What a Difference a Year Makes

Ryan and I are about to fly to Montana for the weekend to celebrate my grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary. This Labor Day weekend also happens to be our first anniversary. There's something cool about a weekend of celebrations that are rooted in the same event but during different time periods. I'm looking forward to catching up with my family and listening to my grandparents talk about their married lives.

In reflection of our own anniversary, I started browsing through our wedding pictures with the intention of creating a cool blog entry. I decided to only use the group photo because we loved hanging out with our bi-coastal crew. Can you find yourself in this picture?

"They" say that the first year of marriage is the hardest. I'm assuming that this is because most people start living with their new spouse and adjusting to the ways and patterns of another person. Since we've lived together for nearly 6 years (5 before marriage) that change was not an issue for us. The reason our first year was tough was because of law school, the bar exam, and the insecurity that comes with one partner not earning any money and trying to find the right path. In other words, I caused all the disruptions this year. That being said, we also had lots of good times - traveling to Mexico, surfing, visiting our families, going to music shows, and camping for the first time in two years. All-in-all, the vow "for better or for worse" really hasn't been tested this year, but we've spent a little time practicing for when the moment comes.

Anyhoo, I promise to post cool photos of our trip to Big Sky Country. In the meantime, we hope you all enjoy the holiday weekend!

Hannah, Chris, and Ava's Big Trip

Many of you know Hannah, Ryan's cousin. She's one of my best friends and the reason Ryan and I are together. For those that don't know, Hannah and I played flag football together in college, and Hannah's family took me in for holidays and long weekends. Thanks to Hannah's persistence and my love of free drinks, Ryan and I met, fell in love, and the rest is history.

Anyway, Hannah, her husband Chris, and daughter Ava, lived in Bend, Oregon, until a year-and-a-half ago when the family returned to Hannah's hometown outside Montpelier, Vermont. We were lucky enough to spend a little time with them while they visited the Emerald City this weekend. As a super adorable two-year old, Ava was the star of the show when it comes to pictures, but we managed to get some group photos in at the airport.




The next stop for the Yorra/Thier family is Anchorage, Alaska, where they'll visit friends and make a trip to Denali National Park before flying south to Bend to visit some former neighbors. While we know that they are happy in Vermont, we really miss having them close enough for weekend visits. I guess Ryan will just have to make millions so that we can buy an amazing vacation house and charter a private jet to carry our friends and family to us! I'd take on the duty of making millions myself, but recent law school graduates with an interest in policy/social justice work can only make so much after paying off the school debt (a.k.a. the "mortgage without a house"). What d'ya say, Ryan?

Congratulations to Elizabeth and Paul

Elizabeth Sherlock and Paul Barcoe-Walsh got married on Friday, August 24th at the Seattle Tennis Club on beautiful Lake Washington. Elizabeth is one of my (Darcy's) dearest friends from childhood in Montana. In fact, Liz's dad, Patrick, married Ryan and I last year. Well, what a difference a year makes because this year was Liz's turn. I had the honor of reading a Lord Byron poem at the wedding and Ryan took control of the camera to capture some great moments from the day:

Is that the groom biting his nails in anticipation?

Who are those fine and foxy bridesmaids?

Time for the ring vows...

"You may kiss the bride!"

Some of the beautiful dahlias at the ceremony

First Dance

Father/Daughter Dance

Camera Ready

Ok, we've been pretty absent from posting for the last couple of weeks largely because we've been so busy. Instead of posting one large blog entry, I'll split the update into pieces so that uploading photos is easier. That being said, I have to admit that one major regret from the last few weeks is that we didn't take adequate pictures of our adventures, so I apologize for the minimal and poor quality photos this time around.

On August 14 - 20, we traveled to Syracuse to visit the east coast family and celebrate the life of Ryan's grandpa, Jack Gates. Despite the sad reason for traveling to Ryan's hometown, we had a great time catching up and enjoying the company of our family. We drank, ate, laughed, shared memories, and turned the Patrick backyard into a multi-sport field with golf, football, tennis/badminton, and Frisbee all sharing (remarkably without injury) a small space.

The tribute to Ryan's grandpa was touching and clearly showed how many people loved and respected Jack. I didn't know Ryan's grandpa very well, but I remember how much he loved music, and musicians from both Syracuse and South Carolina (where Jack resided in retirement) gathered to play jazz and Dixie music in Jack's memory. Ryan's uncle and cousins put together a personalized song dedicated to Jack that all the grandkids sung at the memorial service to the tune of "When the Saints Go Marching In". Unfortunately (or fortunately for the camera shy), the only picture I have from the entire weekend is a picture of the grandkids singing the song at the service:

It's a little tough to make out each person, but from left is Paul Gates, Sarah Yorra, Nicole Gates, Chris Patrick, Sean Patrick, Hannah Yorra, and Emma Yorra and Ryan are the two separated from the group on the right.

One result of the weekend was a realization that we don't see the people we love often enough. We really hope to do a family gathering once a year or once every other year so that we don't lose touch. Thank you to Ryan's parents for taking such good care of us and to the rest of the family for the great company. We love you all!

Waving Goodbye to Single Life

This weekend both Ryan and I had bachelor/bachelorette parties for friends about to jump into married life. Both parties were the first time Ryan and I attended bachelor parties as a married couple, which for me was a little weird. Why? Bachelor parties make a point of differentiating the single from the married and your mate-status is really shoved in your face. Single people tell the soon-to-be-married person that "there's still time" (as in to get out of the marriage) while married people feel like they should share the wisdom of experience with the bride or groom. Switching to the married side of a bachelor party wasn't a bad thing, just different from a year ago when I was a single gal (or at least not yet married).

Enough social observation. On Friday night, Ryan flew to Las Vegas, a.k.a. "Sin City", for a weekend of debauchery with the guys to send Mike Hilldoerfer, a.k.a. "Doer", into husbandhood. Ryan plans on sharing his experiences as soon as he gets pictures.

While the "Doer Disciples" went on what was surely a spiritual quest in Sin City, I attended a bachelorette party here in Seattle for my childhood friend, Elizabeth. Liz's sisters, Scotta and Julie, organized the event and did a great job. For Liz's party, we enjoyed boat cruise around Lake Union and Lake Washington on a very fancy boat. Special thanks to Scotta and Julie for organizing the event, and to Joe, the captain of yacht.

The Guest of Honor

Lauren, Scotta, and Monica Enjoying Stories About Liz's Past

Julie, Dina, Brian, and Peggy Soaking Up the Sun

Cooling Off During a Hot Party

Brian and Liz Wearing Shades to Protect Themselves from the Sunset.
Residents of our city aren't used to the sun and even a the soft rays of a sunset can damage our retinas.

Of course we had some adult entertainment on the boat, as is tradition. Although I have pictures of the "tiny dancer", I'm not going to post them. Why? I'm one of those paranoid people that don't want any suggestive or crazy pictures of me online only to be discoverable by potential employers or other folks by using Google or some other search site. Call me a prude, or call me paranoid, but as an unemployed former law student, I need all the help gaining respect that I can get...

Anyhoo, I had a great time getting to know some new people and catching up with folks that I haven't seen in a long time. Thanks for the good times and I look forward to the wedding in two weeks!

I don't know about you, but I can't wait to read and see pictures from Ryan's weekend!

Ryan Appreciation Weekend

This weekend, I attempted to show my appreciation for Ryan's support and patience during the last three years of law school/bar exam preparation. We decided to drive to Leavenworth , a town famous for its Bavarian flavor and spectacular scenery. Leavenworth is about 1.5 hours east of Seattle and when we arrived, we saw a sign that indicated a good weekend was ahead...

A good sign

Yep, the sign is for Ryan Patrick Vineyards , a vineyard located in eastern Washington. Although we had heard about Ryan Patrick Vineyards (and even enjoyed a bottle or two), we had no idea where the vineyard was located. Turns out it's located near Wenatchee, which is not far from Leavenworth. After seeing this sign, our expectations for the weekend were high.

Next we got to our campsite. We drove along a 20-mile road that had campground after campground. When we hit the first campground, no sites were available. The second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth campgrounds were also full. Finally, we found a site at a horse campground (the last campground in the bunch). We decided to set up camp because 1. it was Ryan appreciation weekend and we weren't about to give up, 2. Soma is large enough to be a small pony, and 3. 4 or 5 campsites were open for real horse campers.

A great view from camp

We love camping and couldn't wait to see how Soma did during the trip. Surprisingly, we haven't camped since we adopted the little guy nearly two years ago. We learned a couple things about camping with a dog:

1. Camping at a horse camp means there is a lot of horse crap everywhere. Soma appreciates the "finer things" in life, including the delicacy of horse droppings. Honestly, horse poop is like a drug for our little guy. Despite our best attempts, he ate a lot of horse poop and has the stool to prove it.
2. Even though campgrounds in a specific area approve of leashed pets, the surrounding trails may not allow dogs. We looked forward to hiking, and we did, but unfortunately we discovered that many of the trails near the campsite did not allow dogs. Our hiking books and other sources did not make this clear until we reached a trailhead only to find a song saying "NO DOGS ALLOWED". While we understand that many dog owners are irresponsible and let their dogs poop right off the trail without cleaning it up or let their dogs off leash so the animals chase and potentially harm wildlife, better warning would have been nice. We spent a lot of time looking for a good hike to do with Soma. Oh well, lesson learned.
   
3. A dusty campsite makes it hard to stay clean and makes a dog want to roll around and create a "Pig Pen" like aura.

Even with the minor setbacks, the area was beautiful and we had a good time--more pictures:

Our new neighbor, Dennis the Mule Deer.

Ryan starting our fire with hay, which when burned smells remarkably like another plant that people are often arrested for possessing.

Showing my S'mores skills

Ryan's picture of the campground sunrise.

The weekend was fun, but my lack of proper planning did limit the hiking and camping experience. In the past, our camping trips in Washington have been amazing -- this one was just okay. In an attempt to say a proper "thank you" to Ryan, who has put up with my stress-induced outbursts and neglect during the last three years, I'm going to go to Pike's Place Market, get some fresh corn-on-the-cob and other fresh ingredients to make a nice dinner and dessert tonight. Who knows, maybe I'll pickup a bottle from Ryan Patrick Vineyards...

New Life, New Look

Life is starting to get back to normal, but I have to say that I still feel a little brain-drained after the bar exam. I'm surprised at how much the bar impacted me physically and mentally. When it was all said and done, I found myself a little softer and fatter than when I went in and thirsting to do something creative and use a different part of my brain. This week, I exercised and started paying close attention to what I eat. I just want to feel normal again. Of course, I realize that other life events are more exhausting and demanding (e.g. having kids), but the exam coupled with the job search made life pretty stressful.

Since I have a new life and am starting my next adventure, I thought I should change my look. The answer: cutting and coloring my hair. I'm really happy with the results but it's a little weird to reach back looking for long hair and finding almost nothing. Take a look:

Side View of the 'Do

During the haircut, my stylist and I were talking about the cultural importance of hair. We talked about the story of Samson and Delilah where hair was associated with strength and favor from God. We talked about Native American cultures that cut hair as a sign of mourning and the movie Water where Hindu widows ritualistically shave their heads. If you haven't seen the movie, I highly recommend it. Finally, how can you forget Britney Spears' head shaving incident. Now that I think about it, cutting your hair is really something negative in most cultures. Weird. For me, I like the idea of cutting my hair off when I want to start afresh and make a major change in my life.

Going along with the "moving forward" theme, I'm really happy to have my life back and start doing things I did either before or early in law school. This weekend, the Nonerick clan is heading for the hills. We're packing up our Subaru and going camping and hiking in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness , which is one of our favorite spots. Hopefully, we'll have some great photos to share from our weekend away.