Christopher & Heather

Go Me!

2011-12-12T10:04:00.000-08:00

I have always waited until dinner time to figure out what is for dinner. It was always stressful for me, but I did not think about planning ahead. A week ago I started planning our dinners a few days in advance. I have wanted to try it for a while now, but I just have not gotten around to actually doing it. What really made me finally take the plunge was to get start eating healthier. I also want the practice so by the time our kids are big enough to eat with us, we will have many months worth of meal ideas.

We go to the grocery store on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday (or Sunday) and plan the dinners the night before for the next couple of nights until the next grocery trip. I am definitely eating more vegetables than I was before (which is great since I tend to avoid the vegetables). And the nice thing about going to the grocery store a few times a week is that the produce is fresher and that I do not have so many groceries in one trip. I am definitely the one to throw things in the cart that are not on my list. It is easier for me to avoid doing just that when my list is short (especially since I avoid going up and down every aisle).

I have been putting down everything we have for dinner in an Excel calendar for future reference. I am so proud of myself for how organized I have been thus far (and the whole planning in advance and eating healthier). One step at a time to making my life more organized.

I am addicted to Pinterest. When I first started, I did not understand all of the hype. After spending some time on it, I cannot stay away! There are so many great ideas in many categories. Chris even likes looking at all of the pins with me.

I am thirty-three weeks along today. It is crazy how fast my pregnancy is going. Less than two months and we will get to meet our first baby. Unbelievable. Overall I have had a great pregnancy. I expect to have as equally great of a labor, due to my amazing genes. Last Friday, Chris and I slipped on ice walking back to our flat. I had a hard landing on my side, mainly my right elbow. My muscles are still sore from it. What is comical is that my mom had a fall onto her right elbow when she was seven months along with me, though it fractured.

Thankful

2011-11-11T16:10:00.000-08:00

I woke up this morning to a strange smell. A few minutes later I heard sirens stop in front of the flats. Fire trucks had come to the flats before without it being anything, but I got a little scared because of the smell. I opened up the blinds and saw the fire trucks right below and a crowd of people across the street. What really scared me was seeing smoke coming from a flat near mine. I quickly got dressed and got out of there as fast as I could. When I got to the stairs, a fireman was coming from above and asked if everyone was out of the apartment. I said yes and continued downstairs, passing by more firemen coming up with hoses. I went across the street and saw that it was the flat diagonally above ours. Unfortunately the fire was in the bedroom, which was the room closest to our bedroom. I called Chris and he picked me up at took me to work (I was in flip flops and a bit cold). I am so thankful that I was able to wake up and that the fire was contained really well. My breathing hasn't been great since then, but the baby should be fine. Our next appointment is Monday.

A month ago my hard drive failed on my laptop. I'm so glad that it happened a week before my warranty ended. I haven't received the replacement hard drive yet, which was shipped a couple of weeks ago. It's really hard to receive packages at the flat as the shipping companies can't get into the building. So, I'm never notified if a delivery has even been attempted. I emailed the customer service guy asking the company used and the tracking number, but he was no help. So it's probably in some depot and will be sent back sometime. I've been using Chris' laptop when he doesn't take it into work.

I got Chris a DSLR camera for his anniversary/birthday/Christmas present. His aunt and uncle brought it over when they visited us a few weeks ago. Chris was shocked, to say the least. He's been having a lot of fun figuring out everything on it. And now he has a list of all these camera things he wants. Oh, what have I created? For our anniversary, which was the end of September, Chris was going to get me a Claddagh ring. When we traveled to Derry, I found the perfect one!

We went to Galway and the Cliffs of Moher last weekend. It was something that was planned the day we left. I had mentioned to Chris the week before that we need to go before it gets cold and I get too big. It just worked out well that we could go last weekend. We had a great time and the weather was beautiful!

I'm 29 weeks on Monday. We've been trying to take week by week pictures, but I can't get the slideshow to work on our blog. I feel like I'm still pretty small for how far along I am. I definitely look pregnant now, though. I can still see my feet and don't feel huge. The baby will slide his foot down against my tummy. It feels so weird. I like to poke at him when a body part is right up against my tummy. Tonight, he finally stuck a foot out when Chris was around. I had Chris feel it and he took his hand back right away because it felt weird. He's been kicking more lately near my bladder. The first time he kicked my bladder was so strange.

Pictures to come when I finally get my laptop working.

Halfway!!!

2011-09-12T06:29:00.001-07:00

I’m still at that point where it’s not obvious yet that I’m pregnant. I kind of expected that I’d be a lot bigger by now (not that I’m complaining, not at all).

I think I look pretty well for being 20 weeks along, though my waist has increased by three inches. Chris has taken week by week pictures of me, but I just haven’t put them up yet.

It’s a Boy!

2011-09-06T07:30:00.001-07:00

We had our appointment at 19 weeks yesterday. Everything looks great. He looks about 19 weeks along and very healthy. The baby was very cooperative and she could see everything she needed to really well. She said that he’s very active, and I should enjoy not being able to feel him just yet. She also said that he has long legs (not sure where he’s getting those from). Our baby looks so athletic right now. I’m sure he’s going to be a handful once he learns how to crawl and walk. It looks like we’re going to have the baby in Belfast. We have a couple of names picked out, but we don’t plan on revealing the official name until birth. Our next appointment is in 3 weeks.

Chris completed his first 10k on Sunday. It was cold and a only a little rainy, but at least it wasn’t windy. He finished just under 52 minutes. He managed to run with a terrible side cramp for the last half of the race.

Nothing much going on right now. Our anniversary is in 3 weeks (the day of our next baby appointment), but it looks like we’re not going to go anywhere for it. Chris may be working that weekend and we don’t want to make plans because of that. We are planning on doing a one night stay at a hotel with a Groupon I bought in mid-October. We’re hoping to go to Germany for Christmas to visit Valentina and Joerg. I also want to show Chris the Christmas markets as he has never been. That was one of my favorite things while in Germany.

4 Months Down, 5 to go!

2011-08-25T07:30:00.001-07:00

So far, second trimester has been great. I’ve been feeling crappy (like really bad allergies) once or twice a week. I think I’ve figured out why, though. Anytime I have popcorn, the next day my whole head hurts and I’m stuffed up. We’ve been having popcorn more often the past month. Apparently I’m allergic to corn, but I never really noticed symptoms like this before.

Our last antenatal appointment was on August 1, and our next one is on September 5. We may be able to find out the sex at this next appointment (I’ll be 19 weeks along). We really like our antenatal care, though it’s very expensive. And it’s in pounds, to boot!

We went to the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum last Sunday. We had a lot of fun. I found Bon Bons in the candy shop! They were tasty and didn’t last long.

Chris and I signed up for the Warrior Dash. It’s the end of July. I just hope I’ll be ready by then. It will be only six months after baby To-be-named-later is due.

The Irish Fetus

2011-07-22T08:39:00.001-07:00

I can’t believe I’m almost three months along already (1/3rd of the way done)! I’m starting to feel better, though I’m still exhausted a lot of the time. I never threw up, but I was suffering from nausea for several weeks. My next appointment is the 1st of August.

We’ll find out in two months the gender of the baby. What’s funny is that before I was pregnant, we both wanted to wait to find out the sex. Now, Chris wants to know immediately. He’s finding it hard to wait even two months more. I’m excited to know, though I’m not as impatient as he is. I’ve only had one gender dream and the baby was a girl (Chris wants a boy so he didn’t like that dream).

I’m due the 30th of January. If it’s really early, it could fall on Kimberly’s birthday (the 23rd) or even my birthday (the 18th). We shall see. I just hope that my little parasite isn’t born late. Or would leech be a better nickname? We really are excited for this fetus (I’m sure Chris will be shaking his head at my choice of words).

We’re not sure when we’re going to reveal the name, perhaps at birth. We have a few picked out, but we won’t seriously think about names until we know the gender.

We don’t know when we’ll be back in the states, but the plan is to stop by Arizona first and then drive to Washington.

First Weeks in Belfast

2011-04-26T05:51:00.001-07:00

It’s hard to believe that we’ve been here for sixteen days already. We’ve been so busy. Chris has worked every day except last Saturday since we got here (not complaining, just pointing out that we’ve been busy). I’ve been pretty busy, too, getting everything in order and picking people up from the airport. It’s so pretty here. The weather hasn’t been too terrible.

There are so many places we want to see. The only problem is our weekends are usually busy with work. We switched flats about a week after we got here. I wanted the one we’re in now because it has a more open floor plan. There’s a lot of noise (in terms of neighbors going in and out and cars), but it’s worth it.

Back in Washington, Chris is about a thirty minute drive away from work. Here, we’re less than two miles away from the work site. I even walked to work and back one day! It’s great being so close.

I’ll try and update after we do or go somewhere different. Perhaps next time I’ll post pictures of our flat (but that won’t be until I have everything put away).

Fence Installed!

2011-03-16T13:45:00.001-07:00

We’re definitely excited that the fence was installed while still being here. Now the neighborhood kids won’t be running through our backyard and shed while we’re gone (and even while we’re here). I’m hoping the picket fence in the front will help keep them out of our front yard. They can still enter our yard on the side, where the hill is.

Because of the easement, we needed to put the picket fence back 6 feet. I plan on taking out the grass (and trees) and putting a bunch of plants in front of the fence.

Our neighbors can still see into our yard. I plan on putting some plants that give us more privacy.

I really want to start on my yard projects now! I’ll probably start this fall, when we get back from Belfast.

Fence!

2011-03-07T20:24:00.001-08:00

The fence people are coming tomorrow! We got a call this afternoon to see if we were available tomorrow morning at 8 for them to come and put posts in. Not much warning time, but we don’t care. It’s finally going to be put in! I was afraid it wouldn’t happen by the time we left (which should hopefully be sometime in March). They’re coming back on Friday to finish the rest. I’m so excited! No more kids running through our backyard and going through our shed (which we put locks on after the fact). Right now the backyard is only partially fenced, what the neighbors have fenced. We’re going to finish fencing the back yard. Also, we’re going to have a picket fence put in that will go just in our grass area. The kids will still be able to get into our front yard via the hill of dirt on the side. I plan on putting a retaining wall up after we get back. That should keep them out for good. Pictures to come shortly!

Not much else has happened besides the fence. We still have no idea when we’re leaving for Belfast. I’ll keep you updated!

Artsy Wine Stuff and Yard

2011-02-07T16:50:00.001-08:00

We’ve been saving the bottles of wine we drink. I applied an adhesive to some of the labels several months ago. Then, after waiting a couple months, I tried to take them off. It didn’t work that well. I filled the bottles with boiling water, which helped take the label off. Unfortunately they don’t look perfect, but that’s probably as good as I’m going to get them. I still have a lot more bottles left. I’m not sure exactly what I’m going to do with the labels.

Chris and I have been saving the corks as well. I hadn’t really thought about what to use them for. I figured I would figure it out someday. The other day I randomly got a thought for what to do with some of them. It’s going to be pretty difficult and time consuming, but I think it’s worth it. I want to take the outline of a wood letter and fill the inside with the corks. I didn’t find my idea online, so I printed out my own letter, cut it, and stuck corks in it.

No, B is not for Boy. I am not pregnant (though I know a few who wish I was).

I’m not sure how we’re going to do the wood. One option is to get block letters and cut out everything but a thick border. I’ll have to see what Michael’s has. It’ll be a pain to measure and cut all the corks so that they fit and look nice (as well as the wood).

We had the utility people come out and mark the lines where the utilities run. The good news, it doesn’t interfere with our plans to finish building the backyard fence. The bad news, it basically ruins most of my plans for our side yard. I figured this would happen, so I was trying not to get my hopes up.

Looks like someone went crazy

Our front yard. I had planned on doing a picket fence around our front yard. That way we can play with our dog in the front yard and not worry about him getting hit by a car. Also, I have always wanted a picket fence. Now, we’ll have to bring the fence 5 feet into our yard. I think it’s worth it; Chris hates how much it would come in. If we do that, I plan on taking out the grass in front of the fence and putting in pretty border plants.

I can live with everything else. This is the cable that completely ruins my plans. It runs right through the middle of our yard to the corner of the house. It’s the communication cable, which I’ll pay to have moved. The hill on the side of the yard is better viewed on the second picture. I had planned to bring in the bricks about 6 feet to make it even with the other part. Then, put a bunch of retaining walls up to make it look nicer. I plan on planting mostly vegetables in that area. Also, I plan on taking out the flower bed that’s in the middle of the lawn and putting grass in.

We’ll see how everything all works out. I plan on measuring and recording slopes and where everything is before we leave so that way I can plan while we’re in Belfast. I love planning things, even if they don’t happen. I just like thinking about it. Chris hates planning and listening to my plans because all he thinks about is how expensive it will be. I try not to let it get me down.

Washington

2011-01-17T17:17:00.001-08:00

So I’ve lived in Washington for over a year now and lately I’ve been thinking about what I like here and what I miss from living in Arizona.

What I’ve grown to like about living in Washington

- The fact that I can grow so much here! I love being able to have a garden and not have to do much with it (besides getting rid of all the weeds). I love how green it is.

- Spring – I never appreciated the different seasons much until I came here (appreciated it in Germany, too)

- I guess Chris being here with me. Though I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him.

- Walking around barefoot at night and not worry about stepping on a scorpion.

- Having my own house and yard (technically it’s Chris’). I have so many plans for them!

What I loved about living in Arizona

- Getting to see my family and friends often.

- How not humid it is. I also loved the weather. The sun. Monsoon season.

- The cacti and the mountains and the awesome sunsets (the desert in general).

- How clear the nights are and being able to see so many stars in the desert.

- Wearing a jacket in the winter because it’s “cold” (in the 70’s).

- The citrus trees at my parents house. I never bought a navel from the grocery store until I moved to Washington. Even now I don’t like to do it because they’re so bleh. And the lemons are so small!

And now for my observation. In Washington there are a lot of Asians. I haven’t seen this many in one place since I was in China. On the other side of that, there definitely aren’t as many Mexicans here as there were in Arizona. I guess I do miss that about living in Arizona.

Another observation (this one more of a con): People from Washington do NOT know how to drive in the rain. It’s rather irritating. Come on people, you drive in this every day! I mean, it makes sense in Arizona. I just don’t get it. They also love to slow down for the curves on the highway. And yes, there are a lot of curves on the highway.

Well there you go. I’m sure I’m missing some things from my lists. There are just the major ones that I can remember for the time being.

We can do it, yes we can!

2010-12-09T14:52:00.001-08:00

Chris and I started the exercise Program P90X several months ago. It’s a 90 day program and we were supposed to be done sometime in November. A little after a month through the program, we both got sick. After not working out for a week, it was very hard for us to start up again. It was really hard to be motivated for it, especially since the workouts were an hour long, 6 days a week. We looked into something more cardio based to start off with and found Insanity. It’s a 60 day program and we’re on week 2. The workouts are only 40 minutes and a lot more intense. P90X seemed to be more for building muscle where as this one seems to be more for losing weight. We plan on starting P90X back up again once we finish Insanity. I’ll keep you updated on how it’s going. We have our fit test next Tuesday. Hopefully the results are positive (goes without saying, but still had to be said).

For Thanksgiving, we had planned to go to Portland to visit Chris’ Aunt and Uncle. That didn’t happen because of the fact that we got snow a couple of days before and we live on top of a hill. The snow finally started to melt the afternoon of Thanksgiving, but by then it was too late to make it. We’re planning on having Christmas dinner with them.

My dad and sister are picking up a chocolate lab puppy for us tonight! My dad’s going to raise it until we get back from Belfast. We have our reasons for doing it this way than getting a puppy when we get back. We’re hoping his chocolate lab (who’s 14 months) will teach it good manners. We’re also hoping they’ll wear each other out. More to come later (with adorable pictures!).

So much for updating often

2010-11-09T16:54:00.001-08:00

We’re still in the U.S. and have no idea when we’re going to Belfast.

News from the past few months:

- Chris’ parents moved to Arkansas. My dad said that it was because I moved to Washington. Perhaps…

- I went to Arizona the end of July for a couple of weeks (it was so much fun to see everyone again)

- Chris’ sister is living with us now. Originally we were supposed to be in Belfast and she was going to look after the cats and the house.

- Chris and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary by going to a lodge & spa for a night. It was a lot of fun.

- We haven’t really done too much or planned anything because of the fact that we were supposed to be in Belfast last July. Our lives our currently on hold (or so it seems).

- We did end up getting a new fridge when I found out that we weren’t going to be leaving for at least a few months. The people we got the house from took their fridge with them and put in a crappy one from the 70’s that was not energy efficient. Now we have a nice French door one.

- Our dryer started making funny noises. We are planning to buy a new washer and dryer once we get back from Belfast, so this was horrible news. I did a little research and figured out that we just need to take it apart and put some WD-40 in certain areas. Luckily, we haven’t had any problems since. I just hope it will last another year without any problems!

- I have so many plans for our yard area. I can’t do anything until we get back from Belfast, so it’s been frustrating. We want to fence the rest of our backyard and I want to put a white picket fence around our front yard. I also want to put retaining walls up for our side yard and plant fruits and vegetables. I also have big plans for a deck in our back yard, but that won’t be happening for a while.

- I’ve been baking and cooking lately (once in a great while). I enjoy it, but I hate how dirty our kitchen gets (and I hate cooking/baking in a dirty kitchen, which is usually how our kitchen is).

- We installed a kitty door panel (it goes where the sliding door would go) for the cats to go out to the balcony. Before I would just leave the sliding door open enough for them, but I started looking for another way because I would get bugs in the house. The first month or so I would leave the flap open during the day for the cats. I tried training them a few times, but it didn’t work out so well. One morning, because I guess I wasn’t up early enough, Rigby managed to figure out how to go outside. Chris’ sister got to witness this milestone. Marvin eventually figured it out as well, so I no longer need to leave the flap open the flap for them. A few weeks ago a raccoon had managed to get on our balcony (great feat seeing how we have netting over the top). After that, I’ve been locking the flap at night.

- I planted most of my spring bulbs, which I probably won’t get to see.

Job!

2010-05-10T17:21:00.001-07:00

Here I was trying to be good about updating. It's been more than a month...

I do have a pretty good excuse, though. I have a job now! I started the beginning of April and have been sooo busy with that. I work for the U.S. Census Bureau working on the decennial census. I get to supervise the people who go out and interview the households that did not return their questionnaire (or return it in time).

I really enjoy it. I was surprised by how much I like teaching. It's actually made me think about getting my teaching certificate and trying that out. We'll see, though. That would be a ways away. It's nice to have something to do again. This job is perfect because it ends this summer, just in time before we leave for Northern Ireland! I'm actually going to be doing administrative type things for the project Chris is on (the whole reason why we'll be in Belfast). I'm excited for that since it will give me something to do while Chris is at work and I'll get paid!

My little sister comes this Saturday to visit for almost two whole weeks! Unfortunately, since I'm working full time, we won't be able to do some of the things we planned on (like going to Canada since we both have never been).

Oh, and my tulips in my garden look great (minus all the weeds that we have since I haven't had time to pull them, much less clean in general).

Spring!

2010-03-29T12:35:00.001-07:00

My flowers are coming up! These pictures were taken a week ago. In the first picture, it is obvious that the deer like my flowers. I put up netting around the flower bed and it's helped so far. The rest of my hyacinths have opened up. They look very nice. It's raining, hence why I don't have an updated picture of the flowers.

Tulips Hyacinths

I also used the netting to put around the balcony that's off our kitchen. I created a little outdoor area for the kitties. They really enjoy it.

Lastly, I finished my Wilton Cake Decorating Class at Michael's last Friday. It also happened to be our 6 month anniversary. I surprised Chris with this awesome cake that I made. Who would've guessed that I could make something like this. And after 4 classes!

It was my first attempt at making the full rose. And he loved the bouquet so much! Chris didn't want to cut into the cake. I had a lot of fun taking that class, though it was a lot of cake that we had the past month. Who knows how many pounds I've gained because of it. I plan on continuing on at some point with the next class.

Decorations and Birthday Fun

2010-03-19T19:43:00.001-07:00

Chris and I finally started decorating our house! It's definitely starting to look more like a home.

Wine rack

Hallway Pictures I really like how it turned out

Hallway pictures between rooms

Our bedroom

Downstairs

I started the first Wilton Cake Decorating class at Michael's in the beginning of March. Last weekend his family came over to celebrate his dad's birthday. I made and decorated my first cake for the occasion! Chris cooked the meal while I got everything set up. The whole thing turned out great.

My flowers have started to come up! The only problem is that the deer also like them. I went looking at them one day and some of my irises were cut in half! Every day since then more and more are missing parts. I'm going to put a net around it to see if that will solve it temporarily. They apparently don't like daffodils. Thank goodness I can have some flowers if everything else gets eaten. They also like tulips, which I planted late and are just starting to come out. Who knows how long it will be until those start going, too. Next time I'll post a picture of the flower bed and my newest project.

Our House

2010-03-01T17:42:00.001-08:00

I love our house, though there are a few little things that need fixed. We have the "man cave" downstairs as well as a 1/2 bathroom with a washer and dryer. Upstairs we have the living room, kitchen, and small dining area with a sliding door that leads out to a small balcony. On the other part of the house we have 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. One of the bedrooms is currently our office. The other one is the guest bedroom, which is nice to have for when people visit.

I love having a window to look out of when I do dishes

Master bedroom

Guest bathroom

Side yard. We weren't aware at first that all that rock area was part of our property as well. It's just so random. I have no idea what I'm going to do with it yet. Well, recently I've been thinking about putting a garden up there. My other garden is the one in the middle of the grass with the gray sheet over it.

Back of the house. Someday we plan on redoing the deck and putting in stairs.

Our property is such a weird shape. The house behind us has a yard that seems like it cuts into our yard (odd that they did it like that). It's a V that comes to the side of our house (giving us about 5 feet of clearance to the back yard). Our side yard seems so separate from everything else. We have a raised garden bed, which took me several days to pull the weeds out of. I planted several flower bulbs several months ago and they are starting to come out of the ground! I planted the tulips late, so I hope that they will still grow.

We've finally started decorating recently. It's turning out well so far. Next time I'll probably post pictures of what we've done so far. It's mainly been putting up pictures in the hallway. It finally is looking like someone actually lives here!

The Season of Christmas

2010-02-02T14:35:00.001-08:00

So the whole reason I was going to make a blog this time was to post pictures of my house for Lynette. Funny thing is, I can't find them. Yes, I could go outside right now and take a picture, but I'll save it for another day (sorry). I have a bit to write about with updating anyway. I still have the Christmastime and my birthday and snowshoeing.

I really wanted to make a gingerbread house for our first Christmas. Well, I want to get in the tradition of making one every year if we're here. We had originally wanted to bake and design the gingerbread house ourselves. Once it was a week until Christmas, I thought it to be a lost cause. We went over to his friend's place to hang out where I saw their gingerbread house and was inspired. Apparently Michael's had gingerbread kits on sale! I went and stocked up on gingerbread house making stuff (molds, decorations, frosting designs, frosting tips, colors, etc). We finished our house a few days before Christmas and were both impressed for our first house.

Christmas was fun. Chris and I opened presents up in the morning and his family and friend of the family came over to our place for Christmas food and games. We plan on spending Christmas with my family, but we couldn't afford it for our first year. It was a very nice first Christmas together. For the New Year, we had a few people come over. Speaking of which, I had a couple of friends visit me during December and one the beginning of January. That was fun. Guess I have a lot more to update than I thought.

Marvin (the yellow cat) has been our expensive kitty lately. We took him to the vet in December because he would bite his back pads on his foot and make them bleed (and getting blood all over my carpet). I just wanted to make sure it wasn't infected. It turns out his back lymph nodes were swollen. Medication wasn't working so he got a biopsy on them a couple of weeks ago. He also got a head cone because he was starting to bite his front foot and I didn't want more blood on the carpet. He's ridiculous with that thing on. It reminds me of Little Bo Beep (see picture below). So the results of his biopsy were that they were filled with fat, because of an allergic thing. At least he doesn't have lymphoma. That would've been sad.

I'll write about events from after New Year's on the next blog (along with pictures of my house, unless I make them separate).

Holiday Season

2009-12-08T15:52:00.001-08:00

I have been bad about updating. My parents visited the end of October, which was a lot of fun. This was their first time to Washington! We had our open house/ reception on Halloween, so they helped out with that. We decided to take them to Montnomah Falls in Oregon (pictured below).

Right after that, we got two cats from Chris' parents. They were strays that were hanging around. Rigby, the one on the left, has been with them for almost a year and Marvin for only a short time. They are both males and in love with me, which doesn't bother Chris so much.

Thanksgiving came and went in a flash. My sisters visited me that weekend. It was really nice to see them again. This time it was Kimberly's first visit to Washington. Some of the highlights of their visit were seeing New Moon and going to Forks and La Push. We also went to the rainforest and saw the tallest Spruce tree. Kimberly put up those pictures on Facebook. I accidentally forget my camera.

And lastly, this past weekend Chris and I went down to his parent's house (about 2 hours away) to get a Christmas tree and take a family photo. We chopped down our Christmas tree from a tree farm (actually, I just watched and took pictures)! It was my first time and was really neat except for the cold weather.

That night it snowed a little bit.

That next morning we headed back home and set up our tree! Marvin loves sitting under the tree during the day. They basically leave the tree alone. Although, Rigby really loves the ribbons on the presents.

Our New Blog

2009-11-10T15:38:00.001-08:00

I wanted to create a new blog so people from back home can see what we're up to in the Northwest. I should be updating this more often than my Germany blog (at least that's the plan)

As you may know, after we got married, we had our honeymoon in Sedona and then had to drive my car to Washington. I got to see our house for the first time! Chris wanted it to be a surprise so I wasn't even allowed to look at pictures. I will post pictures of our new home after my sisters visit (I don't want to spoil it for them). Chris did an amazing job on picking the house. I really like it. It is perfect for our first home. Obviously we have work to do on it, but nothing too serious.

The week before Halloween, we went over to his friend's house to carve pumpkins. This was the first pumpkin that I've ever carved. I was so proud! I carved the cat while Chris did the headless horsemen. They turned out better than we thought they would.

Unfortunately, they were starting to mold before we remembered that we needed pictures of our first carved pumpkins together. My cat is starting to decompose (it was a lot better looking than this, or so I'd like to think). I can't wait until next year to carve more pumpkins. I want to get a pumpkin carving kit and go crazy.