A Bittersweet Goodbye to Floral Ornament

A little over five years ago, Floral Ornament became a part of our lives. During these five years, it has been our baby; demanding time and attention, but offering satisfaction and joy. Recently I have felt a call to move on. We decided to list the shop for sale last winter. Thankfully, God sent us a wonderful buyer named Lisa. She is taking on the challenge of a second career and hopefully we have set her up for success. Friday was one of our last days at the shop, so we took a few shots and videos to remember "our baby".



Me and Lisa, the new owner.

Hazel Ang's black tie wedding at the Fairmont

I thought Francis looked awesome in a tux! But multiple hotel guests mistook him for a valet attendant at the end of the evening. Haha

Greg and Rachel's Wedding

I can't believe my little cousin got married. Here he is with his new bride. Welcome to the Turner family, Rachel!

The weekend started with some preparations. My mom, my aunt, and I went for mani/pedis. If you know my mom at all, you will understand how shocking it was to see her in a nail salon. It's never too late for your first manicure!

Very pretty, girls!

The whole family met out in Altoona for the rehearsal dinner. My dad, my brother, and I messing around at the restaurant.

The wedding went smoothly and we all posed for the obligatory rounds of photos afterward.

Cousins!

I shared a hotel room with my Aunt Natalie. It's only now that I am an adult that I can clearly see my aunt is one of the kindest, sweetest, gentlest, most down-to-earth people I know. I love her very much.

My other cousin, Trevor, making his best man's speech.

My "niece" Sophie is gorgeous! My brother and I had the opportunity to swim with her in the hotel pool. She even left the safety of her daddy's arms and struck out on her own a few times. We had swimming races across the pool with her. She always won. I also had the chance to hold Noah for a while. Man, he's heavy!

My brother claimed he didn't want to participate in the traditional garter toss. But I don't know...he seems to be reaching pretty hard for that garter. ;)

All the young people in the family went out back behind the hotel to a picnic table and had a beer after the reception. It was really cool to be able to hang out with the cousins on Greg and Trevor's paternal side. We haven't seen them since we were kids.

Sweet home Pennsylvania

Good times spent with family and friends during my week home in early August. Oh how I miss Pennsylvania summers! The deafening roar of crickets, the invisible pressure of humidity, and the cool relief of night. It has always been my favorite season.

Eric took me on my first motorcycle ride! He behaved himself and didn't try to scare me. The familiar fields and housing developments whizzed by. I have to admit, it was a rush! We hiked Top Rocks. It was 96 degrees and humid. By the time we reached the top rock, we were both covered in sweat.

I visited Parker.

And Lisa and Kieran.

Eric carried my purse for me. So manly!

Date day at the guide dog training facility in San Rafael

Francis getting his fill of puppies since I won't let him have a dog yet.

Birthday Party at Danielle's House

Danielle sweetly offered to host a birthday dinner for me at her place. The food was awesome, and we all stayed up chatting until midnight.



Ahh! Strawberry shortcake. My summer birthday always used to include strawberry shortcake, so the cake Danielle made brought back memories.


Jen gave me an amazing gift basket with gardening supplies inside!

My 30th Birthday

While I am sad to leave my twenties, the march of time is inevitable. So I have decided I might as well embrace it and look forward to my thirties with excitement! Hence the photo below. It represents me welcoming a fresh new decade. I look forward to God molding my heart in the next ten years. I look forward to learning more about God and trusting Him more. I look forward (with terrified anticipation) to becoming a mommy. I look forward to deepening the bond of my marriage. And I look forward to supporting Francis as he begins a cool new career.


I insisted that my 30th birthday be epic, if not necessarily smart, so I decided I wanted to climb Half Dome to prove my youth and vitality at this important life marker.

We did not end up hiking Half Dome.

Upon the wise counsel of our landlords, who are Yosemite experts, we opted to climb Upper Yosemite Falls instead. It turned out to be just as epic!

At the trailhead...grrr!

Beautiful view of Half Dome behind me.

It was, as a website had warned us, the Mother Of All Stairmaster Workouts. 3.4 miles straight up. Let it be known, Francis and I are woefully out of shape. But we made it! The payoff was worth it. We were able to watch gallons and gallons of water (melted snow from the High Sierras) rush over the edge of the granite cliff toward the river that winds through the valley below.



Here's Francis giving me a guilt trip so I won't get too close to the edge. He didn't want to lose the old lady over Yosemite Falls.


I'm not sure what that person was doing to the right of us. Something stupid probably.

The Falls and Half Dome in the same shot.




Oops, it's sideways. But you get the idea. It's big. Real big.

We enjoyed tasty alcoholic beverages and well-earned dinners at the Yosemite Lodge that evening. We'd been discussing having a cold beer the whole way down the mountain.


All in all, an epic way to welcome my thirties, testing the limits of my strength and marveling at God's creation. And as for Half Dome...there's always my 31st birthday...