Happy New Year

I hope that everyone had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We had another amazing Christmas with our families. We once again brought up our Joe Dirt trailer and parked it in Kim and Tammy's front yard. It felt like National Lampoons Christmas and we were cousin Eddy :O) We spent early evening with the Hamstra's and finished off the evening with the Bergs. Christmas morning we did the norm and went over to Grandma and Grandpa's for breakfast and it was fun to see all the kids open their gifts and the excitement of the little ones when they get what they ask for. So here are a few highlights of our Christmas! Yes our kids had a very successful Christmas like always!

Finished product!

The kids did a great job decorating this yr.

Christmas Tree hunting

Brittney puting the star up on the tree! Corby finally cut it down and ROb is makeing sure he did a good job.

Brittney looking busy while Corby cuts the tree down

Corby scoping out the tree trunk before he starts sawing

Brittney found the perfect tree for us!

Britt Being Britt<3

So not any new pics to post so I thought I would just give you a quick recap of our crazy week.. I worked everyday which is a good thing since things had been really slow thus far in the school yr. Brittney is super busy babysitting which is great b/c I can't afford her shopping habits. :o) She is super excited as she got her Jingle Bell Bash tickets for her & Sam to FINALLY get to go this yr. Corby has been busy w/ work but LOVES his new job w/ ICE which is good so he can finally start paying his own way again. Robs been busy w/ work like every other wk.

I started my CASA training this weekend & I'm super excited to get started on that. It's going to be challanging but so worth every minute of it........

CAN YOU SAY THE YANKEES DID IT AGAIN!!!




This one's for
A-ROD
~your amazing~

WOW ! What a crazy busy week we have had. I want everyone to know that baby OLIVE HOPE POLINDER is safely in Bangkok and resting comfortably!! Yea God has answered so many prayers for this precious little girl. I just hope that Rusty & Lynette can get some much needed rest now knowing that she is being watch 24/7 with her own private nurse. Please keep praying as she has a LONG road ahead of her.. But tomorrow she will be 5wks old already :O)





It's been busy this week with Robs crazy schedule and his run up to Sumas to pick up a customer and bring him back down to the detention center. (So that was a 14+hr day for him)


Corby has been with Homeland security now for a month and LOVES it, though I think his commute home sucks but he handles it well.. He is really working hard to save up $$ for his

own car. That's all we hear about "look at this car, did you get the email on that car I sent you"? OMG if I hear that to many more times I'm gonna block Craigs list from my computer!


Brittney is busy as always school activities and hanging out with her friends and NEVER home.. When she is home she is hanging with her favorite puggle and on the computer :-/ She has also been really busy babysitting.. She has to support her shopping habits.



I have been busy with work and getting ready to start my training next week for the CASA program and I am so excited to get involved and give back to those who need it.



Hope everyone has a Safe and Happy Halloween!!

Meagan, Samantha, Tess, & Brittney

At Corby's 18th b-day party

The whole Gang:Corby, Meagan, Brittney, Jake

Tess, Sam,Braxton,Breadon, & Landon...

So Corby has found a new hobby in photography so I thought I would show some of his pictures that he has recently taken. The Picture of him racing he played with in his Graphic Design class and he was able to put all his sponsors onto his picture.. He did such a great job Walmart swore it was a professional picture and they didn't want to let me get my print so after arguing with the guy I finally convinced him that my son had done this in school and I would even have his teacher call if needed. He finally agreed to let me get his picture.. ~Way to go Corby~

Rob and I went shopping at Marshall's today which just happens to be my FAVORITE store ever aside from Target.. Well I came across this metal water bottle and I have been wanting one for awhile now and the price was right so I bought it. As I show Rob my find as well as my good deal his comment was "You are really becoming a true Seattle tree hugger". No offense to any tree huggers out there.. But I just had to post it here because my friend Kelly from Arizona laughed at me when I traded my Yukon in for a VW Jetta and told me I was a tree hugger I knew this purchase would make her laugh at me just alittle more.. Yep that's right I am joining all the tree huggers here in Seattle and YES I do even have all my own bags that I drag with me to the grocery store too. Hey it saves me 50 cents for every bag and that does add up you know. :o) Even though it embarrasses my family when I pull them out of the trunk when we arrive to shop it save the planet because I'm not using all those plastic bags that are filling up our land fills :-/

So Kelly I am making you pround!!
I miss you lots girl....

I just love this time of year when the leaves begin to change color.. I thought I would share how beautiful the trees in our park look..

I found this picture that Corby took while we were at Grayland beach of the sand with the sun setting in the background and thought it looked so peaceful..

Oct. 1, 2009

HAPPY 18TH BIRTHDAY MY SWEET BOY!!

<3 I love you to the moon and back <3












WOW!! I never thought this day would come and I would be so sad. I wish you all the happiness in whatever you choose to do. Live your life to the fullest and live with no regrets.. I will love you forever my sweet boy!
Love Always,
Mom

Sept. 11-14 2009

Tressa posing with the hands of fame :o)


Meg Ryan and more..








Everything's Sexier in Paris
~LOVE IT~















Here is Keven with our funny waiter at the Hard Rock.. We made them sing to her :o) happy 40Th. Keven!!





I love the flower sculptures they were amazing!





















All of us posing for a picture!

Sept. 18, 2009

So today was a very special day for our AMAZING friends Jay, Kimber and Lexi.. It marks the day that Mylia Grace is officially theirs forever!!! We are all so happy for them as they begin their special memories w/ their daughter/sister. Anyway it has been a long awaited day and they planned a huge party to celebrate with all their friends and family. Kimber asked me to make something for their special occasion which is usually a scary things as I am not known for my cooking skills. "THANKS KIMBER". Anyways they were going with the whole Mexican theme and she wanted me to make Shrimp Ceviche.. So I have never made this before but our friend Kim had made it for the super bowl party and everyone loved it.. So I headed off to the store to get everything I needed and I was alittle stressed b/c if this turn out I was gonna be in trouble. When it was all said and done it turned out great and everyone was asking for the recipe so I thought I would post it for everyone who wanted it.. "Thanks Kim!"

Shrimp Ceviche

2lbs lag shrimp peeled, deveined, & chopped

1c. Lime juice

5 Roma tomatoes, diced

1 white or yellow onion, chopped

1/2c. chopped fresh cilantro

1 jar cocktail sauce

salt & pepper to taste

1 avocado- peeled, pitted, & diced (optional)

hot sauce (optional)

1. Place the large shrimp and lime juice into a large bowl, and stir to coat.

Let stand for about 15Mins , or until shrimp are opaque. The lime juice will cook them. (if you buy already cooked omit this step)

Mix the tomato, onion, and cilantro until coated w/ lime juice, cover and refrigerate for 1 hrs.

2. Remove from refrigerator, and mix in the cocktail sauce, salt and pepper.

3. Serve in a glass tumblers and top with avocado pieces. Set out extra cocktail sauce, Lime wedges, and hot sauce for people to individualize their plates. Serve with tortilla chips.. ENJOY!!

Homecoming 2009

More Homecoming!

Oct. 10, 2009

So today was super busy for us as Brittney had a birthday party to go to and Corby needed to get some pictures for the yearbook done so we could get them in before the deadline and you all know me I am very cheap!! THANK YOU Tammy for coming down to help us out!! Without you I dont know that it would have been possible as getting Corby to smile isn't always the easiest. You will see that by some of the pics. There is one super funny one that he did after mom & dadkept hounding him to "smile".. Tammy was able to get some nice ones once mom and dad disappeared! You will also see the one w/ him hidden inside the mysteria tree.. THANK YOU Kimber and Jay for letting us use your yard..

Labor day Weekend

So Labor day weekend we headed off to SunLakes Resort for a weekend of camping w/ my parents and we also to a good friend Lexi w/ us. I was so excited to take the kids down so they could see Grand Coulee Dam and the laser show that followed in the evening. That is one of my favorite childhood memories rising in the camper w/ Keven and Tressa peaking out the front window listing to "Living on a Prayer" upteen millions time!! Thanks mom and dad for coming w/ us I know your travels were much longer then our and it really ment alot to me but also to my kids. Oh and oc course the night we went for the lasar show it poured so we had to watch from the truck :o( But over all I think we all had a great time..

~now that I have had my trailer for a yr I LOVE it~