home renovation

The main reason we drove to Washington in the first place was for my cousin, Alissa's, wedding. It was so wonderful to see most of the Jensen side of the family. Everyone was there but my Aunt Denise and her little girl. I got to meet my little cousin, Sterling, for the first time, and Brody, Alissa's little boy. Equally fun was spending time with all of the family I already knew, all of whom I love and miss very much.

This is me holding Brody after he woke up from his nap. Anya was busy doing everyone's hair, but she'd finished mine, so I got to cuddle with him for awhile. He is so precious. He reminds me a lot of myself when I'm tired--groggy, quiet, and not in the mood to be messed with. You just have to let him wake up in his own time. I think Alissa really may have been blessed with one of the sweetest babies in the world. He is so GOOD! He was such a trooper the entire time we were busy with wedding stuff. I was amazed!


A wedding is always such a special and beautiful thing to be a part of, and this was no exception. I am so happy for Stuart and Alissa! Stuart is wonderful with Brody, and I know he is going to make an amazing Dad! Here are some of the shots I took at the wedding. (If I'm in them, then my mom took them.)

Stuart holding Brody as he and Alissa finish walking down the aisle:

Alissa and Stuart's first dance as husband and wife:


Alissa sharing a dance with her Dad:

3 Generations:
Aunt Arianne dancing with Evan:

I love this picture, because look at Evan's face. Isn't it obvious how much he loves and respects his mom? I think it's precious!

Paul, MalaRee, and Sterling sharing a dance:


With my two cousins, Anya and Alissa:


With Jared:The food. How amazing is a bowl full of Sweedish Fish? How clever!

Evan looking handsome and cool while one of Alissa's bridesmaids looks on:


Alissa with her Grandma:


Sterling, looking guilty while decorating the getaway car:


Anya, looking less guilty, but doing the same thing:


Pictures from the next night at the reception:


Alissa wore a killer pair of turquoise shoes. They were fabulous!



Will you notice my cousin's stellar arms? How gorgeous is she in this picture? Did I mention she has had a baby? Alissa, you look fabulous!


The couple from afar:
Mother and Daughters:


Me with Grandpa:
Brody with all his grandparents:


Alissa's family with the couple:


Jensen cousins, minus Bryan who is in Iraq, and Summer who didn't make it:


Alissa with all of her bridesmaids:


The wedding party, minus the little girls:


I love these shots I snapped of my Uncle Howard with Brody. I remember Howard as being a wonderful uncle to me growing up. I also know he was a wonderful father. This is proof that he is a wonderful grandfather as well:


The wedding cake:
Kissy-kissy (Stuart was not a fan of taking kissing pictures, but they happen to be some of my favorite shots at weddings, so we forced him):


Congratulations, Alissa and Stuart! Welcome to the married club! It's a pretty awesome place to be!

A road trip in THE Cube had to lead somewhere. The first destination on ours was Seattle, Washington. The best part of this trip was definitely having the chance to visit with family we seldom get a chance to see. In my case, it had been four years since seeing most of these people--and a few were completely new to me. Case in point, this little firecracker was a couple months from being born the last time I saw my Uncle Mark and Aunt Jaime:

Luckily, McKenna seems to have little to no stranger fear and instantly made me feel welcome by giving me a tour of her room, trying on all of her princess dresses for me, and of course shielding me from "shadows" by turning into Word Girl and chasing them away. (And while we're on the subject, why did a super hero called Word Girl not exist when I was a child? She sounds right up my alley, and really every English teacher's dream.)

Similarly, little Lilah was an absolute doll. She wasn't even a twinkle in her parents' eyes the last time I saw her family. I am so happy I finally got a chance to meet her, too. How can you not love a face as precious as this?

She's a bit more shy than her sister, but warmed right up to us. I wish they were closer, so we could play more often.

I also got to visit my great aunt, Maryann, and she took Grandma and me to breakfast the next day. My Aunt Maryann has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. I was so happy to know she still remembered me, and she still seems very much like the Aunt I remember. Her short term memory is fading very fast, but her long term memory is still great. It was fun to see her.

Of course, no family gathering would be complete without some Rock Band (and by some, I really mean excessive amounts. . . I am surprised we haven't been signed to an actual record label):


Did I mention that Seattle was scorching hot while we were there? What's that, you say? Seattle doesn't get hot? You are seriously misinformed. There was a record-breaking heat streak the entire time we were in Washington. To the tune of over 100 degrees every day. We spent a few evenings in the pool (sunset was about the only time cool enough to even swim!)
This is Mom and I breaking out our synchronized swimming moves. My mom is so awesome.
One day, my mom, aunt Karen, Jared, and I decided to wake up at 5:00 a.m. and watch this:


The sun rising in Deception Pass National Park. We'd planned on exploring the tide pools, but sadly didn't find a lot of those. We did see some killer views, though, and had a lot of fun.

I love this one, because it shows how different the beaches in Washington are from the ones in North Carolina:


I know people always tell Jared and I that we look just alike, but I don't think anything puts that into perspective more than this picture:

You can't tell where his profile stops and mine begins. Wow. We are twinners.

This is me being a mermaid. And Jared . . . being . . . something?

I like this, because it looks like maybe I'm a real photographer. Also, notice the shoes I'm wearing. Sigh . . . this was the last time I wore those shoes. They were the perfect pair of slip on tennis shoes. No socks required. I bought them before we went to Italy, and I loved them. Despite my undying love, I accidentally left them in the rental car when we returned it in Utah. Stupid Enterprise Rent-A-Car. They totally stole my shoes, or threw them away, or something. Ugh!

We also went with Grandma, Uncle Shawn, and Skyler to Experience Music Project (EMP) in downtown Seattle. This is Sky in the sound lab, experimenting with different kinds of drum sounds:

Grandma Joy (proving she is not a typical Grandmother):

All of us reflected in the EMP ceiling:

Mom on bongos:
Jared testing out a guitar:

This was us on an escalator, when Grandma was scared and making us laugh:

After EMP, we did what every Seattle tourist must. Paid a visit to Pike's Market:

Jared in an alleyway:


The gum wall. So. Gross.

Another day, Mom, Jared and I explored Gasworks Park. It's an old, Industrial area that they've converted to a park, complete with views of the Space Needle and multiple grassy knolls.

And, we also paid a visit to the troll under the bridge. No, really, there is a troll under a bridge. Here he is, taking out his wrath on a Volkswagen Beetle:


It was a great trip. It reminded me how much I miss my family and how cool it would be to live in a big city. (Not that I don't love Kinston, I do, but last time I checked we don't have trolls lurking under bridges, which I think is pretty darn cool!) Thanks for hosting us, Shawn and Karen. And thanks, Grandma, for letting us stay in your suite!

for an unbelievably long series of blog posts. I've just returned from my two week hiatus to Utah and Washington. The trip began in Utah, so let's start there, shall we?

Every good story begins with a tattoo. Wait, maybe not so much, but this one does:

This chick's shoulder tattoo, boasting the word MOM, was stellar and was right in my line of vision when Jared and I went to a free concert in Salt Lake City. My little brother is an Indie music connoisseur. Once someone's music makes it to the radio, they are no longer an acceptable listening choice for Jared. On this trip home he let me tag along with him and a couple of his friends to see Land of Talk and M. Ward, both of whom were part of the Twilight Concert Series at the Gallivan Center in downtown Salt Lake. It was a hot and rather sticky experience, as most events are that involve being squished between random people you've never met. I enjoyed Land of Talk immensely. This is the singer chica captured on point and shoot camera:

M. Ward was OK, although the teenage boys next to us, who were trying to prove to all Utahns their extreme edginess by using the f-word repeatedly, kind of put a damper on the experience. Once the teenage girls behind us started to randomly shove each other into people, Jared and I moved. We actually left the concert early, but it was a lot of fun. This is us riding Trax back to our parking spot (don't mind the sweaty nastiness):


While in Utah, I also had the chance to reconnect with old friends and make some new ones as well. I went to Steph's (one of my dearest college friends and former roommates) bridal shower and am now kicking myself that I didn't take a SINGLE picture while there. It was great to see her and hear the adorable story of how she met her soon-to-be.

I stopped by Crystal's house to visit her and her adorable children, and was lucky enough to see Callie and her fiance JT there as well. I now feel completely content about Callie marrying him. He seems like a swell guy. My extremely protective nature doesn't like the idea of one of my best friends marrying someone I've never met, so now I feel great about it. Crystal and Callie looked great as always, and we had a lot of fun catching up:

I also got to have a reunion with two of my former roomies and freshman year buddies, Debbie and Jamie:

I have so many wonderful memories with these two girls, one of which has been previously pictured in the form of this:
and it was beyond wonderful to see them! We sat at a table outside The Gateway mall food court and talked for hours. It felt just like old times, which made it hard to say goodbye. I love these girls like sisters!

Alas, what was it I said about new friends being met? Meet Maestro:


Maestro is my brother Jared's pet cat/Christmas present. Since we spent Christmas with Chad's family last year, this was my first time meeting Maestro. He is very playful, liked to spend the mornings curled up and purring on my lap while I surfed the Internet, and I fell in love with him while I was there.

So there you go, my trip began with tattoos, concerts, and friends. Not too shabby!