The Big Apple....

Meanwhile, I was in New York City while Haven and Nate were in San Diego. I had this fun weekend get away planned since April, and was so excited my dear friend, Kamille, could join me. I LOVED New York, and all the sights, sounds, food, shopping, shows, and people that go with it! I will provide some captions to the pictures above. First, we had an amazing lunch at the famous Serendipity restaurant know for their tasty frozen hot chocolate as well as the cute chick-flick starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsdale. I also met up with two of my old high school buddies - Teddy Wiley and Jake Francis - who are now residing in New York. It was so fun to meet up with them and see Jake in action as a head chef for a swanky little restaurant near Soho. Teddy is heading to Harvard Business school in a few weeks. Our hotel for the last two nights was a block away from Times Square - which is always a buzz! The two staples of New York: the Statue of Liberty - need I say more.... and, the Empire State building. We enjoyed the sights from the Empire State viewing deck. Ground zero was powerful (construction is now in progress for the new buildings). I really could sense a heaviness and sacredness as I viewed the area... very moving. We visited Rockefeller Center before lunch at "Tavern on the Green" in Central Park. And, finally, our oh-so-fun and "we never looked better" make-overs at the Channel counter (more like lounge) at Bloomingdales. We also were fortunate to see the new Broadway hit "The Color Purple", starring Fantasia. An incredible performance, and the music was so soulful and uplifting!

Haven's Travels

Haven flew to San Diego with Nate to attend cousin Carrie's wedding. Of course, Nana, Papa and Auntie Bekah (Nate's sister) were waiting with open arms for Haven's arrival! She even managed to visit great Popo and Momo, and eat some of her famous biscuits and gravy with the rest of the Speer family. Haven was fortunate enough to continue her journeys with Nana and auntie Bekah back to El Paso for a few days, and then back in the car for the trek to Missoula (to stay with us for a week). On their road trip north, they strolled through the Colorado Springs zoo. Haven was fascinated with feeding the Giraffes, but wasn't too thrilled with the donkey ride!

Waterslide Fun!

Our finale to our week in Kalispell was a day at the Big Sky water park with our good friends, the Chapmans. We enjoyed great company, fabulous weather, and of course, the thrills of being flung through slick, watery tubes into pools of water. Haven had her first water slide experience, and really wasn't quite sure what to think of it... she was more interested in eating snacks and drinking from her sippy cup next to mommy.

Glacier Park

We have had a fun, but very busy month of July! To begin our travels, we drove two hours north to spend the first week of July in Kalispell. We were able to stay at my grandparents' town house and enjoy the very beautiful, but very warm weather (over 100 degrees!). It was such a blast spending time with my uncle Steve and aunt Jan, who were in the area for Glacier Bible Camp. Haven thought Uncle Steve was "grandpa" (my dad and Steve are brothers and share a remarkable resemblance of each other) - so she loved Uncle Steve! We spent a few days with them, and managed to make it to Glacier National Park to see the amazing sights and dip our toes into the cool glacier waters of Lake McDonals. And, we couldn't pass up on some yummy ice cream after a trek into Apgar village!

Nate turns 31!

We celebrated Nate's birthday (June 25th) with some yummy homemade strawberry shortcake... the perfect summer treat.

Eating one of mom's chocolate chip oatmeal cookies!

I think the photos speak for themselves.... Haven has momma's sweet tooth!

Happy Father' Day!

The truth of the mater is that Haven is a daddy's girl. She LOVES spending time with her dad, and will drop anything when she hears "dada" is home! It is so neat to see this special bond between father and daughter. Plus, Nate is such an incredible father and truly dotes upon Haven. Here are a few shots of the two of them right before our Sunday morning service. Happy Father's Day!

Shoes, shoes, shoes...

Haven is obsessed with my shoes now. She takes out every pair in my closet, tries them on, and walks proudly around the house. And, she is now showing me what specific shoes she wants me to wear as well. I truly think girls are genetically wired to love and desire shoes and purses (another of her interests)! I now see first hand how we, as women, develop this special bond at a young age. =0)

My 10 year high school reunion!

I had a great time seeing many familiar faces from "the good 'ol days" as the North Mason high school class of 1997 gathered for our 10 year reunion. I was too busy saying "hi" and socializing at the actual reunion (held at Trophy Lake Golf and Casting in Port Orchard) to remember to take any pictures, but I did manage to get a few shots of some dear friends that gathered for a family BBQ the following day at the Ancich household. It was an eventful but memorable weekend!

Summertime!!

The weather has been GORGEOUS (ninety degrees plus) these past few days here in Missoula. We took advantage of the nice weather by putting our swimsuits and sunglasses on and running through the sprinkler! Haven loves the water and just finished swimming lessons at the local YMCA. She was one of the few toddlers that enjoyed being dunked under water. She doesn't fear much!