Ladies Weekend + Blake

So my mom, sisters, and sister-in-law, Stacy, all came out this past weekend. They all had a great time. I decided to tag along as my ski trip with the boys got pushed back for another weekend. The girls shopped themselves to death, we ate some good food, and had an all around great time with the family. In other news Sheena and I also celebrated our third anniversary December 1st. Hard to believe we have been married for three years, time really flies when you are having fun with your best friend. I also enjoyed a birthday and turned 28 on November 30th. Sheena's family came over for a birthday party, dinner, and some death-by-chocolate cake. It was great to see everyone. Life has been pretty busy lately and I can't believe it is almost Christmas. The lights are up, the tree is decorated, and we are looking forward to this holiday season. Wishing you all the best with lots of love and good times with friends and family.

Gratitude List

With Thanksgiving tomorrow, I have been thinking a lot about the things I'm grateful for. Here are a few I've been thinking about lately (in no particular order):

1. My calling in Church. I have been serving as the second counselor in the Young Women's Presidency now for about 4 months. I love working with all the young women, and I feel like I'm finally getting to know all of them so well. They have such sweet spirits and every time I come home from an activity or church my heart has somehow been touched. It's so nice to feel like you make a difference in others lives, and I think my Beehives make a difference in my life as well.

2. My husband, Blake. He is the most caring, hard working, honest person I know. It's not always easy to be around me and still love me as much as he does. I'm fairly stubborn, and so is Blake, but no matter who's right or wrong, he's usually the first to apologize. I want to say "sorry" but I'm not nearly as humble as he is when it comes to being wrong.

3. Our dog, Lucy. I know for most people she's only a dog, but to me she's part of the family. Blake and I have wanted to have kids for quite some time now, and haven't been blessed with the opportunity yet. She fills that void that I sometimes feel. Although she doesn't always listen, and she sheds a lot of hair on my clothes, she is such a sweet dog.

4. My family. No matter what, they've always been there for me. It's so great being married too because you get to have 2 families. My parents have always told me from day one that I married into such a great family. It didn't take my parents telling me that to believe it, but every time I'm with Blake's family it reminds me of how lucky I am to have them in my life.

5. My job. Although there are several mornings I wish I could stay home, I do really love my job. It's close to home, and it's great to work with such great doctors and employees that make work a fun place.

6. Being a member of the Church. I don't know where I would be today without it in my life. It brings me so much joy and peace. I love learning about new things, and being reminded of things I've already been taught. My 2 favorites phrases to this day are "Come what may and love it" and "Joy in the journey."

I hope as Thanksgiving Day comes that we all can take some time to reflect on the things that we're grateful for.

Let It Snow!

Yes, it doesn't happen very often, especially this early, but we have SNOW in Bothell! This weekend it was super cold for Seattle. It feels really cold here when it gets down in the 20's and 30's because it is much more humid. I looked out the window this morning and to my great surprise it was snowing pretty good outside. I looked online and it appears that Crystal Mountain and Mount Baker ski resorts also opened this weekend after getting several feet of snow in the past few days. Looks like it should be a good skiing year. I included a couple of pictures of Lucy in the snow as this is something pretty new to her. She looked a bit confused and kept trying to catch the snowflakes and eat them. She started running around like a crazy dog nipping at the air. The pictures you see are when she was actually calm and sitting nicely.

The Cone of Shame

Well as you can see from the picture, Lucy had a trip to the vet this week to be spade. She was a little sluggish when she got home and was pretty out of it. We didn't think we would have to use the "cone of shame", but she kept licking her surgery site, so we had to slap it on. She was way freaked out and barely moved anywhere. Works pretty well if you want to calm her down. Just throwing that out there for Heidi and her kids if she wants them to behave. Put them in a "cone of shame" and see if that helps :). The other picture is of Lucy doing what she does best; lounge around the house. By the way, in this picture she is on our bed . She is pretty much the Queen Bee in our house.

Viva La EUROPE!!

We've done it.....we've just booked out plane tickets to Europe! We're going to 5 countries in 16 days. I know crazy right, but what if we never find the time to go again. On the itinerary is France, Italy, Poland, Germany, and Switzerland. We would love ideas of great places to go if anyone has been to any of these countries.

Doggy Boredom

So Sheena came home last week and Lucy welcomed here with a nice surprise. Apparently, she tried to jail break out of her kennel, realized that she could not dig her way through the hard plastic, and rebelled by ripping her bed to foam bits. Doesn't look like she ate too much of the foam and if she did, it will be "soft" on the way out. What was even more funny, was the fact that when Sheena found Lucy's bed in this state of disarray, Lucy was giving her the sad-puppy look of innocence as if to say "I know I am the only dog in this 5' X 4' crate and I know what this looks like, but I promise I had nothing to do with it." She's priceless; full of surprises, but priceless.

"29" and Grown Up

For my birthday this past August I told Blake that I would really love a "grown up" purse. I've never bought a REALLY nice purse. I've just never been to into spending a good amount of money on something that hangs on your shoulder. Jeans-yes-at least you can wear those all day and love them. A purse you can only really love when you're out going places. Last weekend I we went to the Coach outlet store and I cashed in on my gift. I love it! It's a light purple color on the inside. I finally know why people love nice purses. I think there may be a bad habit brewing :)