July 1, 2009
Brad and I started our day super early to get ready and go to Kansas to visit Laney. We have been so excited to see her and counting down the days. Mom Tesch picked us up at o'dark thirty in the morning and we were off to Jenn's house and then the airport. In the car for two hours, then in the airport for 2 hours, on the plane for 3 hours, at the car rental place for an hour (note to self....do not rent a car from Avis), then from Denver to Garden city, Kansas a lovely 4.5 hour drive. We were all exhausted, but were so ready to see that little smile of hers. Our car was awesome, we might have to get one. It was a Pontiac G8...super nice car. As soon as we got there we all got a biggggggg hug and kiss, watched her ride her bike, and we all went to her last t-ball game of the year. It was so fun to see her play. She was pouting about playing pitcher, it was so adorable. I've never seen a t-ball game, the kids were having so much fun. We were so happy we made it to the game in time. Brad would have been so upset if we missed it. After the game we checked into our hotel, had a bite to eat, and relaxed a little. Its amazing how tall she has grown since the last time we saw her. That night we watched cartoons in our room and cuddled in bed. She is such a cuddle bug. She was either in Brad's arms, my arms, or sideways between the two of us.
July 2, 2009
Brad, Jenn, Mom T, and I took Laney to her favorite place to see animals.....the zoo. The zoo is like an outdoor park that is free for everyone. It was so neat to walk through it and see all of the animals. Laney told us all about the different animals and where they were. I was excited to see the giraffes since they are my favorite animal. They were so cute. Laney said, "Look there is Laney, Nikki, and Daddy." as she pointed at the giraffes. She melts my heart. It was such a hot day at the zoo, so we took breaks every chance we got. We finally took a break at a bench near the bears. Laney said that it was our family bench. It was the most perfect bench in the zoo. Afterwards we went inside to get Laney another animal friend. She made a wolf and an otter. She named her otter after her Aunt Jenny. We sang songs about Jenny the Otter, it was really cute and the song is still stuck in my head. That night we went to the pool in the hotel to cool off. The last time we saw Laney she was a little scared to swim and now she was doing so well swimming. She is becoming such a big girl! After the pool we went back to our room and Brad played Barbie's with Laney. Laney and I have been planning to take pictures of her dad playing with Barbies so that she could bribe him, since boys don't play with Barbies. She would giggle and snort everytime we talked about it. It was bathtime after that, where we did the waterfall to wash her hair. She loves the bath. She sang songs about being in the bath and playing with her animals. Brad and I just laughed and laughed. I kept waking up in the middle of the night to make sure Laney was sleeping okay and I would see her and her daddy cuddling. He loves her so much and he is such a wonderful father.
July 3rd, 2009
Brad, Jenny, Mom T. and I took Laney to the Water Park. It was another hot day, but it was so relaxing playing in the water and watching Laney jump and play in the water. We took turns pushing Laney around the pool, then she pushed us. It was such a wonderful day. Afterwards we went back to the hotel and made stepping stones for her Mom's new yard and for our new house that she made and painted. They turned out so cute. That night Laney stayed the night with Grandma Debbie and Aunt Jenny for girls night. She was really excited to do a sleep over.
Happy 4th of July, 2009
We spent the day relaxing because we were all super tired from flying, our stomachs were off because of the food we were eating, and we were so busy the day before. We met Laney's Grammy and Uncle Casey for dinner, bought fireworks, shot them off in the street togehter, and then went to the big firework show. It was so pretty to see the big fireworks. I forgot how wonderful fireworks are. I haven't gone to see them in years. It was so much fun. Afterwards we relaxed downstairs in the hot tub and the pool. When I was changing her into her swimsuit she said, "Dad, sometimes a girl needs privacy." She says the funniest things. Laney is such a water lover. She loves the hot tub, the pool, the bathtub.
July 5th, 2009
Packing and leaving is never a fun day. When we dropped her off she didn't even cry, she just said, "See you next time Dad!" I cried for an hour after we left. I hate sayting goodbye to her. She is such a beautiful, funny, and sweet girl. I am so lucky that I am her stepmom and that I can be a part of her life. She is perfect in every way.
As we drove the long drive back to Denver we were caught in a lighting and thunder storm. It was raining like crazy with dark grey skies. It was pretty scary, but Brad got us through it with his awesome driving skills. It was a long day but we finally made it home at 1:00am. Lucky us we had to get up at 6am to go to work. Yawn.
We had such a wonderful time and I can't wait to kiss her little face again.
I think the paint got to my dad.
Saturday Brad and I spent the day with my dad. We bought tickets for my mom, dad, Brad, and I to go to the Mariners Game. It has been ages since my Dad went to a game and he loves to go. We had really great seats in section 117, great baseball food, a beautiful day, and a winning game! It was perfect.
Giving my sweetie a kiss
I Love my Dads!
Luckily Brad's dad Barry works for the title company and helped us with all of the documents. We couldn't have done it without him! We are so excited! I can't wait to have a house warming party and invite everyone over to come and see our new home!
The following weekend Brad and I went to my girlfriend Robin's Grad party in Anacortes to celebrate her BA! She is going to make such a wonderful school teacher. She has worked so hard to get her BA and I am so proud of her. Here is a picture of Robin and I going out dancing in Oak Harbor. I just did a Rosie the Riviter photoshoot for the radio station and I didn't want to waste the fun hairstyle. We had so much fun that night. About a month after this picture was taken, I met Brad :)
Traffic was nuts getting there so we were a little late. Our tickets were super pricey and our seats weren't as good as I hoped they would be, especially for what we paid for them. We were totally cramped in our seats and we couldn't move at all. On top of that, Dane Cook wasn't as funny as we hoped he would be. We both love watching his live specials on TV, but we were both disappointed with his performance. It was funny, but not the typical Dane Cook funny. Oh well. At least we got to dress up for something fun, spend some time together, and get out of town. 
This is the second time Todd has given us tickets. Todd was the umpire for home plate so we had the best seats to watch him in action. Every now and then he'd give Brad a gesture to say hi which made Brad smile. Here is a picture of Brad holding Todd in the palm of his hand :)
Todd could get us 4 tickets so we took Brian and Jenn with us to the game. I think Brian is stuffing his face with BBQ Pork sandwich in this picture. 
I ate a ton of garlic fries and smelt so bad for days, but it was 
Everyone snacked on lunch that my mom made while Brad and I opened up the many many gifts that we received. It would take forever to list them all, but I'll list what I can :) My Grandma Snow White's gift was probably my favorite. She hand crocheted a table cloth for our home. I felt really special to get one since I was the only grandkid that she had ever made one for. When I was in Saskatoon visiting for my cousin Mitchy's wedding she was actually working on it then.....little did I know that at that point Brad had bought my ring and my grandma knew so she started to make me one. Its so special. 
My Aunt Audrey hand made a beautiful wedding quilt....yes I cried. It was so pretty. I gave my Cousin Russ a kiss to pass to my Aunt Audrey when he got home. 
We received a ton of gift cards from Bed, Bath, and Beyond....which I love, Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Macy's and people contributed to our honeymoon registry which allowed us to pay for our airline tickets in full for our honeymoon to Hawaii! We received beautiful artwork, kitchen items, a very creative date night basket with blankets...popcorn...mike n ikes, honeymoon basket with his and her towels....magazine for our flight to Hawaii.....games to play on our honeymoon, a tent so that we can go camping, and so much more. My mother in law bought a beautiful Another one of our really neat gifts was from my coworker Diane, she bought Brad and I a really nice grill. Brad is really excited about it.....I am too.....now he can cook me dinner :) 
Brad and I are so grateful for the wonderful friends and family. I'm hoping to send out thank you cards soon with a wedding photo. I haven't gotten them yet, but I will very soon :) 
