Category Archives: family & friends

catch up #3: July (one)

Since my parents moved to Southern California late last year we’ve really enjoyed being able to see them quite regularly. It’s like they’ve become our favorite weekend friends. They love to explore and I love that they invite us to go along so often because we’ve explored local communities more than ever.

In July we went to visit Ventura, a beach community North of LA County (where my Dad works on Fridays, actually). We had lunch at the Ventura Harbor and wandered around to explore the shops and the coast. It is lovely…

Here we are posing under the sea:

we: under the sea

And my parents as pirates:

pirate parents

And then, the beautiful shore…

Ventura Beach

What fun!

On separate occasions, we’ve also explored Santa Barbara, Long Beach and Seal Beach, but I did not take any pictures. I must get better about that.
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vacation!

We spent the first week of February in Mexico with my family. Boy, was this a much needed vacation for all of us! Here is a peek into our annual Silly Face Contest at Fajita Republic. I think we rocked it.

First, my parents…

Second, our family friends, Keith & Susan…

Then, my brother and his girlfriend, Ariadne…

And then me…

And finally, Rory wins with his newly discovered impression of Justin Bieber…

Aren’t we all so pretty?
For the full set of photos from our Mexico vacation, click right here.
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introducing…

My dear friend Erica had her baby on Wednesday! I am so excited for her and her husband and Baby Boy Bruen is as cute as expected.

Here he is, John Richard Thomas, born July 14th at 5:56pm and named after his three grandfathers…

Erica is already home and introducing little JR to his doggie brothers. How cute is this?

And this photo makes me really happy. It’s so cute. I think he’s going to be a good skier, just like his parents…

Congratulations Erica, Kevin, Tula & Moose on the newest addition to your family!
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10 year WU

A couple of weekends ago I went to Oregon for my 10 year college reunion. It was a blast and I was reminded why I loved college so much…I had kick-ass friends!

There were *many* photos taken by all of us. Here are the highlights from mine:

Erica and I arrived into Portland on Friday, where she immediately had to make an important Doctor phone call. I admit I loved hearing her talk to her nurse and her patient. It made me proud of her.

dr. bruen

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Kirsten & Emily picked us up and we went to Kirsten’s beautiful, new house, where Lindsey was waiting to greet us. We caught up a little over cheese and crackers and then got ready for the first night of the reunion…

After a long drive to Salem (when did Oregon traffic start to mimic LA?), we arrive at Willamette University, which is just as beautiful as I remember it. First stop? Chicken Fountain! (Too bad in my photo you can’t see why it’s called The Chicken Fountain.

at the chicken fountain!

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Next stop, mailboxes. Mine was somewhere in this vicinity…

my mailbox was right here somewhere

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We then spent the next few hours at the reception catching up with lots of people, which was fun, but my favorite time of the night was spent in the bathroom with Lindsey. That sounds really odd, but check out the photos. We thought we were hilarious…

we thought we were hilarious

Obviously I had bad aim with my camera…

oops, missed again. blurry (on purpose?) oops, missed. bathroom art

We seriously turned into giggle queens between photos.
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After the reception we went to an old haunt: Magoo’s!

Here are Lindsey & Emily right in front…

magoos. enough said.

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We soon moved down the street since Magoo’s wouldn’t accept Josh’s peeling license. Look how cute my friends are…so at home in the Salem bar ~ just like townies.

out in salem, like townies.

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The next morning we visited our old sorority for brunch. They were so sweet and gave a us a lovely tour of the house during which we reminisced about all the “cool” things we used to do that are no longer happening, like Arrowspike and the Teeter Totter Marathon. Ah college ~ the things we did for charity. I’m not sure if we sounded really cool, or really…uncool. But it was fun to see what decor was still the same and what had changed (for the better)!

Look at the sign they made to welcome us. We made so many big signs and banners during our years (well, not me , probably, but maybe Liz and Kirsten)…

the house

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We enjoyed a yummy brunch and took photos in the exact spot where so many college photos had been taken by Dan the Man. (Was that his name or did I make that up?)

Liz, Christine, Erica & Rosie gather food…

pi phi brunch

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Spring Pledge class of 2006…

we ate right here!

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We look exactly the same (plus 10 years)!

us. ten years later.

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We then wandered around campus and enjoyed the Quad social. We also DOMINATED the free photo booth. We certainly laughed a lot and determined that we are crazy about getting our pictures taken. I mean we *loved* it! Here is my favorite one, stolen from Erica…

fun in a photo booth!

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And here we are after we purchased Bearcat mementos from the university bookstore…

Here I am with Lindsey, Liz & Emily…

under putnam

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And here are Lindsey, Liz, Emily & Erica, with a fun interjection by Rhiannon & Jeff…

best interjection ever

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And as if that wasn’t enough fun for one day, we also had a baby shower for Kirsten!

Here, Carrie reads her wishes for Baby Girl Wyatt (aka: Abigail, called Abby????).

thoughtful baby wishes from carrie

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For dinner that evening we went to our favorite spot from yesteryear, The Ram, where I enjoyed a delicious micro brew called Barefoot Wit. Only in the Pacific Northwest. Yum, yum, yum. Seriously. The Ram is where I learned to enjoy a good beer…

micro brews like nowhere else

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On Monday, Haven, Carrie, Liz, Rosie, Erica and I stayed at the McMenamin’s Edgefield hotel near Portland. I did not, however, take any photos of this fun time.

All in all it was a fantastic trip, where I finally saw Mt. Hood! Erica pointed it out to me. It’s so weird that I’d never seen it before ~ *wink* (don’t believe me, it’s a joke).

Thank you to my dear friends for a fun-filled weekend. I love you. Let’s do it again soon!!!!
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