Miss Bathtub 2007

A Trip to the Park - Dec. 16th

Mark and his Dad, Ken. Family resemblance, you think?

Getting Ready for Christmas

On December 1st we went on our annual Christmas tree outing with the Lashleys. It was a cooold snowy day. We went to Kuhney's Tree Farm in Seabeck - a very snowy, slick, steep drive made for excitement on the way. We had a great time (except maybe Austin. Helllloooo teenager!)


The next day we played in the snow and had great fun until the rain came (see the next post for the flood!)
This could be one of my favorite pictures in a long time. Josh giving the snow man a kiss. He really is THAT sweet of a guy! She really is a beauty. This picture doesnt do her justice. :-)

Chio Way Flood

This is the intersection of Chico Way (our road) and Newberry Hill. It's an absolute lake. As much as we love living on the water, we'd like to keep it in the Sound - not in our driveway. Hop in your boat and pay us a visit! :-)

Visiting Santa, 2007

We went to visit Santa on Sunday, 12/2. Josh, Malia, & Kaylie were so excited to see him. Ok, I'm totally lying - Kaylie was scared to death and it took some serious crying, talking, and bribing with candy canes before she finally agreed to get near him. The kids were prepared with wish lists for Santa. Josh asked for a Sonic the Hedgehog video game, Malia asked for a new jump rope and unicorn chapter books, and Kaylie asked for a Barbie cash register.

It was a snowy, snowy day - perfect for a visit with Santa. Afterwards we went home, had hot chocolate and played in the snow.

Kaylie's First Haircut

We took Kaylie to have her first hair trim on Saturday. She was very nervous and kept telling us that she didn't need a haircut. Once she learned that she would get a balloon afterwards, she was ok with the idea. She sat perfectly still and got a cute new 'do. (Actually just a little trimmer-upper to clean up the ends and even out the curls. It's darling!)

Thanksgiving Week

We forgot to take a picture of the new floors before we put the furniture back, but here they are! We are so happy with how they turned out!

Thanksgiving dinner at our house... my parents, my uncle Ken, Aunt Judy, & Cousin Grant, Mark's mom Linda, Mindy, April & Baby Braeden. So much to be thankful for!

Dad and Kay making owl eyes with the napkin rings.


Cousin Love!

Us

Us again
Sweet Baby Kay... before her new haircut

What's New...

Our camera is broken. We are so sad. Someone (who shall remain un-named) implied that perhaps Mark broke it so that he can finally get that new fancy camera that he's had his eye on. Hmmmm.... it does seem a little suspicious. Now that I think of it, he did have a little glimmer in his eye when he casually suggested picking up a new camera at the after Thanksgiving sales...

Speaking of after Thanksgiving sales, here is an example of how awesome Mark is. The other day I told him that we would be hitting Kohl's for the 4am opening, Fred Meyer (1/2 price socks, baby!!!) at 5am and Target at 6am. After the briefest of pauses he just smiled at me and said, "Ok. Are we bringing Kay?" What a man!!! (I was kidding by the way. I don't care to do anything at 4am except sleep.)

Anyway, life has been H E C T I C ! We moved back home on Sunday to absolutely gorgeous new floors. We couldn't be happier with them. (Thank you, Clay Branes; Clay's Hardwood Floor Service!) Mark has been madly working at replacing the trim on the entire main floor. It's almost done and looks great. We are still cleaning sawdust out of the house daily.

Thanksgiving will be held at our house for the first time. I think this officially means we're grown ups. We'll have 11 people - wish us luck!

Love to all! Happy Thanksgiving!

Our First Wedding Anniversary

On Nov. 11th, Mark and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary!! We stayed overnight in Seattle and went to the Triple door http://www.thetripledoor.com/ to see CéU www.ceumusic.com/ . It was wonderful evening, the show was amazing (front row seats, dinner & wine service throughout the show) and the company, of course, was perfect. Thank you Jessica & Jeff for keeping Kaylie overnight! She had a great time!

Mark is certainly the most patient, kind, patient, thoughtful (did I say patient?) man I've ever met. I said it in our wedding vows & I'll say it again and again: I am honored to be your wife. I love you, Mark!


I'll post more pictures of our weekend later. We are a little displaced this week; staying with Mark's mom while our floors are being refinished. We'll be happy to be settled home again late this weekend.

Malia Loses Tooth #4

Today Malia had a tooth v. musical recorder v. ground incident which resulted in the loss of her 4th tooth. We can't wait for the Tooth Fairy to visit tonight! Please feel free to send monetary donations to the Malia Hughes Orthodontia Fund.

The Falling of the Trees

With the help of our close manly friends, our front yard now sees sunlight. Three huge trees came down without incident. As they fell, there was an eerily loud sound of splitting wood, then the most enormous crash as the tree hit the ground and made the earth shake - followed by cheering from the guys. I was too nervous and couldn't actually watch until the 3rd one came down - it wasn't until later that I learned that the shoots off the tops of the tree are called "widow makers".

These guys continue to amaze me. Thank you, Mark, Mike, Tony, Keith & Ken! We are so very lucky to have such wonderful friends and family! XXOO!


Look very closely. That is Mark roped in near the top of the main trunk of the tree. I'm glad I didn't see this until they were done. The guys dubbed Mark the tree surgeon, as his cuts were precise and exact.


# 1 Down
Keith
Tony

Ken

Mike - phenomenal with a chain saw!

Victory at the end of the day! (Look in the background and guess what Marky Mark will be doing for the next week!)

Trick or Treating 2007

Kaylie was scared of Paxton's costume. It took awhile for her to realize that it was him. Funny that both Avery's were devils this year!

The center of attention: Peapod Braeden!


This year we went to Downtown Bremerton to Trick or Treat with The Neymans & The Adamskis. Despite the cold night, we had a lot of fun.
The night ended with hot chocolate and checking out the loot.

The Costumes

Kaylie Kitty Cat crawling in

Kitty Kaylie, Geisha Malia, Flamingo Rider Austin, Ninja Josh & Devil Avery


Guess who?!?

Pumpkin Carving 2007

The guests of honor this year - newlyweds Jenene & Craig. We were so happy that they joined us. Craig's glitter covered pumpkin was all the rage, and the fact that he likes to cook, does dishes, & watches Martha Stewart made us like him all that much more!
Camerin attempting to duplicate Craig's glitter pumpkin.

The boys pulled out the power tools this year


My Momma
And my Dad!