uhh ya hello!

Life has been busy but ooo so good. Warm sand and Hawaiian sunsets good. Happy Cubs fans and thunderstorms in the city good.  American Dream good. 

We had a stellar time in Hawaii.  

We bought a house. 

In Waterville.

its true.

The home had been foreclosed on, repossessed and then handed over to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. It was a little worse for wear but we couldn't beat the location. Next door to Ma and Pa Barnes. We love it!

We have since torn it down to the 2x4s and are anxiously awaiting the rebuilding process. More on that later. I promise. 

Jason's national conference was in Chicago this year. It felt unbelievably good to be back in the city. We spent the first few days biking the lakefront and revisiting some of our favorite places. Jason headed to his conference later in the week and I filled my time wandering and shopping the crazy busy awesome chaotic streets.

Kerry so generously offered us her home and the trip would not have been nearly as enjoyable had we not accepted. Good friends make all the difference. Her rooftop was a popular place for dinner. You may recognize it from Jason's graduation party. 

It was tough to leave. But as always, its good to be home.

San Fransisco

2012 has taken off at a sprint! Hard to believe we're heading into March. 

We took a quick (42 hours total) trip to San Francisco in January and loved it! 

 We walked and walked and walked. uphill. downhill. uphill. downhill. 

Loved the houses! Definitely not any pickups parked in these garages

The sun was shining on fisherman's wharf. Again, loved it!

The sea lions were out in full force celebrating their 22nd anniversary as the "sealebrities" of pier 39.

 We stumbled across Lombard street...literally.

The weather wasn't quite as nice our second day in town, so we stopped for some chocolate

and clam chowder on the pier.

All in all...the trip was a little too quick, but 5-star none the less.

catching up to now

  So my blog archive tells me that I posted 7 times in 2011. Seven. Not that my numbers were stellar in years past, peaking in 2008 with 45. Then a steady decline of 41, 21... I debated turning this into a New Years resolution but given my history, it seemed kinda like setting myself up for failure. So, no resolutions...just a really long post with lots of pictures. 

We took a fall trip to MT with the Sandersons.  Owen was amazed to find someone who eats almost as much as him. 

 Brian turned 23

 and Julie came along for the trip! We loved it!

Later that month we took our final ride in the focus. It was memorable.

And then we headed to California for some R&R with Dave and Kathy. My first experience with Disneyland. It was great.

And then we came back to the reality that winter was on its way. We're still waiting for it to officially hit. I'm content to wait.

Brittany D. came to hang out for the weekend. We threw in a quick hike up Eightmile Lake.

It was gorgeous. and freezing.

Did I mention that Justin and Pam added an adorable little boy to their family? Meet Blake and his big sister Dakota.

And we can't pass up an adorable picture of our niece. Can baby girls get any cuter?

We headed back to MT for the long christmas weekend. After we logged 1700 miles to Cody, WY and back for some very special meetings. Loved all the family time this winter. 

 And then we spent New Years with the rowdy Barnes. Who kept us up way too late. 

If Branson looks tired that's because he should be. What a busy boy! He kept Jason occupied playing trucks, airplanes, combines and anything else that has wheels. 

Did I mention that we loved it?