Five Years Ago Today...

...we got married! Happy anniversary, hubby!

Je t'aime tres fort!

Sam Dancing

He doesn't have much rhythm, and he can't carry a tune, but we still think he's cute.

This video of Sam reminds me a little of this.

Pumpkin Patch

Last weekend we went to the pumpkin patch with a bunch of our work friends.
Sam loves watching the movie It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and he calls every pumpkin he sees a Great Pumpkin.

He was so excited that he got to take a Great Pumpkin home with us.


He was in heaven because he got to play on this old tractor.

Sam is very much obsessed with all the Charlie Brown movies. His imaginary friend is Snoopy. We use him imaginary friend to coax Sam into eating his food ("Oh no, Sam! Snoopy is going to eat all your food!") and also to getting into his clothes ("Quick Sam! You and Snoopy are having a race who can get their clothes on first!"). It works like a charm!

For Halloween, Sam will be a baker, though we've been telling him he's going to be Snoopy from the Thanksgiving Charlie Brown movie when Snoopy wears a chef hat and cooks popcorn and toast. We'll be sure to post pictures of his costume.

We Love Washington!

The other day we decided to go have a picnic at the park. It was pretty busy, and we heard probably four different languages being spoken all around us. We love living in Washington! Here are some of the reasons why:

• We love the diversity. Especially with Boeing being so close by, people from all over the world come to work here. It's nice not being the same as everyone. It gives us an opportunity to share what we believe and the traditions we have, and learn and gain new perspectives from others coming from such different backgrounds.
• We love that we have such a variety of friends. We have our church friends, our neighbor friends, work friends, friends we've made being involved with the community through our bakery and through the neighborhood association. We've even become really good friends with our bank teller at Wells Fargo! We've found some really great friends!
  
• We love the climate here! Summers are beautiful--70 degrees and sunny most days! Winters here don't get nearly as cold or snowy as in Utah. The rainy season should be starting again shortly. Last year's rainy season didn't get to me as much as I thought it was going to. Utah is just as gray throughout the winter, so it wasn't much different. It just lasted a little bit longer.
• There is water everywhere. It seems like every turn you make there is another lake, and if you want to go to the beach, the Puget Sound is just a couple miles away.
  
• It is green and beautiful.
• Probably most importantly, we love how much we have learned since living here. We've learned how to truly live frugally, the power of generosity, how to rely on each other as husband and wife to get through our trials. Chris and I are closer than we've ever been in our almost five years of marriage.
  

Have we sold any of you on Washington yet? Our next goal is to convince all of you family members to make the move and join us! That would be the best, and make us love Washington even more!

Here are a few pictures of our picnic at the park for you to enjoy.

Vist from Gram and Grandpa

Last month Chris' grandparents came to visit for a couple days. It was so much fun having them stay with us. We forgot to take any pictures, but we have one sweet video of Gram reading to Sam before bedtime. Enjoy!


Thanks for the visit! You're welcome to come any time! We love you guys!

Sam's 1st Princess Party

Sam was invited to his first princess party last month for his friend Bella. Besides Jet, Bella's almost 2 year old cousin, Sam was the only boy amid many beautiful princesses. He took home a little princess party goody bag which he carried around all over for days. When he couldn't find it, he'd ask, "Mom, where is my princess bag?" It was kind of funny and cute!

We don't have as many opportunities to play with Bella since she moved south with her mom, but we love when she comes to visit!

Fort Casey

Back in September, Chris, Sam, and our friend Troy went to Fort Casey over on Whidbey Island. It is an old US Coast Guard artillery fort.

From what I heard about their afternoon, Sam was fascinated with the big guns and the lighthouse, and as always, he enjoyed the ferry boat ride over to the island! He loves spending time with Troy, who he claims is his very best friend!