Anna's Bachelorette Party

Wow August has flown by fast!  I think I had one weekend at home this month.  Things are finally settling down and Anna's wedding is right around the corner (as are the kids birthdays - yikes!) so the next two posts are about the pre-wedding celebrations, most notably, the bachelorette party.  Anna decided that she wanted to do something relaxing (is that really possible?) for her party so I mentioned McCall, more specifically the Shore Lodge and she agreed.

We spent three wonderful nights at the Shore Lodge!  I have absolutely nothing horrible to say about this place, although they may feel a little different towards our group :-).  Five of us girls, including the bachelorette, arrived on Thursday night to begin the festivities.

Anna arriving at the Shore Lodge:

 The girls taking in the lovely views outside our room:

 Friday we spent the day relaxing and going paddle boarding with the future Mrs Parker:

Anna and Liz take a cruise:

 Of course Krista and I had to try it:

Lunch by the lake:

Anna seriously knows how to coordinate her outfits with her drinks:

Friday nigh the rest of the crew made their way into town and we met up with them at the Millemann's for margaritas and shooting guns (such a great combo!).  The Millemann's also had a trampoline that Anna was very excited about.  She showed us her awesome flips:

 Enjoying our margaritas:

Annie showed us how it was done by hitting the clay on her first shot:

The rest of the girls taking their turn with the gun:

After shooting guns we settled back at the Shore Lodge for dinner:

Anna gettin' her dance on before we left for Forrester's:

I don't think the guys at Forrester's know what hit them when we all walked in:

Saturday evening we went on a booze cruise around the lake courtesy of the Millemann's:

Then is was another night out dancing - this time at the Yacht Club:

Happy Bachelorette Party Anna Kippy!

This just melts my heart . . .

I swear they are going to be graduating high school before I know it.  This weekend I made sure to take the time and be present with them and enjoy their laughter.  They are such great kids and I'm having so much fun with them.  Things I enjoy about Drew right now:

• His talking. I can understand about 50% of what he says and, believe me, he has a lot to say!
• His snuggles.  When he wakes up he just likes to sit on the couch on your lap and watch Dora.
• His love of animals.  When we go on walks he stops at every cat and dog he sees and gives them nice pets.
• His laughter.  Just thinking about it puts a smile on my face.

Things I enjoy about Isla right now:

• Her independence.  She is now getting out of bed in the mornings and getting dressed all on her own before she comes out of her bedroom.  For the most part her outfits are actually coordinated, but then you get the randoms like the one in the picture above (long sleeved red shirt with blue and green shorts).
• The fact that she ALWAYS needs to have her purse, phone and baby with her when we leave the house.
• She is a little helper.  She loves to help me out with chores around the house.  Whether it be unloading the dishwasher, folding the laundry, or dusting, she is always willing to help.
• She is a great big sister.  She loves to help out with Drew (much to his dismay at times) and make sure that he has his blanket when he gets upset, or his milk when he is thirsty.

Sydney

About three months ago the company that I work for acquired the R&D operations of another company located in Sydney, Australia.  Last week I got the amazing opportunity to travel down to Sydney to train our new accountants on our ERP system.  Did I mention this was all at the expense of the company?!!

After enduring a very long plane ride (I left Boise at 5:30 pm on Saturday night and arrived in Sydney at 7:00 am on Monday morning) I checked in at the Four Seasons and was greeted with this view:

 Rough, I know.  There were many times during this trip that I had to remind myself that I was there to work and not sight-see.  I had a lot of training to do before I left on Saturday.  I was able to get away from work early on Wednesday night and walk down to the Sydney tower to take in some night views of the city:

I would have loved to do some shopping on my walk back to the hotel from the tower, but two things got in my way: (1) Everything is so darn expensive in Sydney.  It's ridiculous.  I was talking to the employees I was training and they actually shop online for their goods at US stores and pay $50 to $60 shipping and it is still less expensive than shopping at their local stores.  Crazy. (2) All of the stores closed at 6:30 at night. Seriously?

Saturday came before I knew it and since my flight wasn't until 2 pm I decided to get in as much sight-seeing as I could.  I woke up early to catch the 7:30 am ferry out to Manly beach.  I left from Circular Quay (pronounced Key - don't know why, but that really bugs me) and went right past the Harbor Bridge and Opera House:

Manly beach did not disappoint.  I could have stayed there all day.  Oh well, I guess I'll just have to go back:

I took the ferry back into town and walked around the market they had at The Rocks.  Soon it was time for me take the loooong plane ride back home.  As much as I loved Sydney I was ready to get home to my family!  Here was my last view of Sydney before I boarded the train: