Happy Christmas

We hope you are having a magical Christmas season with your families. And enjoying the spirit of the season. Since many people have asked when I was going to do a blog post again... I decided to finally get around to one. The last few months have just flown by here is a quick snapshot of what we have been up to since our free fall from the sky.

Jessica took and passed the series 7 & 63 license exams. The best description I've heard of these tests is that they are the equivalent of taking a masters finance class - and they were done in weeks.

We went to Seattle for one of my dear childhood friends wedding. It was fun showing Shane my neighborhood from growing up. I love that the people living in 'our home' still have it painted white with green trim. This picture alone should have it's own post.

This is the only picture proof I have that we went to the wedding (and it is not even a picture of the bride). It was a beautiful wedding and unlike any wedding we had ever been to (and we loved it). 

We spent our Sunday being tourists downtown. We gave our hosts a hug goodbye (thanks Ballard family - we loved staying with you!) and headed downtown. We started with a stop at Top Pot Donuts, per McCall's suggestion, and were not disappointed. I got a maple bar bigger than my head and Shane enjoyed a fresh blueberry cake donut that was also quite large. 

We visited the Space Needle and surrounding Seattle Center. Then rode the monorail towards the market. 

Loved the market. I could have spent more time there just wandering the aisle's of flowers and booths. We got a king salmon to bring home with us (I am amazed that they can pack it tight enough that you can carry it on a plane and not smell a thing). We also enjoyed some fresh fruit... nothing compares to the peaches and Rainier cherry's we enjoyed that day. 

Next we headed down to Ivar's to give our feet a break and enjoy fresh fish and chips. After we were finished they bagged up our food and we headed out to the pier to feed the seagulls. We would hold a fry out in front of us and they could come down and take it right out of our hands. 

No trip to Pike's market would have been complete without a stop at the gum wall. It is completely disgusting looking and smelling but a completely interesting piece of downtown "art". We did our part and contributed to the grossness. 

October was pretty uneventful - we just worked, ate, and slept then did it all over again.

We celebrated Thanksgiving with the DeMill family this year (which I didn't take a single picture of). During November Shane started a new job as well, managing an autobody shop.

This picture should have been before Seattle... but oh well... In late August we had a personal pharmacy delivered. We decided after years of trying multiple other things that it was time to do an IVF cycle. So I had the pleasure of injecting myself with a few of the above drugs every day. (traveling with sharps was ALOT easier than I anticipated). 

Very long story short we ended up with a handful of these which in turn turned into one healthy growing peanut. We are thrilled to have another member of our family in early June. The whole IVF process could have a huge post to itself... but we'll just leave it with those two picture. If you have questions feel free to ask, I am pretty much an open book. 

So there you go - September, October, November, and December in a Nut Shell. If you are lucky you'll hear from us again before Easter. But don't hold your breath