Family Cruise

We went on a family cruise in late March with Garrett's family. It started out as his immediate family and ended up including nearly 30 people. We left Boston mid-morning and met up with a good part of the group in Houston before driving down to Galveston. I was really excited to see Galveston because my friend, Winn, lived in Texas and absolutely loved the area.

The ship left from Galveston and stopped in Honduras, Belize, and Cozumel, Mexico before returning to Galveston. The weather started out a little overcast, but within a day was sunny and hot. It seems like a storm was chasing us the whole time, but either did not catch up or passed over us while we were asleep. To kick off the cruise, we had a couple "at sea" days where we lounged around and got to enjoy the amenities of the ship.

In Roatan, Honduras, we went snorkeling along the Great Barrier Reef. It was some of the best snorkeling Garrett and I have ever done. I felt like we were in the movie Finding Nemo! The colors were so vivid and the reef was so big that you couldn't even see the bottom of the ocean on either side - it just fell into the blue abyss.

The next day, nearly the whole group of 30 went on a snorkeling excursion. Afterward, all of the "kids" stayed on what we called our private island to hang out. It was such a fun time getting to reconnect with all of Garrett's cousins and the others who were there. It's great how well everyone gets along. I'm not sure that we all remember 100% of what happened in Belize, but we can all agree that it was fun!

Our last stop was in Cozumel. The year before, Garrett and I spent a week just a hop and a skip away from Cozumel in Playa del Carmen. It was just how I remembered it - low key, relaxing, and warm. Perfect!

This was a great trip and we were so happy to spend time with family.

Killington, Vermont Ski Trip

In mid-March, we went up to Killington, Vermont for a weekend of skiing with our friends The Burlesons. We drove up on Friday night after work and skied on both Saturday and Sunday. Garrett and I skied a few times growing up and this was our 3rd or 4th time this season, however we are light-years apart in terms of skill. Garrett is already skiing on black diamonds and I am firmly a green girl. Ryan spent a few years in Colorado and is a very advanced singer, so Garrett hung out with him. Timory had never skied before, so we were a good pair! She and I came up with a strategy of singing songs when we got scared to give us a little confidence and to take our minds off the speed. I did learn that I only know a few songs all the way through - Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells (Batman version), and America the Beautiful. Hey, I'm patriotic!

All weekend, the weather was absolutely perfect - sunny and near 40 degrees on the mountain. It was so clear and we had awesome views from the peak.

At night, we had fun playing Cards Against Humanity and, well, drinking. If you haven't played this game, it is essentially an adult version of Apples to Applies. It is highly inappropriate and highly entertaining. We also tossed in Scattergories for good measure.

On an unrelated note, for all the Taylor Swift fans out there, here is a spoof on her song "22" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSnDJ7exSO0. So good, although I don't think 32 will be quite that terrible...right?!

Blizzard Nemo

We can officially check surviving a Nor' Easter off of our Boston bucket list.  From Friday afternoon to Saturday morning it snowed about 2 feet and the wind was blowing hard.  We spent much of the day inside, but once the blizzard was at its strongest we decided to walk over to Ryan and Timory's (about a mile away) to hangout, drink and play games.  After the snow stopped I headed out and took some pictures around the city. There is still a driving ban and pretty much all of the businesses and restaurants are closed.  I'm looking forward to seeing what they do with all the snow, because at this point I can't see how people will make it to work on Monday.

JLB Ball

I don't know that there are any shortcuts to doing a good job. - Sandra Day O'Connor, Junior League of Pheonix

Find something you are passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it. - Julia Child, Junior League of Pasadena

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dream. - Eleanor Roosevelt, Junior League of New York City

Garrett and I attended the Junior League of Boston's "Service and the City" masquerade ball at the Boston Fairmont Copley on Saturday night. The hotel itself is in the Back Bay which is a very nice neighborhood with lots of hotels, restaurants, and shopping.

Fairmont Copley Hotel in Boston, MA

Before the ball, I went to get my first blow-out at Blo with a new friend, Margaret, who is from Denver, but attended Seattle University. She and I met volunteering with the Junior League and have gone out a few times with our husbands. At Blo, they wash your hair and then you pick a hairstyle from a menu of set options. I went with the "Holly Would", as pictured below.

Blo's "Holly Would"

I also had her pin it up a bit for a half up / half down look...and so that the hurricane winds outside wouldn't mess it up. It was fun and I was happy not to have to style my own hair. That doesn't always turn out so well. One bit of trivia about Garrett and me - I almost always curl my hair when I'm going to a special event (wedding, party, etc) and Garrett always asks me to leave it straight. I guess it's nice to know he likes my everyday hair! I feel like girls with naturally curly hair like to straighten it and girls with naturally straight hair like to curl it...I remember sitting with my college roommate, Jodi, in front of the mirror - her with a flat iron and me with a curling iron - both trying to get the other's natural hair.

There are about 400 new provisional members in the Junior League of Boston this year and we are broken into smaller groups. I refer to this as my "social group" since our main focus is just building friendships / connections within the League. Garrett and I met up with this group at a fun bar right across Copley Square from the hotel called Lolita. It's a fun place with good atmosphere and great drinks. I feel like it is what "fun Hell" would look like in a movie.

Lolita

At 8pm, we all headed over to the Fairmont to the ball. There was a silent auction, passed appetizers, and a live band. Garrett and I spent the night chatting with friends and dancing up a storm. We also won a wine/art night for 4. The hotel was gorgeous and we had a very fun night!

In the Fairmont hallway

Baxter Update

Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. - Robert A. Heinlein

A quick note on a previous post - Garrett nearly cried he was laughing so hard when he read the title. Apparently "Eager Beaver" is the name of strip clubs...? I honestly had no idea.

Garrett's definition (from urbandictionary.com): A girl...who is very interested and anxious to explore her sexual promiscuity. Often times regarded as an easy hookup.

Erin's definition (from the timeless, well known, infinitely accurate merriam-webster.com): A person who is extremely zealous about performing duties and volunteering for more.

Come on Brown, get your mind out of the gutter!

Moving on....We are typical people without children - absolutely obsessed with our pet. Baxter is a Siberian Forest Cat, a long-haired hypoallergenic breed. Our friend Ryan insists on calling him Boris (with a Russian accent, generally after a couple drinks). Some of Baxter's best traits include:

• Demanding to be snuggled in the morning. He is insistent about licking your neck while hooking his arms around you. It's pretty cute.
• He loves to participate in showers. And by participate, I mean attack you through the shower curtain liner. He is generally soaking wet afterward.
• He loves to play fetch with hair ties and q-tips. He also hoards these things into hidey-holes. Whenever we clean the house, we'll find random stashes of 10 "toys".
• He knows who the sucker is and always sits in my lap during dinner purring VERY loudly...you know, in case I find it in my heart to slip him a little something. Which I generally do.

Overall, Baxter has brought us a lot of joy and laughter. One of my favorite things is hearing Garrett talk to Baxter when I'm in another room: "Baxter, you're the best kitty and I love you." Ahh, melt my heart.

Laying on his back, hoping someone will rub his tummy

Sleeping in his "castle"...he's just about running out of room

This is what I saw this morning when I was getting ready - Baxter had maneuvered himself into a little shelf in the bathroom

Baxter likes to read

Christmas in Seattle

We made a very quick trip back to Seattle for Christmas. When we decided to move across the country, we knew that coming home for Christmas was a mostly non-negotiable annual trip. So far, so good - it has been something we have really looked forward to the last two years.

On the first day, I got to spend a very wonderful day with my best friend, Kelly. After snuggling her 7 month old baby boy, we headed off to Bellevue for brunch and manicures/pedicures. Afterward, we went back to her place for Christmas movies and champagne. Our girls nights have changed a little in the last year...

Champagne bottles and....bottle bottles!

The next morning, Garrett and I drove down to Olympia to visit my aunt, her main man Fred, my cousin, and her little girl, Hadleigh. Hadleigh absolutely fell in love with Garrett and it was so cute to see. I think he caught baby fever (or at least toddler fever) because he keeps talking about how sweet and fun she was. We really had a wonderful time with everyone - lots of laughing and hugging and dancing around the Christmas tree.

Hadleigh and me. She tolerated her Auntie Erin...just barely :)

Hadleigh and Garrett. She ADORED her Uncle Garrett. Lots of snuggles!

Love these beautiful ladies! Yay Sears women!

OK, this is part one of the Christmas recap. More to come later!

Real men do laundry. - Erin Brown

Love this guy!