Avignon Wanderings

Hello everyone,

Welcome to Avignon!!

While I was still sleeping in Paris, Z went out and got us some breakfast! Oh the joys of jet-lag and waking up at 4 AM ;) haha  I actually adjusted fairly quickly to the time difference, but it took him a whole week to get over jet-lag  =p  haha

24 hours of (mis)adventures in Paris!

Hello everyone!

After 2 very comfortable flights on Iceland Air with no problems for our violins (thank the lord!!), and a very brief stop over in Iceland (they have this thing where they let you stay in Iceland for up to 7 days on your way to Europe for no extra cost to your airfare called #mystopover! We are definitely going to have to take advantage of next time!) Zenas and I arrived in Paris incredibly sleep deprived but so ready to embark on our European adventure!!

We spent just about 24 hours in Paris coming into, and going out of, Europe on our trip, and we loved exploring Paris. However, we also did run into a few experiences that we would rather not repeat when we return... so I thought it would be fun to share all of them with you (the good and the bad) so that you can maybe avoid the bads when you visit this beautiful city!

Photoshoot!

Hello everyone!

Yesterday, those of us in Boston (and still in school) had the day off thanks to the Boston Marathon!! Maybe someday, I will go to the race, but that would only be to cheer on people I know because I probably will never run it myself  haha.

Since I couldn't get to school because the marathon route divided my side of the city from school's side, I decided to thoroughly enjoy the day off and do something Z and I have been meaning to do for awhile: taking head shots.  We have been discussing it for months now, but we never could find the time to do so until today.  It was a gorgeous day for photos, even if a bit windy, and we had so much fun exploring the park near my house!

Here are some photos of me taken by Z  =)

Montreal!

Hello everyone!

This is like... 2 months late, but you know, time is a very rare commodity around here haha
However, when you don't have a violin to practice (left the baby overnight at the violin hospital for a new soundpost!), I'm finding that I have a lot of time!  =D

Anyway, a few of our friends are headed off to Montreal soon, and I thought it would be fun to share a few places we loved during our trip there in February.  It was our first time in Montreal, and it was really fun to walk around this beautiful city in some really gorgeous weather!

It was a very short trip--only 2 nights and 3 days--but we tried to fit in as many things (into our bellies) as possible ;)

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! 

Golden Year

RIP McKinley and Bernie.
You have both enriched my life in so many ways, and for that, I will be forever grateful.

Loss is always difficult, but the memories they have left behind and the experiences and the joys they have gifted me will be treasured forever.

There has also been a different kind of loss that has been just as difficult as the loss of my two dear friends, but it's my golden year, and I'm determined to start a new chapter.

It was suggested that I make a list of the things that I am grateful for, and actually, that has helped me quite a bit.  Despite everything, I am very blessed to lead the life that I lead, doing what I love, and to be surrounded by people who are full of love and light.

just a few from my very long list include...

• family
• soulmate
• friends both old and new
• mentors
• music (the journey, the experiences, the love, the relationships, the trials)
• new places and new experiences
• precious memories and the lessons learned

Life is so short, so unpredictable, so fragile.

Striving to love every moment, every minute, and every being more deeply, more fiercely, and more bravely.

David's Surprise Birthday Party

Hello everyone!

It's been awhile, but I wanted to stop by because summer break has started, and more importantly, it was David's birthday yesterday!

Since it was his big 30th birthday, I wanted to do something special for him and throw him a surprise birthday party!  I asked everyone to come at 6:30 with the plan to pick David up from work and bring him home around 7, but the plan almost fell completely apart.  At 6, David called me and said that he already left work and was walking home instead of waiting for me to pick him up from work.  It takes about half an hour to walk from his work to our place, so I panicked a little bit, and texted everyone to come ASAP.  Thankfully, we have amazing friends who ran over as fast as they could (one even ran out of the shower to get here on time  haha) and we were able to assemble before he got here!

SURPRISE!!  =)

It was a little stressful towards the end because everything had to be done super quickly(thanks dear...), but it was also fun to set everything up.  Initially I was going to use plastic cups, but when I ran into these cute little milk jars, and couldn't pass them up!  I think they ended up being only a little more expensive, and I thought it added a cute touch =)

the first wave of friends as we waited for David

The birthday cake!

I didn't really have a theme in mind, but somehow, the theme became green/blue as I was assembling the spread, and there happened to be a perfect cake that matched the theme!  It was a green tea/blueberry cake, and it was absolutely delicious!

such beautiful peeps =)

After the food, we got together for some friendly competitive round of Taboo and other board games  ;)  We could have gone easy on the birthday boy, but that's just not how we work around here =p  haha

After a round or two, I presented David with the last part of his birthday presents  =)  

We had all of these amazing pictures taken with Kate last year, but we had never printed any of them!  It was a good chance to get one blown up so that he could hang it wherever he wanted in our home =)

Happiest of birthdays, my dearest David.  Hope your 30th year will be the best yet  =D

Thanks for stopping by!

--Janny