Happy New Year!

Time to ring in another new year! We are going to be ringing in the new year with Ben and Jeanine. It is going to be lots of fun! Way better than last year since Matt and I aren't sick this year. So it's off to do some cooking and rest up for a fun night!

Merry Christmas!

It's been a fun day. I think the best gift (and this wasn't to me) was the new outfits for our doggies. They have Chinese and Japanese outfits to wear around the house. For myself, my awesome big present is a new coffee table. Hooray! Now we have more room to eat on the couch. :o)
Matt made out pretty well; I got him a chop saw, a beer opener ring, and new pumas. I think it was a good Christmas for him.
It is a very nice day up in Seattle and tomorrow we're off to downtown for some wonderful food and possibly some shopping. More pictures to come of the day and of our matching jammies!

Decorating for Christmas

We starting putting up our Christmas lights on the house today. We didn't realize that our ladder wasn't tall enough to reach the tall peaks of the house, so we borrowed one from Matt's mom. So when it came time to put the lights up in the high peak, Matt couldn't climb up on the roof so I came to the rescue and climbed up and put the lights up. Matt says I'm his hero (he doesn't like heights).

More pictures of the house to come once it's all done. It got too dark to finish tonight.

GOOO DUCKS!

What a fun night! We had my teaching aid and her family over for the Civil War game (did I mention that they're all beaver fans?) It was a great game, great company, and great food. Wa-hoo, go ducks! Bring home some roses!

Our 2009 Christmas Tree!

We were finally able to get a tree taller than me this year! We went through about 2 1/2 boxes of ornaments (I ran out of room to keep putting the big ones on). The kitties are a little freaked out by it, but I know by the middle of the night tonight they are going to be playing with the ornaments. I think it is my favorite tree so far out of all of our trees. Soon to come underneath it: presents. :o)

Yachats Weekend

We went to visit Matt's dad and step-mom this weekend. We went to Newport and had lunch at the Rouge, went to OSU Hatfield Science Center, and the Aquarium. It was a great weekend with some wonderful weather. On our way home we stopped at a toy store and my little sister-in law got to sit with Santa. We all had tons of fun. I just hope we always have good weather like that.

The Octopus at Hatfield. His name is Amigo.

The class art is so fun to look at. It's ending this summer so we had to get our last looks in. 

Our First Thanksgiving

What a wonderful first Thanksgiving we had. Matt's mom, step-dad, and step-sister came over. We had more food than we needed, but we've already had some delicious leftovers. Matt smoked the turkey on the grill (if you haven't done it yet, I highly recommend it), and I helped with the prep work for the stuffing and green bean casserole. I made my Grandma Great's pear-lime salad, it's a tradition with the Alonsos.
We're still finishing the dishes, but while the get washed, we're relaxing on the couch and letting the delicious food digest.

Barton's First Thanksgiving Prep

Tomorrow is the big day and we or I guess I should say Matt, is cooking up a big storm. We are getting the initial things going; brining the turkey, getting the cornbread stale, and making Grandma Great Pear salad (I did that one). It's going to be lots of fun and lots of good food!

New Job!

After lots of waiting, we have finally found out that Matt has gotten a new job with Symantec! He will now be a Sr. Project Manager for HR and helping them with reporting. We are so excited! Thank you to everyone for you love and support.

Toe "Surgery"

Jacque: I had part of my toe nail taken off yesterday. It wasn't too bad. The worst part was the shots; I had to get 4 in my big toe and actually bled a fair amount just from those. I took the bandage off today and it doesn't look too bad. A little bloody from where the nail was taken and a little red where my doctor put some acid so that part of the nail wouldn't grow back. But now after all of that I'm walking around pain free!

Wine Tasting

Today we are going out to wine country for a big date day! We haven't had a date day since the summer so this is going to be fun!