Antici...

After a relatively calm couple of months, Mark and I are looking forward to a five-six month time span of absolute insanity. We're nervous, excited, in a state of disbelief, and thrilled. It should be a really fun time in our life, and we're so ready for it. 

Here's what's coming up. You can consider this a little preview of the future blogs to come.

1. San Diego/Oceanside/Disneyland/SLO/East Bay. 

Ok, if that sounds tiring it shouldn't. It should sound FUN AND AWESOME! It'll involve science (ACS conference for Mark), family, my niece's 3rd birthday, and house hunting. But most importantly-- family. 

2. Thirteen Point One

I'm going to be running a half marathon and at the same time Steph and Julia will be visiting! Training is going great so far, just gotta keep at it. 

3. Australia. 

What can I say? Opportunity comes within sight and we chase it down. Another conference for Mark, and a ton of sight seeing for both of us! CAN. NOT. WAIT. 

4. Another Trip to Cali

We figure we're going to have to make at least one more trip out to house hunt, and/or take care of closing and other house business. You might be seeing a reprise of House Hunters: Lingwood Edition. 

5. Moving

Not quite fifteen months after moving from California, we're going to pack everything up and move back. This time we'll have a dog and reasonable assurance that it'll be a one way trip. 

6. Santa Barbara Wedding

Some friends of ours from grad school are getting married in Santa Barbara shortly after our move. We hope to make it to the wedding and to spend some time in a town we thought we'd never miss. 

7. Beginning of Fall Semester

Mark starts his new job, with hope that he'll be working there for a long, long time. 

So with that, I'll let you breathe a sigh of relief that you're not the one logging in tens of thousands of miles on cars and planes, collecting cardboard boxes, committing to a 30 year relationship with a bank, and running until your toes bleed.

(pation)

A Very Brady Christmas, and Hello 2012!

It seems like everyone is saying adieu to 2011 with gusto. Was it really such a bad year for everyone? I know for us, while we had some amazing things happen, we also had some really awful things happen. And whether it's circumstantial or just an attitude adjustment, I feel really positive about 2012 and the things to come!

We ended 2011 in the best way possible. First, Mark accepted a position as a tenure-track professor at St. Mary's College in California. So in about six or seven months, we'll be moving to a permanent location-- The bay area! Or, at least, the East Bay. Drivable to SLO and and easy flight to Seattle and San Diego? Yes please! The bay area is pretty much a perfect location for us. We're so excited!

We rounded out the end of the year with two weeks of travel. We spent the first half in San Luis Obispo for A Very Brady Christmas 2011, and then the second week in Hawaii for NYE with the Lingwoods. Not a bad deal, eh?

As per usual, we had lots of people at my parents house for Christmas. It still felt rather empty to me though as my brother Aaron is currently stationed in Cambodia doing humanitarian with the SeaBees. But we did get to video chat with him :) Technology is awesome.

I would post the family picture but this one is so, so much funnier. It's missing Mark (he's behind the camera and I am obviously trying to tell him what to do despite the fact that I had no idea) but it is hilarious and I think sums up every family picture ever.

Front row: Carol, Collin, Lillie, Sunny, Tena holding Cassidy, Katelin, Me
Back row: Michelle, Ray, Mom, Dad, Larry, Heide, Rick, Steve

Ok, here's the nice picture. You have to applaud Mark for not only herding all of his in-laws into the picture and then taking a fantastic shot, but keeping in good standing with them while doing so!

We had a wonderful time and it was made all the more wonderful knowing that we'll be back to California permanently in a bit!

More to come on our Hawaiian NYE adventure... 

The Bradys Take Las Vegas

Last weekend Mark and I spent less than 48 hours in Las Vegas. I think we slept for less than 9 of them! We met my immediate family for a quick family weekend. We had an amazing time. Even though the timing with our move seems a little crazy, it was so great for us to get away from the boxes, the planning, the work, and the stress of everything.

We didn't end up taking tons of pictures because you're not really supposed to take pictures on the gaming floor and it's annoying to carry a camera around. Well those are our excuses anyways!

We all stayed in the Bellagio hotel and wowie what a treat that was! This was the view from our "lakeview" room:

On Saturday day night we all went to see "O" by Cirque du Soleil. Before the show, we had a family dinner at Le Cirque. We all dressed up and I even got to wear my wedding jewelry. The food was amazing, the company was wonderful, and the show was breathtaking. I could do a whole post just on the show, but do yourself a favor and go see it yourself! Here are my parents at dinner, and yes that's a coconut my dad has for dessert:

After dinner Mark and I made everyone put up with some family pictures. Turns out it's hard to herd around people after the event! We should have done pictures before dinner, but c'est la vie! Here's the shot we got. I wish I was standing closer, but ohwell.

On our last day there my Uncle Terry and Aunt Kathie flew out to join us and we got to spend a little time with them. It was so great to spend the weekend with my family. I have to say it makes moving away even that much harder, but I know we'll have more trips like this someday. For now, I'm just savoring the great weekend we had and looking forward to visiting this summer!

David A. Lingwood, April 18, 1941-February 17, 2011

Death is but crossing the world, as friends do the seas; they live in one another still. For they must needs be present, that love and live in that which is omnipresent. In this divine glass, they see face to face; and their converse is free, as well as pure. This is the comfort of friends, that though they may be said to die, yet their friendship and society are, in the best sense, ever present, because immortal. 


--William Penn, More Fruits of Solitude 


On February 17, 2011 Mark's father passed away.

I don't remember ever meeting Dave, and in fact sometimes it's hard to forget that Dave was not always my dad-in-law. In my memory, I've always had two dads: my dad, and Mark's dad. I used to hang out at the Lingwood's house in college, even before Mark and I started dating, and sometimes I accompanied the family to various Seattle events. One time I went to gasworks parks to celebrate the Fourth-of-July and watch the fireworks. Other times Dave and Toni would treat Mark and I to our favorite Teriyaki dinner on the Ave in the university district and when Dave and Toni would come see Mark at band performances, I felt like they were coming to see me too. One summer the whole family went to see a concert at a beer festival, but I hadn't yet turned 21 and it seemed like they weren't going to let me in. Dave just shrugged and told them I was his daughter. Then when I had to wear a special "underage" bracelet he teased the dickens out of me.

I remember Dave coming to football games, basketball games, volleyball games, opening day for crew, softball games, and parades. It was, of course, because he was an AVID Husky fan, but I also know it was because he was AVID Mark fan. Over the last month I've learned more and more stories about how Dave would go to track meets, sporting events--anything extra curricular that he could make it to, he was there. From the sounds of it, liking the Huskies meant that supporting his kids now had the added bonus of interesting sports, rather than the humor of watching pee wee basketball. He was there in every way for Mark and his sister Stephanie. In our third year of college the Husky Marching Band celebrated its 75th anniversary, and Dave got to march alongside his son, two generations of Husky Drummers. 

When Mark and I announced our engagement, I do remember Dave just saying "Well that's great!" and that was pretty much his only comment on the subject. He was happy for us, and he didn't have any other comments. He didn't tell us how to run our wedding, how to structure our marriage, or how to live our lives. He was just truly happy for us. When Mark and I did get married, there is one picture of him and my dad and you can see how very happy they are for both of us. Well, either that or they are glad the whole wedding is finally over and it was time to get to the champagne! (Yes I know they are hidden by our moms... but isn't that so fitting?)

In 2009 Mark finished his Ph.D. and Dave and Toni and Stephanie were able to fly down for the UCSB formal graduation ceremony. When Mark walked across the stage, Dave openly wept with pride at seeing his son achieve something so great. 

Most recently, Dave and Toni made a trip down to LA and Palm Springs. Dave got to see LMU where Mark works as "Dr. Lingwood" and we took Dave to bask in the 80degree sun. He was admitted to the ICU when he returned and eleven days later, passed away in his sleep. 

For his funeral service, I had the privilege of helping to assemble a slide show of pictures. Many of these pictures were emailed to me by family and a lot were taken right from Dave's computer. Over a week, I started to slowly put together some family stories. 

Before Dave and Toni were engaged, Dave would write letters to Toni. Sometimes his letters would be as long as ten pages and supposedly they would profess his love for her! Wouldn't you just love to get your hands on one of those letters? I found some of their wedding pictures and they are fantastic. Dave and Toni spent 45 Valentine's Days together, and were married for nearly 45 years. Through the pictures and stories, there can only be one conclusion: they lived an amazing lifetime together.

Eventually Dave and Toni ended up in Seattle, where they raised both kids, teaching them to love the water, the forest, the Earth. Dave raised the man I love, and he did a really good job. As for me, I will always remember Dave this way, as his best, off camping somewhere with a good book, a lake filled with fish, and his family nearby.

Both Mark and Stephanie spoke at Dave's service. Everyone who was there saw what a fantastic job they did. They truly honored him with their words, their memories, and their hearts. Mark said one thing in particular regarding his father that I think sums it all up. 


"He was a good man."






Dave's obituary can be read here but I'm not sure how much longer the link will be active so you can read the text below. 



David A. Lingwood was born April 18, 1941, in Seattle to parents Thomas J. Lingwood and Elizabeth R. (Watkinson) Lingwood. An outdoorsman from the beginning, he spent his early days playing in the woods, listening to baseball on the radio, and tending to the tomatoes and corn on the family's Normandy Park farm. He became pals with his grandfather, John Edwood Watkinson, as a teen, and the two of them shared many adventures together: fishing, hunting, learning to drive, and his only somewhat disastrous first crew cut.

After he graduated from Highline High School, he attended the University of Washington. There he joined Acacia Fraternity, met his wife-to-be, Toni, and became a proud member of the Husky Marching Band; years later, he stood on the field with his son, Mark, as they both played in the drumline for the Band's 75th anniversary. His post-college years took him to Colombia with the Peace Corps and to Stanford University, where he earned his Ph.D in Communications and discovered his love of computers and data.

After a series of communications research jobs that took him to the University of Michigan and then back to Seattle, he settled down at Fircrest School, a DSHS facility where he spent the final 20 years of his career. He and Toni also raised their daughter, Stephanie and son, Mark in Seattle. The close proximity to both mountains and sound meant that the family spent countless hours camping, fishing, and sailing; he was also a fixture at Stephanie and Mark's various sports events, and could boom a "Go, Steph/Mark!" across a full-sized track.


David passed away on February 17, 2011 and is survived by his wife, Toni, kids Stephanie and Mark, daughters-in-law Julia and Kristen, and various other relatives and friends. Their lives have been forever touched by his caring, wit, and ability to wordsmith a well-turned phrase or pun. A memorial service will be held Friday, February 25, 2011 at Washington Memorial Park: 16445 International Blvd., SeaTac, WA 98188. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Dave's memory to the University of Washington Husky Marching Band.

Seattle Christmas, 2010

After four days in Illinois, it was time say our goodbyes and catch our flight to Seattle. I just checked my calendar and Christmas was our 5th (FIFTH!) trip to Seattle in 2010. If it seems like we're always there... well we are! Over the last five and half years we seem to be averaging somewhere between four and six trips per year, though they are usually very short. We were excited to be able to spend eight days with family.

If you were to look at our pictures, you might think the only exciting thing that happened was putting Christmas ribbons on the cats.

Mme. Batch

Mr. Oscar

Miss Cleo 

Mark, holding Oscar and Cleo

This is in fact a lie propagated by the cats and their interest in keeping themselves at the center of our attention. But the truth is that our week was filled with a lot more than cats. We hung out with friends, spent time with family, and generally enjoyed not rushing for once!

We even had time to go over to Bremerton to see some of my mom's side of the family. We took the ferry to and from Bremerton. It was a rainy day but we still enjoyed the ride (ask me sometime why I love ferries). How many people can say they spent a little of the holidays with so many branches of their family? We were truly fortunate this Christmas.

We also managed to find time to go skiing, but the trusty camera stayed at home and the snowy day did not lend to great pictures. The other really cool thing we did was go to the Harry Potter Exhibition at the Seattle Center. This was a Christmas present from my mother-in-law (MIL WIN!!!) and it was really awesome! Unfortunately though, there were absolutely no pictures allowed and there just is no sneaking around with our DSLR. It was still a fantastic afternoon and an extremely well done exhibition, even to my very picky fan eyes.

Even the longest trips come to an end though, and soon we were saying our goodbyes and flying home. Till the next time, Seattle!

There is no NOISE in Illinois!

My dad is from Illinois. Not Illinoise. FYI, the s is silent, and I cringe when I hear people pronounce it like there is a /z/ at the end. Thanks Dad for teaching me the really important things in life!

But back to my dad being from Illinois. His brother and much of his family still live there. 50 years ago my Uncle Terry married a wonderful woman named Kathie and I've been fortunate enough to grow up having a fantastic "Uncle Terry and Aunt Kathie" in my life. Every niece should grow up with an Uncle Terry and an Aunt Kathie. When I received an invitation their anniversary party, I immediately started checking airline prices and playing around with our frequent flier miles. Sure enough, we were able to swing it! Leaving just 4 days after our San Diego Brady Christmas weekend, our trip to Illinois started our 12 days of Christmas.

It was really fun helping getting all the last minute stuff (food) together. Terry and Kathie did all the hard stuff and I got to do the fun things. This is me being a dork for the camera. Need I say more?  

My Aunt and Uncle had their party in their basement and we estimated about 50-60 people came throughout the afternoon.

It was amazing to reconnect with family I haven't seen in years and some family I have never even met before! At one point we gathered some of the distant cousins together for a picture. There was a lot of debate about "removed" vs. "3rd or 4th" but I mostly just liked that we were able to say we were actually related!

The party also featured a skit, written by my Uncle and performed by various family members. My dad was the narrator and of course the stars were my aunt and uncle. It was super cheesy and full of win! 

Later in the afternoon my aunt (on a whim) ran upstairs, dug out her wedding dress, and put it on to surprise Uncle Terry. It was SO fun to see her dance around in it and then they cut their party cake with her in her dress and Terry in his jeans. 

In the couple of days after the party, we looked at albums and albums of old pictures...

Made cookies...

And generally had a fantastic time. On our last day in town, Mark and I managed to sneak in a day in the nearby city, St. Louis, MO with my Aunt and Uncle. We went to the St. Louis Arch:

And then spent some time at the St. Louis Zoo where my aunt and uncle worked for (13?) years before retiring a couple of months ago. We had such a wonderful day and it was really amazing to get to spend such great time with them!

I'm having a hard time not posting ALL of our pictures... so please check them out here! There are some really amazing ones (and some boring ones) but overall lots of pictures from the whole trip.

Had to end on a family pic... That's (L-R) Uncle Terry, Aunt Kathie, my brother Rick, me, Mark, Mom, and Dad. 

A Very Brady Christmas, 2010

The first part of our epic 2010 holiday travels was the Brady Christmas gathering. Mark and I drove down to San Diego to celebrate Christmas with the immediate Brady family. When you have a large family and each spouse has family and everyone is spread out all over the place, Christmas has to be a flexible holiday. For us, the important thing is time together. We celebrate when we can and make the most of the time we have. Every year is a compromise and every year we wish we had more time, but it is better to enjoy the time we do have than to dwell on the time we don't have!

This year was especially hard as my brother Aaron is in in the US Navy and is deployed to Afghanistan. We were so very lucky to get to put him on speaker phone after dinner. Anyone who has had family deployed knows that phone time is precious, and having it come at a time when we were all together was fantastic. We are so proud of him but we can't wait for him to get his butt home safely. 

Here are some highlights of our day together:

My niece Lillie couldn't wait for us to open presents. It turned out it was because she wanted to GIVE us her present! She has been taking painting lessons and made both Aunties and Grandma (me, Michelle, and my Mom) a personal painting! They are absolutely amazing and mine is getting hung right above my kitchen sink. Lillie was so proud of herself and thrilled to give such a heartfelt gift. 

Later in the day we convinced Sunny to make us all cupcakes. YUM! They didn't last long between all of us. 

When Mom, Sunny, Michelle and I decided to go get mani/pedis, we left the kids with the guys. The girls were thrilled to play Barbies with Uncle Mark. And the ladies had so much fun getting a little bit pampered! 

Dad got all the of guys these super crazy powerful lasers. You can't point them at airplanes but at night they look like light sabers. Awesome.

This is Dad explaining how seriously dangerous the lasers are and why they are only "mostly" legal and we should be really careful. "No seriously," he says. Rick looks skeptical in the background.

Collin thinks, "Sure Grandpa! Not a toy.... Whatever you say! Look it makes my water green hehehe."

And that wraps up the Very Brady Christmas 2010!

Happy 2011!

Happy 2011 everyone! Mark and I made it home yesterday after nearly three weeks of travel, including one 12 day long trip sandwiched by two shorter trips. Whew! Go huge or go home, we say! Here is the timeline:

December 11-12: Brady Christmas in San Diego
December 17-21: 50th wedding anniversary celebration in Glen Carbon, IL
December 21-29: Lingwood Christmas in Seattle + a million other things
December 30-31: Holiday Bowl in San Diego (GO DAWGS!!!)

We had a great trip, did a ton of stuff, and saw a lot of family. It was epic! Stay tuned for more posts about each part of our trip... I'll write them eventually :)

To tide you over, here is a picture of my Uncle Terry's super duper awesome epic Christmas Tree.

As I told Mark, getting a huge Christmas tree isn't really even a need or a want... it's just something that's in my genes.

Oh! Don't forget: you can always click the link to my Picasa web albums if you want to browse through the thousands of pictures I have up online from various travels. I usually only put a couple of shots in each blog post but if you want the real deal, check out the web albums. Mark is turning into a fantastic photographer and some of his shots are absolutely amazing! In Picasa you can leave public comments on the pictures, so feel free to do so.

Happy New Year everyone! Let's practice saying it "twenty-eleven"... I don't want to hear it any other way!

Thanksgiving 2010

I'm breaking my mold here and posting out of order, because I'm afraid if I stick to the "must finish posting about Cambridge" mandate I set out for myself back in July I'll never post about any of the other amazing adventures Mark and I go on!

Last weekend was Thanksgiving and this year we drove down south to Murrietta, CA to spend the holiday with the Brady etc. clan. My Aunt Johnna and Uncle John hosted about 15 people for dinner. Much to my bemusement, I found I only had pictures of my niece and my 4 year old cousin on my camera when I got home! Luckily my mom took pictures too so between the two of us I think I have enough to share. So thanks Mom, for the photos I blatantly stole from your Picasa albums!

We left for Temecula/Murrietta Thursday morning and had a traffic-free drive, a total luxury for Southern California. Much of the day was spent hanging out, or as the grown ups say "visiting". This is generally my least favorite part of vacation as I typically like to always being doing something. Mark has, on more than on occasion, pointed out that visiting is considered in most circles to be doing something... but I digress. Here are some random shots of me visiting with my family.

This is Michelle, Grandma, and me having some girl time while we watch the kiddos play in the yard. You would think I would have taken some pictures with that camera in my lap, but the only shots I got were of the kids. I think my mom and Aunt Johnna are just off camera.

This one is Uncle Rick, Kim (My mom's cousin Walt's girlfriend/partner... common keep up), me, Grandma, Uncle John, and my cousin Parker on the ottoman. Parker is John and Johnna's son. We are all visiting in a most grown up way. Parker is either bored out of his mind or ready for bed, or else trying to think of how to get more turkey AND pie into his belly.

When we were outside we enjoyed playing around in the dirt and watching Uncle John work on his amazing playhouse/fort he is building for Parker. Parker enjoyed being silly for the camera.

Thanksgiving dinner was amazing. My Aunt worked some crazy magic with the turkey. She has a background as a dental hygienist and--I'm being completely serious--she used a syringe to inject the turkey with her magic seasoning rather than just baste it. I have to say it was honestly the best turkey I have ever had.

Here is my Aunt Johnna (my mom's sister) and my Uncle Rick (my mom's brother) getting the final prep for dinner done. Uncle Rick volunteered to carve the turkey and soon we had everyone at the tables ready to eat. Michelle also brought some amazing cheesy potatoes, my mom made my Grandma Nadine's crab dip, and in general we all enjoyed food and company.

Cassidy and Parker had a blast looking at all the books together. Both kids can't seem to get enough book time!

Cassidy loves shoes. She especially loves to put other people's shoes on. She found my laces fascinating.

We did do a little shopping on Friday, and Cassidy had a great time. She fell in love with "Unc Mark" and I'm sorry to say that Aunt Kristen definitely got demoted a bit.

All together now.... "Awwwww" It's so fun to be an auntie and uncle!

We were fortunate to be able to stay with Michelle and Cassidy before heading home on Saturday. While there, we managed to catch my brother Aaron on Skype. Aaron is currently serving in the US Navy and he is stationed in Afghanistan. We miss him and can't wait for him to come home safely!

That pretty much wraps up our Thanksgiving 2010 trip. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that your upcoming December holiday season is filled with lots of travel and fun!