Weekend to Remember

This past weekend Micah and I went on a Weekend to Remember. It is a marriage conference put on by the Christian organization Family Life. We had a fun time at the conference. Micah and I felt like we already knew a lot of the information they went over, but it was a good reminder. We also really enjoyed the projects they had us do. They gave us a few assignments that we did and then discussed as a couple. It was a good time to try to understand each other better and strengthen our marriage before we become parents. We have heard that two thirds of couples go through some marriage problems after having kids. And we know that to be good parents we first have to have a good relationship with each other. The best way we can love our kids is to love each other.
It was nice to get away for a weekend. We stayed at the Hilton in Bellevue for Friday and Saturday. On Saturday night they have a date night so Micah and I decided to go to Cheesecake Factory, one of our favorite restaurants, and then we walked in a park for a little while (that is where we took the above picture). Then we went back to the hotel to do one of the projects before heading to bed (with a fire alarm thrown in for good measure). On our date night we enjoyed talking over some of the things discussed during our conference sessions. We talked about what expectations we have about being parents and what roles we want each other to do after Andy comes. We also talked about our upcoming move and how we are going to do that.
We feel very blessed to have such a great relationship, and we know that God has helped us be a better husband and wife. Micah and I enjoy learning new things and how to become a better spouse. We came away from this weekend feeling better prepared for becoming parents, and that our marriage has been strengthened.

Tulip Fields

Micah had some days off from work this week so we decided to go up north to Skagit County to see the tulip fields. We left Wednesday afternoon after helping a friend of ours and arrived up north in the late afternoon. When we first got to Skagit County we found a place to get a map to where the tulips are. Then we stopped at the first tulip field we found. I love the tulips, they are so beautiful with all the colors spread out like a big carpet! We walked around the field and tried to take pictures with our digital camera, and then found out our memory card had gone bad so we could not take any pictures with our camera. It was a big bummer! All those pretty tulips and no good pictures. :( Thankfully we both have cell phones that have cameras, so we were at least able to take some pictures. They just aren't the best quality. We spent an hour walking around the field enjoying the beauty of the tulips.
After our time at the field we drove around and looked at other fields, but none were as good as the first one we stopped at, and we didn't have a working camera so we didn't see any point in stopping at other fields. When we were done looking at tulips we drove to La Conner, a cute little town close to the fields. While we were driving through the town we got a call from my aunt Anna. Before we came up north we set up with her to have dinner at her place and she was going to let us spend the night at their house. So we drove over to her house, ate a yummy dinner and then went to my cousin Caleb's baseball game. He is in first grade and it was fun watching his little league game and cheering him on. My uncle Alan is one of the coaches for Caleb's team. We also got to see my aunt Joyce and visit with her at the game. Afterward we went back to Anna and Alan's house and had a great time chatting with them and eating ice cream with their family. It was fun to stay with them and see what a normal weeknight was like for their family. We also enjoyed just being with them.
On Thursday morning we drove back down south. It was a fun time for Micah and I to be together and enjoy God's beautiful creation and our family.

Micah's Work Schedule

Starting in January Micah went to a new work schedule. He is still working for Alaska Airlines, but his job did change a bit when he changed schedules. He was the parts guy and worked only day shift. In January he became one of the technicians and went on the rotating schedule. So now his schedule changes each week. He works five days on one schedule (either day shift 6am-3:30pm, swing shift 3pm-midnight, or graveyard shift 11:30pm-7am), seven days on another schedule, and then gets some time off for the third week. Then the pattern starts all over. It has been an adjustment for both of us, especially when Micah switches between shifts. But the extra days off sure are nice!

Point Defiance Park

On Saturday it was a gorgeous day, it got up into the 70s! Micah and I decided to enjoy the beautiful weather by going down to Tacoma to Point Defiance Park. We had a picnic lunch on the grass and then walked along the beach for an hour. It was a fun day. It really felt like spring is here. I loved looking at the flowers and the great views.