Thanksgiving 2009

For Thanksgiving, we headed up to my parents' house in Ferndale.  Since I had Wednesday through Friday off, I headed up Tuesday after school while Terry and Jake came up on Wednesday afternoon.  My mom and I ran some errands on Wednesday and hung out at home most of the day.  On Thursday, Terry and I got up early and took a 4 mile jog together.  It was nice running together as he pushed me to keep going when I know if I was by myself I would have walked.  Once we got back to the house, we had breakfast with the family.  As the day progressed we watched football and played some games of Farkle.

For the dinner, we had the traditional turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy.  We also had fresh brussel sprouts from the garden and I made green bean casserole.  The turkey was very moist and was probably the best turkey ever.  After eating way too much food, we celebrated grandma's 79th birthday.  After dessert, Terry and Jake headed home as they had to work on Friday.

On Friday, my mom, grandma and I joined in the crowd of Black Friday shoppers.  There were some crazy deals out there and I was able to pick up a couple gifts for people.  On Friday night, we went out for dinner at Chihuahua's with Jimmy and Sheri before heading over to their house to watch Dylan's Up With People performance. 

On Saturday, mom and I went out again to run a couple more errands around town.  It was fun being out as the weather is changing so it is definitely starting to feel more like the Christmast season.  I left on Sunday morning to head home.  It was a nice time to celebrate Thanksgiving with the family and I am excited that the holiday season is finally here!

Jake & Brittany's Visit

Jake and Brittany came up to visit for 10 days from Aug 19-Aug 29. We were very busy while they were here. They arrived on Wednesday so straight from the airport, we decided to spend the day in Seattle. We had breakfast at 5 Spot, saw the Fremont Troll, visited the lochs, walked through Pike Place Market, and enjoyed dinner at the Crab Pot. On Thursday, we stayed local. We drove through Point Defiance Park and had lunch and a walk along Ruston Way in Tacoma. On Friday, we headed to NW Trek and then spent the day at home.

Over the weekend, we attended our 4-wheel drive club picnic at Lake Samammish on Saturday then went to church and Emerald Downs on Sunday.

Then, on Monday we did a 5 mile hike at Mt Rainier followed by a drive through the park and up to Paradise. Then on Tuesday, we drove down to Mt St Helens and spelunked through the Ape Caves. After that, we drove into Portland and had wings at Hooters (and yes, they were good). On Wednesday, we headed up to my parents' house and on the way stopped for wine tasting at Chateau Ste Michelle. Then on Thursday, we took a ferry to Orcus Island. Friday was another relaxing day at my parents' place with lunch at the Bellingham harbor and then a night of margaritas and Mexican food in Ferndale. On Saturday, we left early and dropped them off at the airport for their trip home. It was a busy week and we had a lot of fun.

Fun with Nina & Ben

Last weekend, Terry and I were fortunate to be able to spend time with some friends of my mom and mine that are visiting from France. We drove up to my parents' house on Friday, took the ferry to Friday Harbor on Saturday and then stopped at Snoqualamie Falls on the way to our house on Sunday. Then, on Monday, we visited NW Trek in the morning and then headed up to Mt Rainier. And finally, went to Seattle yesterday. Nina and Ben are staying 3 nights in Seattle and on Friday morning, I am taking the train up to Bellingham with them (Terry will be meeting us when he gets off work on Friday). Then, on Sunday, we are heading to Canada where we will leave Nina and Ben as their flight will leave from Vancouver. Here are some photos I have taken of the last few days (sorry, there are a lot, especially from Mt Rainier where I fell in love with the wildflowers that were in bloom):

Oh, and the best part of Nina and Ben's visist is: now, Terry wants to plan a trip to France!!! I couldn't be more excited thinking of going back. We are hoping for the spring of 2011 as that will give us time to save some money. Currently, we are thinking about staying in France with a quick trip to Venice.