Now... Where was I?

I suppose I should start with our holidays:

Thanksgiving: We went to Kettle Falls to spend Thanksgiving with my family. My parents just remodeled their kitchen, so this was their first Thanksgiving in their new home. It was a nice long weekend, just not long enough.

December 19th – Alyssa’s 9th Birthday!!! We still can’t get over the fact that she is 9 years old. We surprised her with a new tank for hermit crabs. After she opened the tank, we took her shopping to pick out everything she needs. She was so happy!!! We also had a little pizza party at Round Table Pizza.

The cake that Alyssa decorated all by herself... for herself!

Christmas Eve –Alyssa spent Christmas Eve & Day with her dad this year. So we took her back to his house Christmas Eve Evening. We let Alyssa open her Christmas gift from us, which was a cell phone. I have never seen her face light up so bright. It’s been so nice keeping in touch with her all day every day J Alyssa’s dad was having a dinner party with his family, So Dan and I stayed for a little while to visit. I got to see some of his family that I hadn’t seen in years! It was really nice… and Alyssa was so happy that we stayed. She loves having all of her parents there.

This is what the gift looked like before

she had to unwrap about 10 different layers!!!

Christmas Day – We spent with Dion, Candy and their girls. It snowed like crazy, so we got to play in the snow and build a snowman.

Dan & Dion

New Years – We had full intentions of going to Mic & Stephanie’s to celebrate but I ended up getting a fever and body aches. So the three of us stayed in. I was fast asleep on the couch shortly after Dan finished cooking us dinner, I believe it was around 5:30pm. Dan and Alyssa stayed up watching movies.

So far this year has been Great for us. We are all well and healthy and still fortunate enough to have our jobs. It seems like so many people are struggling these days, We are grateful that we have each other and we are blessed to have a home to go to and a warm meal every night.

Dan has been continuing with his apprenticeship and going to school every other Wednesday. He’s just about to finish with a Boom Truck Course as well. I started school on December 6th to become a Medical Assistant. It has been so much fun. I have already learned quite a bit, passed my first class with a 4.0!! What a great feeling of accomplishment. I was even able to start drawing blood and giving injections my 2nd day of school. Only 8 more months to go!!

(this is me... working really hard at school)

I apologize for not keeping up on our BlogSpot. I know quite a few people have been asking. Things have been pretty hectic, both at work and at home. Our school schedule has been scattered due to holidays and weather, so between school and work I haven’t had a day off since New Years Day. Any free time I do get, I’m busy doing homework or spending as much time as I can with the family.

Hope all is well with everyone!!

Oh Darn It!!

Just when I thought I had a moment to catch up on my blogging, I got completely sidetracked by reading everyone elses. Things are going GREAT!! I know a bunch of you have been getting on my case to update the blog... Time has been hard to find lately and it doesn't seem to be getting any better. Maybe I will find time this weekend while I'm at school ;)

TO BE CONTINUED.....
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

Happy Thanksgiving, With Love...

The three of us will be heading over to Kettle Falls this Thanksgiving to celebrate with my family. My mom and dad have worked very hard the last year or so to rebuild the new house they bought. This will be their first Thanksgiving in their new home with the newly remodeled kitchen. We can’t wait!!!

We have so much to be Thankful for this year. We have great health as do our loved ones. We have happiness through our true friends and family. And most importantly, we have each other.

We would like to take this time

to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving

Jumbo Peanut Butter and Jelly

Yesterday was a co-worker’s birthday, so I brought in a cake that I had made.

It may just look like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich….

But this is no ordinary PB&J.

This sucker is 8” x 8”

It was a great hit and fun to make.

Boys will be Boys...

The other day we watched the Seahawks game at Dan’s dad’s house while he was out of town.

Dan thought it would be a good idea to pull out the Potato gun. For those of you who don’t know what a potato gun is, here is the closest picture I could find.

You spray a flammable aerosol into the large chamber. Flip the little switch which makes a spark, causing the potato (that you have shoved into the small chamber) to shoot out of the tube and through the air. Unfortunately this did not go over so smoothly for Dan. For some reason the spark wouldn’t ignite. Dan decided to take the cap off that was holding in all of the aerosol pressure. He then tried to get it to spark again.. This time, IT WORKED. Because the lid was not on to contain the pressure, flames were coming out of the large chamber. Dan blew into the tube to try to blow the fire out. Well… this actually caused the flames to shoot OUT of the tube and into his face… Take a look: (if you want to get the full affects, you can click on the picture to make it larger)

Halloween ~ 2008

Alyssa was at her dad’s this year for Halloween, so I wasn’t able to get any pictures of her dressed up as dead Hannah Montana. (I was not thrilled with the costume idea). Her 3rd grade class had all agreed to dress up in a country/western theme. So I was able to get a picture of her dressed up for her school party.

We also had a pot-luck at work. Stephanie, Laneysa and I dressed up as Snap, Crackle & Pop. We made Rice Krispie treats and delivered them around the office. We each got a gas gift card for the best group.

Here are a couple of other costumes from co-workers:

For Halloween night, Dan and I went to Dion & Candy’s. Dan and I passed out treats while Dion & Candy took the girls Trick-Or-Treating. Delaney didn’t like her costume too much, so I wasn’t able to get a picture of her. But here is Princess Rylie…

And we can’t forget Dan as Bo Bice… (hehehe)
That is, IF You can even tell the difference.

WE HAVE BUTTERFLIES...

If you have no idea what I am talking about, you can scroll down and see the development of our little fluttery friends. It’s hard to get a good picture of them, but you get the point.

In this picture you can see there are two that have left their cocoons, one that is slowly making his way out and one that is still sleeping soundly.

Just 20 days after these little caterpillars arrived in our mailbox, they are now beautiful butterflies. It’s been a little creepy but a lot of fun to watch them go through their stages. Alyssa is starting to learn about butterflies in her class and this has really helped her understand everything.

If anyone is looking for a good Christmas gift, I would highly recommend the Live Butterfly Garden. It’s affordable, fun & Educational. I have also found a website that you can order many different caterpillars from. So even after these butterflies have gone, we can continue to raise different species.