Apple Picking! :: Wells, Maine

Hello everyone!

It was blazing hot here in Boston for so long, and then all of a sudden, it became autumn!

Figuring that it will probably all of a sudden become winter, as it often happens in New England, we decided to venture out to do the quintessential New England fall activity before we missed the chance. I've gone apple picking once with my roommates when I first moved to Boston, and I was so excited to do it again with my absolute favorites!

As can be expected with this crew, there were many moments of silliness and much laughter, just how I like it =)

Christmas 2016!!

Hello everyone!

I stopped blogging after this summer because a lot of changes were happening in my life, and I didn't feel like documenting everything here during that time. I know some people record everything on their blogs--the good and the bad--but I wanted to keep this as a place to look back on fond memories.

When I stopped blogging this summer, I actually thought that I was done with blogging forever. I didn't really even think about this blog very much until this winter when a few people asked to reference the memories stored in these blog posts. It was so nice to look back on the memories and the pictures accompanying them (and so easy to find!!) that I thought it would be fun to start again and record the memories that we are creating now for the future! 

This Christmas was a really special one for our family because our family was the biggest it has been yet!  Baby bro brought his girlfriend and Zenas came with me to visit Seattle, and it was so nice to be a part of a big, bustling household! =)  Usually, we open presents on Christmas morning, but this year, Peter, Zenas and I decided to go skiing, so we put off the normal Christmas festivities until the next day.  Last winter, our family went to Schweitzer to ski, but due to a few scheduling conflicts, we stayed near Seattle (Stevens Pass) for this winter break! 

Skiing :: Schweitzer

Hello everyone!

Did you know that Idaho is beautiful?  Idaho isn't the most talked-about state in the world, and thanks to one of those United States picture puzzle thing I had when I was younger, Idaho will forever be linked to potatoes in my mind.  Did anyone else have that?  Every state had a picture on it to 'represent' it, and it was one of those supposedly educational geographical things from my childhood... Anyway, 'potatoes' doesn't really scream 'beauty' in my head, but gosh dang it, it IS beautiful here!

To be fair, it was beautiful all the way from Seattle to here (because we drove through the snow and the ice and the whole nine yards to get here)...

but I've already mentioned in every Seattle blog post just how beautiful it is there, so I'll just skip right to Idaho haha.

The reason for our Idaho visit was to try the slopes at Schweitzer!

We used to go skiing every year, but in the past couple of years, I couldn't go because of auditions and whatnot... you know, musician problems.. haha  I thought it would take awhile for me to get the swing of things again since it had been a few years since I strapped on some skis, but surprisingly, it only took 3 trips down the green slope, and we were back hitting the blue/diamond slopes!

with the crew  ;)

and really, you want to be hitting the higher slopes because that's where the view is!

I mean, isn't that just incredible?

On the second day, the weather wasn't as clear, but the view was still breathtaking!  it was breathtaking in more ways than one because even though the last picture above looks like it's a gentle slope, there is an actual ridge right where the person disappears, and that drop is almost vertical!  We all survived though  ;)  haha

baby bro and Chang decided to snowboard, and dad and I strapped on some skis.  It was pretty amazing how quickly Chang picked up the snowboard!  In 1 day, he was riding with us!

a little video of the 4 of us riding down one of the slopes, if you would like to see ;)

towards the end of both of the days, it started to snow, and all of us came home looking quite frozen (including my panda.  look at his icicled nose!) haha

Chang also developed a bunny tail  ;)   He says he isn't sure how such a perfectly round ice ball formed on his sweater, but we had a good long laugh over it  haha

Once we got home, all we wanted to do was... thaw. so we all hopped into the hot tub until we all became prunes!

Then we had dinner, and played boardgames before we fell asleep!

I can't think of a more perfect way to spend a couple of days with the peeps I love the most!  The only thing that would have made it better would have been if David could have joined us, but hopefully next year he can come!  =)

I hope you all had a wonderful end of the year spending time with your family!  Can you believe  that 2016 is almost here?  D=   I'm going back to Boston to spend NYE and New Years day with David before jetting out again, and I can't wait to see him soon =)

Happy New Year to all of you, and thanks for stopping by!

--Janny

Bunker Hill Monument

Hello everyone!

Awhile back, we had a full house full of boys when David's brothers Jack and Jason came to visit.  In my family, I am the only girl surrounded by my baby bro and my baby cuz, and I realized during this weekend that when David and my family comes together, I will still be the only girl, even more outnumbered by boys!  Le sigh...  haha

Anyway, before gorging ourselves on hotpot, we went for a bit of an unintentional exercise to the Bunker Hill Monument. 'Unintentional' because initially, we just wanted a historical outing, not an exercise one,,, but have you climbed this thing?

We visited the museum, spent some time learning about the Revolutionary War history surrounding this landmark, and then started the long climb.  

guys. it was 294 steps.  Oh. my word.  

It might not have been so bad if we had climbed slower, but I went with three very fit boys, and I wanted to keep up with their pace, ya know?  I wasn't going to be the reason everyone had to slow down, so I kept pushing through the screaming thigh muscles.

I guess one good thing about going quicker is that the climb is over much sooner?  that's about it though..  haha

After spending a few moments at the top to catch our breaths, and to enjoy the view that can only be seen by being higher than anything else for miles, we started the climb down.  That was much easier haha

It was so much fun having them here, and I hope they will get to visit us more often!  =)

Have a safe and fun Halloween everyone, and thanks for stopping by!

--Janny

David's Birthday :: Houston Trip!

Hello everyone,

Last weekend was quite the weekend!  Not only did Phoenix have its last performance of the season (Flight), it was also David's graduation and birthday weekend!  I know, the weekend could not have been more packed.  

Sadly, David's graduation and Phoenix Flight happened on the same day, so I couldn't be in Houston for his graduation, but I booked it home after the concert, packed, and got on a flight to Houston a few hours later for David's birthday!  --giving that whole life/work balance a go over here  hah!

His birthday began with a pretty darn spectacular sunrise in Boston ;)  

the only (and I truly mean the only) perk of being awake at this hour, in my opinion... haha

I definitely went to sleep freezing my butt off on the plane, but a few hours later, I woke up to unbelievable heat and humidity.  Oh Houston... thank you for welcoming me back with everything you had to offer...  but all that was soon forgotten as I met up with my birthday boy and the rest of the S clan!  

Jack and their Dad had made it out to Houston for David's graduation, and I was so glad to see them! 

Dad was flying out soon after, so we grabbed a quick bite to eat and shared some birthday cupcakes while enjoying the short amount of time that we had together. 

Though I had met David's dad and brother individually, I had never seen them all together like this before.  It's hard to put into words, but there was something really heart-warming about seeing them reunited, interacting and spending time together like this   =)  

                                                                <----                                            <----  The evolution of David?  hehe

As soon as Dad left, the kids went wild.




haha.

As wild as the couple that chooses baking over drinking gets  =p   

I hear that Houston actually has a pretty great bar scene, but poor Jack never got to experience that because he had us grandparents as his tour guide  haha  Amulet did drag me to one bar (Flying Saucer) during our roomy era, so we did bring Jack there during his visit!  

Oh, but we definitely had the best BBQ we've ever had!  We may not drink much, but if you've followed this blog for awhile, you know that food is definitely our thing! And of all of the BBQ we've ever had, this is the best.  Ray's BBQ is in a gas station, the inside is quite cramped, and the table we got was literally spinning off of the base, but none of that mattered as soon as we tasted the food.

Oh... My... Goodness...  seriously, the juiciest BBQ we have ever had!  

If you live in Houston, you have to go try it!  and all of the many students (ahem, Rice!!) about to move away to a new city, you will seriously regret it if you leave without trying this place!

Having stuffed ourselves, we took a stroll around the Hermann park.  I was kind of shocked to find this part of the park (some sort of a garden) because I don't think it was here when I was at Rice..?   It'd be really sad if it was there all along and I never knew!

The big bro and the baby bro.

David and I have been engaged for awhile now, and we knew that we wanted to be together long-term waayy before we even got engaged.  However, the fact that we are getting married has just begun to feel real, and I think it's because we've gotten to spend more time with both sides of the family (mine in Charleston and his here) in the past couple of weeks.  (and maybe because mommy calls daily asking about the non-existent wedding details...)

For me, marriage isn't just about the couple; it's about two families becoming one.  So when families came into the picture a little more, our upcoming marriage seemed more real to me.  I grew up in a big, loud, and very tight-knit family on both sides, and I've always known that I wanted to continue that tradition as I added my own to the mix.  Family is everything to me; they're there to lend a hand when it is needed, to hold you accountable for your actions, to argue with you, to laugh at/with you, and to share the joys and the sorrows of life. I can't imagine not having that giant support group as you move through different phases of life.

Having such a big family that likes being in everyone else's business has its pros and cons, and one of the cons was that whoever I decided to marry had to have approval from all of the 50+ family members. My aunts and uncles have always joked that their nephews and nieces will never be able to find anyone to marry because it would be impossible to find someone who could pass the family test haha  so when David survived meeting all 50+ of them in Korea, I knew he was a keeper  ;)  haha 

We are both pretty excited to be gaining another set of parents, and another brother each. (and alllll of the extended families.. hah) David was the baby of the family, so he's really liking being a big bro to Peter, and I'm pretty stoked to be getting an older brother myself!  I was an only child for 5 years, and for as long as I can remember, I've always asked my parents for an older brother. I ended up getting a younger brother, which I guess is the next best situation (I love you baby bro! haha). I've also always had many older cousins who filled that older brother role, but now I'm getting a real big brother!  =D 

David and I were discussing our thoughts on this matter, and David told me that girls are very rare in his family, so getting a sister may be a whole new adventure for Jack.  But I'd say he's a natural ;) He already grudgingly endures the many photo shoots coming his way like a seasoned pro  =p  haha

It was a really wonderful day celebrating David's birthday, hanging out and getting to know the family a bit better, and exploring different parts of Houston!  

If you have noticed that the pictures look a little bit different in quality, it's because David got me an early birthday present--a new portrait lens!!  It has a bit of a learning curve, but I am loving the quality of the photos so far.  I'll be back with a new post soon trying out the new lens during the last of our Houston explorations  =)

Have a wonderful weekend, and thanks for stopping by!

--Janny

Magnolia Plantation and Audubon Swamp

Hello everyone!

While we were in Charleston, David, Peter, and I visited the Magnolia plantation and the Audubon swamp. What a beautiful property!

As soon as we walked in, we were greeted by a few peacocks!  We found it very funny that they just roam around the property like this.

The garden was huge, and it took us a few hours to walk around.  Actually, I don't think we even saw all of it--maybe about 70%?

Mostly, it was a good chance to hang out with baby bro and fiancee.  

It was nice too because it gave Peter and David a chance to get to know each other better.  They're going to become family soon, so it seemed fitting  =)

the property was divided into many different sections, so it was fun to walk from one to the other and experience many different atmospheres. 

some bridges were rather... shaky  haha but this one was the most stable of them all, and we joked that it was because it had a tree going right through it  haha!

the one I wanted to visit the most was the maze!   haha

I have to say, it looked better from above than actually in the maze, but it was still fun =)

we made it!

we also found a rogue photographer in the maze  =p 

The weather was absolutely perfect (especially for this still-frozen Bostonian) and the whole place was so tranquil that it was a perfect counterpart to the amazing, but busy wedding day the day before!  =)

2 of my favorite guys =)

Next, we visited the swamp. You do have to pay extra to visit the swamp, but it was worth it for us because we really enjoyed seeing the wildlife!

It was heaven for this shutter bug (and the baby bro)

 All of the following pictures were taken by Peter and I'm so impressed!  =)

I especially love these!  Good work Peter!

When we looked up the swamp, the first thing everyone said was that we would see alligators!  We did indeed see them, but it wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be haha  they weren't walking around or swimming around near us, which I guess makes sense since that would be quite dangerous.. haha

We had a wonderful time, and if you have never been, we would recommend dropping by!  It's quite beautiful, and sine we had amazing weather, it was perfect!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful week!

--Janny