Santa Claus is coming to...NO NO NO...Santa Claus CAME to town!

Yep, that's right! Santa was here! For the second year in a row, Joe and I had the joy of playing Santa and Mrs. Claus at the Tacoma Lawn Tennis Club's Santa Breakfast. I felt so much joy as I watched the little kids come see Santa - they LOVE him. It was so sweet watching kids give Santa the lists they made, giving him hugs, asking about what kinds of cookies he likes, and wanting to hear his "Ho Ho Ho's!" It brought back all the fond memories I have of believing in Santa. I remember leaving cookies, trying my hardest NOT to fall asleep so that I could actually see him, wondering how he made it to all the houses, and thinking how amazing it was that he brought me exactly what I wanted for Christmas! Oh, the days of believin'. I can't wait to repeat those traditions with our kids someday. This year we decided to make a visit to mom and dads! Had to make the best of the suit rental!! We also got to visit Kate and her niece, Courtney (who's visiting from Australia). Not sure what Courtney thought of us...haha!! I must say, I think I pulled off the Christmas moo-moo okay. Here's a few pics of the fun!

Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Yikes...it's been almost two months since my last post! I cracked up when I realized my last post was "All things fall..." and here I'm posting Christmas and we are headed full on into winter...chill in the air, snow in the mountains, Frosty the Snowman on the radio, and the smell of Christmas trees everywhere I go. Whoa, how time flies.

As I was reading over the fall post and about how much I was loving fall, I must say I am loving winter and Christmastime JUST AS MUCH! I've concluded that I'm loving the seasons more than ever because I'm actually getting a chance to experience them this year. For the past two years, my brain has been geared towards school...even during the holidays. As school has been winding down the past couple months, I have noticed that I'm actually able to take in the sights and sounds of the seasons...and what a wonderful feeling it is!!

In one week (from today, exactly) I will be graduating with my Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy degree. Pretty crazy thinking that I have my masters! I'm really not sure what it feels like to NOT be a student...even during the two years off from school, I knew I was headed back so my mentality was still "school." I've been dreaming for the day that my mentality shifts from "school" to "career" and I am in shock that it is here already! While I'm excited to get a career going, I am more excited to feel like I have a life again! It's been a tough journey, though I'm so thankful for the experience.

So, in the spirit of Christmas and graduating and all the other exciting things to come, cheers to what's ahead! And may we never forget the true meaning of Christmas...the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

And now for a few photos of the "it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" series...Enjoy!



All things Fall...

Well, Fall is here! I can't believe how fast this year is flying by, but I have to say I'm excited. I think my excitement is mostly due to the fact that I graduate in TWO months. However, there are so many other things I love about Fall. Here's just a few...

scarves

vests

hot coffee

the smell of fires

the changing leaves

soup

pumpkins

sweats/sweatshirts

candles

comfort food

boots

...and most of all the crisp, cool air. There is something just fabulous about breathing the fresh air of Fall. Today I spent some time giving my home the "Fall" feel. I love that it just takes a few pumpkins and creative thinking to add a little flavor of Fall. Here's some pics...

This little chalkboard is going to be so much fun...a World Market find!

A touch of pumpkins!

My table centerpiece...these were a good, inexpensive find at Freddys

Love this idea!

 It isn't Fall without Candy Corn

Lucy loves Fall too!

Matt Nathanson, Maroon 5, and Train

Conversation between me and Missy (my lovely friend/co-worker) at the beginning of September...

Me: Missy, when does Maroon 5 come into town next? We should really get tickets! It's been almost a year since we've seen them...

Missy (with frightened look on her face): OH NO, I totally forgot I bought tickets to their concert...we may have missed it.

Me: Are you kidding me?!?! How do you forget you bought tickets???

Missy: Look on the White River Amphitheater site and see when it was/is!!!

Me (frantically trying to remember how to spell amphitheater and google it as fast as I can): Whew, it's September 13th...We DIDN'T miss it! 

Missy: YAY! We are totally going!

Next day at work, Missy proceeds to bring me a pink Ipod full of Maroon 5, Matt Nathanson, and Train songs to "study" all the words for the concert so I could "sing-a-long." She says "You MUST listen to this wherever you go...!!" And what did I do?!? I listened to that darn Ipod for 2 straight weeks, preparing with all my might for the concert! 

Tuesday September 13th came and we were overjoyed with excitement!! What an awesome concert...Of course, MAROON 5, was our FAVORITE...can't get over Adam Levine's moves on stage! As Joe says, I was goooooogly-ing over him...hehe! What can I say, he has some good dance moves!

Here's some pics from our night! Enjoy...

So Excited!!!

Thumbs Up for Maroon 5

Matt Nathanson

Our Favorite...Maroon 5

Train

Oh Adam, how we love you and your moves!

And James, we love you too!

We were in row 13!! Such great seats! Until next time...

Melinda Ray was in town...

And this is how we felt about it...

A couple weeks ago, Melinda sent me an email informing me she was going to be in town the weekend of the 4th!! Instantly I got sooooooooo excited because I seriously miss her on a daily basis! Every time she comes home, we reminisce about the "old days" and how we would get "mad" at each other on a daily basis, we would "un-best-friend" each other, etc...Well, the good thing is we got that all out of our system when we were younger and now cherish every second we are together!! There is never a dull moment and we are constantly laughing and smiling! As usual, the Rays threw a nice gathering and we all had so much fun! It was great to have Mike come up with Melinda because we got to know him better!! We're not quite sure we "convinced" him yet to move here, but he sure did see some fabulous Washington weather during his visit. We had our own personal firework show, hosted by Rod's brother. I wish someone would have video taped our sound effects!! It was hilarious! As always, the goodbyes were hard!!! But we always cling to the fact that there will be a "next" time...maybe Joe will send me to California again soon (hint, hint)...

Until then, LOVE YOU MELINDA!!!

Here's a few more fun photos from the evening!

Happy Fathers Day, Popocho!

Once again, I'm behind on posts! But here I am again and I'm going to make up some ground! For fathers day, Joe and I went to an afternoon Rainiers game with John and Janis. It was our first time in the new stadium and it was quite nice! The weather held and we had a very enjoyable time. In addition to watching the Rainiers, John kept us up to speed with the Mariners game, as he was listening to it on the radio! The best part was when he shouted out "they scored!" (in reference to the Mariners game) and it was during a very quiet moment when one of the Rainiers players was up to bat! Hahaha...Luckily the people around us knew he was listening to the Mariners and they were thankful for the updates as well!

After the Rainiers game, we headed over to my mom and dad's house for a BBQ! We had some yummy hamburgers, potato salad, chips, fruit, and dessert! YUM! Some of my favorite things!! We sat out on the deck and enjoyed our time together! Thankfully the weather stayed decent for us! Then we went inside and Dad opened his gifts. Joe and Ryan also got to open their bday gifts from mom and dad! Before we all left, we had some fun taking photos out in the front yard! Below are some of the shots I got!! Love these...

What a FUN day!!! Happy Fathers Day!