Alas, pictures!

Brian is working late so I thought I should take this opportunity to post some pictures. The pictures are out of order but I thought it was good that I at least got them posted :-)

The Thanksgiving table at my Dad's, all ready for us to dig in!

Here is the kids table, from bottom left: Kailey, Abby (top left), Jaidyn, and Cassidy.
Porter got to sit at the big kid table, he liked that!
Here is Terry (Brian's stepdad), his mom, Heather, and Amy relaxing after a big meal!
This is on a Sunday morning, Brian is studying and MJ is dutifully watching the neighbors backyard for the dogs to come outside:
Here's our adorable daughter ;-)
Now back to Thanksgiving, here are the kids playing:
This is my adorable and handsome husband cutting the Turkey, I sure hope our kids get his dimples!
MJ followed my Dad around all day because he's the one that gave her Turkey, softy!

Yay, I finally posted some pictures! Now that I'm on the internet I'm going to do a few other things :-)

Halfway through the Week!

So I am a promise-breaker, I just can't seem to sit down in front of the computer when I get home to upload pictures, it is the absolute last thing I want to do. Maybe tonight I will be more motivated to upload pictures, but no promises ;-)

My neighbor, Brandi, lent me "Marley & Me" by John Grogan and it is such a good book for you dog lovers out there. It made me want to spend more time with MJ, playing and taking her for walks. So that's what I've been doing in the evening, along with cooking and baking. Whew, I'm all domesticated ;-) I made banana muffins last night and they are pretty tasty if I do say so myself. Brian enjoyed them which always makes me feel good. I could tell he genuinely liked them because he ate like 3 or 4!

I am looking forward to getting our Christmas tree this weekend, I had so much fun last year decorating our tree, it makes the Holidays feel official. Last year we didn't send out a Christmas card and I regretted it so I am hoping this year I will actually commit to it. I think I get discouraged because I want them to be just perfect, unique and stunning. So when I fail to deliver perfection, I get frustrated. That's not a good thing, I'll work on it.

Yesterday was my cousin Tasha's birthday and although I thought about her all day, I failed to actually call and tell her Happy Birthday, bad Lindsey. So Tasha, HAPPY BIRTHDAY cuz. I hope you had a wonderful day!
Tasha, Lanie, and I call ourselves the 3 musketeers, every family reunion we would be stuck at the hip. In the younger years there would inevitably be 2 or 3 fights that would end in tears, but then we'd make up and be best friends again. I remember one year we built a tree fort in the woods across from my house, it was the coolest fort ever. But I didn't get to enjoy it very long because I got sick and had to lay on the couch. I remember them trying hard to be patient and understanding, but asking every 5 minutes if I felt well enough to go out and play. I would've done the same thing if one of them was sick! Anyway, I have so many good memories with them and love that we are now all married and entering a new phase of our lives. Love you guys!

Alrighty, I better sign off for now. Have a great day!

Our Story

My cousin Tasha had this on her blog and I wanted to join in on the fun:

What is his name? Brian David Holcomb
How long have you been married? A year and 4 months
Who eats more? Brian, by far
How long did you date? 2 1/2 years
How old is he? 31
Who said I love you first? Brian
Who is taller? Brian, by far
Who sings better? Probably me, but he has a wonderful Opera voice ;-)
Who is smarter? Depends on the topic, but I'd say Brian
Whose temper is worse? Mine, by far
Who does the laundry? We both do it
Who does the dishes? Lately me, but usually we both do it
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? If you are facing the bed, I do
Who mows the lawn? Both of us
Who cooks dinner? I do
Who kissed who first? Brian kissed me, it was the best first kiss I've ever had
Who asked who out? He asked me out, I said no the first time, but eventually he wore me down ;-)
Who proposed? Brian did
Who has more friends? He does
Who is more sensitive? That's a tough one, not. Me by a large margin!!
Who has more siblings? I do, 5 siblings :-)
Who wears the pants? That's tough, we both have our moments

Join in the fun if you want!

Thanksgiving and the Holidays!

Thanksgiving was a great day.
Brian and I made it to 2 Thanksgiving dinners yesterday, which means I need to go for a 10 mile run this weekend! We headed over to my Dad and Anna's around 11:30 so I could help with the meal which I really enjoyed. Although Anna was the master chef, Jaime and I assisted as best we could. The guys did the norm and watched football all morning, which I know they thoroughly enjoyed. A little after 4 pm we headed to Brian's mom's house for more football and food :-) We definitely had an enjoyable and relaxing time at both places.
It got us thinking about how we are going to do Christmas this year. Here is our normal schedule of events:

December 22nd ish (the date changes depending): Brian's mom has her annual Christmas party! December 24th: Go to my mom's house, open presents, and my favorite: read our goals for the new year.
Then we go to Brian's mom's house to open presents and go to the 11 pm church service.
December 25th: Wake up early and go to my Dad's to open presents and enjoy a wonderful breakfast.
Then we head up to Salem and go to Brian's Dad's house and open presents and eat dinner.

I love being able to see all our family over Christmas, it's just not the same without seeing everyone. But it's definitely exhausting and yesterday reminded us of what lies ahead for the Holidays. Part of me wants to suck it up, how many people get to share Christmas with so many loved ones? There are a lot of people that spend the Holidays alone, we are so blessed to have lots of people to be with. But another part of me wants to be able to relax and enjoy our time at each place, without feeling rushed. And then once we have kids we will want to start our own family traditions, so how in the heck are we going to fit that in?! Maybe we can spread Christmas out over a week :-) Who knows, but I think for now we need to stick to the schedule so that we can see everyone, especially while we still all live close because who knows how long that will last.
I am definitely excited about the Holidays, especially now that Christmas music is playing on the radio! Next weekend we are going to get our Christmas tree and I'm looking forward to that as well, I LOVE decorating the tree.
So I have a few pictures from Thanksgiving, but since I'm at work (yep, I have to work today, ugh.) I can't upload them, but I will this weekend.
Work is going, well its going. I'll be busy with 1099 stuff for the next few months, gotta love that! But I think Brian takes the cake on being busy, he got home at 8:45 Wednesday night, Peak has officially begun for UPS. I'm hoping I'll at least get to see him Sundays ;-)
Alright, well I better get back to work, pictures to come....

Beaver Game

We had a ton of fun at the tailgator last night, thanks to the Bauer's generous hospitality :-) We brought Brandi and Kris (our neighbors) and I think they had a great time as well. It started off beautiful and sunny but quickly got very chilly, good thing we drove home and watched the game at Brandi and Kris' with the fireplace going! The Beavers were able to pull off a win, despite incredibly incompetent referees. That may sound harsh, but it is so true.

Brian and Nate grilling up some burgers and hot dogs:

This is Brandi and Kris Taylor, they found out they are expecting a baby boy!!! She is 5 months a long and so glad morning sickness has passed :)
Brandi and I trying to stay warm:
Brian LOVES the jersey Jenny and Kyle got him as a gift for doing the ceremony.
This is Nick and Mindi (Nate's brother and his girlfriend)

Today we are going up to Salem to Brian's dad's house for a birthday celebration. Other than that we are going to lay low and relax, I need to do some grocery shopping, ugh. I will probably do the shopping tomorrow though, since I have the day off, yes!

Hope everyone enjoys their Sunday night!

Happy Birthday Brian

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband. It's funny how I can't, and don't want to, imagine my life without Brian. He is truly my other half.

I love you so much babe and here is a small sampling of why:
1. Your dimple filled smile-it still gives me butterflies.

2. How intelligent you are-I love how you know a little about everything, and a lot about some things.

3. Your motivation-it's hard to keep up with your ambition sometimes but I wouldn't change it for the world, it's why we'll make it big one day ;-)

4. How affectionate you are-my family will be the first to tell you how much I love to cuddle, I knew it was meant to be when you scratched my arm without me asking.

5. Your sense of humor-I've had to become quicker and more witty, but man do I love to laugh with you!

6. How laid back you are-I am hoping that will rub off a little on me so I don't sweat the small stuff so much.

7. Your powerful presence-your walk commands attention unintentionally, and when you wrap your arms around me I feel invincible.

8. How friendly you are-you love meeting new people and you are so good at it!

9. Your determination-when you set your mind to something you don't stop until you've accomplished it, no matter how long it takes!

10. Your love-I couldn't live without it.

Your loving wife and #1 fan

Halloween

So here are the cutest trick-or-treaters ever, my beautiful and intelligent nieces and nephew, are you gagging from my bragging yet? :-)

Porter is being shy in this picture as Winnie the Pooh. Kailey is smiling proudly as a ladybug and Jaidyn has her picture perfect smile on as Alice in Wonderland:

Another one so you can see Porter's face, right after I took this he cheezed big time!
Our little MJ, not too thrilled that Mom put her in this Bee costume, I loved it.
Travis and Sarah came over to pass out candy with me and caught this cute picture:

I picked up Brian late Friday night and have been in heaven since he's back. I left for the Eugene airport a little early because I couldn't wait any longer, it's a good thing I did because his plane was a 1/2 hour early. I was able to see him walk off the plane since it's such a small airport and I got butterflies :-) It was so good to hug and kiss him finally! Like true Brian style he was in a t-shirt, shorts, and flip flops and it was about 40 degrees outside.

Saturday we were right back into reality as he had homework to do and then we went outside and did some yard work. The one thing I like about the rain is that it keeps our grass plush and green without a $100 water bill. Anyway, we went over to his mom's house to watch the Beaver game in celebration of his and Sara's upcoming birthday (which is tomorrow the 7th). Unfortunately the Beavers did not have such a good game, and to make matters worse, the Ducks (our rivals) won their biggest game, doh. Now, I believe in supporting the Beavs through the good times and the bad, I'm a Beaver Believer baby! But I tell ya what, Saturday was a little hard. I'm pretty sure our quarterback, Canfield, set a world record for getting sacked. But we still got love for him. Regardless, it was a fun night.

Daylight Saving Time ended on Sunday which means the mornings are a little lighter (I still get up when it's dark), but the evenings get dark on my way home from work, I really don't like it. To look on the positive side, it does mean the Holidays are getting closer which is pretty exciting.

Okay, so I mentioned awhile ago that our friends Dave and Cinnamon Schwendimann were pregnant. They didn't get to find out the sex because at the one ultra sound they had the umbilical cord was blocking the area. Well, yesterday Cinn went into labor! They planned on a home water birth, Cinn is one tough lady. I am so excited to announce they gave birth to a baby girl yesterday!! They named her (I'm not sure on spelling) Scarlet Faye. I believe she was due around Thanksgiving so she's a little early, but as far as we've heard mommy and baby are ok. I really wanted to go over and see them yesterday, but that was probably a little soon. Hopefully we'll get in touch with Dave soon and bring them over dinner and see the little one. I'm just so excited for them, congratulations first time parents!! Pictures hopefully to come :-)