Ridiculously Romantic

Graham and I had the day off yesterday and had nothing planned. We started the morning with a couple sets of tennis--I did my best ever!! I lost the first game 6-1 and then the second, 6-2 (usually the score is 6-0 so this is quite the improvement for me!) For some crazy reason, I am really good at backhand but it has taken me forever to figure out front hand (forward hand? whatever...) Anyway, yesterday I did much better!

In the afternoon, we took paints, an easel and a canvas to a beautiful park in Kirkland and enjoyed sun. Graham painted while I read aloud to him. Sigh....I certainly can't complain. My husband is about as romantic as they come.

Here's the picture he's working on painting. I took it while we were visiting the Cinque Terre in Italy. He's not finished yet but I'll try to remember the post a picture of the final product when it is completed!

A bit on marriage

I guess I'm a bit ashamed of our generation. I was talking to a nurse at work who is in the process of planning her parents' 50th wedding anniversary party next weekend. Before I go on, can I just say Wow! What a milestone! Having only been married 1 year, 3 months and 6 days, it is difficult to even fathom what life will look like in 48+ years from now. Graham can vouch for me that I just love older couples. There is something about seeing elderly couples together that makes me want to cry--not necessarily out of sadness but just simply because it warms my heart to see their genuine sweetness with one another. I was at the gym last week and saw the cutest older couple working out together and it just looked like they were having so much fun. Without a doubt, they were each others' best friend.
I'm so bummed that fewer and fewer couples are coming even close to that 50 year marriage mark. I think our generation is too plain self-focused. Previous generations entered into marriage with the mind set that they were in it for the long haul, no question about it. Now it seems that our younger generation views the world from the perspective that "the grass is always greener." In jobs, friendships, marriages--we're always looking for more.
Today we had the privilege of attending Graham's aunt and uncle's surprise 25th wedding anniversary party. It was so neat to see all the people who have been involved in supporting them throughout the years all gathered in the same room. Such neat stories were shared and it really inspired me.
I am so excited to think that we're only beginning our adventure together and pray that I would become more and more self-less as the years go by. I'm very thankful for my best friend!

Get Your Rays

I was reminded again this week why sunshine is so important and why the "long winter" we've had this year may be hard on our health. In less than a week's time, I have encountered two babies with low vitamin D blood levels which presumably means that their mother was deficient in vitamin D during pregnancy. Sunshine is needed to convert the vitamin D you get in your diet to an active form that your body can use. Without sunshine, you can easily become deficient. Unfortunately, vitamin D isn't found naturally in very many foods. You can get vitamin D in cod liver oil (oh, yum! pick me!), salmon, tuna, liver (oh yeah, I'd like that too!) and eggs. Milk and cereal are fortified with vitamin D and that's where most of us probably get our food sources of the vitamin. Anyway, a doctor and I were speculating that we may be coming across quite a few newborns in the next couple months who are born deficient due to their mother's lack of sunshine exposure this past year--CRAZY, HUH?!

Isn't it June 6th???

At least that's what I thought...I came home from work today to find Graham in a sweater, with a fire going and the heat on! I think this is a record--the only other time I have been around a fire in the month of June was when I was camping!

Coming home

Today we will be heading back to what I hear has been rainy Seattle. Uggg! I have really been quite spoiled by the sunshine and I'm not looking forward to a non-summer-like Seattle.
Graham and I had a great day day on Tuesday. We started off by going to my favorite breakfast place while I was down here called Breadwinners. They have an awesome outdoor patio that is shaded by tropical plants and trees climbing the walls. Instead of a bread basket, they start you off with a plate full of pieces of their pastries and muffins-yum! After breakfast we drove out to Six Flags and spent the entire day from open to close. The lines were so short and for a lot of rides, we practically were able to just walk on. I decided that I would really enjoy "roller coaster vacations" where we basically travel around to the top roller coasters in the state. My favorite ride at Six Flags over Texas was called The Titan and it was this huge roller coaster with a 24 story freefall. I made Graham keep his hands up (I've learned he is really quite funny with big drops and can scream like a girl). Anyway, the freefall was great but I definitely could have gone for double the height--do they make any like that? I'm going to have to do some research!
That evening, we met up with Sarah and Esther and took them out to Cuban food. One thing I love about Dallas is the food! They really do have EVERYTHING when it comes to cuisine options. Oh and the gas prices are only like $3.80. AND we went grocery shopping with Sarah and she bought everything for the week for only $60--things are cheaper here!

Yesterday we spent the day getting a sun burn (we were successful). We had a lazy day at the pool reading and swimming. Graham and I took Sarah's car in the afternoon to do some house "shopping." The houses here are incredible and you can just drive block after block with your jaw dropped. What I don't understand is why Seattle doesn't model their homes after this architecture! I find all the brick just beautiful and they don't build huge garages out front. Here are some examples of what we saw. Yes, this is really one house and yes there's quite a bit more that couldn't fit into the photo:

Is that the White House?! Oh wait, no, it's just a random home (!!!):

Graham really like the red roof:

They use so much brick down here:

Just another average house:

Aren't those insane?! Photos don't quite do them justice, but it gives you a pretty good idea. Imagine seeing these type of homes block after block! Oh and we found another interesting sight while we were walking:

WHAT IS UP WITH THAT?! We have no idea...Anyway, we've had a great trip and are really thankful for our friends. I will be adding more pictures of the first part of our trip to the previous post and I'm sure there will be more to come.

Greetings from Cowboy Country!

So far we're having a wonderful time here in Dallas. We took a red eye on Friday night and arrived here at 6 AM Saturday morning. Initially our friends wanted to go straight from the airport to Hurricane Harbor (a Six Flags waterpark), but we were able to convince them to let us take a brief nap first. The water slides were great and it's been 90 degrees + every day so far---ahh, I love Texas!
The first few days we stayed with Heather and her husband John and one of my bridesmaids Amanda and her boyfriend (also a John) drove over from Houston to hang out with us. Heather and Amanda are both dietitians so we spend a lot of time talking nutrition, eating good food and playing games.

Ferocious Hayden:

Amanda and I playing games:The 3 dietitians:Now we're staying with another one of my bridesmaids Sarah. She has to work today but left us her car so we're heading off to....SIX FLAGS! We're planning to spend the rest of our time here sunbathing and talking with friends--it has been SO good to catch up with all the wonderful people that supported me during my year here. That's all for now.