Let It Snow

Look what I woke up to this morning! Thought it was a good chance to share the views from our new place. Pretty crowded, but the good news is that the house right behind us is empty so we don't feel weird opening the shades. Of course, this being the Pacific Northwest this 1/2 inch or so of snow has closed schools and my Today show time has been overrun by the local traffic reports.

Out the front door


Off the back balcony

Vancouver

Well, it is official, we are completely moved out of Bellingham. Carole worked her last week at Larrabee and cooked her last meal at camp. It was a nice week to see some friends and say good-bye to students who became regulars this fall. Now on to Vancouver! Brandon has been working long days, but guess what...gets paid overtime for those now! Carole is still waiting for a call from the schools here, but is official and signed up and ready to go.

Some things we are enjoying in Vancouver: Saturday morning at Panera Bread Company, Sunday morning griddle breakfasts cooked by Brandon on his cast iron griddle he got for his birthday, walks at the dog park, a grocery store within walking distance, hanging with Jon, Briana, and Kadyn, eating NOT in front of the TV (our new year's resolution), and the privacy of our own place not at camp.Smokey at the Dog ParkBrandon cooking us Sunday breakfast (note the hood up--his mean wife won't turn up the heat)

Some things that will take a little getting used to: Dog ownership in the city (you should see Carole's scraped up knees where Smokey pulled her over in the street on a walk), someone actually living below us (although at least we don't share a water heater with them), and not having anyone who will call Carole and only Carole to sub for them!

Carole used her Christmas money to purchase a long-time wish, a small point-and-shoot camera. We have the big camera of Brandon's but often don't carry it with us and then wish we had it. The pictures in this posting were taken with the new camera, it seems to be working pretty well!

Our New Home

Here are some pictures of our new apartment. We are getting settled, other than our bedroom which is where we shoved everything to take the pictures of the rest of the house :) No, for the most part the boxes are gone and things are feeling like home. We'll have to post some pictures of our neighborhood soon. Right behind our complex is the Vancouver Greenway, which is a great trail system that we have been having fun exploring. Smokey and Carole also found a great dog park today that isn't too far away.
This is the entry way...
The guest bathroom...
Guest bedroom/ office/ junk room!
This is the living room and our balcony out the back.
The kitchen and dining room

Our Christmas Trip

Well, we are back home and off the road. We had a great 3 weeks and used up our travel bug for at least a few months. We flew back into Seattle on the 2nd, only to drive up to Bellingham late that night, sleep about 5 hours, then get up and make the final trek from Bellingham to Vancouver. We spent some of Sunday getting settled, but also took some time to go for a mini-hike with Jon, Kadyn and Kobi so that Smokey could get some of his wiggles out. Brandon started work on Monday and so far has been enjoying it (from what I can tell!) He is adjusting to early mornings, but is training with Jon and really glad to be working with him. It is also nice that he is home earlier in the day. I have just been spending my time getting the apartment in order. I think yesterday is the day that it turned the corner and is feeling livable. We'll get some pictures posted soon but in the meantime here are a few from our trips!
The Wii was a big hit...Connor and Brandon racing...
Grandaddy tried out bowling (after a lot of convincing!)
This is one of the mutant ducks (we decided they are turduckens) from the pond behind Bibi and Grandaddy's house. They freaked Brandon out because they ran AT you when you came by.
Oh, the kitchen! This is pretty much where you can always find Bibi (cooking) or me (eating)
Brandon was inspired to try his hand at cooking, too.
Brandon helped Grandaddy out with a few projects like changing the oil and installing new door handles.
The whole gang!