It's that time of year

Here is our Christmas tree! My sister, Lisa, showed me this great idea many years ago. I cut up grapefruit, oranges, and limes and then dried them in the oven (if you have a food dehydrator it works much better). Then you string them together and hang them as garland. I love how the white lights shine through the citrus and make them glow different colors.

Last weekend Jim and Debby came to visit. We had a lot of fun going out to eat, going to the movies, playing golf, talking, and of course....working (at least the boys did)!

This is what Brandon and Jim did Friday night while Debby and I sat on the couch talking.

...Like father like son...

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Connecticut

I just got back from a 2 week vacation in Hartford, Connecticut! I went to visit my sister Janae and help her get ready for the arrival of her little Baby Owen. Brandon was in Alaska for those two weeks working on a new client. It was the perfect time to go!

Most of the time I got to hang out with this super hero. Most of you know him as Wyatt and I think he is pretty cute (I mean cool!).

This is the Staked Coin Quilt I made for baby Owen. Wyatt still uses the one I made him when he was born! Hopefully Owen will like this one just as much.Janae was definitely looking like she was ready to have this baby. Her last ultrasound said the baby was 8lbs 7oz. They were pretty close.I was also there for Wyatt's first day of Pre-school. Janae has more pictures on her blog.I think he is so funny! I love his cross eyes!

We went to many museums while I was there. This is the New England Air Museum.

We played a lot of Rock Band at night!

Baby Owen finally made is debut Friday Nov. 13 at 11:05am. He was 8lbs 9oz and 21.5 inches long. He is very cute and I am so happy he arrived before I had to go back to Seattle. Congrats to Rick, Janae, and Wyatt and Welcome Owen!

Since we've been back, I have been a little sick with off and on fevers, headaches, and congestion since. I blame it on the guy I was sitting next to on the plane (we call him 'the cougher'). Other news is that I got a new calling in my ward. They released me from Cub Scouts and put me in as Mia Maid advisor. I am so excited...and a little nervous. So many things have changed since I was in Young Womens (man... I'm getting old)! Other exciting news is that we are getting the internet on Thursday. It has been four months since we moved into this apartment and we have been 'borrowing' the internet from the coffee shop across the street. It's getting too cold to sit out on the balcony and blog! Our next post will be from the comfort of my warm apartment! Hooray!

One Year Older

...and wiser too!! Brandon turned 27! To celebrate we went to Chipotle for dinner and bowling with some friends. Happy Birthday Brandon! Thanks for all you do for us!
This is Brandon's Halloween costume. I made it the night before his work Halloween party. Can you guess what he is? He is a 10-key. (Pretty funny accountant costume, huh?...well it's the best I could come up with at 10:30 the night before)

OH...and thanks to those who voted for their favorite pumpkin carving! The winner was the bat. I carved the bat and Brandon did the spider. Looks like Brandon is doing dishes for a week. Thanks everybody!

Pumpkin Pickin'

Last Saturday I got called off work so Brandon took me to Fall City Farms to go pumpkin picking. I don't think I have ever been real pumpkin picking before. I can only remember getting pumpkins from Albertsons or Smiths growing up. So this was a totally new experience for me.

It was a really cool farm and it was pretty busy with lots of little families getting pumpkins. It was fun to watch everyone decide on which pumpkin was "the one" and even more fun to watch them load up their wheel barrows and make the long trek back to the barn in the mud (it has been very rainy over here!)Some of the guys were demonstrating how to make apple cider. There was also a live country band (banjo and all) that we got to sit and listen too. While we listened we drank hot apple cider and munched on homemade doughnuts. I had a lot of fun!

Here is my pumpkin

And here is Brandon's pumpkin

We had a lot of fun picking them....

...and even more fun carving them.

Now we need your help. We thought it might be fun to have a friendly carving competition. Best pumpkin carving wins. (I don't think we ever settled on a prize...but I was thinking loser gets dish duty for a week!) So vote for your favorite and then we will let you know who did which one: bat or spider.

Puyallup Fair 2009

We went to the Puyallup Fair again this year with Brandon's parents. This time Lindsey and Brody joined us all the way from Texas. It was a lot of fun to have everyone here for a weekend.

Here we are eating elephant ears. Two very handsome boys...Brandon and Brody

Brody eyeing Granny's corn dog...

Listening to live infomercials

Check out all the crazy food people eat at the fair. I like the one that says, "Buffalo Chicken, Egg Rolls, and Pizza...ALL ON A STICK!" Can you say gross! But the one that takes the cake and my all time favorite is the Totally Fried stand where they serve deep fried twinkies, chocolate covered bacon, crispy creme chicken sandwiches, and deep fried cookie dough. Delicacies you can only find at a good country fair!

Until next year Puyallup!

ALASKA!!!

At the end of August Brandon and I went on a cruise to Alaska with my Mom, Dad, Aunt Nancy, and Uncle John. It was so much fun and Alaska is beautiful! I have hundreds of pictures from the trip. Here is just a sampler to help show all the beautiful sites.

The cruise began in Seattle so my parents came up the night before to see our new place and hangout out. (My Mom is very good at Mario Kart!) Saturday morning we all boarded the Golden Princess and set sail for Alaska. Here are some pictures from the bon voyage party on deck. Notice my Dad still working on the phone while he had reception. :) As you can see the weather was perfect and stayed that way the entire week. We were so lucky to have no rain! (well...maybe just a few sprinkles)

Sunday was a day at sea which gave my Dad plenty of time at the slot machines! ;) And everyone really got into dancing to YMCA by the pool.Monday we made it to Juneau, the captial of Alaska. It is a goregous town squished up next to towering mountains. There are no roads in or out of Juneau. You can only get in my boat or air. We took a tram ride up about 1800ft to the top of Mount Roberts. There we got a good view of Juneau.We went hiking around the top of Mount Roberts but only came across these friendly animals in the gift shops!Next we loaded onto a big blue bus and headed to Mendenhall Glacier. Brandon and I took a hike up to the top of a waterfall by the glacier.

Tuesday we were in Skagway. This was as far north as we would go. Skagway is a very small town that is famous for the White Pass/Yukon Route railroad. This was used during the 1848 gold rush. We took a ride on the train up into Canada. The train tracks lied right up against the steep mountain walls and crossed what looked like richety old bridges. Again, it was a gorgeous day and we got many great views of the city.

The next day we went up a narrow fjord cut by glaciers. We woke up early and stood at the bough of the ship in the freezing cold. The scenery was fantastic and well worth enduring the cold. At the very top of the fjord we came within a mile of Sawyer Glacier. We stood and watched as huge icebergs fell off the glacial wall and crashed into the ocean. It sounded like thunder when the ice hit the water. I have never seen anything like it.

Thursday we went to Ketchican. We woke up extra early and met a guide who would take us kayaking. I don't have any pictures from this trip (we took Brandon's camera) on my computer right now. Brandon will have to post some later. This was by far my FAVORITE part of the cruise. After we took a short boat ride to get to our kayaking spot we got in the water. The water was surprising warm and again the weather clear. Soon after we started we were about 100 yards away from about a dozen killer whales. I even saw one jump! The salmon were running and the water was full of jumping salmon. We saw bald eagles and star fish as well. I loved it!!!

Late Friday we arrived in Victoria, British Columbia. Even though it was dark we made our way to the Butchart Gardens. The gardens are beautiful with all the colored lights.

Saturday we made it back to Seattle and back to reality. We had an AWESOME time. Thanks Mom, Dad, Nancy, and John for being great company. Thanks again Dad for planning everything! It was unforgettable!