Please forgive us ...

Well, we finally BOTH made it.  We are now officially grown-ups (i.e. in our 30s!) and no longer carefree 20-somethings.  As such, we're finding it harder and harder to remember to post things to our blog.  So, to make up for the month-long absence, please find THREE (3) posts below detailing our "wild" and "crazy" adventures of the past four weeks.

However, one benefit to old age (besides yelling at random whipper-snappers), we're finally taking the plunge and buying a house!  After several rounds of offers and counter-offers on two separate houses, we finally have a Seller-accepted offer!!!  We are hoping to close the first week of December and be all moved in before we trek north to Washington for Christmas.  As soon as the t's are dotted and i's are crossed, we'll post some pictures!

Now, without further ado, please see our newest three posts below...

Welcome to the Dirty Thirties!

We decided to really celebrate our entrance into a new decade by taking a weekend trip to San Antonio, TX. (See post below for details and photos.)

However, an occasion such as this also requires a party in town with friends. Therefore, eleven of our friends (and two adorable kids) joined us for a dinner out in El Paso.

The Birthday Kids

Our very good friends, the Welches
(He is in BOLC III with Cam; She is my crafty buddy!)

Leslie is another classmate

The Radcliffes came too!

Miclos is yet another classmate

The cute camera-hog daughter of our friends, the Dubys

The beautiful freeway and power lines

4th of July Visit to Washington

For the week around 4th of July, I headed north back to Washington to visit with family and friends. I spent the days leading up to the 4th couch-hopping from friend to friend in the Puget Sound area. I spent a few days with old college friends Jen, Jake and their 2 girls. It was soooo fun to get a little baby-time as well as be reminded how many questions an almost 5-year old asks! I then had a wonderful dinner out with Sabrina and her new beau, Brian where Sabrina and I were "devastated" when we weren't carded while ordering adult beverages. Too bad our MUCH-YOUNGER waiter heard us grumbling and proceeded to tease us about it all night.

The next morning, I was off to see some old Shipyard friends for breakfast, lunch and a night out at the Clearwater Creek Casino. I really enjoyed catching up with everyone and hearing all the gossip I'd missed in the last 2 months. Too bad I walked away from the casino with nothing but the stinky smoke smell in my clothes. Maybe I'll hit the jackpot next time?

After the friend- and fun-filled days, I was super excited to get on the road to Ocean Shores, WA where I was going to meet up with my parents, BOTH brothers and a few of the extended family for a rockin' 4th out on the beach. Due to several hours of HORRIBLE traffic, I was forced to hit up the Indian Reservation myself (without the help of my pyro brother) to pick up a stash of illegal fireworks. I ended up with a box of goodies that weighed 70+ pounds and therefore badgered the guy at the booth into carrying it to my car for me! (Am I a big *girl* or what?) We all finally made it to the hotel in Aberdeen and I was able to visit with my immediate family, grandmother, two uncles, an aunt and 5 cousins!

On the actual 4th, my parents, brothers and I watched 2 of my cousins compete in the Firecracker Duathlon @ Elma, WA for the 2nd year in a row. Ben did a fabulous job! Unfortunately, Jake's back tire blew out at the start of the biking leg and he was forced to run, not only the remaining portion of the biking leg, but also the last running leg. We figured out later than he probably biked 2 miles and ran a total of 14 miles!

The entire clan then headed out to the beach where we set up camp, a fire and the loveliest potty tent you've ever seen! We all dinked around waiting for darkness to fall. Unfortunately, the thick fog didn't allow us to see very far up and down the beach and therefore, the show wasn't nearly as impressive as it was last year. We still had fun watching my pyro brother blow up our stash and see the idiots around us going to town!

I headed "home" to the Tri-Cities with my parents the following day and spent most of Monday hanging out with my brothers before I had to drive back to Seattle for the night. I spent my last night in WA chatting into the wee hours with my good friend, Heather.

Thank you to everyone whose couch I crashed on!!! The week was so much fun and I'm looking forward to visiting everyone again soon! The weather was amazing and I got my fill of green trees, sparkling blue water and snow-capped mountains. However, what was waiting for me in El Paso when I returned home? 100+ degree temperatures that have not gone away YET! Oh well, at least I have a very pronounced flip-flop tan on my feet...

Ben & Jake leading the pack at the start of the Firecracker Duathlon 2009

Cousins in the sand

Grandma & Tim

My tugboat in Aberdeen

One last stop before home ...

Before our looooooong drive to the Tri-Cities and then the loooooong drive home, we stopped off at Cam's favorite breakfast place (Elmers) for a little chow and a little reminiscing/catching up with some really old friends from high school.

Thank you, Kevin, Zach, Rachael, Wes, and Melissa! It was great to see you all and hope we can see you again very soon!

Some former PHS Falcons
L to R: Cam, Kristy, Melissa, Wes, Rachael, Zach and Kevin

Happy Birthday to Me!

Well, I turned the big 2-9 today and I have nearly reached the end of childhood. This is the last birthday where I can honestly claim that I'm still not a grown-up! (You have to act like an adult when you hit your 3rd decade, right?!?) Even though I'm married, have a career, and have been living on my own for 10+ years, it means nothing! I still have one more year of my 20s left and I'm going to use that time to be as immature as possible! Ha-ha!

To kick off this glorious year, I, unfortunately had to work. Not exactly the way I wanted to spend my "special" day, but since we often act like we are kindergartners (throwing fits, taking naps, and eating paste), I decided to pull out the old grade school trick and brought in my own birthday cupcakes! Also, when I got in this morning, I did have some very yummy carrot cupcakes (my favorite!) WITH candles waiting on my desk for me. So, it was a cupcake bonanza!

After work, I had a very lovely dinner (and show, of course!) with my friend, Ruth, Tommy and Audrey, her two kids. I tried shopping for my own birthday present after dinner (Don't worry! Cam gave me permission to do so!) but didn't find much that piqued my interest.

When I arrived home, I found the snail mailbox full of cards, the email inbox full of e-cards and some very cheerful flowers waiting for me on the doorstep to go along with the great gift I received last weekend from my parents. I feel so blessed that I have so many wonderful people in my life that love me as much as I love them! Thank you, Family and Friends! You're the bestest!

Happy Birthday, Cam!

Cam turned the big 2-9 today, and yes, he IS a Halloween-ie! I just hope his drill sergeants took it easy on him today. Maybe I'll hear all about how that DIDN'T happen when he calls on Sunday!

I opted to celebrate Cam's birthday yesterday with a dinner out with friends at his favorite local restaurant, Silver City Brewery. We toasted the man-of-honor with a nice pint of frosty brew and yummy pizza (his dish of choice there). We even sampled a few desserts! I mean, how can you have a birthday celebrate and NOT eat dessert?!? Thanks to Jessica and Justin for providing stellar company on this celebratory night!

Hope everyone had a wonderfully festive Halloween and got their fill of Halloween candy! I know I did! Unfortunately, I might have to eat even more as there was a poor turnout of trick-or-treaters this year. At least I was visited by a very beautiful Sleeping Beauty and her dragon of a little brother (Ruth's little ones, Audrey and Tommy)!

Happy Halloween!!!

Are we really that old?

We just returned home from a trip to our home town (Vancouver) for our 10-year high school reunion. Initially, it was kind of a shock to get the invite in the mail and realize that: Yes! It really has been 10 years since high school! We certainly didn't feel like we could possibly be that old yet. However, we were thankful that we were at least out of school, married and have exciting jobs so that all our "bragging" bases were covered! Plus, we both were graduates of the Prairie High School Class of 1998 (Go Falcons!) so we didn't have to worry about either of us being a poor "date" left out on all the inside jokes and memories.

So, Saturday night we got all dressed up and headed to a hotel ballroom in Portland for a very yummy dinner and a chance to catch up with old friends. There were many people there we hadn't seen in 10+ years as well as a few friends that we've been in contact with since we graduated. In Cam's case, there were even friends there that he'd known since elementary school or T-ball!

It was wonderful to hear all about everyone's lives: who was married (and divorced), how many kids they have, and what they do for a living. There were people that traveled from Boston, Connecticut, and L.A. We met alumni who are now a mailman, farmer, teacher, mTV producer, and high school football coach. We even have a classmate that has 5 kids already ... but the average was about 1 rugrat, so far. And, even though we know of three couples that married their '98 classmates, we were the only Class of '98 couple there. There were even a few people that remembered that we dated for a while in high school and were shocked that we actually did end up getting married!


Ben, Kade & Cam

Casey & Kristy

Cam & Jeb

A flock of Falcons and our old Guidance Counselor

All in all, we had a GREAT time, reconnected with some old friends and are now looking forward to our 20-year reunion!