Weekend in Walla Walla

We spent the weekend with Trese's family in Walla Walla this past weekend. We had a great time seeing where Uncle Mahlon and Auntie Patty live as well as learning more about Mahlon, Patty and Mom's lives in the South East corner of the state. Ben is visiting so He and Bethany made the drive as well as Dad and Holly. We had an amazing weekend of family, fun, and fellowship.

The boys went on a bike ride while the girls went shopping downtown.

First there was a little maintenance to be done since Ben's bike had traveled in a box from Minnesota.

Finally they were off

That afternoon we went to Waitsburg. Josh's Grandpa Barnes was born in this cute little town. We got to see where Patty teaches at Waitsburg High School.

They have an amazing auditorium that has been renovated.

Waitsburg High School.

Next we were off to Dayton. We have heard lots about this town since Dad is a fan of small towns so Mom and Dad have talked about buying a house here. We walked around this little town, checked out the Historic Weinhard Hotel, shopped for antiques and had dinner at the Weinhard cafe. We definately recommend eating there if anyone happens to be in Dayton.

Historic Downtown Dayton

I found a veil for the bride to wear at one of the antique stores. Here is the groom kissing the bride.

Fixing the brides veil

Singing hymns on Sunday morning

Weekend Happenings

Last Saturday Josh and I spent the day at Mission Ridge. The sun was out and the view was amazing. View from the top

If you look closely at this picture you can see Josh going off a jump.
He is on the first jump on the left side.

I had to post this last picture. Braden and Audrey came up Sunday night and we played games. After playing Josh's new favorite game Puerto Rico we decided to play a quick game of Battle of the Sexes. Audrey and I had fun laughing at the guys and our favorite part was watching the blank look on their faces after we would ask each question. The above picture is Josh and Braden trying to come up with the names of all of the Spice Girls.

Dresses, dresses and more dresses

Last Saturday I spent the day dress shopping with all of the Thornton girls. We had lots of fun and the best part is Bethany got her wedding dress! It is beautiful and perfect!

After getting Bethany's dress we spent the rest of the day shopping for bridesmaids dresses. We still haven't picked one out yet, but we are well on our way to finding the perfect bridesmaid dresses to go with the perfect wedding dress.

I dressed Kati up like a bride

So many choices!

Kati and I kept ourselves entertained between trying on dresses


Below are some of my Uncle Dug's pictures that are being displayed at the Greenlake Starbucks. They are amazing! If anyone is in Seattle I recommend checking them out.

Chili Feed

Last weekend was the annual Oyster Stew and Chili Feed in Waterville. The Barnes family is in charge of making all of the chili. I don't know how I only took one picture all day but here it is.

Dave and Josh busy making chili

Winter Snow Fun

Trese's friend Sarah came to visit this past weekend. We woke up to a very foggy morning so we decided to head up to Badger Mountain on the snowmobiles since it was to foggy to see anything around town. We were excited when we got to the base of the mountain and saw blue sky. We had an awesome day playing around in the snow, then we headed to the Waterville Ski Hill to eat lunch.

Josh and Sarah found a buried snowmobile

On Sunday Josh bought some cross country skis. He has been wanting some for a while now and has been getting lots of use out of them. So far he has skied to work everyday this week.

Holiday Fun

We spent five days with Trese's family over the past week. We packed our days with family, friends and fun. We left Waterville after 8:00 on Friday night and got to Grandpa and Grandma Halls around 1:00 a.m.

Saturday Trese went shopping with the girls while Josh helped Trese's dad with the remodel.

Sunday was Special Meetings in Tenino then we celebrated Dad's birthday which was earlier in the week.

Monday Josh took off with Ben and Forrest to go snowboarding. Christmas Eve we spent and Uncle Dug's with all of the Thornton family, Auntie, Grandma and Grandpa.

On Christmas Day we had breakfast at Mom and Dad's then headed up to Steve and Lori's. We had the traditional football game (Josh's team won, Trese's team lost.) Then we went back to a wonderful dinner that Auntie Lori had made. We were most impressed with the Douglas Fir Sorbet. We headed home during the white elephant gift exchange. We were sad to miss out on Mom's Dessert buffet but since the snow was piling up in Western Washington we figured we would have a long trip home.

We made it safely back to Waterville and headed over to our other families house to visit with Josh's parent, grandparents, aunt, both of the brothers and the ladies in their lives. We are thankful that we have so many friends and family that we want to see, but we are glad that things are starting to calm down and life is starting to return to normal.

Bethany had surgery on her foot and ankle a few days before Christmas. We all had fun leaving her messages on her cast.

The guys hard at work

Mr and Mrs ClausThe guys were exhausted after a day on the mountain with all that powder

Forrest enjoying the powder

Kate got Forrest's Boeing vest that he had given away last year at the white elephant.

Camilla admiring her moose that Dad found in the garage and decided to give away to one lucky recipient.

Basketball Season

For the past two months much of our spare time has been spent in the gym. Josh and Joel have been coaching the Waterville Junior High Basketball teams. For now Josh is convinced that junior high is the way to go. His season was only one and a half months, there is no weekend commitment and he is excited to watch his players next year in high school. Go Shockers!

Engaged!

Ben and Bethany are engaged! We know this is old news, since he popped the question over a month ago, but we are still excited. They are planning a wedding in July at Dad and Mom Thornton's house. Last weekend Trese went over to Seattle and spent the weekend with Bethany, they did some planning but mostly talked a lot about the wedding. We are sure there will be many more weekend like that in the next few months. Congratulations Ben and Bethany!

Desert Canyon

Three weeks ago Josh's parents had a wedding reception for Jason and Sue at Desert Canyon. After all of the festivities we hit the putt putt course.

Teeing offThe newlyweds

Forrest and Kate

Grandpa Demmon, Kate, Forrest and Josh

It got extremely cold once the sun went down

Silverwood

A few weeks ago Trese's sister gave us free tickets to Silverwood that need used before it closed for the winter. We piled in the car with Joel and Jana and headed east. It was a cold day but we had lots of fun hanging out, going on rides and eating junk food.

Us getting ready to head up on the Panic Plunge

Joel and Jana near the two wooded roller coasters

Joel, Jana and Josh getting wet on the bumper boats

Sandpoint

We rode with Justin and Pam on the way home from Jason and Sue's wedding. We stayed the night in Sandpoint, ID. The next day we had a fun time exploring the town and shopping!

The Grillos with Lady Liberty

The Barnes

New Sister!

Josh's brother Jason married Sue on September 29 in a beautiful outdoor ceremony at Sue's parent's home in Montana.

Jason and Sue getting married!

Jason, Sue, Meredith and Miles

The guys minus one.

Mr. and Mrs. Barnes