First Pony Ride!

I realize I am months behind on actual stories about our lives... but when you have a 10 month old, some times a quick photo or video is the easiest way to put up a post! Claire has continued to grow leaps and bounds. She's been walking for a month and is doing it by herself without prompting, which is so cute/wobbly. She still has 6 teeth and is giving me more bruises these days from "love bites."
Her newest 'milestone' was her first pony ride. Our church had a Western Night (chili tasting, s'mores making, etc.) this Sunday. At first I just wanted to get a photo of her on the horse, since she has been around them (at my mom's old stables in NY) and been pulled by one (in MN). But she was petting it's mane and really happy, even started giggling; so we decided to let her go for her first ride. Growing up around horses myself, I couldn't have been more thrilled:) Enjoy!

Our International Christmas

For Christmas, I got Los a new sound system for our house, a tattoo and a PUPPY!  More news on those changes to come...  But first, the food: for our first Christmas starting new traditions, we thought why not shoot for the moon?  We threw out any "traditional ham" idea.  We all assigned each other different countries to make dishes from- the only requirement being that you could not have ever made the dish before.  What could've been a risky disaster turned out amazingly!

Team Evans, 5 months away from expanding!

Team Y'all- 3 months away from becoming Team Yokers!
My food aversions include many proteins, luckily I was assigned India (an easy country for vegetarian dishes).  I made a veggie curry that was spicier than I'd hoped, but good and good for you.
Action shot from our kitchen
We had French Champagne, an amazing Brunello from Italy (thanks Bish!) and cheeses from Sweden, Spain, Switzerland and England...
Burly cleaned up on new treats from Santa...
Kiesha made a Russian Potato and Kielbasa recipe that we gobbled up, huge hit.  I also made a Kiwi Raita yogurt to assuage the spiciness of my dish.  Carlos made the main dish, a French chicken piperade- very good.  Dave made cranberries (we had to have them!) and an awesome Spanish Flan for dessert.  All in all, a great meal.  We had so much fun with team Y'all, who spent 4 nights at our house (although they only live at the beach, 25 minutes away!)  It was so fun to spend the days with them, exchange stockings and go to San Antonio the day after Christmas together.  Saturday we introduced them to Settlers, our fave game, finally we have people to play it with here!  And I made a Spanakopita and Tabbouleh for dinner, to continue our international theme.  Sunday they went to church with us and then they made us a great lunch.  Lots o food and fun and memories with our friends.  
Now we are sleepy, yet grateful for the mini-vacation in our own home.

Our weekend in FresYES

We had a good time in Fresno with my parents, timing the trip to coincide with my mom's 60th birthday.  We saw a chick flick with her and she puggy-sat while we went to the FSU game the next day.
It was our first tailgate together, Los joining a long-standing tradition in my fam.  Dad made famous tri-tip and there was lots of other good stuff.  Thousands of people tailgate and the band of the week was ( the terrible, one-hit wonder) Smashmouth.
The guys were downing a huge bottle of tequila, I stayed away from that!
At some point my dad had to literally grab the bottle away from my husband, which I captured on film to shame him later (j/k)
It was great to catch up with cousins Jon-Michael and Jo Ann!
Of course the game was fun too, though it got super cold (strange for fall in CA)
We all ended up bundled up


The next day we went to church as a fam and hung out at my dad's with lots of family, as though it was a holiday.  Monday morning we made a pitstop at Jamba Juice and Whole Foods and then hit the road for Arizona.  We'll miss my familia, since we are likely staying in TX (first time away from fam for a holiday) this winter.

Our So-Called Life: Whirlwind Edition

So the winds of change are a-blowin' with hurricane force! Here are updates:

#1- OUR HOUSE SOLD! Praise God from whom all blessings flow!!! In this horrible buyers market, we were really nervous (read: I was really nervous) that I'd be stuck here until winter, with Los having to go ahead of me to TX. The market here has 10 months SOLID of inventory, our agent said she's only selling 3 houses a month!!! Compare this to 2005, when we bought: she closed on a house every other day! She said she took no days off, didn't vacation that year at all, and buyers were running around like mad. The day Los found our house, he was the first of 3 or 4 offers on the FIRST DAY it was on the market! Crazy... NOW the average house is taking 6 months to sell, and those are good houses, not crappy ones...

So the fact that our beautiful home took LESS than a month to get TWO offers, and for us to settle on a buyer and contract is nothing short of a providential miracle! I am oh so grateful, as it makes our move to TX right on time (as we thought out months ago), which NEVER happens! Our next door neighbors have been Geo-bacheloring from VA for 4 months so far with no end in sight, b/c getting out of their house is tricky, our other next door neighbors have put their house on the market TWICE in 3 years, with no luck, and are relocating to CA. Los' brother's house has been on the market in Seattle for 5 months while he's been in NY, and dropped $80,000 and still no offers, another friend's home just took 11 months to sell, so... WOW. I feel really blessed that this worked out so perfectly for us! We didn't make money, as we'd hoped to, but our peace of mind is priceless, as we don't know if we'll ever return to the northwest, and selling just made sense. Is my relief palpable to you?!

#2- WE GOT THE GOLF COURSE HOUSE IN TX! The link I posted this past month was to a slideshow of our fave house in TX (gorgeous custom home on the course: 3 bed/2 bath and amazing features everywhere- like the built-in 48 bottle wine cooler and gargantuan master closet, all of our clothes could fit in 1/6 of it!) We are so excited the owners picked us, when the realtor showed us around, it was by far our fave! We'll have wonderful neighbors (they gather once a month for wine/hors d'ouerves) and it's super safe/peaceful/gated community). After living near I-5 (I am such a light sleeper) I can't WAIT for our home to be somewhere SO QUIET!

So all this means...
#3- WE MOVE TO TX IN 3 WEEKS FROM TODAY! I can hardly believe it, even as I type this! It went from such ambiguity (will our house ever sell?) to GAME ON! So we're having a GOING AWAY PARTY THIS WEEKEND if you want to come? We'll be in Seattle trying to connect with people, and for Los' next race; and at home next weekend, when I may sky-dive with friends. The following weekend we have Kendall's wedding and then I'm going up to Canada to see JJ/Lisa and volunteer at Passion's World Tour stop in Vancouver. That will be fun, even though it means I won't sleep at our own home the last 2 nights we're in it. I'll drive back from Canada Tuesday morn and then we'll be off!

Our probable itinerary is as follows:
Tuesday 10/7- Lake Oswego, OR: playing with the Bishop's and buying stuff where there's no sales tax (can I say Apple store, with my 10% student/military discount?! Boo yah...)
Wednesday 10/8- Redwoods National Forest, CA
Thursday 10/9- Napa, CA and playing with the Flory's
Friday 10/10- Berkeley (maybe?) or Central Coast (SLO/ my parents' house in Los Osos)
Saturday 10/11- Fresno for my mom's 60th bday, woo hoo! Also FSU football tailgating and game with fam, fun!
Sunday 10/12-Flagstaff, AZ (or maybe Vegas, but probs not)
Monday 10/13- GRAND CANYON: we've never been, can't wait to hike around!
Tuesday 10/14- Santa Fe, NM (one of US' coolest, most unique cities, love it!)
Wednesay 10/15- Dallas and Austin, TX (we heart Austin, it's so awesome)
Thursday 10/16- shop and look at furniture (since we're selling ours on Craigslist for the most part)
Friday 10/17- arrive at the beach and new home. We're staying with some friends on the Island for 2 weeks until we can move into our new fab house on 11/2!

Many pics to come in the month to follow! Stay tuned to the life and times of the Evans adventures:)

Our Third (First) Anniversary!

Three years ago yesterday, Los said, "I do, do you?" And I said, "I DO!" But the next two September 10ths, the Navy took him half-way around the world to the Middle East... I coped, going to Cali and eating sushi/getting a massage/being with fam and friends... but they were anti-climactic days at best.


Not so yesterday! We enjoyed the beautiful weather (beginning of fall, leaves are changing color, woo hoo!) by driving up to Bellingham (the most gorgeous part of I-5) to spend the evening. Los surprised me by taking me to the fabulous Chrysalis Hotel and Spa for a few hours. It turns out a slice of heaven can be purchased for a couple hundred dollars! We basked in the sun on the deck, watching people drink wine or kayak in the bay as the sun sank toward the San Juan Islands.



Then we entered the spa, for the most recent highlight of my life. We were ushered into our respective locker rooms; and any residual worry that wasn't eradicated on the deck dripped out of my pores and down the drain in the heavenly steam room. Then we wrapped ourselves in luxurious robes and went to the relaxation room. We chose from six awesome types of tea, sipped and sank into the chairs that had a view of flora and a waterfall. Then eventually we were escorted to our room and given the most amazing massages. Los had never had one before, and after his triathlon (plus swimming a mile and running an hour on top of that), his body really soaked up every last heavenly touch. I usually critique my therapist mentally the whole time and can't fully relax (since I want to be a LMP in another lifetime); but boy did I ever relax last night. My therapist did some things no one has ever done before, and I now have a long list of other types of massage I want to try: Thai, Stone, Shiatsu, et al. No more Swedish for a while! It was like a dream that kept getting sweeter and sweeter. After more tea and more steam, I rinsed with their great local and organic products (I am a sucker for high-end #1-groceries and #2- bath products) and then floated out of there as if on a cloud.

We couldn't have enjoyed our time there more, and we HIGHLY recommend it to anyone in WA. They had a good wine bar and restaurant on the water as well, but since we are moving away so soon, we wanted to visit our favorite pizza place La Fiamma one last time.


For any vegetarian pizza- eaters, I have never found a pizza as amazing as their Major Grigio. They use Major Grey mango chutney as the spread, then pile on curried veggies and cheese, and top it with Thai spicy sauce, Sriracha. It's unbelievable. Maybe that combo sound unappetizing in writing (I was skeptical before I tried it the first time!) but it will change your life. I feel like if you're going to go out to pizza, it has to be something way better than what Papa Murphy's could give you to take home and bake... Los ordered a Potato Chicken pizza, which again sounds weird: garlic mashed potato spread with rosemary potatoes and grilled chicken on top, laced with balsamic on top; but it is sooo good (and mellow, to complement the spicy other one). We only go there maybe 3 times a year, but I will miss it, can you tell? They have my favorite Rosemary Lemonade too (which is a rip-off from The Herb Farm, which is the northwest's best restaurant- consistently ranked nationally and globally too; you can eat there if you have $200/person?!) La Fiamma offers it for $2.50, a little easier on the ol' pocket book; and they serve some awesome beers from local breweries.

It was so fun to have a special evening and reflect with Los on where three years has brought us- there's definitely been some bumps on the road, but overall the ride has been a glorious one. We met when we were 22, we're now 29- life as we know it is about to change radically. We are leaving our comfort zone of the west coast, I am leaving my comfort zone of academia, and hopefully we'll be leaving our comfort zone of singlehood, heading toward parenthood at some point soon. Much change is afoot; and we couldn't imagine a better partner to face it all and journey through life with. My step-grandparents have been married 63 years, we look forward to growing old together as they have. It just keeps getting better and better and we are grateful.

My Iron Man- the Birthday Boy

I have the world's best husband. Today is his birthday, and we are once again the same age. This is my favorite half of the year, until I sneak ahead of him in March.

Yesterday Los completed his first triathlon, Escape from the Rock in Mercer Island. I have been to more marathons/races than I can count, but THIS was exhilarating. Los is one of those people that people like me like to hate, naturally gifted at almost everything physical. For example: the first 1/2 Marathon he ever ran, he trained maybe two weeks for... and he finished it in an hour and a half! Who does that?! Now he's training for his first marathon, and he's hoping to get a 3:10, to qualify for Boston Marathon. ON HIS FIRST TRY. Again, who does that? He does.

So yesterday, he was kind of nervous going in to his first Tri. No need to be, as he placed 77th of 700+ contestants. When we left over an hour after he finished, people were still finishing! Even with entering the water at the back of his swimming heat and having really slow transition times (the winner took less than 5 seconds to get off his bike and put on his shoes!!!), Los finished in 1:10! That's 16 miles in 70 minutes= amazing! He was running sub-7 minute miles and said he wasn't even trying hard, who says that?! He's gonna shoot to break an hour next time= crazy! And his eventual goal is to do the Kona Ironman (the "Superbowl" of Triathlons) in Hawai'i- which is a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile marathon! Just typing that exhausts me:) I just found out that a guy in the Navy invented the Ironman, as a competition for Navy Seals to see who was the fittest athlete alive. It has grown in the past 3 decades into an international competition, pretty awesome. After yesterday, I'm hooked!

We were so excited all day yesterday and today, talking about his race, and looking forward to the San Antonio Rock and Roll Marathon that we're going to do. It feels good for me to have a goal of completing the half (some friends of ours are doing it also) and he has wanted to complete a full for a while now. It's 9 weeks away, I think, and we're fired up! I joined an online trainer that has been really helpful for me, and have been dragging Burly along on all my training. I am not exaggerating when I say dragging, on today's 40- minute jaunt, he tried to/laid down in the shade approximately 10 times! We are both going to get more fit in this season:)

Tonight, Los and I went down the street to the brand new LuLu Lemon outlet (the only one in the States!! It has all their awesome clothing for less money, awesome!) to buy some sweet athletic gear. Motivated by our victories and aspirations, we then promptly went to Wendy's, and got Frosty's and fries. Oh well, you win some, you lose some:)

5 States in One Week... you know, the usual.

Well team, thanks for all the prayers going into the past crazy week of our lives. Everything went smashingly! Of course, there was the one time when I got our flight time from IAH-JAX incorrect in my brain (which I use as my PDA). The Houston gate agent said there was no way we'd make our flight; but we sprinted/sweated (as quickly as one can sprint while carrying luggage anyway) across that gargantuan space and arrived at E-13 with moments to spare. Then we grossed some locals out by wiping away all our sweat (back sweat included) while trying to catch our breath. Whatever.

Other than that, the trip was great. I'm pretty sure I did decently on my exams. Then we had a good lunch with the Zentlers and dinner with the E-R's before we flew south. In Corpus Christi we connected with some people for lunch (from what may be our new church) and found a couple houses we love, that are fabulous and super affordable. We had great time with Kiesha and Dave in TX. We can't wait to spend 2 years with them down there. You should check out her blog, she's been writing some funny things about TX; I'm sure I'll have similar culture shock when we get there.

Once we made our flight to JAX, we relaxed in the company of great friends. I'll have to put pics up, but first we spent time with the Flynt family. They are inspirational to us as parents and as a couple. We played with their cute kids Gavin and Sophie and then enjoyed a good meal and wine as grown-ups. I got to read Sophie (and later the Moseley's daughter Elise) books before she went to bed; that was a definite highlight of the trip for me. I always cherished that time when I was a kid, and then in college as a nanny. It is fun to do it for our friends' kids now, and it is one of the things I know I'll love about being a parent some day.

From the Flynt's, we went to a couple beaches we love in Jax/Ponte Vedra, that was a happy few hours. Los went running and I built a fortress in the sand. Then we joined the lovely Pendleton Clan for dinner and wonderful conversation. Their baby Judah remains our fave little man, and he's just as cute as I remembered him from 6 months ago when they moved away from us. The next night we had steak dinner with the Pound's and Reifers' (the pastor who married us and my Jax host parents whom we love); we talked about religion and politics and all the good stuff.

Next we buzzed through Georgia en route to South Carolina. We stopped in Savannah to pick up Erika, who'd flown in from Denver to join us. We celebrated her 30th birthday (the first of my close friends to reach this milestone!) and had good conversations about seasons in life. I have now been in 10 states with her, I think more than any other friend? (p.s. I rank friends by how many states I've been in with you, though my ranking has no bearing on our friendship)

After getting massively lost on one of SC's many state route 17's, we finally made it to the Moseley's at about 3am. Good thing I was still kind of on west coast time! Besides, what would a road trip be, if you didn't get lost at least once:) We hadn't seen them since our wedding (they lived in Japan 2 years, good excuse!) and we had a fabulous weekend with them, meeting their sweet girls and hugging our beloved Gus, their chocolate Lab. We decided that if they won't give him to us, we're going to have to get a Lab ourselves, because he is the best dog on earth other than Burly. Friday we got to tour the amazing plantation I linked to below, photos of that to come will show how impressive it is. Saturday we walked all over historic Charleston, which was really special for me (to see where my fam came to the States) and Los (we went to the birthplace of his fraternity). It's a fascinating mix of gorgeous architecture, preppy college students, Confederate history, great Low Country food, and cute boutique shopping.

Sunday morning we went to explore Savannah some (Los and I have been multiple times, but E had not), and then trekked back to Jax to fly westward. We were grateful that we missed both Tropical Storm Faye and Hurricane Gustav en route. All in all, a wonderful trip, I'll post pics as soon as I can find our camera battery charger!

Greek Isle Cruise

Mykonos










Rhodes- diving platform off a popular beach close to the medieval town

En route to Patmos

Patmos- where John had the Revelation. I would have too, if I'd been here for three years:)



Our ship

Athens

Carlos sleeping in the Athens airport

Mars Hill (awesome at night) that Paul spoke from in Acts

Carytids, hanging out

Us in front of the Parthenon on the Acropolis

Guys being silly

Our awesome hotel rooftop bar



Syntagma Square

The Plaka

View from hotel in the morning

ANGLOPHILIA! We heart England...

Just a quick update- we have to come back to this place, it's so amazing. We had such a fun time at Wimbledon, I was 1 foot from John McEnroe! And 4 feet from Venus and Serena Williams' dad. Too cool. We loved watching tennis with spectators from 100 other countries, so fun. I love eastern European females, they are hard core. Such competition and drama, more to come about this when we have more computer access. We've had fun living right off of Hyde Park, have seen a lot and went to a performance of Wicked last night, which was fabulous, I'm so glad we finally saw it. My favorite memory so far, apart from the tennis, is sitting outside the Princess Diana Memorial Playground, watching and listening to moms and little kids speak in tons of different languages, so cute, and on the tube, listening to Italian and Japanese teens speak to eachother in broken English.
We're exploring some more today and flying a red-eye to Athens, so we'll try to update you from there; our experiences will probably be quite different, seeing sports, gardens and culture here, and history and islands there:) Such a great trip so far!

Going Going back back to Cali Cali...

Our trip couldn't have been better. Amie picked us up on a warm Fresno night. After freezing in June (!) in Seattle, it was a welcome change. We got to have a great morning with my mom and spent time outside in the sun with her Newfoundlands Moses and Munson.


We drove with my dad and Cindy to LA, and got to Fuller in the nick of time to get my regalia. They hadn't seen Los in a year and a half, so we had lots of great conversation and laughs together. We stayed in the same hotel as Lisa, JJ and their parents as well.

This hotel had a 6 drink/person Happy Hour, unreal. I rarely drink, but this was my graduation and we were celebrating. Team Pierce (the more accomplished drinkers) beat Team Evans, and 23 drinks later, we walked to dinner...

Graduation: Take 1

Putting on my hood for the first time- I wanted to wear it like the Miss America contendants but that was vetoed

With Springer, Brant and On, some of the cohort-mates

Cheeks were getting a little sore by then

Grateful to have friends and fam there

New fave pic

Kiesha had a crush on my copper and green eye-shadow and made me document it

Silly huge robe

Finally we got smart and took some outside shots


It was a good day. Thanks to everyone who's sent cards/gifts/flowers, they are prominently displayed in the kitchen:)