Boston and Back.

Last weekend, I flew to Boston to accompany my sister on a crazy, chaotic wedding dress hunt. I call it crazy because the women there were definitely a bit insane! It was an event known nationwide as "The Running of the Brides" at Filene's Basement...except they outgrew the basement so now it's held in Boston's Convention Center, which is huge! It was a whirlwind of a day, but I'm happy to say that we found "the dress"! I can't say I'd recommend this event for the faint of heart, but if you really want a good deal on a wedding dress, then this place is for you!! To get an idea of the insanity, check out the video we took.


I needed a LOT of coffee that morning! ;)

Instead of getting in the line that was probably 1/2 of a mile long, we decided to check out all the "teams" that were already in line. These gals were our favorites! We found out that the women in the front of the line had been waiting outside since midnight (and it's below freezing at night here!!). There were all sorts of props for these teams-- many had matching T shirts and headbands/hats, and some even brought lawn chairs and whistles!

Yes, you see right. There was a first aid station right by the entrance! Although, in their defense, I didn't see anyone needing first aid while we were there...which was all day!

By the time we made it in the room, the racks were bare!

A picture says 1000 words, right? ;)
Well, maybe it needs a little explanation. There were no fitting rooms, so brides wore bathing suits or spandex so they could just try on dresses in the main room! This bathing suit was just hysterical though, especially with the birthday hat. Her whole team had those on so they could find each other! This picture also shows the army girls from the previous picture-- they probably grabbed about 40 dresses, and were holding them all for the bride to try on...and if they didn't fit, then they would barter with other groups to trade for a new dress! It was quite an elaborate system...which we didn't take part in. We just decided to camp out by the army girls, since their bride was the same size as Lisa. Once their bride found her dress, we were able to seize all their other dresses...genius!! :)

After 7 hours, she finally found THE ONE! This was part of the pile of dresses she tried on.

The moment of truth: a $1500 dress for $253.63!!...plus a free T-shirt that says "I survived the running of the brides!" :)

The triumphant bride-to-be, posing with her dress in downtown Boston.

We also tried on bridesmaid dresses, but fortunately that was a much calmer experience! It was a cute little shop that waited on us hand and foot!

Lisa and her fiance, David.

What trip to New England would be complete without Dunkin' ? :)

No, those aren't Boston clouds; they're Olympic Mountains! :) This was actually taken in SeaTac airport while I waited to fly to Boston. It was one of those perfect, blue sky days and all the mountains were "out"...and I was so thankful I had a window seat! I could see Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Hood! They were such a beautiful reminder of our amazing God!

Everytime I fly, I always have to listen to a certain song when I leave Seattle...the words so accurately describe how I feel when looking out at this beautiful world.

"

29!! (and 28)

Today we celebrated David's 29th birthday! He had a quiet day at home with Re:Train reading and paper-writing, but he did get to enjoy a nice surprise in the evening...some friends...and chocolate cake...and go karts!! I thought that after all David's hard work with Re:Train, a fun evening racing might be fun...he has always had a need for speed! :) We also celebrated Paul's birthday as well (David's brother...They are exactly 1 year a part!). It's hard to believe this year we are turning 29...last year in our 20's!! Time goes by fast!

Our sweet friends, Cliff and Hyun Ju, hosted a little birthday party for David and Paul...they were pretty excited about the cake! :)

I am so thankful to have such a wonderful husband...He is such a blessing to me!
Happy birthday dear!

Let the racing begin!! (L-R: Alan, Paul, David)

Paul means business.

David is in the head of the pack!

This was the score board..."BB Tops" is David. He made it to #3!!

Our friend Alan...fighting to inch up the list (he is "AA" on the board)

David rounding a corner...he got "pulled over" for bumping people ;)

Family Fun

Family is such a blessing, and we are so thankful to have some of our family living in the Northwest...it seems that slowly but surely, most of David's family is inching closer and
closer to this beautiful corner of the country! :)
We recently added one more brother to the "Parker Bros." of Seattle, as Andrew moved up in the beginning of January! He stayed with us for a few weeks, and is now getting settled in his new apartment. We're so glad to have him up here...although he's been
so busy with his new job we barely see him
(but we're so thankful God provided a job!).

We've also enjoyed some visits from the Pichura clan (David's sister). It is definitely CRAZY when all 8 of them are in our house, but we enjoy every minute of it! They came 2 weeks ago, and are coming again this weekend...and we can't get enough! :)

Our little table gets stretched to capacity with this bunch!

Faith turns 7! She told me she wanted "a doggy cake that's chocolate with chocolate frosting"...this girl knows what she likes! ;)
It took me awhile to come up with a plan, but this is how it turned out. She loved it!

On one of Seattle's notorious "rainy days", we decided to go to the Aquarium...which was great! We enjoyed lots of hands-on stuff, which the kids really enjoyed. We also got to see them feed the fish, the octopus, the seals, and eels!! The kids actually got to feed starfish too, which was really neat. This place is definitely worth going to, rain or shine!

Christmas Fun...and snow!

We were blessed to be able to spend the holidays with family in Hood River, Oregon...we celebrated a late Christmas on the 28th, and
we were so excited to receive a "white christmas"!
The snow kept falling, and we actually had to stay a day later than planned because of a big storm coming through...
but this is one time when we were happy to stay put!
It was a fun week filled with laughs, Wii, sledding, baking
(which of course means eating!!),
games, and just enjoying time together as a family.

The Pichura kids all lined up with their "big gift" -- Red Sox jerseys!

Caleb and his new outfit...too cute!

Faith seems to be in an ongoing Broadway production...it's always drama with her!

This was the main attraction throughout the week--
"we" played a lot of Wii!! :)

David's dad and our nephew Titus.

This dog has patience like I have never seen!

The infamous Gingerbread contest has begun!! Get ready for some crazy pictures! I don't know where the Parker's get their "talent" :)

Paul's masterpiece...I'll let you guess.

As you can see, Andrew was really getting into the Spirit of Christmas with his gingerbread man.

Bryan's left us speechless. :)

Micah's Star War's gingerbread man.

Mom Parker's adorable gingerbread house...I think she could start a business!

My entry-- orphan Annie and her dog Sandy.

Grace's amazing gingerbread house...she is becoming quite the artist!!

David's finished product...he spent a lot of time on the Wonka house, and I thought it was pretty cute, but, apparently, others didn't, because he was knocked down to second place this year...the new championship title went to:

Kristin's cute clown!

Mery Christmas from the Parker's!!

Merry Christmas!!

We hope you all have a Merry Christmas celebrating our Savior!