why I love Washington...

So remember about my intense love for the state of Washington? Even though I was born there, grew up there as a kid, and have family there, my passion for the evergreen state didn't develop until last year around spring break. Let me back up, waaaaay up.....


When we found out we were expecting Talis we were pretty shocked. Babies weren't in our plan until later on after schooling, careers, and our "young years" were under our belts. Dj was born to be a great dad so he was ecstatic. I on the other hand was freaked. All I saw with that little plus sign on the pregnancy test was sacrifices, sacrifices that I wasn't ready (or willing) to make. I was torn between wanting to "make something of myself" and being an incredible mom (little did I know I wouldn't have to choose). So I coped with overloading myself for reasons I'm still not really sure. I signed up to take 19 credit hours the next semester, I started interning 8 hours a week, and I continued working full time (12 hour rounds on night shift). From keeping up with classes, schoolwork, work, and trying to sleep (many days throughout the week I'd get off work at 7am, go home and change, and head to class till noon) left me little time that I almost always used to have emotional breakdowns were Dj would find me sobbing (I couldn't get over my negative feelings about having kids).

The first half of the semester sped by and before we knew it spring break was coming up. Determined to spend as much Dj and Lei time before the baby arrived we talked about going on a trip. We had saved a bunch of money from both working so hard and tried to decide between numerous places to go. It wasn't until my mom  so graciously offered for us to use her free flight miles and thinking it best to go somewhere with family that we decided to go to Washington. We made arrangements with family, booked our flight, rental car, and hotel for one night and were set. I was so tired and exhausted by this time that all I was looking forward too was a whole week off from school and work.

Having saved up so much money we were able to spoil ourselves. We went shopping (although by this time I was quite pregnant) for our trip, stayed one night at the fanciest hotel, and ate like kings. We planned out our week so we would be able to fit in the most that we could. I took Dj to my old neighborhood and showed him where I grew up and where my grandparents spent the majority of their married lives. We hiked down to Seahurst beach using a trail me and my siblings used to go on daily. We went to Pikes Place Market, the Seattle Aquarium, and rode the ferry to Bremerton. We visited with family from both my mom and dad's side. Our cousins took us to Paseo's for the best Cuban sandwiches and made us try pho at Pho King. Dj planned a one day road trip to Olympic National Park and we got to experience some of the most beautiful scenery we've both ever seen.

But for me this trip was when I started to change my perspective. I had spent my entire pregnancy thus far stressing and working myself ragged that during our trip I actually started to enjoy life. And while spoiling ourselves for a week was fun it wasn't the reason for my change in attitude. Dj was my reason. Getting to spend so much time with my sweet husband helped me to realize that even though I was scared about having this baby I wasn't alone. I started to see my husband in a whole new light. Here I was thinking of every negative thing I could think of about being a parent and Dj, from day one, just saw the pregnancy as the simple and pure blessing that it was. He never once grew tired of comforting me in the middle of night when I'd be crying. He was constantly happy and positive when all I'd be doing was complaining. I have the most beautiful memories from our trip to Washington. And while the sites we got to see were amazing it's the memories of my husband that I'll never forget.

I'll never forget how he patiently listened to me ramble on about every childhood memory that came flooding back during our trip. I'll never forget how he insisted I catch up on sleep when we were driving and turned on my seat heater to help me fall asleep. I'll never forget how he always seemed to pick me up sour patch kids (my pregnancy craving) at every gas station we stopped at. I'll never forget how his hand always found mine or how proud he was that my baby belly had come in full force.

I have always liked Washington but my love for the state started during our baby-moon vacation because it's the place where I was reminded of how blessed I am to have the husband I do. It's the place where we had one last trip just the two of us before becoming parents. It's the place where my attitude towards my pregnancy and our baby changed. It's the place where I realized that I needed to go through life more positive or I'd miss out on seeing the blessings that I had. Had I kept on being negative I never would have been able to learn that even though I felt unprepared and unqualified to be a mother at this time my Heavenly Father didn't.

I love my sweet husband who works hard for our family and never ceases to encourage me to do what makes me happy. I love that baby that was inside my belly that now wiggles and giggles in my arms. So that's why I love the ever so green state, Washington :)

the northwest episodes: des moines pier

one of the places we visited while in washington was the des moines pier. we weren't there long because it was pretty cold and by that i mean freezing. i'm pretty sure some fisherman were looking at me funny with no coat and slippers (aka flip flops. dj thinks it's so weird that i call them slippers, not sure why) on. we were hoping to see a few fishermen pull up their full crab pots but we had no luck, so we just "ooh"ed and "aah"ed over the incredibly beautiful puget sound instead.

the northwest episodes: the reception

ever since we got my cousin's invite in the mail  awhile back i've been pretty much counting the days till their reception and it did not disappoint. an intimate party (at their favorite restaurant when they were dating, super cute) with close family, friends and amazing food (the vanilla on vanilla cupcakes and pizza were outrageously delicious) made the reception pretty perfect.

talis and the bear

in a few short weeks we take off for seattle for my cousins wedding and T couldn't be more excited. i go on and on about my love for the cloudy city so he thought it fitting to make sure his bear hat (it was the first thing me and the hubs bought after finding out we were expecting) was warm enough to take with him. his verdict: seattle trip wardrobe staple.

frieszellie-ellies

i come from a really tight knit family. to give you a better idea my dad's side of the family is polynesian (enough said), we grew up doing everything with my mom's side of the family, and my brother, sister, mom, and i still get together and hang out almost everyday. one set of cousins we were particularly inseparable with are cristen, nikki, lindsey and tara (four sisters + me and kaylani = my brother being estrogen outnumbered from the start). literally almost every childhood memory includes them. to this day we reminisce about growing up together. to give you an idea of the craziness that would ensue when we got together i compiled a short list:

-we used to play pioneers in the backyard, costumes and all. complete with our very own ox for our covered wagon. and when i say ox i really mean their family dog that ran back forth the yard barking the whole time

-we used to hold talent shows that come to think of it consisted of no talent what so ever. mostly just lipsynching to songs we'd record on cassette tapes. *side note, whens the last time you heard the word cassette tape?

-we often talked in british accents because we thought it made us sound dignified. all food was usually referred to as english morning tarts

-we knew every song to this classic and had no shame singing it while jumping off couches

-trying to balance on an exercise ball that's on their parents treadmill downstairs sounds like a bad idea but to us it sounded like the only practical thing to do while waiting to play lemmings on the computer

 we we're pretty unique kiddies if you couldn't tell. well one of them, lindsey, is sealing the deal with her lovie soon. remember when i got that sweet wedding invite from my cousin in the mail the other day? this is why i was swooning...  

pretty cute huh?