Thanksgiving pictures

Here are a few pictures from our time at Dad and Mom's on Thanksgiving.

On Thanksgiving the Cowboys played the Seahawks. Kate and Forrest represented their home state teams (even though Julius Jones and Shaun Alexander no longer play for either team). I think my sister is definitely tougher than her other half.

Here are a few pictures from our annual football game. Some are a little blurry, but I want to share them with my other sisters who couldn't be there. We really missed Bethany and Holly (okay I guess Ben too). Since they are all in MN we were glad that they could be with Ben's family. We did harass them a little and call and sing Ben's family "Turkey Song" to them.

Uncle Doug got to be the quarterback for both teams.

Dad got a flag football set so there would be no arguing about where someone was down.

Josh loved the addition of the flags, he felt like he could escape being "tackled" with his fancy footwork. I think that Auntie Patty got him on this one though.

We stayed over with Dad and Mom for the weekend. Mom and I woke up early on Friday to meet Auntie Patty, Camilla, Karissa and Grandma to go shopping. We didn't go looking for anything specific and we didn't buy one Christmas present, but we did have fun seeing all the people who take the sales so seriously. One thing I did buy the day after Christmas is a new comforter for our bed, which means it is time for me to repaint our bedroom. Josh tells me I can repaint our place as much as I want as long as I don't get him involved. I have a feeling he is going to regret telling me that. I already have the paint picked out, so tune into our house blog soon to see the results.

Mom and I are ready for winter, our matching snowmen shirts haven't brought the white stuff yet. We still have a while until the 25th and I do prefer a white Christmas. However, I am enjoying the blue sky and temperature in the 40's that we have today. Also, my sisters in Minnesota inform me that the temperature is nearing zero there. I guess I am glad to be here.

Again

We are way behind on posts, but here are some pictures from the basketball tournament a couple weekends ago.

For the second year in a row for Josh, and third year for poor Forrest, their team placed second. Despite taking second we had an awesome weekend with friends.

On the way over the team decided to stop in North Bend at the Nike outlet to pick up some Jerseys, they were very pleased when the found these China jerseys.

Team China
Team huddle

I had a great time with all of the teams wives and girlfriends. Plus, I got to hang out with two of the cutest guys around:

Tristan showing us the game plan

Cutie Wade

The guys on SundayThe crew who stayed at Mom and Dad's

More pictures

Here are a few more pictures from my road trip to the midwest with Holly.

We stopped at Yellowstone, which was a big disappointment this time of year for us. All of the visitor centers and building were closed and only one road was open. So, we just drove 30 miles across the park then had to turn around and drove back.

We did get to see some wildlife.

These were the road conditions when Holly informed me she had never driven in the snow before.
Thankfully, she was an amazing driver and we didn't end up like this guy. We started taking pictures of the cars we saw stuck in the ditch to entertain us.

We stopped by Wall Drug, which is "famous for being famous." We weren't overly impressed but we were thankful for the signs on the side of the road through South Dakota that kept us entertained.
We stopped by Battle of Little Bighorn and learned tons about history in the area.

According to Holly's book 1000 Places to see Before You Die the Badlands in the winter are a must. We didn't agree. This was the coldest that we were the whole trip.

Snow piled up over our head in Sturgis, but we couldn't resist stopping.

Mount Rushmore was the highlight of our trip.

The most exciting part of our trip was the low gas prices. $1.89 was the cheapest that we came across in Cour de Alene.

Six States in Five Days

It is hard to believe that two of my sisters are now residents of the state of Minnesota. I just got back from an amazing road trip helping Holly relocate to Minneapolis. We left my place Friday morning stayed in Butte on night one. Day two we went to Yellowstone and then crashed in Billings. Sunday we stopped to visit Little Bighorn then made it to Rapid City, SD. Monday was a full day of Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Custer State Park, the Badlands and Wall Drug before calling Chamberlain, SD home for the night. Tuesday was the day when the weather finally caught up to us and we had to make it through a snow storm but we arrived safe and Ben and Bethany's place. It was fun to get to spend sometimes with the B's before flying back to Seattle on Friday. Mom picked me up at the airport and we made it home just before Josh and his caravan from North Central Washington arrived. We all spent the weekend with Dad and Mom so the guys could play in the annual Portland basketball tournament. Stay tuned for more pictures of the trip and from our awesome weekend.

Holly in Montana and Wyoming

Entering Wyoming the first time in Yellowstone

More midwest pictures

Here are a few more pictures from my road trip to the midwest with Holly.

We stopped at Yellowstone, which was a big disappointment this time of year for us. All of the visitor centers and building were closed and only one road was open so we just drove 30 miles across the park then had to turn around and drove back.

We did get to see some wildlife.

These were the road conditions when Holly informed me she had never driven in the snow before.
Thankfully, she was an amazing driver and we didn't end up like this guy. We started taking pictures of the cars we saw stuck in the ditch to entertain us.

We stopped by Wall Drug, which is "famous for being famous." We weren't overly impressed but we were thankful for the signs on the side of the road through South Dakota that kept us entertained.
We stopped by Battle of Little Bighorn and learned tons about history in the area.

According to Holly's book 1000 Places to see Before You Die the Badlands in the winter are a must. We didn't agree. This was the coldest that we were the whole trip.

Snow piled up over our head in Sturgis, but we couldn't resist stopping.

Mount Rushmore was the highlight of our trip.

The most exciting part of our trip was the low gas prices. $1.89 was the cheapest that we came across in Cour de Alene.

I already can't wait to go back and do this road trip again. Next time I think I will bring my husband along, and definitely not go during the winter.

My husband the cowboy

It is the beginning of basketball season again and I was getting used to the fact that I would be seeing even less of my husband than normal. However, I have been pleasantly surprised that he is now getting home earlier then he does when he doesn't have practicing forcing him out of the office. Last year Joel was the assistant coach and Josh was bummed that with Joel In Ellensburg this year they wouldn't be able to coach together. So, Josh roped Justin into filling the other coaching position and is enjoying coaching but also loving the chance to spend more time with his friends.

Anyway, since Josh feels like he has so much free time after practice he is filling it with new hobbies. One day last week he came home from practice and informed me that he was going to go horseback riding. I was a little hesitant to agree to let him go since just last week at work I saw two patients with broken wrists from falling off horses, and because every time Justin introduces Josh to something new Josh decides he too needs to invest in this hobby. I am thankful that Josh came home in on piece and while he really enjoyed his ride he is not yet trying convince me that he needs a horse of his own.

Family Time

We are back home and well rested from a couple weeks off of work. We spent some time in Minneapolis with Ben and Bethany then we drove to Chicago to visit Jason and Sue. We had a great time hanging out and it was good to see where both couples are living. Neither of us had ever been to Minnesota so it was fun to do some exploring. In Chicago the weather was much better than the last time we were there, so we could not have been happier.

At the Minneapolis Sculpture Park

Josh harrassing the crocs at the Aquarium in the Mall of America.

Bethany and I in the shark cage at the aquarium in the Mall of America

Ben giving us a tour of the U of M, where he spends most of his time

Josh sporting his new U of M shirt

Our first day in Chicago Jason had school and Sue had to work so Josh planned a full day of activities. That morning we went to the Field Museum, then We traveled to Oak Park a little community north of Chicago where architect Frank Lloyd Wright lived. Oak Park is a cute historic town with some amazing houses. We went on a walking tour of some of Frank Lloyd Wright houses, then we were so impressed we decided to go on a tour of the first house that He designed and lived in with His family. Frank Lloyd was the architect who inspired the design of our house so it was good for us to be able get some ideas for our place.

On recommendation by Ben, we check out the Field Museum.

Frank Llyod Wright's family home
Attached to the back of his home was his studio

While we were there we got to celebrate Jason's birthday

Josh at the top of the Sears Tower

In the sears tower

Eating at Chicago Dogs

We took a ride on the ferris wheel at Navy Pier

While at Navy Pier we watched the fireworks.

On the architectural tour with the Sears tower in the background.

In front of The Bean

Jason and Sue

And of course Josh could not visit Chicago with out His favorite treat. Garrett's popcorn!