2009 Memories

2009 was a busy year as I continued my second year teaching second grade, we bought a new home, and Gil began working with a new client out of state.

I took my first trip to New York City to visit a friend in April.

The most exciting part of our year was moving from our apartment in Northville into our first home!

The house definitely kept us a lot busier than I had anticipated with all the little things like buying furniture, unpacking, and settling in. The bigger problems of home ownership kept us busy too, like redoing our entire basement only a couple of weeks after moving in!

But that's all behind us now. Life lessons, right?

We got in as much family time as possible with our busy schedules. Things were a lot easier when we all lived in the same city! This year was so fun watching my nieces get bigger and bigger.

Gil and I celebrated our first anniversary together (well, really almost 8 years but we had to start our count over when we got married) :).

I visited Gil in Seattle during one of his trips for work.
We celebrated the holidays with family in Grand Rapids.
It was hard to get a good picture with both babies. :)

And of course, we got to see our favorite pup in GR.
We finished off the year with a ski trip to Shanty Creek up North.
What will 2010 bring? Can't wait to find out!

Hope You Had a Lovely Christmas...

We did! It was great to see family and spend time in Grand Rapids, as always. I have some great pictures to post, but of course I did not bring the cord for the camera so that will have to wait.

Gil and I headed out to the mall to return some clothes and we were afraid of the crowds and lines but we lucked out and the mall was pretty quiet for a couple of days after Christmas!

After a ski trip up North this week (I think we're heading to Shanty Creek instead of Boyne now) we'll be back to our side of the state. I'm hoping to get a lot done around the house before I head back to school.

Check back in later this week for cute pictures of the babies! :)

Advice Please!

We have hardwood floors throughout most of our house. I like to keep them clean. I vacuum all the time and then once in a while, I steam the floors. That's been working for the most part. Except, how do you clean under the king sized bed?? I just can't reach that strip in the middle underneath the bed and the dust bunnies are taunting me. Feel free to share any tricks that I don't know!!

Kara Turns One!

Today we celebrated Kara turning one! She was such a cutie and cheerful the whole time! She got a lot of presents...including 3 dolls. I didn't get the doll memo and we got her a cute bathtub book/puppet set from Write Impressions in Royal Oak. I love that store. It's great for little gifts!


Grandpa B got her a huge train set, which I bet she'll love.

Kiki spent a lot of the party like this:

but she woke up later and was super cute and running all over the place.

It was a fun family day. Can't wait til Christmas!

Help My Classroom Receive a Leveled Library!

Here's a useful way to spend your Christmas money...help a classroom of second graders get a leveled library! Check out my proposal below at donorschoose.org:

We Can Pick "Just Right" Books!

Christmas Vacation...

starts now! Our Polar Express party day went well at school and now I can finally relax for the next two weeks! My second graders looked so cute in their little pajamas. I love pj day. I can't wait to sleep in for the next two weeks. I love my job!

Babies!

Because I am resting on the couch today, I was playing around with Picasa. Here is my first attempt at making a collage:

101.4...

was the temperature that I had when I got home from work on Friday. It was also the approximate number of body aches that I had. On the up side, it also happens to be the number of nice things that Gil has done for me since I got the worst cold ever. Among that list was making me pancakes in the shape of smiley faces, trekking off to the store after a LONG day of work to buy me Lemon Propel water and pudding, and having a fire lit and the Christmas tree lit up for me when I finally crawled out of bed on Saturday morning after going to bed at 5 pm the night before. I love my husband!

There's Something So Relaxing About Sitting By a Fire...

So glad we finally have this thing going! Now I just wish we had the 14 inches of snow that Grand Rapids got. Sounds crazy, I know, but I sometimes miss getting those Lake Effect snowstorms!

I've Got the Christmas Spirit Early!

Our new stockings and stocking hangers! We still need something for over the fireplace!!


First round of lights

Halfway there

Our First Christmas- 2008

C'est fini!

Pros & Cons...

We have been thinking about getting a puppy lately. We know we want a dog for sure, it's just a matter of when the timing is right. I have my eyes on this little guy:



On one hand, we definitely want a dog and can't wait to get one. On the other hand, a puppy brings responsibility and some of our ability to be spontaneous. Anyone want to weigh in??

How can you resist that face??

I Am Deeply Distraught...

because my husband (seriously) wants these. Love him, but...atrocious!

Never Before Seen...

When Gil and I met up with his Aunt for lunch in Seattle, his Uncle Larry gave us a CD with over 200 pictures that he had taken at our wedding. I was so excited to see them for the first time and relive our wedding day! Here were a few of my faves:


The sky couldn't have been any more blue!


Married!


St. Cecilia Music Center in Downtown Grand Rapids where we had our reception


I love how happy I look!


Gil and Meem at the reception

We have a video of our wedding somewhere out there...we'll have to watch that one day!!

Seattle Weekend!

This weekend, I went to Seattle to visit Gil and to celebrate my birthday. I had never been to Seattle (or that side of the country!) and I loved the city...minus the drizzle. On Friday, we ate dinner near the hotel in Tikwala at BJ's brewhouse. Great chicken barbecue pizza!

Saturday I woke up to the foggy views of Mount Rainier:

We spent the day walking around the city. It was COLD. Michigan is cold, but Seattle is WET and cold. I had no idea how hilly it is there! It was so fun walking around and spending time with Gil.

Of course we checked out the Fish Market. We got there early before it was packed.

Yes, that's gum.

We also got a chance to meet up with Gil's aunt who lives in Seattle to have lunch together. On our way, we got a chance to see a bit of the University of Washington campus.

We walked around the Seattle Center area and saw the Space Needle.


We didn't pay to go up in it though! In the evening, we went over to see the Olympic Sculpture Park along the waterfront. They have a Calder and there is a Calder exhibit going on at the Art Museum. Reminded me of GR!

I loved being on the water...the Puget Sound is beautiful!

By this point, we were frozen and headed to the Seattle Aquarium to get inside for a bit. I actually touched a starfish and a sea anemone. Gil wouldn't do it! I was fascinated by this fish...gross, right?

On Saturday night, we headed back to the Fish Market to eat at the Pike Pub & Brewery.

Everywhere we went, I was pointing out buildings that I thought were cool. I'm sure that got old for Gil to hear. I kept picking out condos along the water that I wanted to live in.


On Sunday it was really rainy. We spent a low key morning eating breakfast at the hotel and then we headed to the Science Center. We saw A Christmas Carol in 3D at the IMAX at the Science Center which was pretty good. Sunday night, we headed to Tacoma for my birthday dinner. I liked Tacoma because it was still right on the water, but less busy than Seattle. We ate at a brewery on the Puget Sound. It was nice and casual and Gil was happy to get some football watching in!

Aside from getting stuck at the airport ALL day on my birthday...it was a PERFECT weekend. :)