Christmas Day Dive

So, my husband and his step-dad, Jon, have an annual tradition... three years running now... of jumping in the freezing cold pool on Christmas morning :)

This Christmas was NO exception:

This tradition requires some liquid courage of course... and what better than Cuervo?

Ick.

But... whatever warms the heart, right?!? We certainly don't want it to stop beating...

The weary men... thinking about their daunting task.

Praying to the pool gods for mercy on their souls... and male body parts!

Taking the all-important shot of courage.

At the edge - ready for their dive! Well... maybe not really ready, but determined!

And they're in...

And OUT! LOL!

And the VICTORY high-five. Well done gentlemen, well done. It's all over... until next year :)

5th Annual Pumpkin Carving Party!

Every year Tyler and I host a Pumpkin Carving Party at Halloween Time - it's a blast! We have so many friends who love Halloween as much as we do and the creativity is astonishing ;-P

This year - we decided to kick off the party with Absinthe. What better than a hallucinogenic to get the creativity started!

Here are some of our finished pumpkins - including Tyler's self-portrait pumpkin:

And below - our friends and guests! What great company!

Claudia and Shane with us.

Claudia, Shane and Marija with Tyler.

Ty and Justin.

Dedra and Me.

Jon and Ellie.

Ryan and Andrea.

Shane and Claudia.

Todd and Lillie.

Hope you have a spooky Halloween!!

AZ State Fair

Ty and I headed for the state fair again this October. Last year we went to see the Black Crowes... this year, classic southern rock band, and a personal favorite, Lynard Skynard! The fair is crazy over-priced, but you can't beat a $20 concert ticket :)

Here's a quick recap of just some of the highlights of our day - we played hookie from work so we could get all-you-can-ride wristbands for $20 and free entrance and parking! LOL!

We had to laugh at the TINY beers... these things go down QUICK.

I genuinely tried for a good self portrait... and as you can see, I did well if I had only been trying to get myself! Sorry Ty... I guess only half your face was worthy this time...

This was the largest, most awesome sand castle I'd ever seen... so much detail!

The view of downtown Phoenix and some of the "fair attractions" from the chairlift that covers the entire amusement park.

Getting ready to head into the concert!

I love the fair at night... it's so much cooler than during the day and the lights are pretty :)

And here we are! These guys sound the same as they always have even with a newer lead singer... the audience was very energetic and we really enjoyed ourselves!

We loved "Tuesday's Gone" the best... it sounds amazing LIVE... and I did get my encore this year... Sweet Home Alabama of course :)

[The Black Crowes failed to sing their most popular song last year so I wasn't anticipating a good finale... I was pleasantly surprised! Thank you Lynard Skynard!!!]

Seattle Wedding Reception

When Tyler and I tied the knot almost a year and half ago, we knew that having our wedding in Arizona would make it difficult for my extended family and friends to attend, especially since we got married in the middle of one of the worst recessions our nation has ever seen!

So, during all the planning of the BIG wedding, we were constantly thinking ahead to having a second reception in the Seattle area soon after. Well - it took us a year and a half to plan and afford the second reception, but it was well worth it!

We were greeted by dozens of close family and friends one on of the wettest and windiest days in the Pacific Northwest in a long time! But, the wonderful thing was that while the rain was heavy - it only lasted a short time while we were preparing for the event and then the sun peeked out :)

The reception was casual, outdoors at the Kirkland Marina, we served wine and beer, Costco party platters, and some yummy desserts! Very simple, but it seemed to be extremely enjoyed by all and it gave Tyler and me a chance to make some REAL connections.... rather than being so rushed as we were with our original wedding reception.

One of the most indulgent treats we gave ourselves was professional photography - from my Scrapbook.com co-worker Merek Davis and his beautiful wife Brittany - via their side-business: www.davisweddingphotographers.com

We flew them up to Seattle from Arizona and spent most of the weekend with them - what FUN it was to get to know them better and to have other people worrying about taking photos at our event :) We enjoyed having them with us as friends and professionals. Here are some of their photos from the event! WOW!

So - a special shout out to Merek and Brittany for surviving the cold and capturing who we really are... and in my hometown. It means the world to Tyler and me that you would take a "vacation" with us and be so attentive to our photo needs and desires. Your skills are phenomenal. We love you both. Thank you.

And to our family and friends in attendance... BIG HUGS and THANKS... it was a joy to see all of you and we know most of you made LONG trips to Kirkland to see us! We love you! XOXO