Pickleball and Birthday

Julia and Benjamin had a fun weekend with pickleball on Saturday and Sunday. They shopped around Old Town and found Benjamin's wedding band. It was recovered by Allen Aragon, a Navajo artist, and is presumed to be Navajo or Pueblo. There are three bears on it; Allen described the ring as "mama bear, papa bear, and baby bear."  They have to get it resized, but for now, Benjamin is wearing it with his dog tags. They ate and worked at Black Bird Coffee House and Flying Star Cafe. 

On the home front, we celebrated Lisa's birthday at the Capital Grille with the Sarrges and Mom. Delicious and always a good time with family. 

July 4 Weekend Bachelor-Bachelorette Party

The Saunders hosted Julia and Benjamin's bachelor-bachelorette weekend in Traverse City -- 30 of them in total!! The best part is the mugshot pictures, which will be printed and saved to keep track of all the friends and their names. :) They had a wonderful time tie-dying shirts, playing games, visiting two wineries, and more. It was a huge success, thanks to lots of planning and execution with Julia and her sister Emma, her childhood friend Jessie, and, of course, Carrie. Plus, all of Julia's friends are super sweet and helpful. They made the boys do cleanup after dinner one night. LOL. Julia will be staying in Traverse City as people leave at various times and on different days until Wednesday. 

Surprise Proposal and Marvelous Marriage

Our hearts are overflowing with happiness for Julia and Benjamin. On January 8, 2026, they got engaged and married at the Georgetown Waterfront in DC. It was the most special day, filled with such touching and heartwarming moments. There were all kinds of surprises for Julia, along with a lot of effort and coordination from Benjamin to make it extra special and exactly what this wonderful couple deserved. Close friends and family surprised Julia with an "engagement" party, where they shared that they had gotten married as well. Thank you to all of our friends and family who have supported them for the past eight years. They are currently honeymooning in Park City, UT, skiing with the Hines, then heading to Denver for more skiing and quality time with friends and family.

Shelter Island Wedding

We had a delightful weekend on Shelter Island for Nick and Caroline's wedding, October 5. We met new friends, ate good food, and spent time together. I wish I had gotten videos from the dance floor--so much fun! 

Wedding and Celebrating Ethan

Julia drove a few of her friends from St. Paul, MN, to Columbus, OH, for a wedding reception (guests weren't invited to the Friday night ceremony). It was a very long drive in comparison to the very little time spent celebrating (and too busy or maybe too tired to take pictures). 

We joined the Sarrges to celebrate Ethan's graduation from UC Boulder! It was so much fun. Way to go, Ethan! We were able to see Boulder, the campus, Ethan's apartment, Elizabeth's apartment, Denver, and the Flatirons. It was awesome. 

Mother's Day was a low-key recuperation from the trip.