dreams do come true

since before we were married 

steven has had this dream

of roasting a goat.

a whole goat

that we pick out

and slaughter

and eat...

this summer my sister introduced him to

a woman who raises goats and sells them for eating.

right down the street from where we're living.

so tomorrow

steven's dream is coming true...

-e

the most graphic pic you'll see form the slaughtering. his tasty innards

t-minus {two weeks}

exactly two weeks until we board a plane for tokyo 

and begin our adventure.

we celebrated last night with

a special bottle of wine we'd been saving,

and some left over wedding sparklers...

-e

sunset

while our seattle friends were in town

the weather here was terrible...

now that our out of town guest have left

and we have no one to impress,

the weather clears up

and we get this view in the evening...

-e

friends forever

have you ever met someone

and without them

life just isn't the same?

we're going to miss this family...

-e

a friendly visit

last week

we hosted our friends from seattle.

it was a blast

to take them to some of our

favorite spots

and share the magic of the redwood coast.

a major highlight was agate hunting

at dry lagoon.

 there were also plenty of memories made

playing cribbage,

swimming in the eel river,

hiking at fern canyon,

and meals that made our bellies full...

-e

the lovely couple in old town eureka

ang searched for little gems

the boys searched as a team

not an agate but still a keeper

found one!

our treasures

love

the man who has captured my heart

the summer of stunning weddings

last weekend

we attended another wedding 

in the humboldt area.

it's been wonderful to see so many faces that we've missed

all in one place.

and this particular wedding did not disappoint.

the location,

people,

flowers,

food,

and dancing 

all made for a memorable evening.

it helped that the entire inn was

filled with wedding guests.

so we could party and dance the night away 

and simply walk up to our room.

we're going to miss this place

and these people...

-e

PS 

three weeks from RIGHT NOW we'll be in tokyo.....

a fun game to play before the ceremony

mother daughter father

newlyweds!!

love these friends

a rare picture of the photographer and the bride :)

love

friends

sister love ::a cake::

while my little sister was visiting

we had one big evening where plenty of

friends and family came to share a meal 

together.

my sister does not eat gluten 

and i try to stay away from dairy,

for everyone's sake...

so when the subject of dessert was brought up

i couldn't wait to try something from roost blog

featuring gluten, dairy, and sugar free recipes.

we made this cake together.

i used half the amount of honey 

in the meringue topping as i'm not

a huge honey fan...

and as you can see form the remains

it was a hit 

with all eaters...

-e

t-minus {one month}

today marks one month

until we leave for tokyo!

we're not doing much to "celebrate" today.

but last night we were invited to join our friends

as they committed to spending forever together.

it was a truly magical evening. . . 

-e

a prayer during the ceremony

mother of the groom corsage 

married... with the rings to prove it :)

so happy to be spending time with friends we missed dearly

love these two. and they dont know how to throw a bad party...

sister love

my mother, father, and baby sister

drove down yesterday from seattle.

i was beyond excited to celebrate the forth of july with them.

we ate some amazing food

and set off several great 

california appropriate fireworks.

but mostly i was beside myself with joy

when i got to see my baby sister!

we havent seen each other since october

when she left for a leadership school

with ywam.

i am so proud of you mel,

and i cant believe we get to spend all weekend together...

-e

picture taken at my wedding! love you mel