Seven Years!

Happy anniversary to my wonderful, loving, kind-hearted husband. It's hard to believe that it's been 7 years since we walked down the aisle and pledged our lives to one another. As we watched our wedding video tonight (a tradition since our first anniversary), it reminded me of the friends and family that support us, the love that we have for one another, and the commitment that we made. The camera panned across the audience, showing friends and family who have since passed, as well as all of the kind hearts that have supported us through the years. To everyone who has surrounded us in our marriage: thank you.

And to my husband: I love you more than ever, and I can't wait to see what the next 7, 27, and 77 years have in store for us! Happy anniversary, babe!

Happy 5th Anniversary!

Happy fifth anniversary to the love of my life! Today marks the five year anniversary of our marriage, and I can honestly say that every day and every year continues to get better. I couldn't have asked for a better partner for this life adventure, and I'm very grateful to have you by my side.

I love you Lennie! Here's to another great year together!

First Wedding

Today, our son attended his first wedding ceremony. We're very excited for Ken and Leanne, and are glad that we got to share in their day.

Matthew turned more than a few heads with his dashing sense of style and his adorable smile!

Congratulations Melissa & Dwight!

This past weekend, we had the privilege of attending Dwight & Melissa's wedding in Las Vegas. It was quite the trip, and we enjoyed seeing the sights and sharing time with friends. Here are some photo highlights:

Lennie, Susahn, Travis and I got to take in the Cirque du Soleil show "Ka" as well as the lights and sights at the Freemont Street Experience.

We also got to try some deep fried Oreos -- yum!

Saturday was filled with wedding activities:

Getting ready...

Taking in the sunset at Maggiano's Little Italy.

Thank you Melissa & Dwight, for letting us share in your special day!

Congratulations Susahn & Travis!

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of participating in the wedding of Susahn and Travis. It was quite the honor to be a member of the bridal party, and to witness their marriage.


I've known Susahn since we went to junior high school together. She was always the "cool" one, sporting the black leather jacket, and giving off an air of intelligence and aloofness all at the same time. We didn't really become great friends until we were thrown into Chemistry II (with a crazy teacher, nonetheless) in high school. That's also where I met Melissa, and we forged a relationship that has lasted many, many years. These are the only two people that I speak to consistently from high school, and I don't know what I would do without them in my life. We've experienced many firsts together, from first loves, 1st apartments, riding the bus together to UW, to first heartbreaks, first failures to first jobs and true love. I've been so blessed to have these two in my life, and I can't wait to see where our journeys take us next!

Here are a few of my favorite photos from the weekend of wedding fun:

One Year!

Today is our one year anniversary. (In fact, at 6:30 p.m., it'll be truly one whole year.) It's hard to believe that it's been a whole year since we "tied the knot." On the one hand, it seems like a long time ago because of all of the things that we've done together in the last 12 months. On the other hand, I still remember the wedding like it was yesterday. And I wouldn't change a thing about our adventure together.



I can't wait to see what the coming years bring. I love you, Lennie. Happy anniversary!

Weekend Wanderings, Customer Service, and More

We enjoyed a blissfully relaxing weekend, lounging around the house, doing laundry, napping, and generally being mellow. On Saturday night, we trekked up to Everett and Mill Creek for Mindy's birthday bash. It was fun to reconnect with old friends, while meeting new people too. Our annual trip to McCabe's dance club was nice, although the upstairs DJ definitely missed the mark. Oh well, it was still fun.

This weekend brought a mysterious mishap with our laundry, which led to us replacing clothing that was less than a week old. UGH. Needless to say, we had to do some additional shopping this afternoon. I have never seen such crazy customer service in one day in my life. We experienced salespeople who didn't seem to care that we wanted to check-out, let alone had entered the store. When we did finally get someone to check our items out at one women's clothing store, we couldn't get the woman to honor our discount -- despite the fact that we met the terms and conditions on the 25% off coupon. I wasn't in the mood to argue or push the issue too far, but if she had simply said "Gosh, I wish that I could help you with this coupon." instead of "Huh, it won't take it, too bad!" it would have been a different situation.

While out shopping, we decided to stop at a reputable restaurant chain and eat a nice but quick dinner. The waitress was nice enough, but didn't seem to fully understand why I was completely repulsed when we discovered a short hair on Lennie's dinner plate towards the end of the meal... and the hair was not the color of anything that would have come from us. Yuck-o. She was nice enough, but I don't think that we'll be going back any time soon... or ever for that matter.

At the end of our shopping trek, we stopped at Target to pick up a small album and a few other personal hygiene items. Just a quick trip to my favorite store. When we went to check-out, I was horrified as the clerk began commenting on the personal items that we had purchased, including very personal details about his life and our choices from the store. It's a good thing that I can be generally happy-go-lucky, but I can't imagine a worse check-out experience, especially if I embarassed easily. Yikes. Lennie had to return to Target this evening to pick up another album, and he did have a short conversation with the manager about the situation. Hopefully some additional sensitivity training will occur, so that others don't have to experience what we did.

So, my question of the weekend is this: is customer service dead? When did it become acceptable to act like it's an inconvenience to service your customers? Is it ever okay to comment on the personal items that people are purchasing? (Hint: the answer to this one is no in my book). Why do we allow people to give us shoddy service? And what can we do to find the happy medium between "royal" treatment where people are bending over backwards for our service, and the space where you feel like you have to beg to do simple tasks like check out at a store or not have people invade your personal life with inappropriate chitchat at the cash register?

In other (happier) news, we finally finished populating our wedding albums, and the professional photo album is being delivered this week. With over 450 photos, we definitely have the day covered. However, if you're out there in Internet-land reading this, and you have photos of our wedding, please send them. We can't wait to see the photos that you took too.

More Wedding Fun!

One of the best things about the time after the wedding is that we have been slowly getting photos from the guests. The latest set is now available online for you to enjoy -- thank you Aunt Anita! :-)

More Wedding Photos!

I'm very pleased to report that we have received the photos from our wedding photographers. I couldn't have asked for better photos! If you'd like to take a look, you can access them online at www.pictage.com. Just search for us when prompted. Enjoy! :-)

Meeting The Family

So, this past weekend I got to meet my hubby's family... it was fun and stressful all at once. We're already married, so it's not like either of us is going to run away screaming after the experience. However, it's a little overwhelming knowing that you're going to be meeting 30 meaningful people from your husband's life all at once. For future reference, I don't know that I recommend doing things this way, but it's nice to finally have faces to place with names, voices, and stories. The whole family was really nice, and I'm really grateful for the church friends that have been around L's life. I don't think that we could have done it without y'all!

A few travel highlights from the weekend: my first ever trip to Bob's Big Boy (I don't know why, but I always thought that this was a grocery store...), not getting hit or rear-ended on the freeway in Southern California (a major victory in itself!), not seeing any "shady" characters at our better-than-expected motel, seeing where my sweetie grew up.

One of the things that I came away with from this weekend is how different people's lives can be, and how wonderful my family is. I have really been blessed with great people and circumstances in my life, and I appreciate everyone who has touched my life. Thank you all!

1 Month!

Happy 1 Month Anniversary Mr. & Mrs. KermitFan!
Wow, where does the time go?

Wedding Photos: Part II

More photos have come in from my sister & her family in Alaska -- thanks Tara! Thought you all would want to see them in all of their glory.

If there are more photos floating out there of the wedding, I'd love to see them... please send 'em my way when you get a moment! :-)

Wedding Photos: Round I

So, we got the prints back from the disposable cameras that were on the tables at the reception -- some good photos, some not-so-good photos in the bunch. It's fun, however, to get other people's perspective on the event. View the photos here.

We also took a ton of sunset and sunburn photos while in St. Thomas. (Seriously, I was wearing SPF 50 the whole time, and I got a major sunburn... go figure!) You can view those photos here.

As Seen In the News...

... Okay, so as seen in the Brae Burn Newsletter. Nonetheless, we're famous:

Wedding Bells. Proud parents and associate members, Harry & Beth Cummings report that their daughter, Jill Cummings, married Lennie Majors on July 14th at Bellevue First Presbyterian Church. Reception was held at the Bellevue Hilton Hotel. The groom’s dinner was held at the Brae Burn Clubhouse, on Friday evening, with 60 family members and out of town guests attending. Family members from Alaska brought 35 lbs. of fresh salmon that was prepared on the clubhouse grills. The couple left on Sunday for a honeymoon in St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. When they return they will live in Bellevue.”

You heard it here first: we're married! We actually tied the knot! It was a hot July day in Bellevue, with just the right balance of clouds and sunshine... (although, with nine million layers of wedding dress, is there really a perfect balance of clouds and sunshine?) It was a beautiful way to start our new journey together as man and wife.

I'd especially like to thank all of our friends and family who were there to celebrate the beginning of a great marriage. We're very blessed to have each and every one of you in our lives -- and we're eternally grateful for the impact that you've had on both of us. We look forward to sharing this journey with you.

I'll try to post more photos in the coming days of the wedding weekend... stay tuned!

Holy Gucamole!

Less than two weeks before the wedding! Yikes! There is soooooooooooooo much to do, and seemingly so little time to do it in... Deep breath... deep breath... I can do all of this... I know it! :-)

To all of those from out of town who are reading this: can't wait to have y'all come in for the wedding -- we're looking forward to seeing all of you!

Bachelorette Party

So, I have some of the coolest bridesmaids in the land. (You may think that your friends rock, but mine would put them under the table in coolness.) We had a great time at the bachelorette party, and I learned that I actually like Goldschlager. Who knew that a shot with gold flakes could be so good. (Although, perhaps the 4 drinks before that made the Goldschlager seem tasty... was the booze setting in?) The other thing that I learned is that if you're wearing a feather boa, people pay attention to you... that one little gift from the girls resulted in a round of shots for the bridesmaids, and a free admission to Tia Lou's (at $10 a head, that boa paid for itself very quickly!). Sweet deal!

Thanks, ladies, for a great night! (Oh, and even though I'm a lightweight when it comes to drinking, I truly wasn't hungover the next day... go figure!)

Weddings And Such

So, this weekend we had the divine pleasure of witnessing the marriage of two of our friends from church. It was a great ceremony, complete with two catchy hymns (I've had one of them blissfully drifting through my brain for the last 24 hours) and a few tears of joy. It was kind of surreal, really, because I sat in the congregation thinking "wow... that's going to be me in a matter of weeks!"

I'm so excited for our friends as they start their new lives together. I can't wait to be a witness to the great things that will unfold in their lives. Congratulations you two!

Phew! We Made It!

So, this week was the annual customer event at work. This year, I think that I've been planning two weddings! We made it through the event without any major hitches (or if there were any, I don't know about them!). I'm exhausted, but glad that everyone had a great time. It was fun to have everyone in my home city of Seattle... if you're ever in town and need a hotel, try the Westin Seattle. Their staff is beyond fabulous!

Now I guess I need to concentrate on my wedding! :-) Yikes -- less than 30 days left! Stay tuned...

Friends + Family = Fun!

This weekend has been absolutely awesome! It was really busy, as you will see, but I'm very blessed with a great group of people in my life, that's for sure.

I started my long weekend with dinner at Newcastle Golf Club with my parents, Lennie, and my sister & niece from Alaska on Thursday night. We got to enjoy the summer weather, great food, and an amazing sunset. Friday (a day off from work!) included running errends and a dress fitting with the girls (my sister, niece, and mom that is...) before sitting in the sunshine at the neighborhood pool. This is the life, I tell ya!

On Saturday, my bridesmaids and mother put on a great bridal shower. I am so fortunate to have such a great group of women in my life! It was fun to get together with friends and family to laugh and share in conversation with one another. The bridal shower had a recipe theme, and it was neat to see all of the different dishes that came in -- I can't wait to get into the kitchen to make some of these delectable creations! Yum!

After the bridal shower, a few of us enjoyed an evening at Chateau Ste. Michelle as we took in the Harry Connick Jr. concert. Oh, can this man sing. He can dance too! :-)

I often joke that Harry is my "other boyfriend." His voice can melt me, that's for sure! However, I wasn't one of the 20 people who brought him mango lemonade after he commented on it during the show... I know better than to try to kiss up to him. (Although, it wouldn't hurt...)

Don't worry, friends, Lennie was at the concert too, and I kept my love for Harry in check... I promise! The wedding's still happening. Oh, and Harry, if you're reading this, we wouldn't mind if you would come and sing at our wedding. (Hey! It never hurts to ask, right?)

Today included a lazy morning and an afternoon dance class with our bridal party. It turns out, we're not half bad at this whole dancing thing! I'm glad that many of us were able to get together and gain a little confidence on the dance floor... it ws a fun time. OH, and Lennie and I have finally picked out our first dance song: "Better Together" by Jack Johnson. It's a dandy tune, I think y'all will approve. (Note: I'll be walking down the aisle to Harry Connick's version of Ave Maria, so he'll be represented at the wedding too!)

I got to spend the evening with my sister and niece for one last time, as we had a laid-back BBQ at my parents house. I'm so grateful that I have such a great family, and really enjoyed the warm Seattle weekend with these two great ladies... thanks for making the trip to Seattle!

How Many Days Until the Wedding? :-)

Learn more about our wedding plans.