Breathe Bag Friend

When I was 17 turning 18 I took a job at Cafe Caffe. I had no idea how much that job would impact my life. One of the incredible girls I worked with was Kristin. I wasn't sure what to think of her at first because she embraced all her quirks (which are all adorable.) I'm not really sure at what point we became friends, but my first memory of knowing that I wanted this girl in my life was the breathe bag day. I gave Kristin a paper bag. Simple and strange, but when life knocks you off your feet sometimes all you need is someone to sit with you...and remind you to breathe. Kristin and I became quite the adventurous duo and she truly brought joy to a time in my life when I needed it most. I don't think I would ever be able to explain how she impacted me, or know where to start in thanking her for how much she has meant to me. My dear friend found her match in Kyle Dungan and her life is forever changed. I feel blessed to have witnessed the best day of Kristin's life so far, and I can't wait to see where this adventure takes them. Cheers to a life of love, laughter, and endless mischief!

Make your own photo slideshow at Animoto.

12th Man

Lyndsey and I decided to "surprise" Chandler and Kyle with Seahawks tickets. We more or less failed at the element of surprise, but it was still an incredible weekend. Kyle and I had never been, and as you may have guessed (if you know much about us you know we LOVE checking off firsts) we were so excited. Kyle had never been to Pike's place either so that was a must. I always forget how stunning Seattle is until I'm standing in the middle of it on a cobblestone street. If you have never been, go! I promise it's so much more than rain and traffic. It's fresh flowers, flying fish, and cute people everywhere. It was a breath of fresh air, oddly enough coming from someone who is living in the county again. Sometimes I need something busy and buzzing to help me center again regardless of how strange that may seem. 

pike's place

We spent a weekend full of laughter, over priced beer, and wandering on adventures. Sometimes in the middle of life that's really all you need. Until the next adventure...love, us.

Good Luck Piggy

Summer Love

Goodbye party for Colin!

Mal and Kyle

Ferry ride to Haven Lake

brothers

Haven Lake

Two of my favorite people

First Wedding as a Photographer!

sister love

Three.

Today we celebrated three years of marriage. If I'm honest for a moment, our third year was happy/crappy. Kyle and I talked and both came to the conclusion that our third year has been our least favorite of marriage so far. I know I'm probably not suppose to let you all in on that secret, but we like to keep it real. Our first year as husband and wife we were on cloud nine the entire year. The second year we slowly floated down to reality and into study halls at school. Our third year was this strange in between of being graduated but not moved on to the next chapter. We were stuck and trying to figure out how to enjoy that time together...but not successful at it a great deal of the time. Love is tricky sometimes, but the belly laughs and slow dancing make it oh so worth it. To celebrate the end of this year together and the many hard adventures and new paths it brought us along the way, we went to one of our favorite places. White Rock, B.C. was one of our favorite date spots when we were dating as teenagers. Sounds wild now that we have been part of each other's lives that long! Looking at Kyle I felt the butterflies. He is one handsome man, and he is my handsome man. And dang is he lucky to have a catch like me ;) 

Cheers to three years and many more to come

Love.

Playing Catch Up

January: We started settling into our townhouse in Bellingham. We didn't fully unpack, and I never really decorated much. Kyle and I were hoping to be approved for a home loan and start on the hunt for a more permanent place. Kyle was glad to be back at Granite, only as an engineer, not an intern. We went to Maui with my family. We love spending time with them, but it also made us want a vacation just us. It felt like ages ago since we had gone somewhere new together, just us.

 February: This month was fairly uneventful. I started back to work, and Kyle and I had very little time to spend together. We hit six years together, which may seem like a small feet in comparison to others, but for us it was exciting. 

March: This month I opened my e-mail to find that Whatcom Day Academy needed someone to fill in for a teacher on leave. I was so excited to be putting my degree to better use, and get more hours. We celebrated our mom's birthdays and spent more time with family than we were use to.

April: We celebrated lots of birthdays and spent even more time with family and friends. The year is officially flying by now that we are back...

May: This month Kyle got more serious about searching for a home. We are looking for a home that will be a little bit of a fixer, but something we can hopefully sell in 5-7 years. Eventually it is still our goal and dream to build a home together. Kyle looked on craigslist...because he's obsessed with craigslist, and we found the one! We went and viewed it the next day, and made an offer the day after that. She accepted...

June: June marked the end of the school year, and waiting for our big move...

July: We FINALLY moved into our home...I will try my best to get a video tour up soon. WE ARE HOME OWNERS 

We are moving on up in the world...still figuring out life after college, but we are enjoying the adventures along the way.

Here and Now

We've been home now for about a month. It is both strange and exciting to be back where everything is familiar. Strange because it is just that...just familiar, because nothing and no one remains exactly as you left them. We are all moved in to our townhouse and on the fence about how much we want to make it a home. I thought we were in this "in between" time during college, but we are now more than ever before. We finished an absolutely incredible chapter of our lives and are in a prologue to what lies ahead. I have been doing a lot of cleaning and running around town while Kyle works. He loves his new job and it is going so well for him. I am starting a job as a lead teacher next week. I'm trying to look at it as a stepping stone until I find a position in what I feel more called to do. Life just feels very up in the air at the moment. For now we will do our best to soak in the little moments and blessings we have while we pray for what comes next. “For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.” -VG

See You Later

Kyle and I first started this blog to keep friends and family updated on our lives as we set off on a new adventure. Our adventure was starting at WSU and navigating our way through married life. I remember writing the very first post. I remember moving and thinking that I was once again leaving everyone I would ever need and love. Pullman was closer than Utah, but still world's away. Kyle was excited and positive as always. He balances me out in that way. I had no high hopes for Pullman, I can't lie.
This is probably the last post I will write while sitting in the first home we had together. The last time I will write from Pullman. It is so bittersweet. All of it. If you had told me two and a half years ago that I would be sad to leave this place I would have laughed. Today, I'm much more than sad going into our final week here. As I reflect on our time all I can think about are the AMAZING people we have come to call friends here.

Kyle met this ridiculous group of guys right off the bat. All I heard was "Justin this.." Justin that. Then came Nate and Brady, Nick, John, Chuck, Sanders, Giesman, Evan, Riley and Stefan. I know I'm forgetting people, but these are the guys that I got to know most as well. I was so nervous to meet everyone and I imagined them talking about math and weird engineering problems. Sorry boys, judged you wrong! Kyle made some great friends and to my surprise so did I. These guys have made us laugh, supported us, and made our college experience worth every penny. It would not have been the same without them. Not one bit. And lucky for me, some of these guys have wonderful girls in their lives that we became friends with. Emily, Brittani, and Jenna you have made my time here fly by. Brittani you are the most down to earth girl I think I have ever met. Your smile is contagious and my life is brighter because of you. Em, I am so excited that I get to live in the same zip code as you again soon. You are so caring, and it was so good to have you around with all those boys. Jenna, I wish I would have gotten to know you sooner! But I can say that Kyle and I will be friends with you and Nate(and the gang) for years to come so we will make up for that.

My first semester at WSU...I was nervous and so unsure about meeting new people. I walked into what I now look back on as my all time favorite class, and sat down at a table full of gorgeous girls. My first thought was oh no, they are totally sorority girls and I'm going to regret my seat choice. There I go being absolutely wrong again. Julie and Rach, you were my first close friends here. I cannot begin to tell you how much you have meant to me. Julie, you have made me laugh even on the worst day. You always know what to say and I never once worried about being real with you. You are a true friend and I can't imagine my life without our crazy antics. Rach, my coffee friend. You have the biggest heart and the sweetest soul. You always asked about my life and knew what was going on and we became friends at such a deep and unexpected level. Sisterwife I'm going to miss you a tremendous amount. I'm going to miss all of the Duncan girls. Emi, Shannon, and Christine you girls made me feel like an honorary roommate and Lord knows that was a good break from living with a boy sometimes! You are all so beautiful and I can't wait to see where life takes you. I grew up surrounded by boys for the most part, and being married to an engineer only added to the testosterone in my life. My time with you was so needed and appreciated. I am going to miss it. I didn't expect to come to college and find a group of girls that I loved so much.

Taryn and Steve: well we met this adventurous pair in our stairwell I believe. They lived right across from us, and as fate would have it one day Taryn locked herself out. We started talking and found out they were married the day after us. We ended up joining their soccer team (which is a whole other list of awesome people we met here), and spent more and more time together. I would say the icing on the cake was when we had to call Steve to pull our jeep out of the mud. From then on we went on our adventures all together. I honestly believe that in that short amount of time we met our married couple lifelong friends, because there is such a thing. When you miss someone so much you fall asleep watching a movie together over skype...well that's when you know it's a friendship worth keeping in my book. Especially when it's a disney original. We can't wait to come adventure with you in England/Europe...miss you guys!

Last but certainly not least is Ashlee. I hired Ashlee then quit being the manager and convinced her to be. She has become not only my Pullman best friend, but one of my best friends in any zip code. Ash, thank you for being there, no matter what. Who would have thought I'd be friends with a red head and a "housewife"? Life has some pretty great surprises, and you have been one of my favorite.

WSU you had your way with us and gave us some ups and downs, but certainly left us with a thousand memories for the books. We had the most incredible college experience and we owe a lot of that to all of you. Definitely not goodbye, just a see you later. Go out and change the world...and hey, GO COUGS “You have four years to be irresponsible here. Relax. Work is for people with jobs. You'll never remember class time, but you'll remember time you wasted hanging out with your friends. So, stay out late. Go out on a Tuesday with your friends when you have a paper due Wednesday. Spend money you don't have. Drink 'til sunrise. The work never ends, but college does..." -Tom Petty