Harris Life Update

So, a few things today. First off, Lish is gone. And it makes me sad. I dropped him off at the airport just over an hour ago. We'll be apart for two weeks. He's down south, heading to Miami to meet up with his dad. From there, he will fly even further south to a tiny island, hop on a boat, and float around the Bahamas, with his dad and a bunch of other geologists. Now, some of you make be thinking, "Is Lish a geologist?" Well folks, he is not. But his pop is and he does field trips every year. Lish has always wanted to go, and this year was the golden year. Needless to say, he's very excited. He'll be on the boat until Friday or Saturday, and then he'll stay on the islands with his dad while they explore the rocks on the island. From there, he'll fly up to West Virginia to visit his grandparents. It will be a very fun couple of week for him.

Don't worry though, it will be fun for me too. I get to head out to Utah this Friday to visit my family! I get to meet my niece, play with my nephews. It will be fun. I love family! I'll be out there for about 9 days, which is fabulous! Then Lish and I will meet back up at home, two weeks from today.

In other news, I just wanted to show off what we gave each other for our anniversary. I didn't think Lish would have time to get me anything, because we had all his family the weekend before. So, I didn't rush to get him anything. Go figure, when I got home from work that day, this was sitting on the table-- --and I love it! (For those who aren't sure what this is for, it's a sewing box.) I was planning on getting him something, but I just decided to make it an anniversary/Bahama trip gift. So I didn't give it to him until a week ago. I didn't take a "during" or "after" picture, but the wrapped presents are: a new swimsuit, some games for the DS in case he gets bored at his grandparents, and an underwater disposable camera for when he's snorkeling. He can take some pretty pictures for me.

This picture was just before we went to bed on our anniversary. We were so tired, we didn't go out or anything. It was lovely. I'm so lucky to be married to this man!

Last order of business, or whatever. . . I got a very early birthday present this year. I had been hinting to Lish for a while that I wanted a new camera. The one I have I got for my 19th birthday, so it's a little aged for the digital era. It has been broken for a while (the dial on top doesn't work, still takes pictures though) and Lish's camera was broken when he got it (the lens cover is broken, so it doesn't close). Anyway, this little family has been in need of a new camera. And thanks to my wonderful family and my amazing husband, I got one! We decided to get it early so I can learn how to use it while I'm flying to and from Utah. Then I can show it off to the fam and get to know the ins and outs of the camera, because I'll have time!

So there it is! My beautiful camera! It's a Nikon Coolpix P90. I decided not to get an SLR yet because I want to learn more about cameras and photography first. This is like my starter/practice camera. I love it. There is a feature on it that takes several consecutive pictures, and I took some of Lish dancing. It was just beautiful. The pictures and the dancing. So thank you everyone for my early birthday present! I can't wait to learn more about it's features and show it off!

So, that's what's been going on here lately. Sorry I've been so bad with my updating! Sheesh! It happens sometimes I guess. Thanks for still checking back. :)

They Say It's Your Birthday...

So happy birthday... Ashley! My stepsister turns another year older today. Ashley is amazing to me. She's one of the most beautiful girls I've ever met, both inside and out. I didn't really get to know her until a few years ago because she was living across the country. But I am so glad we've developed the relationship we have.

Ashley is one of the most compassionate people I've met. She's so sweet to everyone she meets. She makes everyone feel important and loved. She always seems to be happy and positive. But she's also totally herself. She doesn't try to be something she's not. She also has become an amazing mother. It's fun to see her and hear her stories about being a mom.

Ashley is extremely talented as well. She has an amazing voice and such a great gift for writing songs. Lish and I loved getting to go hear her play when we lived in Utah. She really does have a wonderful talent.

We love having Ashley in the fam! She is someone I really look up to (figuratively, because she's short) and admire. Happy birthday Ashley! I hope it's a great one!

Harris/Goodfellow/Woodland Weekend

Remember that family visit we were going to have? I'm finally going to write about it! I know, I'm so behind. It's embarrassing.

Karen flew in on Thursday night and got an earlier flight than we had expected, so as soon as she came in we went straight to dinner and then had a lazy night. Lish and Karen drove me into work the next day and then went to the airport again to pick up Scott. They came and brought me lunch later that day and then they just relaxed. They came to pick me up and we made a fabulous Costco run. We still have a lot of the food we got from that trip. It's wonderful! Afterwards we went to a nice dinner.

Saturday morning we headed back to the airport to pick up Maggie and Brandon. We had them drop off their stuff and headed out to go canoe-ing down the Wakulla River. That was a fun experience! We hadn't done that before so we had a good time. On our ride we came thisclose to a family of manatees. We were surrounded by three of them! It was pretty amazing! That night we headed to dinner at another one of our favorite restaurants (there were lots of good eats during this weekend). After dinner we just relaxed at home with Jazz and watched a movie.

(Maybe some too excited in-laws here?)

Sunday came and I had to go to church to do sharing time. We skipped out early so we could get stuff ready to head to the beach. (I know, we totally broke the Sabbath. But family fun is important!) We headed to St. George Island, which was beautiful. The weather was almost perfect. It was a little hot though and I could tell I was getting too much sun. (I got so sunburned after that weekend, I was swollen.) It was really nice though to relax at the beach. Jazz loved it too, of course.

(The sand face Maggie and Brandon made. They designed the eyebrows after Lish's. How thoughtful.)

Monday morning came and we slept in a little. Then we headed to the Tallahassee Museum, which is more like a zoo. We walked around and saw all the cool Floridian animals. Then we had to take Maggie and Brandon back to the airport. Karen, Scott, Lish and I then went back into town and grabbed a late lunch/early dinner. Then we headed back to the airport to drop off Karen and Scott.

It was a busy weekend. Lots of traveling to and from the airport, lots of laughs, lots of playing with Jazz. We had a great time and loved that our family made that effort to come spend time with us! We can't wait to see them again soon!