graciously given me after losing their college weight...needless to say, I was a bit behind schedule. However, their loss, literally, was my gain. And yes, I DID lose that weight in 2008!) Anyway...back to the point of the post. So, I got the Flip for Christmas and just a few weeks ago actually busted it out. (I love finding presents after you have forgotten, it's like having Christmas twice!) I LOVE the Flip! The only problem is...all I have to tape is our animals. I apologize in advance for subjecting you to this.

The Heating Pad

If you've ever seen the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" you know that Windex is the solution to every problem. Well, in my family (the Johnson side) my mom believes Tums are the cure to every ailment with a heating pad as a close second. I don't necessarily agree with Tums but I do put a lot of faith in the heating pad. Apparently Colie does too.

This little dog goes wherever that heating pad goes. We now have the heating pad at the end of the bed every night and Colie and Milo lay on it as they sleep. Sometimes they lay together and sometimes they take turns. Other times, Milo just kicks Colie off of it.