oh, say can you see...

The conversation that unfolded at Bobby & Kelli's tonight...

Bobby: You should have heard Kelli singing while she put up Christmas decorations the other day.
Anne: What was she singing?
Bobby: I can't even remember, but I finally had to ask her to stop. I think she was making up her own Christmas carols.
Ben: You know what I like to sing when I'm in the car by myself (brief pause)...the Star Spangled Banner.
Bobby, Kelli & Anne: What?!!? (and lots of laughter)

Anyone else sing the Star Spangled Banner when they're stuck in traffic?

last night with j-dub...

Jordan came over to hang out with Ben last night. I was at school late - working on grades, my masters class, and curriculum stuff. When I arrived home, the fellas suggested we play a round of Settlers. How could I say no?

Jordan posing for the camera...

Ben's turn...

This is how I felt near the beginning of the game...

Jordan & Ben demonstrating how the game is played...

Another fake action shot...are you sold on the game yet?

This is how Jordan & Ben destroyed the game board once I pulled out the victory!

Despite my win, the boys drove me nuts. This is how I felt by the time we finished up.

The losers! (Jordan, bitter much?)

christmas time...

I'm celebrating with a Christmas-colored blog layout. :) (I'm obviously avoiding the pile of papers sitting here in front of me...they need to be graded.)

Oh, and I'm glad I finally figured out how to stretch the blog a bit - no more large margins. I'm proud of myself.

wonderful winter weekend...

I knew things were off to a great start when we found a new car! Hooray! I will have to take some pictures tonight so I can show you the 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Ben was convinced he didn't want to go with a Jeep, but after test driving one on Wednesday, he was willing to change his mind. Now we're back to owning something that can handle in the snow...which means we might get to test its all-wheel drive skills tomorrow.

Wednesday night we headed over to my mom and dad's - Mike came home from Japan for Thanksgiving so we spent quite a bit of time with him. We had an informal family gathering complete with a round of Settler of Catan (amazing game). Again, no pictures...I have some work to do.

Thursday we went back over to my parents for some time with John, Cheryle, Max, Jessica, Mike, Scotty Keen, and Uncle Ted. After our yummy dinner, we went out to Bobby and Kelli's new place. Jordan and Jamie met us out there and then we played a few games - including another round of Settlers.

Friday was Thanksgiving, Round 2. I have pictures to prove it! Don & Suzy took pictures and they were gracious enough to send them to us. :)

Here is a picture of our host and hostess - Ryan & Emily

Ben & I - just being silly...like always!

Here we have Grandma Nancy (Suzy's mom) & Suzy. Grandma Nancy makes a mean jello salad that continues to be Ben's favorite. I might have to beg her for the recipe. :)

Hero is Emily & Ryan's child. He was a bit unhappy that we kept his mom and dad occupied for so long. This must have been taken as we were playing our card game - Class Struggle.

Don & Suzy - so cute! (I guess I should start referring to them as mom and dad, but it's tough to make that jump.)

After Friday's fun, we were ready for some down-time. Ben went with Bobby, Kelli, and Mike to the Apple Cup. My husband was sad to see his Huskies lose. While the crew was out freezing their butts off in Seattle, Laura and I did a circuit training class at the gym and then made some more cards...big surprise. (I'm still sore!)

Sunday morning we went to church (unlike some Seahawk prayer warriors), watched the 2nd half of the game, and then pulled out all of the Christmas decorations. As soon as my grades are finished (the trimester ends on Friday), we'll begin unpacking the red and green boxes.

I enjoyed my time away from work. There were far too many things I had planned for this 4-day-weekend. However, my time was monopolized by family and friends...and I LOVED IT ALL!

lost cause...

The insurance company finally took a look at Ben's car...it's totaled! Anyone know of a great car for sale?

bff...

Since I have some wonderful shots of Laura, I figured I should share them with the world. I told her I wanted to post them, so I'm hoping that frees me of any blame. Enjoy the crazy antics of my oldest and dearest friend! All of these pictures were taken at our most recent Game Night...

Laura made these really cool drinks that tasted like birthday cake...they even had sprinkles in 'em. Here she is posing with her beverage (Hillary ran out of martini glasses and that's why Laura is sporting the wine glass...classy).

Below is a picture of Laura & I laughing at one of the nouns used in Bag of Nouns (if you haven't tried playing, you're missing out). I wish I could read (or remember) what it says.

This might look strange at first glance, but this is a photo of Laura's clay creation. We were playing Pop 5 (another great game) and she was trying to get Hillary to guess the show...think you know it? American Gladiators! Apparently this is the jousting portion of the old show.

These are my favorite...we were playing Guesstures and Laura was trying to get Hillary to guess what she was. Any ideas? Yeah, she's a branch. The picture on the left is the tree and the one of the right is a branch. LOVE IT!

She's the greatest! Can you believe that we've known each other since daycare?!?! Crazy to think that she's stuck with me this long! :)

P.S. We made more than $200 on Saturday - all we did was sell cards and journals! Nothing cost more than $5. It was so much fun, we're doing another one on December 8th at Jenkins Creek Elementary School in Covington. Hopefully we'll find success for a second time!

f.y.i...

Still hate blogger...won't let me upload pictures now. Really? I want something more reliable (and still free).

questions...

I watch MTV (hey, we all fall short) and now I have 2 quick questions...

1. What is with Justin-Bobby? L-O-S-E-R!
2. Why are they currently showing a million Alicia Keys commercials? I like her and all, but seriously?!?!

That's all for now.

not a good day...

It started with a car accident. On my way to work, a gentleman decided to hit me. He crashed into the back of my car (thankfully, I was driving the 4Runner) and hit me so hard that it pushed my vehicle into the truck in front of me. I was at a light and the traffic was slowly starting to move. The gentleman behind me said he saw us all move, put his foot on the gas and then LEANED OVER TO GRAB HIS COFFEE! That's when I felt it. The noise was crazy loud, the force was insane and I couldn't believe what was happening. The hit was so hard that it caused Ben's coin tray (ashtray) to fly open and spew forth coins. The inside cover for his sun roof hit the front frame and then started to slide back. My apple cider took flight immediately.

Thankfully...

• no one was hurt
• the gentleman who hit me was nice
• the officer who took the report was friendly
• the school was understanding of my late arrival (I was supposed to be at a training today at 8 and I showed up a little before 10)
• the insurance companies took care of us (after a bazillion phone calls)
• my husband was able to come to save me and make sure all the details were taken care of while I spent time at work and at the CovingtonUrgent Care
• I have some "happy pills" to control the pain in my neck
• my mom was ready to drop everything to help me out
• my brother called to check in on me
• Hillary drove me home
• AAA came and towed Ben's car
• We've got a rental car
• My dad was full of great advice
• Did I mention that my husband was/is amazing!?!?

However, I didn't get a picture of the damage. I wish you could see it!

riley...

Hillary's son Riley is such a sweet little guy. He is totally chill and ridiculously cute! On Saturday we got a chance to see him at Game Night.

Side note - Once a month Laura, Hillary, Ben and I try to get together for a night of good food, fun and games. Since Hillary's husband is a police officer, we try to schedule our Game Nights to coincide on the same evenings that Steve (Hill's husband) is at work. This way she doesn't have to hang out by herself! :)

I remembered to bring my camera and I've got some great shots to share...

journals anyone...

Anyone need a journal?

If these (and the million cards) don't sell on Saturday, I'll be giving these to everyone for Christmas!

Say a little prayer that we can at least make the $25 it cost for the table.

If you're bored on Saturday, come on out to Lake Sawyer Christian Church.

Instead of grading, this keeps me busy!