Caroline's Wedding

Here are some snapshots from Caroline's wedding weekend at BGSU.  It was a very quick trip for me, and it was a blast!  And it was such an honor for me to get to be the one presiding over their ceremony.  Everything went beautifully!

In the car on the way to the chapel:

Dad, "lookin' a spry 45" in Brian's words :)

The happy couple cutting the cake.

The happy couple turning borderline violent for cake face smashing :)

And they're still friends!

The bride's beverage:

Best friends for 20 years!

And then the party bus happened.

Congratulations, Williamsons!

Got quills?

At 9:30 at night a couple weeks ago, I spotted this prickly friend lounging on our patio.  Yep, it's a porcupine.  

I watched him walk from the grass up onto the patio, and then fall flat on his belly like this.  It was as if he was saying, "Man, I'm beat."  I opened our sliding door just a little bit to make some noise and he (and his quills!) popped right up.  He scampered away before I could snap another photo.

People keep telling us it is only a matter of time until Maude gets "quilled" for the first time.  Thankfully, tonight was not her night!  

Awesome friends!

When Brian and I traveled to Kalamazoo, MI for grandma's party, we also got to meet up with some great friends who made the drive from Columbus and Cleveland.  We were/are so thankful to get face time and connect, even if just for a couple hours! 

We got to have breakfast with Caroline & Michael!

We got to have lunch with Alison & Ryan!

Love all these smiling faces :) 

House projects galore!

We have been in our house for one year now and have a few projects under our belts already!  We have been busy and trying to have fun with the process where we can, and even build a little community at the same time.  

Project #1: Spare bedroom

before

after

Project #2: Chimney leak repair

thankfully we are good friends with a roofer

I told Brian the only way he could get on the roof is with Andy

Project #3: Bathroom tile grout/calk clean-up

before

after

Project #4: Take down back fence and remove old greenhouse from patio

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We gave this old, dilapidated greenhouse to our friend, Becca.  Six of us literally carried it and walked it over to her yard, just a few blocks away.  We got a lot of stares along the way!  She is excited to give it new life, and we are excited to have more patio space.

Project #5: Re-build back fence (and host two bbq's, two weekends in a row, for the two different groups of friends that showed up to help us tear down boards, strong-arm posts, dig holes, hammer nails, etc.)

we met neighbors we had not yet met thanks to this project, and got to know others better!

the fence, ladies and gentlemen

Project #6, leading to Project #7: Replace two windows and then replace rotted wood found as a result of replacing said windows

ugh

our new friend, Justin!  he did such a good job and ended up sharing a couple dinners with us after working all evening

Project #8: Build new gate/door for back fence

Justin offers advice to Brian

Project #9: Pick cherries from our 5 cherry trees and get baking!

and notice that snazzy new gate!

Juneau half-marathon

I am envious of Brian when he can just up and run a sub-2-hour half-marathon on a whim, and actually feel good the next day.  I am so proud of him, and thankful that he takes such good care of himself so naturally.   

Maude wishes she could run, but her stump of a leg holds her back.

Get 'er done!

Our friend Jordan ran it, too.

Go Brian!

A friend from church was handing out the medals

Our other friend Meredith ran it for the first time.  She was so excited!

Jordan and Brian enjoy a post-race bloody mary at Louie's: a newly renovated sports bar on Douglas.

Brian's homemade pizza

We have had friends over for Brian's homemade pizza the past couple weekends.  The man makes a darn good crust and his pizzas are always crowd-pleasers.  Maude agrees!

My favorite hike in Juneau

Mt. Jumbo is my favorite hike in Juneau, and we got to do it for the second time a couple weekends ago with some friends.  It was a rare sunny weekend, and we took full advantage!

The beginning of the hike is through muskeg

a beautiful view looking down on Juneau, from the Douglas side of the Gastineau Channel

Jason, Inari and their little girl Saana + us

At the top, after about four hours of hiking

At 3 years old, Saana already has lots of hikes under her belt!

I especially love that last photo of Jason & Saana, because I think it captures the kind of dad he is.  He was offered a premiere job at Univ of Washington this summer, and decided to turn it down because he said he thought he could be a better dad to Saana in Juneau rather than Seattle.  They go on lots of hikes together and can do so within minutes of their front door.  People thought he was crazy to turn down a top job in his field (he's a glaciologist), but the easy access to outdoors and the close-knit community in Juneau kept him here.  They live in our neighborhood, and we are happy they decided to stay!