GTKY/AMA: InBetweenDays

[InBetweenDays]

Engagement:

DH and I got engaged the weekend before the 4th of July in 2000. We had been dating since December of 1995 so we'd been together for awhile (although had a probably 5 month "break" in there early on). We had discussed marriage and knew it was in our future, but weren't in any hurry and hadn't discussed a timeline.

Well the weekend before July 4th we decided to do a backpacking trip with our friend Pete. DH and I were going to drive out and start off Highway 2 while Pete would drive out and start off I-90. We picked a trail that traversed between the two highways. The plan was to hike in and camp one night separately. Then the next day meet Pete at this lake and we'd all camp there and swap keys. Then the next day we'd hike out to his car while he hiked out to ours.

The hike started great but we quickly hit snow. We had a compass, map, and altimeter so we had a pretty good idea of where we were going. We also knew we had to meet up with the Pacific Crest Trail which we figured would be well marked. And if it came down to it we could backtrack out. Well we hiked for awhile without seeing any signs of the trail and made a decision that we would hike to a certain elevation and point on the map, and if we didn't see signs of the trail we'd turn around. We got to that point and there were no signs, but looked over and there was this guy just standing there. We started talking to him and it turned out he was coming from where we wanted to go, and vice versa. So we helped each other and continued on our way. A few hours later we got down below the snow level and set up tent our tent near a beautiful creek. I was in the tent getting situated and DH was out messing with our packs. He comes in looking all sheepish and I was afraid he forgot our stove or water purifier or something. But then he pulls out a poem and box and proposes That left me wondering if while we were "lost" he was trying to figure out where we were, or was thinking about the proposal.

The next day we hiked to the lake to meet our friend Pete and he had an even better story of his hike - minus the proposal of course - that involved a stream crossing, following bear tracks thinking they were people boot tracks, and getting completely lost for about an hour before randomly hearing people's voice. We stayed the night at the lake and woke up the next day to snowfall. We decided then and there to call it quits, which meant hiking out to the nearest trailhead and hitch hiking to Pete's car (which was the closest) then driving all the way around to Highway 2 to get our car.

Made for a very memorable and FUN engagement. And here are a few photos. This was *ahem* before the age of good (or any?) digital cameras to excuse the blur.

Two days after getting engaged - while waiting for our hitchhike ride.


Our camp spot with Pete for the second night.

[InBetweenDays]

Wedding:

We got married in June of 2001 in Nantucket, Massachusetts. I had spent a lot of time there growing up and always knew I'd want to get married there. We wanted a beach ceremony, but had the church reserved as a back up. I REALLY wanted it to be on the beach and obsessed over the weather in the week leading up to the ceremony (June in Nantucket can be iffy). It ended up being a picture perfect 75 degree day so we had the wedding on the beach. There were about 90 people there including our wedding party. The reception was at this sort of resort in town. We had an absolute blast, and ended the night walking to a bar, in my dress, with about 20 people. I woke up the next morning to find a shoe print on my train




One of my favorite photos...

[InBetweenDays]

Honeymoon:

We didn't do a big honeymoon. We actually drove cross country from Seattle to Nantucket for the wedding, and spent a few weeks on Nantucket before getting married. We decided to do a big road trip on the way back, so we went to the Outer Banks of NC and did some kayaking, then drove through the Smokey Mountains. We spent some time in Santa Fe doing hiking and visiting all of the art shops, then went to Moab to do mountain biking.

DH kayaking in NC. The water was BLACK and I was terrrified there were going to be alligators everywhere.


Biking in Moab.


Enjoying Arches National Park

[InBetweenDays]

Family

Me, DH, and our two kids Ellie (who's 6) and Parker (who's 3.5). We also have two dogs that are lab mixes. Tucker is 10.5 going on 3, and Hoss is 9.5 going on 14. And we have a cat, Cole, who is 12. I have friends that I've known for years that still don't believe we have a cat because he is so shy he won't come out when anyone else is around.

I have a brother who's 6.5 years old and lives in Missoula, MT with his family (wife and 3 kids) and a sister who is 4.5 years older and lives on Bainbridge Island with her family (husband and two kids). My parents also live on Bainbridge. I'm originally from Minnesota but moved to Seattle in 1995. My sister followed me out here in 2002 (her husband is originally from Southern California and couldn't deal with the Minnesota weather) and my parents followed us out here in 2007.

DH has one brother who lives in Manhatten with his girlfriend and their 1yo. His parents live in New Jersey, about 30 minutes outside Manhatten.

[Deleted]

Love that you two are so outdoorsy

[Deleted]

I know I've asked before, but where in MN are you from?
Why did you move out here in 1995?

[InBetweenDays]

I'm originally from a suburb of St. Paul, located just NE of downtown St. Paul.

I went to college in Vermont, and moved out here with 3 girlfriends on sort of a whim after college. One friend and I had plans to move somewhere random to live for a year, and were looking to just be ski bums. Another friend wanted to join but she wanted a "real" job so we were looking at cities. Then a third friend decided to come. It came down to Seattle or San Francisco and we decided on Seattle. None of us had ever even been here, and we figured we'd stay for 6 months to a year. Two of us are still out here almost 17 years later!

[Deleted]

That's really funny!
Um...how about the basics (fav book/movie/ etc)

[InBetweenDays]

Standards:

Favorite book: I'm having a hard time picking one. Recently I really liked The Thirteenth Tale and The Story of Edgar Sawtell. But I read The Stand in high school and scenes from that book have stayed with me more than any other book. I used to be a huge Stephen King fan and loved the way he'd intertwine the books together. Almost like characters/scenes from one book having a cameo appearance in another book.

Favorite movie: I really liked The Usual Suspects. For more of a fun movie I can watch Better Off Dead over, and over, and over.

Dream career: If I was good at it, I'd love to be a photographer.

Phobias: Something happening to the kids. Flying.

Favorite place: Nantucket. Holds so many good memories there.

What did you study: Environmental Studies with a concentration in Chemistry.

Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years: Probably living in our same house. Career wise I don't know. I love my job but it is really slow and I'm worried about long term stability. If I had to take a guess, I'd say DH and I would be working together on this real estate investment venture he wants to pursue.

Funny story: I'm never good at remembering funny stories. One time I was super late for a flight. I was supposed to go to Montana and read the arrival time as the departure time. DH dropped me off and I was running through the airport (this was pre 9/11 so no security checkpoint) and got to my gate only to realize my shirt had unbuttoned and I was running around with my shirt most of the way open.

[Deleted]

How did you decide on the names for your kids?

[Deleted]

Hae you always been really athletic as long as you can remember?

[InBetweenDays]

Jul 23, 2012 13:57:57 GMT -5 @ksta said:

How did you decide on the names for your kids?

Kind of randomly. If Ellie had been a boy we were going to name her Elijah. Once we found out it was a girl we were having a hard time coming up with something. Then somewhere I heard Ellison (which is her full name) and it clicked. Her middle name is Reese, which is my paternal grandmother's maiden name.

Parker we just sort of came up with. We narrowed it down to Parker or Nathaniel (after a great, great, great, great, great uncle) but I wasn't sure about Nate, and knew it would always get shortened to Nate. Knowing him now he most definitely is a Parker and not a Nathaniel. His middle name is Knapp, which is DH's middle name (and he maternal grandmother's maiden name).

[InBetweenDays]

Jul 23, 2012 13:58:18 GMT -5 @ksta said:

Hae you always been really athletic as long as you can remember?

I wouldn't really say I'm athletic, but I've always been active. Growing up, as a family we were always hiking, canoeing, camping, horseback riding, down hill skiing, cross country skiing, etc. I played tennis and basketball in junior high and high school, but wasn't particularly good at either of them.

I've always done some sort of exercise, whether it be aerobics, roller blading (back in the day) and then I started running about 15 years ago and loved it. I started doing kickboxing about 7 years ago, but more as a gym class and not real martial arts.

[niq]

Since the kids went on their first backpacking trip this weekend, what did you do for outdoors stuff until them? Did they take vacations to grandparents/aunts/uncles while you went backpacking? Limit yourselves to day hikes?

[InBetweenDays]

Jul 23, 2012 14:31:27 GMT -5 niq said:

Since the kids went on their first backpacking trip this weekend, what did you do for outdoors stuff until them? Did they take vacations to grandparents/aunts/uncles while you went backpacking? Limit yourselves to day hikes?

We limited it to day hikes. The last backpacking trip I went on was with a girlfriend in the Olympic Mountains in 2005 (right before I got pregnant with DD). My pack still had our permit attached to it when I pulled it out last week. We had plans to send the kids to my parents in June so we could hike to Camp Muir with another couple, but that never happened. DH did do a multi day climb of Mt. Rainier a few years ago and that time I just stayed home with the kids.

[macpanda]

Early Bird vs. Night Owl?
Tea vs. Coffee?
Milk vs. Soda?
Cat vs. Dogs?
Mountains/Snow vs. Beach/Sunny?
0 kids vs. 13?
Mac vs. PC?
Boat vs. Plane?

[niq]

How do you feel about your sex life after being married 13 years/dating 18 years?

[niq]

Are you and H both from the Northwest? If not how'd both/either of y'all end up here?

[InBetweenDays]

Early Bird vs. Night Owl? Early Bird
Tea vs. Coffee? Coffee
Milk vs. Soda? Neither? If I was forced to drink one I'd choose soda.
Cat vs. Dogs? Dogs
Mountains/Snow vs. Beach/Sunny? Tough choice. Probably mountains/snow. We love to ski, and I think I'd get bored being limited to the beach.
0 kids vs. 13? 13
Mac vs. PC? PC - But I think that is mainly because our Mac at home doesn't have the "good" office package. So it seems more limited.
Boat vs. Plane? Boat. I have a fear of flying that has gotten MUCH better, but at one point was so bad I canceled a flight to Minnesota and bought train tickets.

[InBetweenDays]

Our sex life has had it's ups and downs but I am still very happy with it.

I'm originally from Minnesota, DH is from New Jersey. I moved out here after college with some girlfriends - sort of on a whim. DH came out almost the exact same weekend. He had only a backpack and a round trip ticket, and came to visit a friend. Was here for 3 days before deciding to throw away his return ticket.

[InBetweenDays]

What's the best vacation you've been on? Every 5 years, for New Year's, my entire family (parents, brother, sister, etc) go on vacation together. This past time, New Year's 2009/2010, we went to Tulum, Mexico. We ended up renting a house on a bay with a pool that came with a cook. It was so relaxing, and I feel extremely lucky to have a family that I enjoy so much. There really are no other people I'd rather spend time like that with. My nephew (my brother's oldest) just graduated highschool so I'm really hoping we will still all be able to do it again in 2014/2015.

What's your dream vacation? (stealing from Dreamwinds) I'm not sure I have the balls to do it, but I'd love to travel to Tiera del Fuego, and then take a boat to Antarctica.

What's most surprised you about DD? DS? Sounds cliche, but I am suprised at how intensely I love them. I was not a very maternal person, and when I was younger I didn't think I'd get married much less have kids. I mean of course I knew I'd love them, but the intensity of it was surprising.

Beyond that, with DD she has surprised me with how confident she is. She's very shy in new situations, especially with other kids, but she is also very confident/sure of herself and determined.

With DS I'm surprised by how compassionate he is. His daycare teachers constantly comment on it as well.

Scariest thing to happen to you while you've been a parent? We've been lucky to not have any true emergencies. But when DS was 4 months old he had surgery to repair a condition he had/has called epispadias. It was a pretty involved surgery and while I knew he was in good hands (had a GREAT pediatric urologist at Children's) I was still a nervous wreck.

What do you think your kids will be like in 10 years? I see DD as being your typical emotional teenage girl. I'm guessing she'll find one sport she likes, and excel at it. I also see her taking part in some academic club. She'll be well liked, but I wouldn't say "popular" in the traditional sense. I think she'll have a few very close friends.

I think DS will be your typical goofy boy. A little rowdy, but also somewhat tentative. I think he'll dabble in a variety of activities and have a bigger group of friends than DD, but not be as tight with them.

If you found $100, and you weren't allowed to spend it on friends/family or put it in savings, what would you do with it? I'd probably give it to an animal rescue group.

Are you interested in politics? If so, what motivates you to be interested? If not, why not? (Share only what you are comfortable with.) I am interested in politics. I wouldn't say I'm extremely active but I definitely feel it is important to stay up to date on the issues and to be an informed voter.

Did you go to college? If so, where? What was the best/worst part of it? I went to University of Vermont. Best part? The people I met. Again it sounds cliche but I feel like I found myself in college. In high school is was more about fitting in, in college I figured out who I wanted to be.

The worse part? The uncertainty of what to do after college.

If you had to give something up for lent, what would you give up?

ETA: If you're not Catholic, just hypothesize as to what you would give up. The internet.

Favorite piece of clothing you own? A Lululemon zip up sweatshirt. I wear that thing all the time.

Most ridiculous thing you've ever purchased? This isn't really a "thing" but one of our dogs had surgery to repair his CCL (the dog's version of ACL) in 2007. As part of his recovery we bought a few sessions to have therapy on an underwater treadmill. Friends laughed at us, but I truly think that is one reason he hasn't had any more problems (50% of dogs that tear one CCL go on to tear the other).

[InBetweenDays]

Do you like sports? If so, which ones and which teams do you follow? I do like sports. We used to be big Sonics fans and I have to say I'll be pretty excited if they come back. I also like the Sounders.

Favorite junk food? Potato chips. I'm a sucker for anything salty.

What website do you frequent on a daily basis? Besides this one, The Seattle Times, MyBallard, Hotmail, and numerous weather websites (for work).

What three words would your DH use to describe you? Adventurous, loving, stubborn

[jennlin]

Jul 23, 2012 12:28:42 GMT -5 InBetweenDays said:

I have a brother who's 6.5 years old and lives in Missoula, MT with his family (wife and 3 kids)

your brother got married young!

[jennlin]

Jul 23, 2012 14:25:02 GMT -5 InBetweenDays said:

Parker we just sort of came up with. We narrowed it down to Parker or Nathaniel (after a great, great, great, great, great uncle) but I wasn't sure about Nate, and knew it would always get shortened to Nate. Knowing him now he most definitely is a Parker and not a Nathaniel. His middle name is Knapp, which is DH's middle name (and he maternal grandmother's maiden name).

nathan was our boy name if bjl was a boy..but i also hate-hate "nate" and that was my biggest issue. i'm glad she came out a girl.

[jennlin]

what made you come over to the seattle board? where (what board) were you from?

[jennlin]

did your h ever go back to NJ after originally ditching his ticket? (i mean relatively short period of time after, obviously he's been back sometime in the last 17 yrs, right?). i think that story is romantic <3

[jennlin]

now that the kids have done a backpack trip, do you plan on doing more?

[jennlin]

do you enjoy car-camping at all? (drive-in, unpack there). i enjoy car camping, and am looking for new (non-state-park) spots.

[jennlin]

how big is/was your tent for this last trip? how much does it weigh?

[jennlin]

maybe i missed it, but how exactly did you and h meet?