S plus N, or, the day Anna got her first sister

It feels like Nathan and Sara have been together forever, but records show it's only been about five years. I still remember when my family came to visit us in Boston and Nathan told us he had started dating someone. We knew it was serious even then, and their relationship has survived so much, including two years of long distance and a huge semi-DIY gut renovation of a sweet old house that needed a lot of love. We're so proud and thrilled that they've made it to this milestone, and we're so thankful we were able to celebrate with them!

We got into town Thursday morning before the wedding, and after lunch, Nathan debriefed me on all of the reception decorations details, because he was putting me in charge of ensuring their vision was executed (pressure!). We took care of all the flower arrangements that afternoon, with plenty of time to enjoy a cookout with Sara's family that evening.

The next day, we headed to the church to start decorating. Dad and Nathan left the hotel early, per Nathan's detailed timeline. Caleb, mom, Ian, and I soon followed, but due to a miscommunication, first arrived at the reception venue, then the police station across from the church. But we finally made it, and spent the entire day (with an amazing pizza break for lunch) turning the church's youth room into a wedding venue. Mission accomplished with plenty of time to prepare for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner (from Anna's Oven, which Nathan and Sara have been telling us we need to try for the years, and yes, it was worth the hype).

The next morning, we headed to the reception venue (we had no trouble getting there since we already practiced the day before) and got started with the decorations. We had a small army, and thankfully everything was almost finished and Nathan-approved by the time he and the groomsmen had to head out to get ready. We finished up the details (including a chalkboard sign Ian rocked and chilling all of the fun an obscure bottled sodas hand-picked by the bride and groom), and then grabbed lunch before heading back to the church to get ready.

The wedding was beautiful, we took some great family photos, and then headed to the reception. The details really made the space, the food was delicious, Sara's dad and the wedding party gave great speeches, and we had so much fun in the photo booth and on the dance floor. It was definitely a night to remember!

The next day, we had a family + wedding party brunch for gift opening, and then they took off for Colorado, while we enjoyed a little more time with family, and squeezed in a couple visits with some dear friends we miss. We even got to meet a new baby (congrats Karen and Jeremy!). And Megan kindly drove us to the airport after meeting up for breakfast the next morning.

It was a quick trip, but we're so thankful we could celebrate with them, and that they got hitched without a hitch. Sara, welcome to the family. We love you!

See the rest of our photos on Flickr. And don't miss their (way better than mine) official wedding photos!

thankful list | April 2016

01. Ian's bite-sized DR talk at the office (and the $2,356.01 our coworkers have given over the years).
02. REUNION slide creator training (because more help!).
03. figure skating on TV.
04. REUNION.
05. Super Cluckin' Sunday at Cutty's.
06. figure skating IRL (#worlds2016).
07. a great local grocery store.
08. Comedor with our dear friend Nate.
09. Tasty Burger — get the rise n' shine.
10. our second DR team meeting.
11. a visit from Micki.
12. another breakthrough with Astrid (hanging out in the kitchen, not under a table!).
13. a visit to IKEA.
14. a new sofa that makes our living room infinitely more functional.
15. a day to catch up on all our errands.
16. Tenoch after church with friends.
17. Sunday ice cream at Toscanini's.
18. a trip to Follain to restock some basics (they're so helpful and have such great stuff!).
19. no longer having to manage our office loaner laptops!
20. date night at Branch Line.
21. a successful nail trim appointment for Astrid.
22. a new laser pointer that works.
23. a pretty good first loaf of sourdough sandwich bread.
24. an UNDERØATH show with friends.
25. Astrid sleeping at the foot of the bed — she's still nervous, but so wants to be near us.
26. another marathon, and seeing the city at its best.
27. dinner with some of my best friends (who I don't see as often as I'd like!).
28. a good local library.
29. another trip to Comedor with a college friend who happened to be in town.
30. Shake Shack. I love me a ShackBurger with cheese fries.
31. ice cream at Katie's.
32. a great weekend on the Cape, squeezing in family time and the sights.
33. Cape Cod beaches.
34. an appreciation lunch for operations staff at work.
35. a fast and easy flight to MCI.
36. sushi with family.
37. an afternoon assembling flower arrangements and downloading the wedding decor plan.
38. a giant bride + groom family dinner.
39. a successful day of prepping the church for the wedding.
40. the pizza that showed up for lunch. SO GOOD.
41. a delicious rehearsal dinner (from Anna's, finally, after hearing about it for years).
42. a successful morning of decorating for the reception.
43. a not-so-great fast food lunch with  good company and good laughs.
44. getting semi-lost in KC with my other future sister-in-law, meaning extra time to hang out!
45. a beautiful wedding!
46. my first sister!
47. a beautiful reception!
48. seeing family and friends we love dearly.
49. meeting baby Emma.
50. Ian, my forever wedding date.

worlds 2016: a figure skating fan's dream comes true

Two years ago, Boston hosted Nationals for figure skating, and Ian and I went to the exhibition where we saw the entire US Olympic team, as well as every single US Olympic champion. #bestillmyheart

This year, Boston hosted Worlds, and once again we snagged tickets to the exhibition. I watched every moment of the competition that I could catch on TV in anticipation. (This required kicking Ian out of the house for March Madness viewing, because I figured a sports bar wouldn't carry figure skating. Just a guess.)

The day of the exhibition, we arrived early at the Garden and inadvertently bumped into the small medals ceremony for the pairs and ladies free skate (the top three finishers in the free skate, not to be confused with the overall top three finishers). After the awards were handed out, the medalists stuck around for a Q&A with the audience. Most of the questions came from elementary school girls, and I tried to imagine what it would have been like for 10-year-old Anna to have the opportunity to ask Michelle Kwan or Nancy Kerrigan a question (it would have probably involved tears and maybe passing out before actually saying anything). After they headed backstage to prepare for the exhibition, we made our way to our seats.

Exhibition performances may not be packed with technical difficulty, but they make up for it with fun and personality. It's fascinating to see what skaters choose to perform when they're freed from the requirements of competition and are skating simply because they love it. And I feel honored to have seen so many of the big names in figure skating, as well as up-and-coming skaters with lots of promise. I was especially excited to see Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia, whose competition performances left me transfixed, Papadakis and Cizerone of France, who set a new world record score for their free dance, and Patrick Chan of Canada, who's one of my favorites (perhaps in part because like Michelle Kwan, Olympic gold continues to elude him). Not to mention Yuzuru Hanyu, Mao Asada, and the Shibutanis. And I was in awe of 2016 World gold medalist Javier Fernandez of Spain. He's powerful but also brilliantly artistic in every last detail, and reminds me of Michelle Kwan at her best. I couldn't think of a more perfect skater to top off the Exhibition of Champions.

Helsinki 2017, anyone?

a weekend in New Hampshire

We were so excited to finally get out to New Hampshire to hang out with our friends Brett and Emily! We've known them almost as long as we've lived in Boston, and have experienced so much life with them, including adding their two amazing kids to the mix.



It was a short weekend, but we packed in a lot! They gave us a tour of the boarding school where Brett teaches and coaches (they live on campus) and we got in a quick drive by of the Tuck School of Business, where Emily works. We took a family hike, enjoyed a double date sans kids, and experienced brunch at King Arthur Flour, which I'm sure must be a mecca for bakers for both the store and bakery. (I picked up my sourdough starter there!) We also learned their hill is great for rolling.

But most importantly, we enjoyed our time with friends (big and little) that we don't get to see nearly as often as we'd like. Brett and Emily, G and P, we love you, we miss you, and we hope we can make it up to New Hampshire again soon!

thankful list | March 2016

01. hosting a community group friend for dinner.
02. our amazing community group.
03. Sara introducing me to Neko Astume: I'm not into phone games, but I couldn't resist kawaii kitties.
04. having A. Fox over for dinner.
05. leadership community.
06. lunch at Mei Mei with Enid (and a fun conversation about the Spanish language).
07. Danielle's birthday high tea at L'Espalier.
08. Winsor Dim Sum with our beloved Drs. Hu.
09. bubble tea for dessert.

10. breakfast with Kelly.
11. a successful errand run for pet supplies and groceries.
12. deviled tea eggs at Bon Me for said successful errand run.

13. a quick trip to town hall to get a cat license for Astrid (she's officially a resident!).
14. time with Micki and Grandma Judy.
15. rain inadvertently creating a temporary office art installation of colorful umbrellas.

16. a little reminder of home, with a group of K-Staters in the office for a tour.
17. new lights for our entryways.
18. Toscanini's.
19. REUNION.
20. Cutty's Super Cluckin' Sunday.
21. pulling off our DIY cat scratching post.
22. Meat Spot, because it's good to be known at a lunch spot.
23. a March Madness watch party at the office (mostly for the BBQ — thanks, Trey!)
24. an evening at Symphony Hall with a few of my favorite friends.
25. a road trip to New Hampshire to see the Nichols!
26. a (short) hike with the kiddos.
27. dinner with the grownups at Worthy Kitchen.
28. more catching up over post-dinner drinks, because we always wish we had more time with them.
29. King Arthur Flour, where I picked up sourdough starter. #aspiringbaker
30. a great library in easy walking distance.
31. successfully awakening my sourdough starter (it sounds like I adopted an alien).

21. a text letting me know that G randomly burst out how much she loves me.
26. the first photo of Astrid out of hiding.
27. figuring out the right frames for our gallery wall.
28. Easter with family (and friends!) on the Cape.
29. the beach.
30. finally getting our Make Good Old Try print framed (at the Framer's Workshop).
31. a new TV, which ended our months-long frustration of traffic interfering with our signal. #cutthecord
32. a house guest who's finally back from a year-long adventure (we're counting down to Danielle's return).