A year of cards and letters

I have been using the birdcage from our wedding as a  vessel for all of the cards and letters we have received this past year.  It was a fun trip down memory lane to look all of them over.

I really should have saved this task for a day I was feeling blue as all the happy news, well wishes, and just plain happy thoughts  made me appreciate my life so much more and all the people in it.  Handwritten letters and cards really has become a thing of the past and it is a shame. 

Thanks to all of you who took them time to send us a card or letter, I cherished them all and this year I am going to try and be better about sending some myself.


I can't wait to see what 2010 cards and letters will hold but I look forward to every one we receive!

Officially Nerdy

Yes, it is official.  I am a nerd.  I just got my USBC member card and bumpersticker in the mail.



Now I just have to wait for my first issue of US Bowling to come in the mail!

Party like it is 2010

Happy New Year!!  2009 closed out a pretty great decade in my book!  I would go into detail but as my Mom always says when I start to tell a story of my college days "Stop, still too soon for that"....

We celebrated New Year's at my sister's house up North.  We made it till 9pm which technically allowed us to watch the NY Ball drop.  Colby and Wes taught Sophie and Ceci how to pop party poppers and snap its. 

We decided to steal a page from Tracy's blog.  Last year Tracy and Wes decided on a list of things to accomplish in 2009.  Colby and I were able to take part in a few of the activities and we enjoyed it so much we decided we need a list for 2010.  So, here goes...

1. Visit three beaches
2. Pick Blueberries

3. Pick Raspberries

4. Ride our bicycles down the cedar river trail to the park and have a picnic (4.5 miles each way)

5. Make a recipe from a cookbook once a week

6. Use recyclable bags for grocery shopping 25 times

7. Plant a vegetable garden

8. Build a shed

9. Paint one room in the house

10. With every present I give I will make one homemade

11. Shop less, save more (detailed out on our printed list)

12. Get a library membership and use it!

13. First book “Catcher in the rye”

14. Learn a dance routine

15. Watch the complete “Planet Earth” series

16. Go to the Zoo once a month with our zoo pass

17. Less processed foods more home cookin’. Sign up for fresh vegetable and fruit service

18. Finally open and watch the “I love Lucy” collection

19. Drink more spicy water and less fizzy pop (drink 12 cases of talking rain)

20. Visit Flaming Geyser Park

21. Visit Mt. Rainier Paradise entry

22. Go to a play, show, musical, recital, or opera

23. Go for a long Sunday drive and just enjoy the scenery

24. Enjoy a nice dinner out, dress up

25. Eat at a greasy spoon off the beaten path

26. Have a taco from a taco wagon in a hot place

27. Plan a picnic to three different spots

28. Finish Elleanor’s Christmas stocking

29. Learn to can

30. Antique shop in Enumclaw

31. Take 3 hikes using our I-90 corridor hike book

 

Elleanor’s 2010 list

1. Roll both ways

2. Sit up

3. Eat more food

4. Grow more hair

5. Grow more teeth

6. Wave bye bye

7. Crawl

8. Walk

9. Say Momma 1st, hee hee had to add it, sorry Elle back to you

10. Learn one knock knock joke (might be pushing it, uh?)

11. Sleep completely through the night 7pm till 5:30am. Currently 7pm to 2am, quick snack and then back down until we get her up at 5:30am for work.

These are some hefty plans but all and all should be a lot of fun!  If you want to take part in any of our adventures just let me know as I am starting to plan out a few of them!

My New Year's wish for you! 

I wish you Health... So you may enjoy each day in comfort.

I wish you the Love of friends and family... And Peace within your heart.

I wish you the Beauty of nature... That you may enjoy the work of God.

I wish you Wisdom to choose priorities... For those things that really matter in life.

I wish you Generosity so you may share... All good things that come to you.

I wish you Happiness and Joy... And Blessings for the New Year.

I wish you the best of everything... That you so well deserve.

---Anonymous

Here and Gone

The sea was brewing

Poof and then we were there.  First group shot of the New Year!

New Year's Day Hike

New Year's Day we took a nice hike at Point Whitehorn Marine reserve.  It was such a nice hike and everyone we passed on the trail would say "Happy New Year" It was such a happy way to kick start the year!

Sophie and Ceci lead the way.  The invisible fence made them stop as soon as they were out of range of their parents.  Once they could fully see Tracy and Wes the girls would yell "Okay" and off they would go a little further ahead.

Tracy, Wes, and Gia enjoying the walk

Through the woods and over the trees

Ceci made it first to the look out point

It was a blistery day but quite refreshing

Our official first picture of 2010!

Gami and Poppi posing for a shot!

Waiting to head down the stairs to the beach

Gazing up

The switch back.  Down the trail with Momma and back with Daddy!

Halftime report

Elleanor is officially 6 months old!  I truly can't get over how quickly the time has passed!  All of the books we have read could not have prepared us for the love and joy we experience everyday with Elleanor!

Elle is quite a happy baby!  Sometimes at night I will hear her giggle in her sleep and it just melts my heart!
 

Here she is preparing for her "I am going to get you attack" all the while laughing at us!  Seriously, life is good around our house!

 :

- I can sit by myself but still a little wobbly
- My first tooth appeared
- I am starting to enjoy food.
- I have tried rice cereal, sweet potatoes, sweet peas, apples, pears, and mum mum crackers
-I love my Sophie Giraffe and stuffed Camel
- I now refuse to use a pacifier, probably because Mommy bought stock in the Soothie Company...
- I still loves car rides and can't stay awake, no matter how hard I tries
- I am LOVED





Wrapping up this half time report.... The starting lineup stats:

Weight: 16 pounds 50th percentile.  Planning to attack more foods this coming half
Length: 26 1/4 inches 70th percentile. Stretching, yip daily stretching should take care of this
Head 16 3/4 60th percentile Mommy says my head is perfect so we can't mess with perfection

Do You See What I See?

Exactly on Elleanor's 6 month birthday a tiny tooth appeared.

There was a lot of snot and slobber that came hand in hand.

As you can see we are now much happier about the tooth!

I just love this song! 

Said the night wind to the little lamb,

"Do you see what I see?

Way up in the sky, little lamb,

Do you see what I see?

A star, a star, dancing in the night

With a tail as big as a kite,

With a tail as big as a kite."

We're not twins

We headed north for some much needed cousin time!

Elle and Gia really enjoyed all of Gia's toys!  I would like to think Elle is giving Gia a good job pat and not a pinch.

Gia worked with Elle most of the weekend on sitting up.

Elle was a bit devastated when Gia wouldn't share her nemesis.

Gia enjoyed gnawing on her nemesis.

They chatted all weekend

"See Elle the book pages turn like this"

The remains of Christmas past

Never has a garbage day seemed so important! 

Christmas Day 4.0

Christmas morning we headed over to Ellensburg to enjoy Christmas day 4.0.  We however forgot our camera :(  We stayed with Grami and Poppi for a few days.  Elle had a ton of fun playing with Olivia, Emma, and Marcus.

When we returned home we put together her new baby buggy. 

Pushing her baby didn't last long.  Somehow Elle managed to get into the buggy herself for a little ride around the house until Daddy caught us...

Christmas morning or Christmas 3.0

When we got home on Christmas Eve.  Daddy helped Elle fix Santa a plate of snacks.  This was the first Christmas morning we actually stayed at our own home so we were a bit nervous Santa wouldn't find us.

We even remembered to leave a little something for the reindeer, a sweet Washington Apple!

To Elle's delight Santa and the reindeer ate and drank everything!

Checking out her goodies.

This was Daddy's first stocking and his best present ever in it!

Christmas 2.0

We celebrated Christmas Eve with the other side of Colby's family.  For some reason we didn't take too many pictures, probably because we were busy enjoying the delish feast Uncle Donny and Aunt Wendy prepared!

Elleanor's first computer!  She was a bit worried we were sending her off to work on Monday.

Elle made Uncle Donny his very own "Elle mugshot mug"!   

Christmas 1.0

We hosted the Jones side Christmas party this year.  It was a real treat to break out all of our wedding presents for the dinner.  I tried to use every appliance and utensil given to us as Colby was on dish duty :)  Plus it makes me feel like I have my own cooking show!

The gathering around for present time!

Elle helping Mommy open her present. 

Her first puppy!

Sarah, Josh, and Noah checking out an outfit.  Noah was really into opening presents!  It was a lot of fun to watch him go at it!  None of the pictures of him opening presents turned out, he was a blur in them all.  I think he may have a touch of the Flash Gordon super power in him, super quick I tell you!