Christmas 2007

First off, we hope that everyone had a wonderful and safe Christmas.

The holiday weekend started off on Saturday with Courtney and I making ginger bread cookies in our new house. She was very excited to see our home, and even more happy to bake. We had fun decorating and cutting out holiday shapes, and then of course my favorite part was eating them.

Sunday night my dad sang a solo in their ward Christmas devotional and Matt and I were able to head out their way for the show. He sang "The most beautiful story ever told" on his guitar and it was so pretty. Everyone was very impressed. Cory and Alex were also able to make it over and so we had a gift exchange at my parents house with her before she left for the holidays. And lucky for me, they were able to bring the puppy who is getting so big!

We played Catch Phrase and ate a little dinner before giving our gifts and of course, the girls won.Matt and I gave her a bracelet and my parents got her a really cute wallet. Alex gave me an adorable sweater and headband, and my parents both got great gifts too.

The next morning Matt went to work and I took advantage of my day off by sleeping in until 11. Then we headed over to my parents to do all our Christmas traditions even though it was the Eve. We snacked all day and then ate a really good ham dinner. We all opened our gifts and then watched the Nativity Story, which was really great. My parents bought us a bread maker that I am really excited to use, and I got a really cute wallet from my mom also. They got Matt a really nice sweater that he looks very good in.

Following years of tradition, we all got new pajamas, and spent the rest of the night in them.

We got my mom a blue tooth for her phone, my dad a CD and a Guitar Center gift card, and we got Cory some nice T-Shirts. We all had a really great time. Even all the dogs.

Christmas morning Matt and I had a very relaxing time to ourselves. We got up, had a little breakfast and opened our gifts together. Matt was surprised to get an air compressor and tools, a sonicare toothbrush and an egg poacher. Matt got me a really nice computer (I can finally work on my designs!) and a porch swing! I am so excited to have both!

Later that afternoon we headed over to the Aprecios for the festivities and had a really great time. We were also excited to have it snowing outside which is always a fun thing to have on Christmas.

We got Ben a really nice blanket, a new XBOX game and some kitchen tools. We got Jan the new Guitar Hero and The Furminator brush for her dogs. I found Shauna a really nice sweater and it looked so pretty on her. I was happy that everything turned out so good.

Matts parents got us an LCD tv for our place. I have no idea where it is going to go (its huge!) but Im sure Matt will find a place for it. Here I am, in total shock as I open it.

Then there was a gift for all of us kids. Shauna and I got to open it together, and were super excited to find Rock Band inside. These are our "rock star" faces.Here is the Christmas aftermath. We also got some new clothes, books and a new bedding set. Without losing any time, Matt set up Rock Band and we got to work. Chris, Tiffany and Garrett joined us for dinner, and were a great addition to the Aprecio band.

We buy eachothers love :)

We may have gone a little overboard with gifts this year! They dwarf our 7 foot tree!

Project Runway

Matt and I are addicted to the Bravo TV show, Project Runway. We have been through 3 seasons now, and we cant get enough. We have even pulled in a few of our friends and family to the Wednesday night tradition. Last night we invited a bunch of people over to watch season 4 with us and eat some pizza. Shauna and Garrett came, Brett, Cory and Alex and Chris and Tiffany. They all showed up just in time for the show.

However, it wasn't on last night due to the holidays! But we didn't panic. Chris went out to his car and got "Guesstures" for us to all play.

We all had a lot of fun and played girls against guys. We won the first game, and the guys won the second.

Cory and Alex brought Dundee with them, and he was so good. Briz got a little upset and bullied him all night, but luckily Princess was interested in showing him some love. She was so not herself last night, and came out of hiding to get attention and see the visitors. It was so funny. I think that she is really liking the new house and her new freedom we call "outside".

2 birthdays & a wedding

Friday night Matt and I were able to attend the wedding of Emily Porter and Andrew Moulton. Congrats to them both! They are such a cute couple.It was a lot of fun for me because I grew up with Emily, and went to school with Andrew. So it was a big reunion for my family and I. Matt knew the Porters from the singles ward, and so he had a lot of old friends there too.
Sunday night we had a wonderful dinner at the Aprecio's for Ben and my birthday. It was so much fun, and I got a coloring book, pretty ear rings from Hawaii and a sweater. We got Ben some stuff for his XBox because he had foot surgery recently, and so he spends a lot of time playing games.
Monday I took the day off of work to get some things done around the house and finish my Christmas shopping. I painted, put up some pictures and cleaned things up a bit. It was a great day to be home and warm. It snowed all morning and it was very windy. I took a picture of the mountain that we have a view of from our bedroom window. In the picture, that is our house on the right, so we don't have that stupid pole in our way. Its so beautiful, and I am so thankful to have this house.

For Tim

***We interrupt your regularly scheduled blogging for an important news bulletin***

Tim left a message on Holly's phone asking for the Subaru parts info we talked about last weekend- There is too much to give in a voicemail, so here it is!

http://www.speerschong.com/ron/sti/sidemarkers/ - This is the website that provides the templates and diy instructions for the JDM sidemarkers (PN 84401SA000).

I get all my genuine subaru parts from www.subaruparts.com, they have great pricing and as long as you know the part number you're looking for they're no muss no fuss to use.

www.iwsti.com has a whole subforum of diy threads, it's a great resource. You can also look on www.scoobymods.com.

http://www.turninconcepts.com/ is where I bought all of the bushings for the shifter, transmission, and rear differential. The installations are fairly straight forward and it's probably the biggest bang for the buck mod that I've done. Great company with great customer service.

http://www.racecompengineering.com/ is a great site for suspension needs/wants :). Very knowledgeable Subaru guys that are always willing to offer suggestions and help.

You can always call me too, although I'm sure I'm not the best resource :)

Let me know if I missed something in particular.

***Now, back to your regularly scheduled girly stuff***

This Weekend...

...Matt and I got to go see Laurel and Malcolm star in "The Pied Piper" at their school. They did such a great job! Laurel was a villager, and had a bunch of lines and Malcolm was a rat. He got to dance around and be silly the whole time. (it was the perfect part for him!) After the show we got to see Laurels class room and enjoy some big cookies. Then we headed over the the Dillon's house for the usual jump-all-over-Matt game and catch up on all the family news. We are sad to live so far away from the kids, but we will be happy to have them over anytime to test the durability of our new house :)

Saturday Courtney, her mom and I went bowling and did a little holiday shopping. Matt stayed home and installed a garage door opener that is so quiet the dog doesn't even know when we get home! Its really great and he did a great job.

Sunday we went to Church for the first time in our new ward. We didn't meet anyone because we only stayed for Sacrament meeting, but it seems like a great group of people.

We got home and Matt put on some football which equals a nap for me. I slept for close to 5 hours! It was so great. I really needed it especially to help fight off this cold.

Matt and I are loving the house and got to bake cookies in our oven for the first time. I did burn the first batch (I made the timer for 7 hours as apposed to the suggested 7 minutes) but the rest were really tasty! We also finally found some furniture that we both love, so we will have a place to sit soon!

A night with the Burtons

What is my problem? I get to go out to dinner with my absolute favorite Kathryn and I don't take any pictures!!? This illness I have been fighting must have melted something in my brain because I am not myself. On any regular night I would have taken shots of all of us at dinner, Kathryn and I with food in our mouths, standing in front of the house, talking next to the fire, and of course a picture of the guys standing in the driveway talking cars for two hours. I cant believe I have no photographic proof that I go to hang out with the Burtons!
Yes, its true. Kathryn Salmon-Burton surprised me yesterday with the news that they had come into town for the week and she wanted to see me! Matt and I met her and Tim at the Spaghetti Factory (so what if we already ate there this week) for dinner and then headed over to our house to hang out for a little bit. The guys went for a drive in the STI while Kat and I sat in my couch-less living room and girl talked. I got to hang out with Kathryn all summer, and I really miss her now that they have moved back to Hawaii. I am so happy for them to finally be together, (Tim was in Iraq for 15 months) but I do wish they lived closer.
However, blogs, emails and phone calls will get me through it!
Thank you Kathryn and Tim for the visit, the "Fertile God" Tiki, the calendar, the chocolates and the dinner that you slyly paid for.
Love you!

Snow

It started to snow on Saturday while I was out shopping with Courtney, and we had a fun time driving around in it. The picture above is Court making the sign for "Snow" during lunch at Kidd Valley.

Saturday night Matt and I took my parents, my brother and Alex out to dinner for my Moms birthday and for their help with the move. We ate at the Spaghetti Factory, and we had a great time. It took us a while to get home because Washingtonians freak out when there is anything other than concrete on the roads. When we did get home we played out in the snow with Brisbane and our neighbors Aussie, "Camo".

Sunday we slept in and then got some things done around the house. I was happy to be able to stay at home and rest since I have been fighting this awful cold for a week now. I will regret posting this next picture, but I thought that it was pretty funny. I fell asleep at about 4pm last night next to the fire with Princess. Look at us with our white socks...aww. :)We don't have furniture yet, so this is what I have to do for now. Not long after this picture was taken, she cuddled up next to me (which is very rare and exciting) and we slept for another hour or so. Princess is showing a lot of interest in going outdoors which is making Matt very happy. She does come in to eat and sleep, but we are hoping to get rid of the little box entirely.

Briz is LOVING the back yard and we will find her playing all by herself out there as long as she has a ball. Matt and I are still trying to get things unpacked and put away. We will also be trying to figure out furniture soon, but we can not agree on anything right now. He wants leather, I want fabric, and both of us are too stubborn to find a medium. But its still all very exciting!