Our Frozen Lake

We are lucky enough to live by the lake and when we moved in the thing was frozen SOLID! We ventured out to test it and everyone had fun sliding on the ice and going on a nature walk. The boys had done this a few times before but the family spent a fun afternoon doing it together the day after Christmas!I took this one from above before I decided to be adventurous and join them. Check out everyone's sliding and some falling skills!

A little bit of posing for Mom.

And a picture just to prove that I was there.

And we have beautiful sunsets - hard to tell in this picture but Morgan and Mia are in it (hidden in the sage brush) and you can see the peak of Mt. Rainer off to the left in the skyline!

We enjoyed our walk around the deer trails from the lake to the pond and all around some of the undeveloped land in our neighborhood. You guys missed out - it's been a warm month of January and the lake is already melting. I don't think I would walk on it now!

I have to start somewhere!

Since I didn't send out a Christmas card this year I'll start with about the only picture that could be a possibility of a decent photo for the month of December. Pardon our very dusty stairs - we had just moved in two days before while the carpet was still being laid and the painters had just finished up the night before.Not the best picture but we were working on a time schedule and it was time to leave for our first Sunday in our new ward (ML 4th). So far we are loving the new ward. I was just called as Activity day leader for the 9 year olds which are usually combined with the 8 year olds so I'll get to be with Morgan too. The kids all have found friends both at church and school (some the same). And I have managed to get this house cleaned up that I'm not embarrassed to have people stop by now. My stairs are no longer THAT dusty although I'd have to say wood stairs collect a lot of dust and lint!

Back Online!!

After being without internet since December 18th . . . I am ecstatic to announce that I am back online today! I have so much to catch up on and the break has been good for me (to get some unpacking done). So I am hoping to do some good posts soon. I am planning to make the long drive to shop in Tricities tomorrow so I don't think I'll post then. But I just wanted you all to know that we moved, that we basically settled into our new home (although since we are "fixing" the place up it will be a while before I really feel settled), and we're getting used to our new ward, schools and routines. I'd love for people to come visit! So if you're ever in the area please let us know! Mia has had Barbie.com withdrawals and is begging for me to give her some time online!!

Moving . . .

finally, after a very stressful month of November, we were able to close on our house. We are trying to get moved by Christmas and are waiting now on the painting (inside for now - outside later - I HOPE) and new carpet to be installed. So hopefully we'll be able to move by December 19th. I think I will need at least that much time to quickly get us settled and ready for Christmas.

Anyways. . . due to stress, boredom or something else - maybe too much facebook time. I have neglected my blog for most of the past month plus. I never posted much about October or November other than the family cruise. So hopefully when I get my house back in order (I have spent many days doing prep work on the new house, lots of drive time, and having my parents and sister's family here for Thanksgiving) I will finally take the time to do a catch up post of everything I missed and post lots and lots of pictures. I hope everyone is having that good Christmas feeling now and is getting into the spirit of the season. Sadly, because of the move, we haven't decorated at all for Christmas and probably won't until just days before the big day!

On board!

The location of the cruise may not have been my first choice (I'd pick some place warmer and tropical) but like the other cruises we've been on . . . we found plenty of things to do for fun on board the ship! On the second night the show was a ventriloquist. He got "volunteers" out of the audience. Cameron and I were sitting next to Rebecca and Michael at the very back of the theater (in case we wanted to exit early) and the rest of our family was much closer to the front. The guy seemed to making a beeline for me and I was like "please no" when he asked me to say my name. So instead he took Cameron. Cameron got to play his dummy. The woman who was picked got an "accidental" kiss from the ventriloquist guy so I was even more thankful I didn't go up. I was thankful too soon because the next time he went searching for volunteers he picked me out again!!
So I ended up getting to play a dummy cat for his rendition of Old McDonald. Funny thing was out of the hundreds of people in the audience, he picked my sister Michelle (sitting up front) out of the audience also to play the chicken! (she is in the red pants, I'm wearing gray and black)
My family spent lots of time in the card room playing "9 hole golf," "phase 10," and "hand and foot." Cameron actually admitted to having fun doing this. We were a bit of a rowdy group - usually taking up 3 tables - and got some dirty looks from the other card players.

Jane, Me, Cam and Melisa (back of her head)

Mary, Jane, Mike and back of Cam

Mary, my parents - Marilynn & Bob, and Melisa (Mary is her mother in law)

Another activity was being on "Family Fued" which we were excited about since we befriended the cruise director Paul earlier in the week and asked us to let us play for sure. But it ended up being kind of embarrassing since we really were not that funny. We didn't quite get that we were supposed to make up our jobs, and relation to the captain and Melisa was the captain so we were all just mothers. Oh well. Ironically, (since we are not drinkers) we ended up winning our round with a steal to the question "What are the most popular drinks served on the cruise?" We won with "bloody Mary" for an answer.

Cameron and Jane didn't know it but we also put their name in the bucket and they were also called up to play in a random group. Jane was named by her captain - the drunk aunt and Cameron was her biker brother. That night a group of us decided to have dinner at the steakhouse on board. We ended up with the only private room in the restaurant and had a really delicious dinner together.

Denise (Mike's sis in law), Jane, Cheryl (Mike's Mom), Rebecca, Cameron , Mike, Me

Rebecca and I had another picture taken together while we waited to be seated. You can't see it here but the sunset was beautiful. It was nice to watch the sunset and the shoreline as we ate inside.

There are no pictures but I have to mention that one night while waiting for our husbands card game to end we went into the nightclub and it was 70s disco night. We had a blast dancing by ourselves and managed to later get our husbands to dance to one song. Amazingly we all had so much fun that 2 other nights we danced for a long time each night. It was fun and most of the time the dance floor wasn't too crowded (the average age on the cruise was 60 so there were more watchers than dancers). Cameron and I hadn't danced that much in all the years we've been married. It was so much fun! I want to go on a cruise again with Bec and Mike and my hubby just to go dancing again!

This cruise we had a window room. It was nice to look out everyday and see what to expect! Cameron watched a few movies on the tiny TV they had in the room.

On the last night on board we had a "family dinner" and celebrated Cameron's 36th birthday. They even brought him out 2 little birthday cakes for everyone to share.
The cruise ended in Quebec City. We had our taxi driver gives a quick tour (he only spoke a little english) so it was mostly just looking a beautiful hotel? and a nice view of the city before rushing off to the airport (we were with Bec, Mike and Jane). Robynn and her boys were on the same flight as us to Newark and we ended up letting them ahead of us in line. Our flight was severely delayed and Robynn and boys got the last seats on a different flight so we ended up spending first over 2 hours in line and then another 3 hours waiting for our flight. By that time we missed all possible connecting flights to anywhere that would get us home. So we got to spend the night in Newark, New Jersey. And arriving home the next evening instead. On top of that we were too tired to take the train into NYC and a taxi was $75 each way. So we just stayed at the hotel for dinner and went to bed before our early flight. I saw the New York skyline as I flew in, from the airport and saw the Statue of Liberty from the plane as we took off. It had been 25 years since I'd been there and if we'd known we were going to have that layover - it would have been nice to see everything again - close up. Plus visit my cousin and friend who live in NJ.

My kids and my babysitters (Dean and Sarah Christensen) were very happy to have us home. And we were very happy to finally arrive (on Cameron's real 36th birthday).

Stops in Nova Scotia

On our 3 stops in Nova Scotia - St. John, Sydney and Halifax- we did a lot of this:

Walking

and this: WAITING

With a group of 20 - luckily we usually weren't always together - it seems like we were always waiting for someone or something or for a plan or whatever! Sometimes it felt like the waiting would be easier HERE.

But really we had a nice time with both my parents and Jane.

Cameron and I got to spend lots of quality time together!

We even kissed once or twice in public!!

Plus I got to spend lots of quality time with my twin sister/ best friend!

And the scenery was quite beautiful. This lighthouse is surrounded completely by granite rock and is the most pictured lighthouse in the world - I think that's what they said.

The little town/village by the lighthouse was very picturesque and many well known artists have gone there to draw and paint.

Here's a random picture of my brother, Ryan. Seems like I just don't have enough pictures of him so I thought I'd add it here. He is just 2 years older than Bec and I and tortured us as kids but as adults I really am glad to have him as a friend/brother. We used to talk on IM almost daily until recently when they won't let him use it at work anymore.

This is Bec and Mike in Sydney getting a nice photo in front of the fall foliage (wish I had thought to have one taken of me and Cameron - we weren't in the same "group" that day)

This very old French Fort was neat to see but it was sooo freezing that day that it was hard to enjoy.

Across the bay from the fort was another lighthouse to explore!

And on the drive back into Sydney we saw probably the best fall colors of the trip.A little reflecting pond we found at the side of the road. I love how it reflected the colors so well that I didn't even have to edit the picture.We also did a lot of this on the trip: Taking PicturesI took very few pictures in La Baie, Quebec and this one is my favorite. Bec, Michelle and me in our matching caps we bought in Bar Harbor - boy were we all glad we purchased them since they were needed everyday of the trip!

Cruise to New England & Canada - finally!

My parents treated us to another family cruise. This time we went on Norwegian Cruise Line's Spirit to New England & Canada. Not my first pick of places I'd want to cruise to but I was happy to be going with my family. My Dad said that seeing the leaves turn colors in New England in the fall was on his "bucket list" of things to do before he dies so that is why he picked it. My whole family minus my oldest brother and his wife met up in Boston for the trip. My parents also invited their friends the Naegles, 3 mother in laws- ours- Jane, Melisa's - Mary, and Rebecca's - Cheryl (who invited her daughter in law - Denise). Robynn and Michelle's husband couldn't come so they brought Robynn's boys (world travelers), Aydin and Altan along.

I have lots of pictures I want to post so I'll be breaking the post up so that I don't go crazy trying to get my pictures in the right order.

Cameron, Jane and I flew from Pasco to Boston and arrived at about 2 am to our hotel. The next morning we met my family for a guided walking tour of the freedom trail. On the way to the walking tour Bec and I found one of our few memories from our trip to Boston when we were 8 years old - the brass fruit in the street at the market place!

We split up into 2 groups for the tour - this was the "young" group.

Cameron posing in front of the old State house (I think)

When the tour was over and we'd had our donut and hot cocoa from one of the many Dunkin Donuts we were off to find the Harley Davidson shop in Quincy Market.

Then it was time to board the ship. After some craziness of trying to get everyone from the hotel to the ship we finally arrived and enjoyed seeing the Boston skyline as the ship pulled away from the Harbor. I love Cameron's look in this picture. It's kind of a combo - model look/ seductive one.

Our first stop was in Bar Harbor, Maine. We split up randomly to wander the town before our trolley tour to Cadillac Mountain. Michelle, Robynn, her boys and I went on the shoreline walk. My Mom and Melisa joined us for part of it but ditched us when we were taking too many pictures.

Robynn, me and Michelle posing in front of our ship.

The boys and I hiked down the rocky ledge to get our first touch of the Atlantic before we realized we had all already touched it before. I touched it on my first cruise to the Caribbean and they had touched it in Africa. So this was our first US touch of the Atlantic!

The boys were models of the moose hats and porky pine puppets in one of the many souvenir shops in Bar Harbor.

It was finally time for our informative Trolley tour. The rebels sat in the back of the bus!

Another view of our ship - this time from the top of Cadillac Mountain.

Cameron and I - he's always so happy to take pictures together!

And Rebecca and I before boarding the ship. I'd have to say Boston and Bar Harbor were my 2 most favorite stops on this cruise. Partly because they are in the USA and I knew more of the history of the areas compared to freezing cold Canada.

More posts to follow . . .