T is for travel!

T (blessings that start with this letter)

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It has come up already a few times in my GreaThings posts, but I have so enjoyed getting to do a fair bit of traveling this year. Lamont and I both are passionate about visiting new places and learning about parts of the country (and hopefully someday the world!) other than where we live. It is refreshing and inspiring to us to be reminded that the world is much bigger than our tiny corner of it! And since it is difficult to travel while we have little ones, whether they come with us or stay home with family, I am especially grateful for the opportunities we had this year.

In March I got to go with Lamont on a company trip to Vegas -- he attended his conference by day while I relaxed by the beautiful pools, and in the evenings we went to the WCC basketball championship game, The Phantom of the Opera, and a Maroon 5 concert! It was surreal. The whole trip came together at the last second, with less than a week notice, and I couldn't believe it when my parents agreed to keep the girls for four days so that I could go with Lamont. I'm pretty sure the girls think they had more fun during that four days than we did. :-)

The Bellagio - gorgeous even though I didn't catch the fountain show!

On my way back I had nearly half a day's layover in San Francisco -- it was my first time there, and a beautiful day to show me the very best views.

The San Francisco shoreline, looking like a movie setting. :-)

Alcatraz!

In May we went to Chicago for eight days, for a wonderful visit with Lamont's sister and her family. It was the girls' first flight, and though I thought they didn't do this anymore, when we were leaving the plane, the pilot invited them into the cockpit!

They asked him SO many questions about all the controls, and he was fabulously patient explaining everything to them.

Our time in Chicago would fill a blog post by itself -- our adorable nephews there are 3 and 6 years old, and the girls have a blast with them. It was a week full of constant chatter (especially when they were supposedly eating), and crazy schemes (teaching pet bugs to do tricks, for instance), and it was over far too quickly. We spent most of one day at Lake Michigan, which I absolutely loved.

It wasn't as cold as it looks! And yes, Hannah was attempting to move the entire lake one shovelful at a time. Why do you ask?

At the end of July we snuck in a quick weekend at the Oregon Coast, and had gorgeous sunshine and 80 degree days the whole weekend! And yes, it does slightly defeat the purpose of broadening our horizons when we repeatedly visit the Oregon Coast every year that we possibly can, but...it's our happy place. :-)

See? Happy!

And sometime this summer (I truly cannot remember what month it was, which is a sure sign that I should be fast asleep right now), I got to sneak away to Yakima by myself for a weekend with my friend Sarah and her  family. Her daughter is exactly Bethany's age -- they share a birthday. We were in labor at the same time, but in different hospitals, both frequently demanding updates from family members on each other's progress! And I'm not going to say I won or anything, but...well, I did beat her by a few hours. ;-) Somehow I have no pictures of the weekend, but it was lovely and filled with coffee, and movies, and cuddles with her sweet children, and ice cream, and browsing bookstores, and late night conversations.

This year has truly been rich with travels, and I love all the experiences I've had and the memories made in each of the beautiful places I've gotten to see!