~11/28/2010~

Josh got started on the Christmas lights today! Here's phase one. I know the lighting is HORRID, but come on... I have a point and shoot camera, and it's dark outside! :-) Tomorrow he'll put the clear icicle lights tomorrow. It's so funny, because he wanted to put up colored icicle lights SO BAD! And, thank you Jesus, I won that battle! So hopefully tomorrow's picture will be another grainy photo, but this time as the completed project! Tonight he went and played basketball with Derek and some guys at White River High School, and Michelle and Owen came over and had dinner while we watched The Chipmunk Adventure. Michelle and I LOVED this movie when we were little, and I pulled it up for Owen on youtube a while back, and Michelle found it on Amazon! And Owen LOVES it! It's so fun to watch him enjoying the silly things we did when we were kids!

~11/27/2010~

So this morning I thought I would light a fire. And it worked! I know that sounds cheesy, but I've never lived in a home with a wood burning fireplace as an adult. They've always been gas fireplaces. Josh had bought a couple "presto logs" before Thanksgiving and so I took one and built myself a fire to read to. This picture shows it in it's very beginning stages. I took this picture and sent it to Josh so he could be proud of his wife! Haha! I work at 345p on Saturdays, and so at about 315p I realized that not only was the fire still going, but that it didn't appear to be close to dying. So, as cool as I am, I ran to the kitchen, filled a pitcher with water, and threw it on the fire! It went out, and I may have to clean out the fireplace today.... classic.

~11/26/2010~

Black Friday! Yea, I didn't truly partake. However, once I got up, I did run to the mall long enough to get a KILLER deal on the dress I wanted for our staff Christmas Party. It's so cute, and it was 40% off! I love it, and here it is!

~11/25/2010~

Happy Thanksgiving! Josh got up this morning and started up the BBQ for his ( I call it! ) world famous turkey! It is hands down the best turkey I've ever had! So here he is, firing up his BBQ! We had my Mom, The Patseys, Josh's parents, Angie, DJ & Robyn, Katie, Amber & Uncle Bill over for dinner, and it felt so good to have all of us seated around the table together just enjoying each other's company. Mrs Amber Miskell, and sweet Rylee even stopped by for an hour or so! I think Thanksgiving was a success!

~11/24/2010~

No photo today. I spent the day in the lobby of our church decorating with Sarah, Amber & Katie. It's funny, I've been attending Foursquare for years and years, and never thought about who did the decorating, and how long it actually took. 6 hours, and we got a tree up, put lights on it (mind you it's a 15 foot tree) and got the garland up on the banisters wrapped in lights, and 3 wreaths up. It's some hard work! We had a great time though, pumping Christmas music through the lobby, and having yummy snacks and decorating with some of the greatest women I know!

~11/23/2010~

Today was such a great lazy day! I spent the day slowly getting things ready for Thanksgiving, and making sure that a long work day Wednesday wouldn't be a stresser. And call me silly, but I truly believe I came across one of the modern world's great inventions at Safeway today! "plastic" sliverware!!!! I kept thinking about all the dishes I would have to do after dinner Thursday, and knowing that I had these made me think that it was like 40 pieces that can just be TOSSED and not WASHED!

~11/22/2010~

Look at these cute boys and their HUGE snowman! They had a blast outside! Mom and Michelle came over to get Owen this evening, and the weather turned for the SCARY! It was blizzard like outside, and after picking Owen up, they spent 2 hours on the road trying to get home in their usual 20 minute commute. We got inches and inches of snow, and I got a text from work telling me to enjoy a snow day on Tuesday!

~11/21/2010~

After church today Josh and I headed down to Orting to hang out with Mom and the Patseys. While eating dinner, Owen asked us "After nigh-night do you have to go to work?" Josh and I both said no, and he jumped and said "I'm gonna have a sleep over at your house!" Haha! So, he packed his bags, and got in the car and headed home with us. It had been snowing throughout the day, and when we got home we saw that we had already gotten a couple inches! Owen wanted so bad to play outside, but it was already dark. So instead, he ran through the house with my camera taking pictures of everything! Here are a couple that he caught that Josh and I were impressed with!

~11/20/2010~

Third time's a charm! I spent the morning going through Josh's abundance of old clothes while Direct TV set up shop here at the house. We've had Direct TV in the past, and loved it! After 2 failed installs, a man came today without a complaining bone in his body, and got us all set up! I wasn't about to chase him around with my camera, and organized drawers and shelves of Josh's clothing aren't particularly exciting for ya'll (though I DID take a picture for Josh to text to him!) I won't be posting today. Though I wish I HAD taken a picture of church tonight. We had our first live album recording during service, and it was like being at a concert! The auditorium was packed and everybody was singing along! I may just have to steal a picture from somebody who got one and post it later!

~11/19/2010~

Here's to a night out with Lindsey! I love this girl, and I HATE the fact that she lives an hour away. But I love that we manage to get together! Tonight started with dinner at BJ's... HEAVEN! Happy hour means personal pizza, side salad and PAZOOKI! Another horrid "no picture" day.... i'm starting to really suck at this!

~11/18/2010~

Today involved a LONG OVERDUE lunch with Miss Mandy Schaapveld. I love love love this girl, and we just don't get to spend enough time together. She is now planning her wedding for 9.9.2011, and it's so fun to watch her go through the process! I can't believe I didn't take a picture of her gorgeous face!

~11/17/2010~

Oh dang. God bless my husband and my nephew. Owen spent the evening with us, and Josh and I took him to the store to get some Christmas decorations. We then made pizza, turned on some Christmas music, and the boys went to town! I know it's super early, but I couldn't resist! They had a blast!

~11/16/2010~

Today I got to spend some time with Mr Michael James Stroud. Ray dropped him off with me at work and we spent about 2 hrs hanging out. This kid is just hysterical! He played the Wii like an old pro, and I made some name cards for Thanksgiving! I think they turned out pretty cute if I do say so myself!

~11/15/2010~

Monday Date Day! Josh and I took the day and went up north to Bellevue to do some window shopping and basically spend the day together. No picture. But a great day nonetheless. We spent the whole day going through different shops, and deciding on Christmas decor. I'm so excited to start that process! I want to wait until the night before Thanksgiving so that the house is super festive for the day, but we'll see! Josh is down to decorate yesterday if he was given the chance!

~11/14/2010~

Today Josh had a catering job after his normal shift at Clancy's, and I had a Newcomer's Dessert after our Sunday morning services, which means neither of us would be home until after 4p. Direct TV was to come in and install some time Sunday afternoon, so my mom in all her mommy glory, grabbed a book and spent the afternoon at our house waiting. Well, by the time I got home at 4p, Direct TV still had not come by, but my Auntie, Uncle Paul, and Uncle Bill all had! So, UB and I jumped in his truck, ran to Safeway and picked up everything for a taco bar. What a fun and unexpected Sunday evening! Josh got home at a decent time and got to visit as well! Dinner was started before Josh got home, so I took this picture right quick to send to him... to entice him to get his rear home! Haha!

~11/13/2010~

I have an addiction. It's called Peppermint Candy Ice Cream... and it's HEAVEN! So, I crawled into bed, and decided that my night wouldn't be complete without a bowl of ice cream. As you can see I chose to give myself a relatively small amount, to save the ice cream for as long as possible! And it's fabulous, because I don't have to share the ice cream with Josh... he CAN'T STAND peppermint! :-)

~11/12/2010~

I'm so bad at this! I even told Anne that I was going to get a picture of us!!! Well, shoot! Today after work, I ran out to Tacoma to visit my chiropractor, and man was I out of alignment! I had seen him last Monday, and I was worse than before! I will be back again next Monday for sure! After the chiro appointment, I ran out to Auburn and met the lovely Anne Finley for dinner at Red Robin. We haven't had a chance to sit down and visit in a long time, and it was so great to catch up with her! I worked with her at Puyallup Pediatric Dentistry. She is one of the most genuine people I know, and I love her. After dinner, she and I headed over to the movie theatre to watch Due Date. And it's hysterical! Allen from The Hangover is in it, and just as funny in Due Date. Actually, there were several characters from The Hangover in this movie! Defnintely entertaining! I look forward to my next visit with Anne for sure!

~11/11/2010~

Ah yes... Thursday. Work, Nap, Team Camp. I wish I had a picture for my big event for the day, but it would have probably resulted in total tragedy. When leaving Team Camp all I could think about was getting home and getting my rear to bed. It's dark and rainy... and I think I'm Mario Andretti. I pull out onto 9th, and ALMOST RUN OVER 2 people from church!! It was so bad, they had to JUMP to get out of my way. Attractive.

~11/10/2010~

No picture today! We spend the evening with Ross & Jackie Plate. They're a couple from church that we've enjoyed visiting with at church, and thought it'd be fun to spend a whole evening with them! After yummy dinner (if I, the cook, do say so myself!), we spent FOUR HOURS visiting and laughing, and just enjoying each other! Sad though, they move to Ft Bragg, North Carolina at the end of the month! I wish I had a video of our night, time lapse style... we laughed our head's off!

~11/9/2010~

I'm sorry, but how cute is he? All packed up and ready to head home after our final small group meeting for a while! We're taking the rest of the year off study wise, but since we all like each other, we're getting together right after Thanksgiving and before Christmas for an ornament exchange.

~11/8/2010~

Wow. Today was definitely interesting. We got up and headed straight out to the Chiropractor for a MUCH NEEDED appointment. I hadn't been adjusted for over a year, and knew it wasn't going to be pretty. Between that and starting raw prenatal vitamins, having coffee yet nothing to eat, and riding in the car with my sinuses bugging me, we had a rough afternoon, and ended up at my mom's work so i could rest, and eat. Mom sent us home with several bottles of Evian and San Pelligrino, and as you can see by the picture, Josh thought he was pretty cool! Haha!

~11/7/2010~

Oh Egg Nog... how I love thee. There is something in Egg Nog that makes me sneeze with every swallow... but dear Lord is it good!!!!

~11/6/2010~

Happy Happy Birthday Owen! Today is Owen's 4th birthday! Owen has his birthday party today at Super Jump in Sumner. Everybody had a blast! When it came time to open presents, Owen sat down, and handed each card to Michelle, for her to read to him before he busted the present open. He got so many fun things from his little friends, and we got him a puppy pillow pet. I don't know if you know about those, but they're kind of ridiculous, yet all the kids love them. So Owen picks up the bag from us, and takes the card off and gives it to Michelle. In the process, he got a peak into the bag, looked up at me with HUGE eyes, and mouthed with excitement "It's a pillow pet!!" I almost cried, it was so adorable! Then he opened it up, and snuggled it right away! We scored and got the "favorite" gift of the day! I honestly don't know how I'm going to function if we have our own children.... Watching Owen makes me want to cry, and he's not even mine! I'm going to be a tearful mess of love when we have them!

~11/5/2010~

He must be on his way to a little town called... ASPEN! Haha! This guy was in front of me all the way up town, and all I could think about was Lloyd Christmas from Dumb and Dumber. He was completely oblivious to his surroundings as well. Quite intense seeing as how he's riding something that doesn't even have doors!

~11/4/2010~

Christmas shopping! Yay! Sarah, Jessica, Amber and I hit up the stores this afternoon for Christmas decorations for the church. We're going with Silver, White, and Teal this year, it's going to be gorgeous! And of course, CHRISTMAS MUSIC! I'm sure there are plenty of you out there that believe Christmas music is completely and totally inappropriate before Thanksgiving, but I beg to differ! I didn't take a picture today, but I should have... I had plenty of opportunity, we went to FOUR different stores checking out decor!

~11/3/2010~

Another beautiful fall day! How do we not LOVE living here during this time of year? Here's Mt Rainier from Canyon Road. Sitting at a light, completely mesmerized!

~11/2/2010~

Gorgeous fall day here in Washington! 74 degrees and lovely! Here's a nice shot on my way home from visiting Josh at Clancy's coffee!

~11/1/2010~

Wow, what a day! I got up, and decided to get a good work out in before the day got too far ahead of me. Started out in the living room, working legs and core, trying to stay out of Josh's eye sight! Even though he'd NEVER tease me, it's just awkward working out in front of him! After he left for a meeting, I went into the family room to get on the treadmill, but it was super warm in there, so i opened the garage door and the sliding glass door to cool it off while I put my DVD in to run to (Just Friends, I love love love the movie and with Halloween over, it's officially appropriate to watch Christmas movies in my book!) Once I got the DVD going, I started walking back to the treadmill and saw something odd.... upon closer observation, I saw that it was an awfully calm field mouse. He just sat there, checking things out. I panicked! No mice in my house! I called Josh in tears, and shaking like a leaf. I ran outside and grabbed the neighbor's cat and locked him in the family room with the still calm mouse. Buddy the cat looked at the mouse, meowed, and LAID DOWN!!! Are you kidding? What good are you cat???? I grabbed Buddy and put him back on our front porch where he promptly fell back to sleep. (He is ALWAYS sleeping on the chairs on our front porch!) I went back into the family room and put a bowl over the mouse, who still hadn't appeared even the slightest bit bothered that I had been around. When Josh came home he took a paper plate, and slid it under the bowl so he could safely move the mouse. I let him know how lethargic the mouse actually was, so he took the bowl off and just walked him outside. After talking with a friend who has had mice in his house before, he is sure that the poor guy had already eaten poison, and was as calm as he was because he was dying. And after thorough investigation of the house, we found there to be absolutely no sign of mice in our home, thank God! It's looking like he meandered into the house when I opened the whole thing up to cool it off! Teach me to do that again! Anyway, here's Josh all proud of getting the mouse safely outside!