Spring Time! :)

Spring this year has been full of fun... My mom and sister came down unexpectedly to see us in January (okay, so not really spring yet), my parents visited us in February (super fun and mom was sooo wonderful helping me out in my classroom!!), and Kelli, Ethan, Alyssa, Lucy, and Maddie came down for a visit in March! Sad to say that I am not great about remembering to take pictures... so the photos start with Kelli and Ethan's visit over spring break.... Thanks to everyone for making our last few months so much fun!
Here's Lucy and Kelli eating out back at our place:
Here's Lu and Maddie posing for a picture (taken by Curt as you can see) :)

Cute little Madeline!

We also went down to San Diego with Kelli and Ethan while they were all here and checked out the beach, spent time with Uncle Todd, Aunt Jean, and cousins Kyle and Jackson (super fun!), and just soaked up the glorious weather... Lucy didn't so much like the beach however, no sand-n-surf between her toes thank you very much! :) (We think she might have liked it more but was a little tired... as you can see Lucy was quite content just to chill in mom's arms. It looks comfy to me!) -->

Madeline on the other hand LOVED the beach and all the sand! She even let Uncle Curt dig a big hole and stick her in it, so just her arms poked out -- as long as she could still use her shovel and dig away, she was happy! This is my FAVORITE picture by far!!! (please, can it get any cuter?)

Me hanging with Maddie digging away....

More sandy fun....

Curt and I:

We also hit up the zoo for a full day of fun in the sun -- my favorite was the big cats! Check out the teeth on this thing!! (reminds me of our cat when she eyes me hungrily... and if she was this big, she would eat me without question, trust me)

Cougars were cool too... but imagine coming across one of these in the wild. YIPE!

Family pose by the flamingos -- their beautiful salmon and pink colors always make for a hit!

Me and LuLu :) Love you sister!!!

This weekend (April 25th) Curt and I hit up the AV Poppy Reserve... and it was out of this world breathtaking!!! Sorry to say that this was the first time we had even checked this place out since we've lived here (4 years) -- and with all the rain we've had this spring, we've never seen anything quite like it! It was like God had reached down and painted the fields this vibrant orange in sweeping stripes and patches....

me and curt chilling in the poppies :)

This gives you a sampling of the color splashes -- but the pictures hardly do the views justice!!! We actually do live in an area with a great deal of beauty... we sometimes forget this when the desert is so hot in the summer months. This was a good reminder :)

Hi! :)

Mountain views and bands of orange... love it!

There were all these gorgeous purple and yellow flowers too:

Loved this picture... the path of yellow through the purple leading to the orange....

Curt decided to take one little purple fellow home. That's legal, right?

Here's the victim... now planted in our backyard :)

Fresh cut roses from our bushes sure give our dining table a splash of color!! :)

Some fresh lilacs we bought from a local farmer out of the bed of her truck out at the poppy fields... our whole house smells AMAZING! :)

A shot of part of our backyard...

We did hanging baskets yesterday -- I planted this one :)

Curt's gardens... here are chives, chard, and lettuce:

Potatoes, lettuce, and corn:

Hope everyone else is having a beautiful and relaxing spring! Can't wait to see everyone this summer!!! :)

Christmas 2009

Better late than never getting these 2009 Christmas pictures posted to our blog! :) It seems that heading back into school and being sick for the last four weeks tends to put a damper on getting the ol' blog updated.... But never mind all that; here's what happened over the break!
Curt and I took off for Bend, OR the day after school got out for Christmas break... and my sissy flew into Bend the next day! We were soooo excited to see her and Mark (he joined us closer to Christmas). Here's me, dad, and Jen at the airport in Bend:
Me and sissy by the tree at my parent's house:

My good friend Katie Ford was still in Bend when we arrived, so she came over and hung out a couple times before heading home to family in Walla Walla (soooo good to see her! Esp. since she's leaving for China in just another week... we'll miss you Ford!)

Jen and I made a ton of mom's sugar cookies... they were soooooooooooooooooooo good. As you can see, I could barely wait to stuff them in my mouth:

Hi mama! Here we are getting prepped to do some more serious baking -- this Christmas I learned how to make my mom's delicious buns and tea-ring! yummmmmy.

Can you see that I am listening very intently to instructions.... just the right temp. water for the yeast, just the right amount of sugar... salt... (I can do this, I can do this!)

It's looking like a success people! Here are the buns and rings rising:

Ahhh, the almost finished product! They turned out quite lovely :)

After frosting and decorating them with the classic jelly/dyed cherries - lol - I couldn't hardly wait to eat them Christmas morning:

But I did.

Hanging with the fam Christmas Eve... Curt, Chris, and Charles:

Note to self: Do not leave plate full of fudge and snack foods on counter while at church with dogs in the house. They will in fact eat them. oops.

Justin and Trevor (ooooohhhh, how cute):

Jenny and Mark - reunited at last! hehe

The hubby and I:

Even cat joined in the festivities... and who knew she was a Guinness fan?!

Chris and Karen... and surprise! Charles. hehe.

Cat's favorite perch (out of reach from the dogs) - and hanging with Tyler:

The weather was so cozy the whole time we were there; everything was literally frosted white:

Hanging out Christmas Morning:

The 3 amigos (aka: partners in crime):

The whole family together at last! :)

We left a few days after Christmas and made our way up to Bellingham to spend New Years with Curt's family! We had so much fun being with everyone, and of course seeing how big the twins had gotten since this last summer! They are as adorable as ever!!! Here's a cute shot of Lucy at Kelli and Ethan's house:

Having our own Christmas at Brian and Lisa's -- we exchange stockings and gave the girls a little something. It was so fun! Here's Lucy and Maddie climbing on Ethan:

Here's the girls at home... hanging out and showing us their new found agility walking with a little help:

My sissy came up to Bellingham for a day to see her good friend Amy (and me, right sis???) - I met them for Pizza downtown - it was super fun. :)

For New Years we had dinner reservations out at "The Fork" - this great restaurant on Lake Whatcom -- we were a little disappointed that it was a fixed menu just for that night - but the food tasted delicious, and Curt was all too happy to indulge in the 5 course meal! Here's Grandma Day, Lisa, and Brian:

The whole gang:

The first course I believe was some type of one-bite deal with crab... I at least tasted the sauce, and Curt said it was amazing. The presentation of all the courses was really fun.

Course #2: Duck liver (Foie gras), with toasted bread, a light citrus salad, and fresh grapefruit sorbet to cleanse the palate ... Mmmmmm .....

Course #3: The clam chowder in a fresh bread bowl with spinach leaves -- I had this as my meal, and it was lip-smackin' good!!

Ahhhhh, some chilly, fresh, lime sorbet to cleanse the palate again (to die for!):

Course #4: The main event! A medium-rare steak with an augratin potato stack (so cheesy, and soooo good), with fresh chives and sauteed greens. It was mouth wateringly fantastic!

Course #5: Who can forget dessert! Some kind of brittle with peanut butter, white chocolate, real whipped cream and strawberries with chocolate-mouse-goodness. It was a lick your plate type of finish to the evening's courses. :) Thank you Brian and Lisa, and thank you "The Fork!"

Curt's Grandpa Day had to go into a nursing home before Christmas, which has been really hard for the family -- but we had many nice visits while we were there... one of which was to celebrate his birthday! It was a packed room, and so fun to see everyone and have that time together. Here's Curt and I hanging out with the babies:

I had to include this one last picture of Molly and Lily chillin in bed together. Our kitty HATES other cats, and most every dog for that matter... But, LOVES Molly! Sooo cute.

Well, all for now! Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas themselves... and is having a great start to the new year! Love to all family and friends! Will update the blog again soon!