Abbie turns 16!!!

Happy 16th Birthday Abbie!

For Abbie's 16th birthday, my parents threw a SURPRISE birthday party for her! After a few small fibs and lies that my parents played off well, Abbie was VERY surprised! Many of her close friends and family came over for a BBQ to help celebrate the big 1-6! Our cousin Sarah took her to Yakima for the afternoon before coming home to a house full of people! It was a very fun night!

Happy Birthday Abbie! We love you lots!

Happy 1 Year Anniversary to us!!!

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After one beautiful year of marriage, Brandon and I took a four day trip to Harrison Hot Springs Resort and Spa in Canada to celebrate our anniversary! On our way to Harrison, we stopped in Bellingham Wa and spent our first night there. That night we had a very yummy dinner at the restaurant in our hotel, and then went downtown and walked the boardwalk. After that we ventured down to Fairhaven and found a little gelato ice cream parlor! We spent the rest of the evening eating our ice cream and walking around downtown, noticing all the people on bikes and various types of dogs on leashes! We felt a tad bit out of place with no bike or hound in hand, but mostly just enjoyed the people watching before heading back to our hotel.

The next morning we got up, made a quick stop at Starbucks and continued on our way! After driving through parts of Washington that we had never seen or heard of, such as Nooksack and Sumas Wa, we had finally crossed the border, ventured through Canada, and had made it to Harrison Hot Springs! It was such a beautiful place!

Our resort was located on the lake and had five different "hot spring" pools that were heavenly! The pools were filled using the hot spring water that had been filtered from the earth. We walked about 3/4 of a mile to see the source of the hot springs... it was so weird to see boiling water coming out of the earth!

Brandon and I spent the majority of our time laying by the pool, relaxing, and ordering fruity drinks! One afternoon we decided to rent a paddle boat for an hour and paddle around the lake. Each evening we walked through Harrison and enjoyed the beautiful scenery, became huge fans of the gelato ice cream shop, and watched the sun set behind the mountains. On our last night at the Resort, we had an amazing five course meal at the fancy "Copper Room" restaurant! We each had a New York steak, mashed potatoes, and veggies for our main course. However, the best part was the dancing! We were surrounded by other couples celebrating their 59th, 50th, and 47th anniversaries... so needless to say, we were the youngest in the room! We had so much fun dancing as well as watching the older couples dance! Brandon and I hope to be as fit and as in love as a few of the other couples were when we celebrate our 59th wedding anniversary! We enjoyed our time away from school and our laptops and had fun just being together!

Happy 1 year anniversary Brandon! Thank you for making the first year so memorable! I love you!

Time to update... Snoqualmie Pass, Valentines Day, and Beach House Adventures!

While others are posting current spring and summer pictures, I am going to post pictures from this past winter! These next few posts go a few months back since I have been unable to download my pictures onto my computer... better late than never right?!

Brandon and I went up to Snoqualmie Pass with his mom and grandma for a snowshoeing adventure! We went on a hike with a group of people and had so much fun! Not going to lie, it was quite the work out and a lot more tiring than I thought it was going to be.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!

Brandon and I, Justine and Mario went on a double date to Dakota Cafe for Valentines Day! We had a very yummy three course meal. Brandon and I decided on Prime Rib, with Cheesecake for dessert! Justine and I are so lucky to have these wonderful men in our lives. We love you both very much!

This past February, Brandon and I took a trip to visit Marissa and David and spent the weekend at David's Grandma's beach house! It was pretty rainy and wet the entire weekend, however the sun decided to come out the day we left. Of course =) We had tons of fun playing board games, cards, and dominos all weekend! It was very relaxing and can't wait to visit the Beach house again soon!

So lucky to have such wonderful friends!

The four of us having a "rock skipping" contest!!!

My 25th Birthday!

I have officially turned 25 years old! Friday night my parents took Brandon and I out to dinner at the TAV to celebrate my birthday. We had a wonderful time and ended the evening at Utopia for a delicious frozen yogurt treat!

Saturday was my actual birthday. All morning until about 3:00 pm, Brandon was coaching a passing tournament at the high school. So I spent the day at my parents house hanging out with Emma and Grace. That afternoon we headed out to my aunt Mary's house for my cousin Sarah's graduation party! She is graduating from High School in couple days and we are so proud and excited for her! She will be off to Colorado in a few months! We will miss you Sarah!

That night, Brandon took me to dinner in Cle Elum to a restaurant we had never eaten at before! It was called Bau's Pizza, Pasta, and Steaks! It was delicious! I ordered a steak and Brandon ordered the Chicken Parmesan. Let's just say that Brandon wished he would have ordered what I had! After we finished our meal, our waiter brought me out a huge gelato ice cream sundae! I would highly recommend this restaurant, it was such a fun atmosphere and very yummy!

All in all, I had a wonderful 25th birthday and wish I had pictures to post. However, I cannot find my camera dock to charge it up! Thank you to all my family and friends who made my birthday so special!

Our little friend...

So, a few nights ago Brandon and I lay in bed trying to fall asleep... and all of a sudden we hear a little noise in the wall near our heads. We both lay still as can be, hoping it is the other person making noise. "Is that you Brandon...?" "Nope" he replies.

That next morning I wake up at 5:30 a.m. to a very LOUD noise coming from the kitchen. It sounded as though the little critter was jumping around in the trash can underneath the sink... Now, mind you, waking up to this noise is NOT what I call enjoyable! I wake Brandon up, and he SWEARS he doesn't hear anything! He gets up to check everything out... nothing.

So I go about my day wondering if there is a mouse in my house...

Later that night Brandon and I were at the grocery store and decided to pick up some D-Con just in case! We went home and put it under the kitchen sink. I kept checking it to see if anything had disappeared, but it looked the same as when we had bought it.

Once again... we lay in bed listening to the scratch scratch in the wall next to our head, hoping that our little furry friend will find our D-CON...

This afternoon I decided to check it out again... I open the cupboard and the D-CON had been eaten all the way down to the bottom of the tray!!! Okay... so now it is official! We have a mouse in our house (or at least in the walls). Let's hope the D-CON will take care of our problem and send our little furry friend away!

Our Hawaiian Christmas!

Mele Kalikimaka! Merry Christmas from Hawaii! This year we had a wonderful trip to Hawaii, the Big Island, with my family! My Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and cousins were all there too. Everyone had left a few days before Christmas, but Brandon and I left early Christmas morning so we could spend Christmas Eve with his family here in Ellensburg. All week we had so much fun visiting different beaches, swimming in the pool, and eating yummy food! It was so nice to leave "winter" at home and escape to 83-86 degree weather everyday! Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa, the whole family got to take a snorkel trip out to a cove where we saw beautiful fish, an octopus, and dolphins! On our way back, we saw 2 whales that gave us a good show for about fifteen minutes. Overall it was a very successful snorkel trip! We had so much fun in Hawaii and can't wait to go again someday! Thanks Mom and Dad for a wonderful Christmas vacation!

My cousin Emma, the movie star.

Justine and Brandon having a wonderful time Boogie Boarding at Hapuna Beach!

Everyone who could make the trip!

Justine, Abbie and I playing in the ocean.

Brandon and I in Kona, Hawaii.

Oh Christmas Tree...

Here is a picture of our First Christmas Tree! The day after Thanksgiving I couldn't wait to put up the Christmas decorations and the tree... I was ready to be in the Christmas spirit! I just love Christmas and it is definitely my favorite holiday. This year is going to be a little bit different for us... 1. we are married! and 2. we are flying to Hawaii on Christmas day! My mom's side of the family is spending Christmas in Hawaii this year and my parents are kindly taking Brandon and I along too! We can't WAIT to be in the hot weather and leave all this cold stuff behind, however it will be very weird not to be home during Christmas! We hope you all have a WONDERFUL Christmas and we will post more pictures of our "Hawaiian Christmas" when we get home!