Vail

We took a nice trip to Vail for our anniversary! It was SO good to get away from life and spend time together. We live together, work together, drive one car together but its still so much better to spend time together away from the norm. Its marriage reviving. We drove up on a Saturday and found this awesome little French cafe to have lunch at. The food was awesome! I had baked brie with walnuts and apples on bread. Yum! Then we took the gondola ride up to the top of the mountain and played frisbee golf. It was gorgeous up there! I felt like singing just like Maria in the Sound of Music. Curt quickly hushed me.....obviously cant appreciate GREAT singing.
I cant remember who won, Im sure it was Curt. What man just plays for fun? Not mine.

Sushi!

On our anniversary night we went out for Sushi but forgot to take pictures of it before we ate it. Dorks! So we took pictures afterwards. At least we found really good sushi here in Denver. Coming from Seattle, they really dont have a lot of good seafood anywhere else.
Curt took me to sushi on our very first date.....aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Isnt he a doll :)
Then we went to Whole Foods and got yummie dessert! I posted the pictures backwards :)Oh,well.

Happy Anniversary to us!!!!

Three years ago today we were roasting our way down the isle with 95 degree weather in Spokane, WA. I picked the best day in the world to get married too. The same weekend as Hoop Fest, Ironman and a soccer tournament all in the Spokane area. Needless to say, there was no hotels for anyone to stay in and people were busy.
BUT, it was the best day! I dont remember one second of bride brain or worry. I just enjoyed every minute of that day. Now the week before was a little overwhelming. I felt like my brain was 10 sizes too big for my skull and I had SO many people from Curts side that I had to meet and look interested in meeting but that is really the last thing that you want to do. That is one hard thing about marrying someone not from your state, is you tend to met all his family and friends on the biggest day of your life :)
I remember when Curt and I were dating and he was in Africa the summer of 2003. I had bought Nora Jones CD and listened to it the whole summer. My favorite song of hers is called "Shoot the Moon" and the very first line says, "summer days are gone too soon". I remember thinking to myself, "not this summer", because the days kept dragging and dragging and it felt like years until the day Curt finally came home. Its crazy to think that was 4 years ago!! And now I wouldnt mind if he went away for a few months! LOL!!!! I am kidding!!!
I love you Honey! I am so thankful that the Lord brought us together from states apart and the perfect time. He gave me everything that I asked for and so much more. I couldnt imagine my life without you. We have had such a wonderful, challenging, fabulous 3 years. So much life has happened it all most feels like we have been married longer :) I love the adventure that we are on right now and I look forward to all the adventures of the future (as long as they take us back to Washington :))I'm thankful that we serve a big God who knew from the very beginning that you were the perfect man for me. Happy Anniversary!!!

Oh! to be this free....

My little fashion model, puddle jumper, swimmer and bike rider all in one. Wouldnt it be nice to be free to wear whatever you wanted at anytime.
So I have A LOT of pictures and stories to post about my trip to Washington but our computer is at the Dr.'s so I have to wait. I hope to get to it soon :)You can all wait with great anticipation until I get it all done. Until then, enjoy looking at Julia - the fashion model.

I am Elizabeth Bennett

:: L I Z Z Y ::

You are Elizabeth Bennet of Pride & Prejudice! You are intelligent, witty, and tremendously attractive. You have a good head on your shoulders, and oftentimes find yourself the lone beacon of reason in a sea of silliness. You take great pleasure in many things. You are proficient in nearly all of them, though you will never own it. Lest you seem too perfect, you have a tendency toward prejudgement that serves you very ill indeed.

Pride and Prejudice, I think, is my favorite Jane Austin movie. Its so hard to chose! Sense & Sensibility and Pride & Prejudice are my number ones. Emma a close 2nd. If I had to be another character besides Lizzie, I would want to be Elenore Dashwood. She is just fabulous and I still tear up every time I see her cry when she realizes that Mr. Ferris has not married the ugly little girl with which he has been secretly engaged to these many years. My sister and I watched the 6 hour P&P 4 times in one week a few years ago. Such a great movie, great characters, great acting. Who can resist Mr. Darcy's character? You just hate him and love him all in the same breath. Oh, I love Jane Austin!

So many excuses....

I just thought I should post a quick note so that people would have something new to read if and when they visit my blog. Nothing more discouraging than to go to a blog for a month and not see anything new. I am in Washington right a this moment. I am in Spokane visiting my parents and tomorrow Jana, the kids and I drive back to Seattle. I have to do a few things on our house that we are selling in Maple Valley before I am able to go back to Colorado. Its a little bitter sweet. I am having to stay a bit longer than I anticipated which is "yay" for me to spend more time with family and friends, but also sad for me because I will have to be away from my husband longer. The last time we were away for this long was 2 months after we got married and He went to Africa for 2 weeks. Talk about the stupidest decision that we ever made. Newlyweds should never be away from each other for that long.
Anyways, I am trying to make sure I see everyone before I go back to the "land of thin air". When I am home I will post the millions of pictures that I took of all the kids and tell you all the great stories that I have :)

National Day of Prayer

President Bush has declared today a national day of prayer. Here is a prayer that Dr. Charles R. Swindoll wrote for our nation:

"Almighty God, we pause to reflect on Your character as we seek wisdom for such a time as this.
In these unsafe days, You remain all-powerful and able to protect;
In these uncertain times, You remain all-knowing, leading us aright;
In the unprecedented events we're facing, You remain absolutely sovereign.Our times are in Your hands.
Therefore, our dependence on You, is total, not partial . . . our need for Your forgiveness is constant. . . our gratitude for Your grace is profound. . . our love for You is deep.
We ask that You guard and guide our President and all who serve the people of these United States. May uncompromising integrity mark their lives. We also ask that You unite us as truly "one nation, under God." May genuine humility return to our ranks. And may that blend of integrity and humilityheal our land. In our Lord's name we pray, Amen".

I thought it was a great prayer to pray over our nation today. I hope that all of you are taking time to thank the Lord for his blessings on us and the wonderful United States that we get to live in.

Happy Birthday to me!

I'm a year closer to 30. At least I'm not Lisa who will be 30 in 10 days - LOL! My darling husband woke up early, went and got me Starbucks and then took me to " The Original Pancake House", which serves the best breakfast in the world. I had the crepe's with fresh strawberries. Yum! Then tonight we went and had sushi with our friends Paul and Lori Trani. Curt bought my favorite cake from Whole Foods. Its called the Chantilly Berry Cake and oh my goodness! If you get a chance, go to Whole Foods in Bellevue and try it. They sell it in individual pieces. The picture of the cake is at a funny angle because we had eaten the other half :) But it is a beautiful cake.

So I had a really nice day :) Bill and Jenn sang me the most energetic version of the Red Robin happy birthday song. It was invigorating! All my family and Curts family called to wish me a happy birthday. I am blessed.

Headboard

So, here is the headboard that Curt and I made. I am still not sure if I like the bump in the middle, but Curt does and so for now it stays. I am very pleased as to how it turned out. It was our first attempt and I think we did well. Now all I need is bedding that I like to go with it. I actually like the bedding that I have but I think I want to try something else. Curt thinks Im crazy because we have not had our current bedding very long. Im sure that he is right. Our room looks a bit bleak from this angle, but its actually quite cute, espescially when the bed is made.

For Sale

Well, the time as come to sell our adorable home in Maple Valley. Our very first home that we ever owned, sniff, sniff. We just dont know how long we are going to be here and therefore need to let our home go to someone else who can love it a lot. We bought it 6 months after we got married and have so many great memories in it. I think every Sunday Jenn and Bill came over for veg day after church. We always seemed to make tacos or Papa Murphys pizza. Then we would make the boys go down to Safeway and buy brownies and icecream. Safeway was just down the hill and what a wonderful shopping area to have within walking distance. We always got to see Mt. Rainier as we drove out of our neighbor hood on a clear day. Curt and I walked a lot in the neighbor hood because it was such a great walk and a peaceful place. It was also a great place to run. When Jana and Justin and the kids lived with us we would take the kids to the awesome park we had. Jana and I would walk to Starbucks every Saturday morning to get our fix and some exercise. I feel teary as I type. We are really going to miss our house and the most awesome neighborhood in the world!

Found it!

Look at this adorable table that I found! I had been looking and looking for a table to fit that wall because I felt like the wall needed to be anchored. I was browsing Ross one night and bam! there it was. Its hand painted and had a broken leg so I got 40% off. The broken leg was nothing, very fixable, so I got a great table for a lot less :) And I am happy!

Guess what!!??!!!

Our family is expanding!!!! We are adding to more too the brood this fall. Jana and Lindsay are expecting!!! Lins is having her baby around September 22nd and Jana is having hers around Nov 17th. Im SO excited!!!! More babies to love :) Hooray. Julia was telling me all about the baby in her Moms tummy. She said that they hope its either a boy or a girl. I asked "what if its neither?" She was confused. She asked Jana if the baby had toys to play with in her tummy? Kids are so cute! So that is our happy news for now. I swear, there is something in the Washington water! So many women I know are pregnant. Fun!!!

Valentines Day!

We had a great Valentines day. I got up early that morning and made Curt a special breakfast with my Grandmas amazing syrup recipe. I made french toast, eggs, fried potatoes and orange juice. Yum! Then he took me on a date on Saturday. It was a suprise and he planned it all by himself. We started off the day with Starbucks, who can beat that, and then our first stop was the "Unsinkable Molly Brown" house. I grew up watching that movie and then of course everyone who is a Titanic fan knows her from that movie also. I was so amazed that he remembered that I liked that movie and would love to see her real house! Isnt he awesome. Then we went to the Colorado History musem which was lovely also. After that he took me to one of my favorite restaraunts the "Old Spagetti Factory". He actually doesnt like that place so it was a huge sacrifice for him to take me there :) After that we went downtown Denver and went shopping and then to a movie. We went to the Cheesecake Factory afterwards and got dessert. Yum! What a perfect day and what a wonderful husband!!!

Future makeup Artist

This is Julia and her friend Reagan and then of course Jace and Reagans brother Josiah. Arent kids so wonderful!

Happy Birthday Jules

Julia turned 4 on the 6th of March. My goodness I still remember the day she was born. My Dad called me at 5:45 in the morning to tell me that she had been born. We didnt know whether it would be a girl or a boy so it was sure exciting when we knew it was a girl! I had no idea my life would never be the same.

We had so much fun putting together her gift and mailing it. I think we had more fun than she did opening it. Here are some pictures of what we sent.