Our First Place

Well, Enoch and I just got home from signing the settlement papers for our first home. This is the front of our unit, the below pic is the back door area. I would post other pictures but the seller is renting back from us, and I don't want to put pictures up with all her stuff in them while she's still living there. Good news on that front too: we're actually taking possession on Feb. 28th instead of the end of March because the seller's new home will be ready earlier than expected! So, Kris, you'll be able to see it when you're here next month, yay! Officially it's not a done deal until all the paperwork is "funded and recorded" with the county and whoever, but unless something really, really weird happens in the next 24 hours, we will be home owners before the weekend! Whew, can you believe it?

Hello, Cupcake

Another late post, but these pics are so great I had to share. For Christmas, Amy and Leslie bought the most creative cupcake book I have ever seen!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!! The funny part of the story is that everyone in the house looked through it so much (because it's amazing) that Leslie thought it looked a little too used to wrap up and pass off as new, so I got it early. Yay!! So I took the book to Thanksgiving, and the girls made some of the cupcakes out of it.

The crew: Amy, Amber, Melissa, Janae
M&Ms and Starbursts to look like peas & carrots

I think Melissa made this one, but I can't remember. It was probably her though, because she was very creative... Amber would say too creative

Sunflowers

Janae working intently

Eyeball

They also made owls and other flowers

Including this Gene Simmons owl. Rock On!

Snowy Owl

Janae still working intently

I made these cupcakes later at home with some more sugary, fatty materials. So real looking you can almost hear it quack, right!

Shark!! I'm thinking of making these for our next Bear Lake trip.

Goodbye, Cupcake!

Yay, Two Christmases!

This, unlike many of my posts, is actually on time even though it looks late. Kristiana sent a box of Christmas presents to us from the ice, but it didn't get here until this week. So we all got together last night to open it (and eat junk food). Thanks Kris, everything was perfect!

Exhibit A: the box our gifts were shipped in. We had clear instructions not to open it until we were all together, but it was opened before we got there... (Britta says she opened it to make sure everything was inside that was supposed to be, but I think she peeked :))

Asher munching on pizza, he's giving me that look because I wouldn't give him my pizza.

Rachel enjoying her pizza, nom nom nom!

Anmy was ready for the picture, Tom was not

Same story here with Scott and Enoch

Britta was excited to hand out the presents (probably because she already knew what was in them*)

Anmy looks drunk with Christmas spirit, but she was just happy to open Kris's present!

Katie got a cute penguin doll (quack!)

So did Asher, but his had a barrel of whiskey under it's arm...awww cute!

All of us got a 1 or 2 year-old size jacket from McMurdo Station, Antarctica for the kids. Anmy and I got them for our future little ones. These are really nice, Kris, thank you so much!!

Enoch got a hand-knitted hat

And Tom and Skip got McMurdo t-shirts.

Thanks again for all the beautiful gifts, Kris. Sorry I didn't get pics of all the little pieces, but just so everyone knows: Kris also made earrings for Rachel, and wine glass markers for me, and little knitted rose pins for all the girls. You're such a good friend, and I speak for everyone when I say we can't wait to see you again!!!

*Just kidding, Britta, I know you didn't peek.

Paper Faces on Parade...

Hey, better late than never right? I finally have all my photos from Halloween-time together (I had to steal a few from the Hughes blog because I was a dork & didn't take my camera to The Annual Rynearson Halloween Extravaganza)

Skip & Rachel & me dressed up for a masquerade!!! It was so fun, and it was for charity-even better! (Isn't Rachel smokin'!)
Enoch's lame costume (he didn't go-party pooper)

This is what it looked like Halloween morning on the way to work -creepy right!

Mom & I slaved over these Kix/marshmallowey monster things for the Rynearson's party. Last impression: they were messy

The Rynerasons were the "Fast Food Family": Ronald McDonald, the Burger King, and Wendy. Asher is so cute!!! And Rachel...sorry Skip the mask is just too creepy.

Skip said that if they had had a "scariest costume" contest Enoch and I would have won hands-down. We were President Palin and the ghost of John McCain. "You can put lipstick on a pig..."

This is Enoch & I at the church trunk-or-treat the night before Halloween. We toned down the political statement a bit, neither the time nor place. We need a new pose though, I think the Colbert pose is getting over-used.

The Hughes were gardeners, pruning their little flower. Awwww! I tell you though, that little flower kep John & Britta working all night, maybe she was a "wildflower"!

Rach woke up with "the King" the next morning.

Don't worry, Skip, it was just Asher, and the mask looks just as creepy on him as it did on you.

Yeah, I think it might be time for the pose to go...

Happy Halloween!!!!

History in the Making

Every year Martin Luther King Jr. Day passes by as just another national holiday when the banks are closed but none of the commercial retailers are, another excuse for auto dealerships to slash prices as low as they will go, and for television news stations to remark on the service projects going on in honor of Dr. King during the "human interest" block of news (which happens to be at the end of the newscast). But this year, the inauguration of our 44th president of the United States put Martin Luther King Jr. Day in a new light. Whether you think a lot about the current racial climate in this country or not, it's amazing to think that in less than 50 years, we as a nation went from this:
a man standing up for a group of American citizens asking for the same respect and privileges offered to others becuase of the color of their skin and their heritage, to this:

the swearing in of America's first African-American president. People can argue with me all they want about the semantics of Obama's family tree, or how racial discrimination has evolved since then to include even white people in some opinions, that doesn't make this any less of an historical moment in our nation's history. And a moment in which I am very, very proud to be an American! If you haven't already, please read Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech, and Barack Obama's inauguration speech.

Just wanted to update everyone: the inspection & appraisal went well so we're still on our way to being home owners! I haven't had time to upload pics but soon!

I've Never Been Excited About an "Inspection" Before

I'm so excitedl The home inspection for our condo is today! What I'm looking forward to us being able to see the area a little better without three inches of snow on everything. Also we're going to take some pictures & get measurements so we can start looking for a couple new pieces of furniture. Like a couch (anyone whose been to our place knows that futon just won't cut it anymore!). I'm still trying to figure out how to post pics from my phone easily, so hopefully I can put a couple of the condo up later today. If not, I guess you'll just have to wait longer! Toodles!

Under Contract

Hey just a quick post to say that Enoch and I are this close to be home owners!!! We're under contract for a modest 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom condo in a small gated community. Funnily enough, it's also behind a liquor store. We're just waiting for the home inspection and appraisal, and if everything goes according to plan we will be in a lot of debt by January 28th. Yay!

Look Ma, no computer!

Hey , would you believe I'm posting this using nothing other than The Secret? No? How about using only my blackberry? Yup I'm blogging on the go now, free & lovin every minute of it! Wow this is cool.

I'm testing this blogger on the go thing- if it works it'll be neato-frito!

Christmas @ the Lees

And now the pictures from our Christmas dinner with the Lee side of the fam. We didn't get as many photos as I would have liked because we forgot the camera when we went early in the morning to open presents (before breakfast). But the few "gems" we did get (see above, Peter), are proudly displayed for your enjoyment! Thanks for everything you guys!

This is the carnage we left after opening presents in the morning, including what was probably the most thoughtful gift we received this year: The Watchmen graphic novel from Jason. It was so perfect, I don't know why Enoch didn't buy it earlier for himself...

Here's the back of everyone at the dinner table, and Leslie's hand on the left

I was encouraged to document Amber's dinner plate versus Enoch's dinner plate...

You see, it's close to the same amount of food, the talent lies in being able to keep all of it from touching, including the gravy.

Aren't these nice glasses? They were the hot topic during dinner when the kids realized the fancy Christmas glasses they'd used their whole lives were from Arby's. You'd never know it if you didn't look very close, and they hadn't until this year.

I don't know a lot about fashionable things, but I had to get a picture of Amber's new Coach bag becuase I'm told it's fabulous.

The Lees got a brand new HD TV for Christmas. I didn't think it was possible, but it made Planet Earth even more beautiful and The Dark Knight even more disturbing.

This isn't a very good representation of the amount of snow we got, but it's the only one I have. We had a white Christmas two years in a row, for the first time since I can remember. Merry Christmas everyone, and thanks for everything you do.*

*And all the swag