This morning we woke up to beautiful sunshine and bright blue skies! It has been weeks since we've seen blue skies, in Boise, there is this thing called the "Inversion". now, I didnt believe in this so called "Inversion" when we first moved here, back in Seattle we called it fog. So after living here for over 2 years now, this is the first year I have truly believed in the Inversion. It's this weird fog, and it is a fog, but since we are set in this wide valley, this fog just bumps off the mountains over and over again, getting thicker, and darker, and nastier, until some big wind (which we had yesterday!) comes in and has enough force to blow it over the mountains. This Inversion also hurts our air quality, we've been at a yellow(?) for some time now I believe, and it's because the dust particles and icky stuff that gets stuck in this thick fog, keeps swirling around and just gets worse for us to breath. I've been wheezy and had a terrible cough for a couple of months now, and the last few weeks were some of the worst, so hopefully now that this gunk is gone, we can finally get some clean air and good breathes in!
Yesterday was also my first day off in nearly 2 weeks! Call weeks with the family are killer, and I just feel like nothing gets done at my own home. So, Brent and I kicked it into high gear yesterday and cleaned the whole house! He finished sanding the windows and preping them to be primed today (by me) so that we can finally finish them. Next weekend we hope to hang the new blinds and curtains and just be done with this huge project that has lasted way too long! Also next weekend, were hoping to finish painting the other half of the kitchen :o) this is something I did one weekend after we first moved in here, while Brent was away hunting. I took apart all the cabinets and cleaned, sanded, and painted them white. Well, that was almost 2 years ago... so hopefully, I'll get the other side of the kitchen done and matching soon.
It's great to finally be getting things acomplished again around here, it's so cold were sticking to our indoor projects, but we have so many we just dont know where to start! I'll update with pics when I get them soon.

Welcome 2009!

It's hard to believe a new year is here already. 2008 seemed to go by in the blink of an eye. On the 1st, Brent and I took some time to talk about some of the acomplishments we had this year, here is a little re-cap of our favorites,

• Celebrating our first anniversary in March, what a wonderful first year it was!
• Completing several big projects around the house, new windows, siding, a new dishwasher (which is great!!), ripping out the old deck in preparation for the new deck, tearing up the backyard with the skidsteer, all of the rocks and pavers we put in the back yard, finishing lining the driveway with gravel, installing new fans throughout the house (critical for summer!)... just to name a few :o)
• Taking the trip of a lifetime with the Norris/Anderson family to Kauai, Hawaii
• Brent taking his first big buck in an early season draw hunt, he is still very excited about the horns beinging in full velvet.
• My taking the Infant Massage course and starting my own Infant Massage Instruction business, Gentle Touch Infant Massage.
• Abby got her 100th retrieve, Brent is very proud of that, so am I :o)

What a wonderful year it was! Brent and I are so thankful for everything that happened this last year, and are excited and hopeful that 2009 will be even better!

We Made it!

Well, we were somewhat worried about today. We left at 9am this morning, hoping that the extra hour would give the sun sometime to warm the roads and melt the snow. It kinda worked! Oregon was the worst part. Heading into La Grande was pretty icy, but managable, but heading out of La Grande just got worse. The Blues, or Meachum and dead man's pass, were very slick! and the 6% grade heading down into Pendleton was slippery as well. Chains were required for all semi-trucks, but not for us, thankfully, we had them and we were very prepared, overly, but are so thankful it wasnt bad enough to use them. Once we got past the blinding wind (which was blowing snow so hard! we could hardly see in some spots!) the drive turned out pretty great, Washington was the best part! Snoqualmie pass was dry mostly, but people were still nervous and went about 40 mph the whole way, so it still took us a good 10 hours to get here from Boise!

What a long day! were just so happy to be here! Abby is running around finding all the toys and Lilly is still nervous because of the other cats in the house... but she'll warm up soon. Brent is excited to go duck hunting some place new, and i'm just excited to see family and friends!

Blessings to everyone for a Merry Christmas and best wishes for a Happy New Year!!

Brent wanted me to show off his christmas present... since he wont be able to use them for another week, he put them under the tree, lol. Lilly doesnt quite know what to think of them yet.

Abby has been sniffing them, but they dont have a natural bird or water scent on them yet, so she's not very interested. She still didnt mind posing for a cute pic with them though.

a little update

Sorry it's been so long! Brent and I had a wonderful time in Sun Valley, forgetting our camera almost everywhere we went, I only have a few pictures on my phone, and havent quite figured out how to upload or send those to my computer yet. We stayed at this great little bed and breakfast, the Featherbed Inn, which we chose because they allow pets, no limit to size or weight. So we were fortunate enough to bring Abby, she loved it up there! Brent has done some work up in the area, so he took me on a tour of Ketchum, and Hailey, what a great area! We went on this great hike out past Ketchum, it had a beautiful view of the ski area, and Abby loved exploring a new trail. We had a couple picnics, enjoying our thankgiving leftovers as sandwiches, and taking in the breathtaking views around us on the mountain. I cant wait to take a ski trip up there, I just want to be a stronger skiier first.

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(Below) The best present under the tree, Lilly. This is her new favorite spot to sleep... all day and all night... she's laying there still as I type this, lol.

Our Christmas Tree!

We have been getting into the christmas spirit around Boise. Last weekend both my mom and Brent's mom came to Boise to visit for 4 days! It was so great having them both here! Last year my mom came, and we did the downtown shopping thing, then also the Boise Christmas show, this is now officially an annual tradition. This year we kicked off the weekend by getting our Christmas tree! It's beautiful! Brent put the lights on, then we enjoyed hanging ornaments and decorating the rest of the house. The rest of the weekend was spent christmas shopping downtown, going to the christmas show, checking out the Botanical garden lights (beautiful!) and enjoying time with our family. This year also brought a special treat my mom had been hoping for... SNOW! Monday morning we woke up with the great white stuff floating down, and a light blanket on the ground. I woke my mom up at 6:30 to show her (I had to work for a couple hours and was up early) She was pretty excited... last year it snowed the day after she left, so we were really hoping she would get her white wish this year.

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Over the night we got a little bit of snow... about 3 inches in 24 hours! We took the opportunity of snow and made it an early white Christmas. Brent and I opened presents sunday morning, he really wanted his and was begging me to open it, when I finally gave in, he was very happy, 4 goose decoys, just what he had wanted, and some hunting magazines, and an adapter for his truck. He gave me some new sweat pants for winter, mine had a hole in the leg from getting too close to the fire while camping this summer, some waterproof gloves, some yummy smelling candles, and a beautiful jewelry box for all my earrings and necklaces. Thanks Hubby!

As we prepare to take our Christmas vacation (9 days at home!) there will be lots to do around here, packing up all the stuff our moms bought that wouldnt fit onto the plane, lol, packing up our own gifts for family, figuring out the best way to travel with both pets... I'm just happy we get to bring them both, I always feel bad leaving Lilly behind. I cant wait to be home for the holidays, I do wish we could bring the snow with us, a white Christmas would be so fantastic, but that might have to wait until our family comes to Boise for Christmas.