I'll officially be teaching 2nd grade in Tacoma! Today was my first day, and my students' first day is next Tuesday. So that leaves me less than a week to do a lot of preparing. :)
It is going to be a wonderful year! I can't wait!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Family Engagement Party
Kelly and I had a beautiful dinner with the folks, Becca, Alex and Lauralee!
Monday, August 22, 2011
Making Plans
This weekend Kelly and I were spoiled by the Totten Clan and Lauralee since they threw us a completely gorgeous and wonderful engagement party for my family and his. Pictures to come!
What a fun weekend being able to hang out with my awesomely fabulous family. I treasure the time I get to have with special people; being entirely present and open, asking questions, listening to peoples' stories, sharing moments of silliness and fun.
Becca and Alex went to look at Alderbrook Resort on Hood Canal Saturday before they came out to the Tacoma house for the engagement party. It is an absolutely beautiful location and would be a stunning place to be married.
Thank you to everyone that has sent words of support and encouragement via email and in cards. They are so meaningful and very fun to read!
Tonight Kelly and I have been super busy because we have been finalizing some details for reserving a wedding date at Chico Hot Springs; Saturday June 9th 2012! My requests included; filling in gopher holes and Kelly's is a keg of Moose Drool beer. So far we're keepin' it simple :)
What a fun weekend being able to hang out with my awesomely fabulous family. I treasure the time I get to have with special people; being entirely present and open, asking questions, listening to peoples' stories, sharing moments of silliness and fun.
Becca and Alex went to look at Alderbrook Resort on Hood Canal Saturday before they came out to the Tacoma house for the engagement party. It is an absolutely beautiful location and would be a stunning place to be married.
Thank you to everyone that has sent words of support and encouragement via email and in cards. They are so meaningful and very fun to read!
Tonight Kelly and I have been super busy because we have been finalizing some details for reserving a wedding date at Chico Hot Springs; Saturday June 9th 2012! My requests included; filling in gopher holes and Kelly's is a keg of Moose Drool beer. So far we're keepin' it simple :)
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Funny Story
Kelly and I were up on the "Field of Dreams" at Chico just running around with Tater (the corgi) and taking some pictures. It was the last morning of the trip, the car was packed, we just wanted a good picture of this potential wedding site to take home with us.
On the last photo I clicked the button to set the 10 second timer... ran over to be in the picture with Kelly.... and fell into a gopher hole. It was pretty crazy, but luckily the timer on the camera caught Kelly and Tater coming to my rescue!!
Kelly luckily had his cell phone on him so he called Chico's front desk so I wouldn't have to hike down. One of their grounds guys came up and took us three down in a golf cart. He was so nice and went straight to the gift shop for something to drink and some advil. When he saw how huge my foot had already swollen up he thought I needed to see a doctor right away.
This was definitely not my first sprain so I knew what to expect so I left my first aid needs in the hands of my future husband. Kelly was pre-med for a year and apparently had a couple years of athletic training in high school. His first reaction after I stopped crying and he looked at my ankle was "Well there isn't anything sticking out." Thanks Kel. :) He also joked that the camera may have caught a picture of him passing out if he saw the actual sprain, but fortunately it was deep in a gopher hole and I just looked like I was tripping.
But really, Kelly did a great job wrapping my ankle up and keeping ice on it for the day or two following the gopher-hole injury.
I thought this was pretty funny, and luckily it was just a sprain, and the fact the camera caught a picture of it is pretty great. I love the moments I get to spend with people doing challenging things; at work, at home, backpacking, learning new skills etc. Sometimes they are freak accidents that become opportunities to deal with a challenge that you aren't always prepared for but will put you into that survival mode where your character of compassion, patience and strength will really come through.
And the people that help with the after math thank you! Thanks Mom for helping with laundry and driving, Becca for dinner help, Christa for the vino and fun company, Austin's medical expertise, and lots of concerned texts :)!
On the last photo I clicked the button to set the 10 second timer... ran over to be in the picture with Kelly.... and fell into a gopher hole. It was pretty crazy, but luckily the timer on the camera caught Kelly and Tater coming to my rescue!!
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| After I rolled my ankle. |
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| Field of Dreams |
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| Tater in the field |
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| Elevating and icing! |
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| A little more ice before our 12 hour car ride home! |
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| This is a day 3 picture. Look at the sweet bruise! |
This was definitely not my first sprain so I knew what to expect so I left my first aid needs in the hands of my future husband. Kelly was pre-med for a year and apparently had a couple years of athletic training in high school. His first reaction after I stopped crying and he looked at my ankle was "Well there isn't anything sticking out." Thanks Kel. :) He also joked that the camera may have caught a picture of him passing out if he saw the actual sprain, but fortunately it was deep in a gopher hole and I just looked like I was tripping.
But really, Kelly did a great job wrapping my ankle up and keeping ice on it for the day or two following the gopher-hole injury.
I thought this was pretty funny, and luckily it was just a sprain, and the fact the camera caught a picture of it is pretty great. I love the moments I get to spend with people doing challenging things; at work, at home, backpacking, learning new skills etc. Sometimes they are freak accidents that become opportunities to deal with a challenge that you aren't always prepared for but will put you into that survival mode where your character of compassion, patience and strength will really come through.
And the people that help with the after math thank you! Thanks Mom for helping with laundry and driving, Becca for dinner help, Christa for the vino and fun company, Austin's medical expertise, and lots of concerned texts :)!
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Kelly and Rachel
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| Pilchuck 2011 |
By: Rachel Crossen
It would be impossible to contain all of the amazing moments I have had with Kelly this past year into a blog post, but I will do my best to share some of the highlights. Hopefully this is just a brief synopsis about both of us...so people that don't know us as well will get the scoop.
A Little Background
Kel and I both attended PLU and played sports, enjoyed our variety of studies and traveled abroad. Kelly had an immensely successful career as a football player and was a leader on and off of the field-- he is an all-round great guy, I get to do some bragging because not everyone has had time or the opportunity to meet him. Through college we were good buddies, and part of the same group of tight knit friends. Birthdays, "Friend Thanksgivings", Super Bowl parties are some of fun times we'll remember with our shared crew of PLU-buds. I will do some bragging about myself and share that I loved to plan a lot of these activities and events with my girlfriends, which included a lot of cooking, kegs, party hats and most importantly organizing something for everything to do together-- & we will continue to do so as we all transition into our more grownup, big kid lives. During college I worked and volunteered in the community, studied in the international honors program, traveled abroad in India and graduated from PLU's School of Education. .
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| Tacoma 4th of July 2011 |
Kelly lives in Tacoma, WA with his cute corgi dog. He works in sales for his family's business, Totten Tubes. It's a steel tubing business that is located out of the Los Angeles area in CA. He loves what he does more and more everyday I think in part because of the people he gets to work with. I frequently find myself being kept up to date with how all of the great folks he works with are doing, I also get some major doses of knowledge about the fascinating steel tubing industry. I have been teaching since graduation in 2008, I have also coached high school volleyball, and have spent time working in a nonprofit that supports the academic success of students in foster care. I am now hoping to be back in Tacoma with a new teaching contract, keep your fingers crossed!
Lucky Us
Kelly taught me how to snowboard this year. I loved it. We frequented the summit for evening adventures, getting caught in some great powder with Liz one night, we were lucky to have our neighbor's beautiful ski cabin to seek shelter in! I think I have taught Kel some skills in the kitchen, or maybe he's just working on his repertoire as a taste-tester. Some of the kitchen adventures; cooking tamales, canning asparagus, homemade carrot cake, granola, and of course tater tot casserole.
We love to travel, and had the opportunity to explore Belize and part of Guatemala with just our backpacks, hiking shoes and swimsuits. We were able to road trip the CA coast, ate crab and clam chowder in San Francisco, experienced the beautiful trees in Stanley Park in Vancouver, B.C., skiied, swam, sailed and met the family at Big Bass Lake, volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House in Seattle, dined in the we're-too-cool spots in Portland, OR, shucked oysters on Chuckanut Drive, biked/camped the San Juan Islands, escaped from Jetty Island in Everett, and have hiked to the top of Mt.Pilchuck to bask in the fading sun on the old fire lookout in the North Cascades.
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| You Betta Belize It! |
To say the least we are very, very blessed with the opportunities we have had to grow together this year.
Family and Friends
We are thankful to have been welcomed into the families we have been able to visit with; mine in Minnesota, and Kelly's immediate family in Arcadia, and look forward to connecting with everyone else in the near future. The love, support and encouragement from our community of friends has been so awesome. Won't ever be able to say enough about our great friends and how much they mean to us.
Looking forward, Kelly and I are excited to plan a wedding and will be preparing for this next step in our life together through reflection, conversation, and some good ol' hard work.
Thanks for reading, love you all!
Looking Back at Big Bass Lake, MN
Some of the wonderful family and memories from the lake!
So happy Alex and Kelly are going to be a part of this family's history!
At the lake I love... eating at 9:00 PM with my uncles manning the BBQ. I love seeing my great aunts, aunts, cousins, and my cousins children all in the same place (4 generations). I love how the decor in the bathroom and sauna will always be the same. Cruising the lake post or pre dinner. The old burn bin days. Trying to keep a bonfire going all night. Laura, Becca and I pulling each other behind the little boat. Listening to stories from years ago or from the past year. Paul and Babe. Ghost stories. King of the raft. Bike rides with Linda, one-on-one time with Mary Jo or Jerry. Seeing my awesome godparents. Remembering and honoring my grandparents Paul and Izzy.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Summer 2011-- Big Bass Lake, MN
Big Bass Lake, MN
July 2011
I am so lucky to be able to go back to Minnesota every summer and spend time with my amazing family. This summer was exceptionally wonderful because Alex proposed to Becca on the dock. So epic. :)
I love my family so much, we always have a ton of fun doing all of the lake stuff together. Minnesota lake culture is different than any other experience out there, and is even more unique on Big Bass Lake because of the deep family roots that go back generations.
"Lake stuff"-- swimming, using the old Finnish-style sauna, fishin', skinny fishin', horseshoes, lots and lots of competitive card games, bike rides, bonfires, great food and most importantly spending time with my super great family! :)
"Lake stuff"-- swimming, using the old Finnish-style sauna, fishin', skinny fishin', horseshoes, lots and lots of competitive card games, bike rides, bonfires, great food and most importantly spending time with my super great family! :)
Engagement
Chico Hot Springs August 11th 2011
Chico is one of my all time favorite places and Kelly made it extra special by proposing on the front lawn last Thursday!
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