Tulips for Days!

Spring has sprung in the Pacific Northwest! The days are getting longer, the rain is subsiding (sometimes), the sun is shining more, and the tulips are growing!

Last week Luke's mom was able to come and visit for a few days. She brought the good weather with her too, so we decided to make a trip to the Tulip Festival in Mt. Vernon. It was a beautiful afternoon with sunny skies and 70-degree weather. The fields are really amazing. It's the most beautiful display of colors and they seem to go on forever. Here are some photos from our little excursion!

Not sure what I'm doing here, but I believe it was just a display of excitement :) 

Welcome to the tulips!

My favorite part about this photo is the strip of yellow tulips in the back. So amazing!

Trying to take some pictures of the tulips from above...

Then I illegally walked between the rows of tulips and we tried to take some jumping shots. We weren't too successful -- as you can see, my jumping skills leave much to be desired.

Can you even believe how beautiful this is? The yellow ones are my favorite!

After the tulips we drove a few minutes to Deception Pass, a bridge that connects the mainland with Whidbey Island. It's a beautiful view and you can see out across the sound all the way to the San Juan Islands.

It was a fabulous day -- and of course, we finished it off with a delicious seafood dinner :)

Happy Easter!

Last weekend we were able to make it to Salem, Oregon for Easter. We always love seeing our niece, Claire. She is an energetic, smart two-year-old who always has something funny to say. In the past few visits, she has become increasingly fond of Luke. They spent a lot of time together this trip and I think they both had lots of fun :)

Claire and Uncle Luke!

Playing with chalk. If you can see all those blue lines, according to Claire, those are drawings of my face. An artist in the making?

Claire with one of her Easter baskets! This girl was on one crazy sugar high all day long....

Luke was in charge of carving the ham. Though, I think he only wanted the job so he could taste test it first.

We also had some gorgeous weather in the Pacific Northwest last weekend. Seventy degrees and sunny? I'll take it!

Spring has sprung!

Happy Easter from us to you!

Best Friend Weekend

A few weeks ago I got a chance to go visit my best friend, Miyong, in Los Angeles. We had a fabulous time shopping, hiking, and even making a trip to the beach. It may have been cloudy, but it's still nice to see the water. Here's a couple photos from our day trip to the beach!

Can't wait for her wedding this fall!!

Viva Mexico!

Well, after a week in Mexico, it's back to reality. We were lucky enough to go back to Nuevo Vallarta this year, and this time we got to bring our friends, Sean and Kim! It was our first time ever vacationing with friends, and we had a fabulous time. We met Sean and Kim in Chicago through a mutual friend. If you don't remember, Luke lived with them for about a month when he had to move out early for work and we didn't have an apartment yet. Lucky for us, they turned out to be some of our very best friends ever! Since they live in Chicago and we are in Seattle, it was so fun to be able to spend a whole week with them.

To kick things off, here's the view from our balcony!

Of course, there was lots of time spent at the pool - especially in the lazy river. Lucky for me, since Sean was along, Luke had a brand new friend to play with and I got way more relaxation time laying by the pool. If you know my husband, you know that his amount of energy is seemingly endless. And somehow, on vacation it seems to double. But, I have to say, it's part of his charm :)

Sean and Kim also taught us a new card game, which we became slightly obsessed with. So, we spent a few evenings playing cards on the beach before dinner. Now THAT is the life....

The crew!

Luke is sporting my hat here, but I think it works on him too! Such a stylish man...

Sean and Kim!

We also found a ton of delicious local restaurants. One of our favorite things to do on vacation is find good local restaurants outside of the resort. At this restaurant, I believe Luke got a full fish of some sort, to which he proceeded to eat the eyeball of the fish and spit it out. Apparently it wasn't as edible as he thought it would be...

So, you may remember the view below from last year. We have a favorite breakfast restaurant right on the Nuevo Vallarta Marina called the Estudio Cafe. It's only about a 10 minute walk from the resort and is pretty cool because it's also an art gallery. It has great food and an amazing view. What more could you ask for?

How relaxing does this look, right?

Me and my french toast - my favorite!!

We spent one of our days visiting a small beach town called Sayulita about a half hour north of Nuevo Vallarta. It's a super small town, but I think it was one of our favorite activities. It's known for really great surfing, so we spent a bunch of time jumping in the waves and hanging out on the beach. We ended the day with dinner on the beach and a walk through town where we bought fresh churros for dessert. (The guy selling them made them right in front of us!) And then we took the Mexican bus home, which is always an experience.

Chillin' on the beach!

Me and Luke in Sayulita

On our last day of vacation, we decided to go on a boat excursion. We went with the company we went with last year (Vallarta Adventures) since we had such a good time. This year we did the Marietas tour, which took us to the Marietas islands. They are actually protected, so the islands are just really peaceful and serene. Here we are on the boat!

One of the great things about this tour is that they have a few photographers running around the whole time taking pictures. And at the end of the tour, you can purchase all the photos. So we opted in on the deal since there were four of us, and I'm so glad we did. They got some great shots!

It took about an hour or so on the catamaran to get out to the islands. And I have to say, I had a bad case of motion sickness. So, I was more than ready to jump off the boat and go snorkeling once we got there. I'm usually not a big fan of snorkeling (for some reason, I can't quite figure out how to use the snorkel without getting waterlogged, and I'm slightly afraid of fish). However, I didn't care this time. I just needed to get off that boat!

Snorkeling!

While we were snorkeling, we got to swim to a hidden beach. You can see the arc of the rocks in the photo below. When the tide is low enough, you can swim under and get to this beautiful hidden beach. 

 Team Mexico!

After we were done snorkeling, they loaded us up on some smaller fishing boats and drove us over to the most beautiful, untouched island. We spent an hour or so exploring and hanging out on the beach.

I bet you can't guess who this is spending all his time jumping waves :)

That's me, sneaking around in the sea caves!

My favorite travel buddy!

So, the photo below cracks me up. The photographer had this idea for the photo. He was actually laying in a tunnel between the rocks on the beach. To me, it resembles an akward Christmas card photo. But, you gotta love it, right?

Another great part of the trip was that we got to see humpback whales!! It was so awesome!

And of course, we can't forget to give a shout out to my parents, who let us use their time share yet again - and even bring our friends. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

Community Impact Awards

Here's my latest piece in March issue of Minnesota Business. It's all about businesses that are making an impact in the community. Enjoy!

Community Impact Awards

Congrats Jess & Sam!

Last weekend was full of fun and celebration for us, as one of my longest and very best friends Jess got married! Jess and I went to high school together, and then went to college at SPU together - and were roommates for our freshmen and sophomore years. She is one of the kindest, most generous and amazing women I know. She married a great guy, Sam, and I couldn't be happier for the two of them! Here are a couple of pictures from the wedding.

The beautiful bride and me before the ceremony!

First dance!

In other news, I also just accepted a staff writer position with Minnesota Business Magazine. I will be writing more for them each month, as well as doing some blogging and story planning. I've also moved onto the creative team at my job at Allyis, so that's an exciting transition. I'll be doing more writing and content strategy, which I'm super excited about.

And, maybe most importantly, we are going to Mexico on Sunday! So, stay tuned for some posts once we return!

For your reading pleasure.

Here's a link to my latest Minnesota Business article. Enjoy!

Strategic Growth (pg. 40)

*If it doesn't open to the right issue (February 2013), go to the tabs on the left side of the screen and click the one that says "Issues." Then you can choose the one you want.