Happy Birthday Jesse!

Today is our good friend Jesse's 29th birthday, so last night we joined him and some friends at GameWorks to celebrate. Thursdays nights means unlimited play for just $10 a person! However, it also meant that every single annoying little kid and teenager in Seattle was also out to play. The boys only had to threaten to physically remove one kid from a racing game after he mouthed off about not moving after his turn... ha! I had never been to GameWorks before, and it really is a lot of fun. I liked the Hummer racing game best. 

We were very happy to celebrate Jesse's birthday with him, and we hope that the coming year is absolutely fantastic for him!

Merry Christmas!

Stewart and I spent Christmas this year at my parent's house in Olympia. As usual the time went by way too quickly, but we had a fantastic weekend with my family. I can't believe 2012 is almost upon us!

Every year we take a traditional picture on the stairs at my parent's house with all the cousins on my dad's side: youngest to oldest. It's so weird that we are all adults now!

This year we also tried something different: a White Elephant gift exchange! It was a hit and Stewart ended up with a particularly awesome gift... a microphone that makes your voice sound like T-Pain! We spent quite a few hours playing with that one.

What with all the wedding planning and such going on this year, we were simply too swamped to pull off Christmas cards. But we've been thinking of each and every one of you and wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy new year!

Lots of love from Sarah & Stewart.

Surprise!!

Best friend a girl could ask for.

Even though I attempted to escape any big birthday celebrations this year, my besties just couldn't resist throwing me a party - and a surprise at that! They somehow managed to pull off a very large, festive and absolutely fantastic surprise birthday bash last weekend at Crystal's house in Redmond.

All of my very best friends and family members were there, and I couldn't have been more shocked. There was fabulous drinks and delicious food and amazing gifts and I had such an amazing night.

I feel so spoiled and loved that all these people took the time to wish me happy birthday!

 

Even some of my aunts made it to the party!

With my gorgeous mother.

Hanging out with Patrick, my future step brother in law.

Opening one of my awesome birthday gifts.

Still super overwhelmed from the surprise!

Andrew was in charge of my awesome birthday cake.
30 candles... yeesh!

Russ & Patty drove all the way up from Vancouver for the party!

A few of my very favorite ladies. I really do have the most amazing friends.

Hanging out with some of my favorite aunties.

I honestly could not have wished for a better 30th birthday. I don't believe there are many people in the world who are luckier than me. Thank you so much to everyone who came to my surprise party. I love you all so much and I'm so thankful that you are in my life. Here's to another 30 years!

Boston Birthday Bash

Cailin and Clint's amazing house - built in 1880!

Last year for my birthday Stewart and I planned and organized a giant bash at a local piano bar with about 30 people for a night of dinner and entertainment. Although I had a fantastic time I felt completely overwhelmed by the amount of party guests and worried that I hadn’t spent enough quality time with a single one of them. So with the inevitability of turning 30 this year looming, I decided rather than celebrate/mourn this year’s momentous birthday that we should get the heck out of town and avoid it completely. It was the perfect time to visit Cailin, my best friend from college, and her husband, Clint, at their home outside of Boston. Happy birthday to me!

I was super excited about the trip not only because I’ve never been to the east coast before and I’m a huge history nerd, but I was also thrilled at the prospect of spending time with Cailin at her home. Our last few visits, although fantastic, have been very rushed and so I was looking forward to a leisurely long weekend of just hanging out and exploring the city.



Stewart meets Tinkerbell for the first time.

Clint and Brian lounging around the house.

Cailin and Clint had to work on Friday, so we took the opportunity to wander around Boston and walk The Freedom Trail, which features 16 sites that make up the backbone of the American Revolutionary story. We saw tons of museums, churches, ships and cemeteries all across the vibrant, sophisticated, modern city. For some reason in my head I thought Boston would be much larger, but we pretty much walked through the whole city in just a single afternoon.

My first venture into the city at Boston Common, America's
oldest public park.

The State House, completed in 1798.

"General Hooker Entrance"?

Granary Burying Ground - some of America's most notable
citizens rest here, like John Hancock, Paul Revere, Samuel
Adams, and Benjamin Franklin's parents.

I was super creeped out by the skull and crossbones headstones!

Stew paying his respects to Sam Adams.

Old City Hall.

Site of the Boston Massacre.

On March 5, 1770, at this site, a deadly skirmish erupted
between a few terrified British "red coats" and a group of
angry Boston citizens.

Christmas decorations at Faneuil Hall.

We took a the Water Shuttle across Boston Harbor to the
Charlestown Navy Yard.

We really lucked out on the weather!

Gorgeous view of the city from the boat.

USS Constitution, the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world. 

She became known as "Old Ironsides" during the war of 1812.

Pretty shot of Old North Church.

The oldest church building in Boston and the city's
most visited historic site.

Paul Revere House.

Boston is such a beautiful city! We had such a great time just wandering around...

Of course we had to stop by and see if everybody knew our names.

Stewart playing with the squirrels on the way home.

Later that night we had a fantastic dinner (and I ordered what Clint says is a Massachusetts favorite: lobster mac and cheese) before going to the Providence Bruins hockey game. It was my first time sitting in a suite and the game was super fun and exciting.

To-Die-For lobster mac n cheese... so dreamy!

Go Bruins!

I think Cailin and I spent more time chick chatting than
actually watching hockey... ;-)

Saturday was the big day… my 30^th birthday… dun-dun-dun. Cailin surprised me with a gorgeous silver necklace and we went shopping before heading back into the city for an absolutely amazing dinner at an adorable downtown restaurant, Mamma Maria. Getting dressed up and going out to a fancy dinner with my closest friend was absolutely everything I could have asked for, and we had an absolutely fantastic night!

I just love this girl to death!

This guy's okay, too!

Birthday dinner: Rabbit Pasta!
Classic slow-cooked Vermont-raised rabbit, in the Tuscan-style
with homemade pappardelle, crispy pancetta, and fresh rosemary.

Happy birthday Sarah!

I think the last time Cailin, Diana and I hung out was almost five years ago!

The boys.

I love my fiance so much for planning such a fantastic
birthday weekend for me!

Cheers to my 30s!

Sunday was a sad day because we knew we were headed home, but we did have time to fit in a few rounds of bowling (my favorite!) before heading to the airport.

I miss this girl so much!!

It was such a perfect 30^th birthday weekend and the only bummer was how fast everything flew by. I absolutely love Boston, almost as much as I love Cailin and Clint, and I can’t wait to go back for our next visit. It feels weird to be 30. I feel different… but also exactly the same. Most importantly though, I feel like I am exactly where I’m supposed to be in life… perfectly content and happy with where I am, and where I’m going. Hello 30s!