First few days in Maryland

Our first day was spent traveling. On our flight from Seattle to Chicago, I told Em how good a Cinnabon sounded. I jumped up and down with glee when I spotted one at the Chicago airport right where our gate was. How random is that?!

We've spent the majority of our time just hanging out, playing with the babies and eating good food.

It has been fun to see Noah and Lyla together again:

About to go for a walk with Aunt Katie,

Diaper party!

Eating chips and guac together at the kids table,

Lyla quietly playing with Playdoh.

Noah warmed up to me after a few days. He would hardly look at me at first.

Uncle Scott was so kind to wash Lyla's dirty feet.

The first day, I noticed this furry creature hanging out by a neighbor's porch that I thought was a cat. It turns out at closer inspection that it's a GROUNDHOG! Supposedly they are nuisances that burrow under people stoops and eat all of their plants, but I thought that it was absolutely awesome to see a real groundhog in person.

Holly and Emily dove right in making flower fairies. I'll post a picture of one later.

Today we went to the Amish market and checked out all the goodies. We all got one of their famous soft pretzels. We went on to the temple where we got the baptism and confirmation work done on behalf of our grandpa Rostad. We plan on going back and doing more work for that side of the family.

We were here just last year to witness Noah getting sealed to Scott and Holly. That was a special day.

Next we drove through D.C. I really enjoyed checking out the beautiful fall foliage.

Little Poof

Little poof, that's what Nathaniel would call our sweet kitty Annie. We had to put her to sleep yesterday. Her health has been failing slowly over the past year and even though she still seemed like she was in good shape, she starting going to the bathroom all over the house, which is very unlike her. We hoped that she would last a lot longer because she was a great companion. As you can see from the pictures, she didn't do much besides move from one nap place to the other. We just loved having her around.
Annie was found as a kitten in 1992 by my uncle Paul. He was in college at the time so my Gramma Thompson took her in. That's how she got her name, little orphan Annie. We lived with my Gramma the first year of our marriage. Gramma asked me if I would take care of Annie after she died and of course I said yes. I was told later than even on her deathbed, that was her main concern, is Annie going to be taken care of? At the time, we were in transition from one house to the other and didn't want to shock Annie by moving her twice, so we left in Gramma's empty house for 2 months until we moved into our new home. Even though people dropped in to check on her and feed her, I feel that those 2 months really affected her. I didn't know what else to do.
Once she moved into our home, she was the star. She was showered with affection and attention. She loved nothing more than to take a nap in the sun or in front of the fireplace. She practically lived on our bed. Her favorite sleeping spot was on your chest right below your face. I loved nuzzling my face into her soft fur. She slept right next to me almost every night. She was such a gentle spirit and my greatest comfort came from my mom when she said, "You are sending her back to Gramma." We love you Annie and you will be missed.

Ring around the rosie

My sister Holly and her son Noah came for a visit from Maryland. We had a lot of fun watching Lyla and Noah play together.

Noah and Lyla kiss

It was fun to see my neice and nephew play together while Holly and Noah were here for a visit. They are only 4 days apart and had alot of fun together.

A New Friend

We went to the in-laws yesterday for a BBQ and croquet. It was a lovely day. The only pictures I managed to rustle up were of us and this adorable chihuahua that my distant sister-in-law brought. She was a puppy mill rescue dog. SO sweet. She really liked Nathaniel and snuggled up on the couch next to him for little nap.

Cute little Lyla!

Laura and I stayed with Em this weekend because Nick was out of town. We couldn't get enough of our little niece!

Having fun with her toys.




Hanging out on Mom's bed.



Having lunch with the girls at Olive Garden.




In the car, she pulled Laura's hand and held it on her chest! So cute! She loved playing with Laura's necklace.



With Auntie Laura at church...


and Auntie Katie.



All the girls together. Thanks for the fun weekend!

Lost Footage: Part 3

Here's one of Emily's birthday one year, 2007 maybe?

Lost footage: Part 2

I took this video of Gramma Thompson's yard right before we moved out of her house. I knew that I would miss it.

Lost footage: Part 1

My computer crashed and died a few years ago. I gave it to my brother Mark because he likes to tinker with things. He was able to somehow resussitate it! I got these videos off of the computer and it wouldn't let me burn it onto a disc or email it to myself so this is the only way that I could figure out how to be able to save these cherished memories. Sorry that it is so fuzzy

Here is a video of Laura opening a birthday present from Emily and I.

News on the house

Nathaniel and I decided that our only option to get out of this house is a short sale. That is where the bank agrees to less money than is owed due to the owner's financial hardship. I make enough money to stay in the house, but that would mean that I would have to work full time forever, and that is sucking the life out of me. Plus we would like to start a family in the next few years. We had our first showing this week since it went back on the market. We are using the #1 realtor in Whatcom county. We feel really good about it. We got an offer on it yesterday from the first and only showing! Now we just have to wait for the bank. Hopefully they will consider all parts of our case and grant us a short sale. Please pray for us!

A denim quilt for Wes

I decided that my in-laws all needed denim quilts, so I started making them in October so that they would be ready for Christmas presents. We decided to draw names for gift giving instead, so that gave me extra time to finish them. I finished my first one yesterday!!! I took a lot longer than I remember, maybe because Emily and I often worked on them together. This one is for my brother in law Wes. I want him to have his first because he gave me the gift of Wii. Thank you Wes! I hope that you like it!

Happy Birthday to me indeed!

My thirties started out well! I slept in and had a lazy day around the house. Nathaniel got me a birthday cake and made me a steak dinner. It was nice to get phone calls from family singing happy birthday. I felt very loved.

Christmas!

The feast



Nathaniel and Mya. She is growing up so fast!


The inlaws with thier grandbaby Mya

My cute mother-in-law Trish



Pecan pie with pumpkin ice cream!? Yes please!



I got a Wii from my Secret Santa! It caught me completely off guard! You can't see them in the picture, but there are tears in my eyes.



Making "Robert Redford". We ended up not eating it. We once again made too many desserts.



Mya fell asleep in my lap while we played Mexican train.