Happy Birthday....... Jill!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU... HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU... HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR JILL.... HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!!!!

I am so lucky to have this lovely lady in my life! She is a WONDERFUL friend and such an inspiring woman! She has always made sure that everything in everyones life is alright sometimes even before herself... You are a wonderful woman, wife, mother and friend!

I love you Jill and I am so lucky to have you as one of my best friends! Thank you for all you do whether or not you want to!

Jill and I at Jessica's shower!

Jill and I at MNO!

Redwood Forest!

AMAZING is one word that I can think about when I think about the Redwood Forest. It was absolutely beautiful and just HUGE! The trees were gigantic and just the neatest thing I have seen in a long time! We were able to stand in the middle of one and I was taking pictures looking up out of the center of the tree! It was so cool and Mackenzie thought so too... she just kept saying, "whoa big trees mom." Gary had been before and knew exactly where to take us, but he didn't mind because he loved it last time and said he couldn't wait to go back! On the way we were able to stop at a river and we played around there for awhile. Mack and daddy threw rocks in the water for about thirty minutes and just laughed and played in the FREEZING water. I of course was behind the camera except for one family shot inside of a tree! =o) Its alright with me though I love taking photos of my family, just being there is enough for me!

Love the colors of winter/fall... GORGEOUS!

LOVE my little happy family!

I had so much fun going through here... It was an amazing experience and I would go back in a flash! The biggest Redwood that I saw was at least 15ft in diameter! Just a great time!

Utah, Idaho, Washington and Oregon!

FINALLY... is the word that comes to mind when i think of the Northwestern part of the USA! I have been waiting very patiently to get up to Washington and Oregon since our little journey started in September! When I heard that we were headed up here I jumped literally for joy and was just happy as could be!

I have to say that when we first got into Oregon it wasn't as pretty as I had hoped and then all of a sudden we came upon mountains, and that i have to say is just drop dead beautiful! All the green and trees and the smell.... oh if only I can keep it in my thoughts and the scent in my nose forever. There are parts to Washington and Oregon that are just bleh and then there are areas that are so vibrant and green and GORGEOUS! The last week I have had the best time just watching the trees go by and the water...

While in Washington we were up in the Puget Sound and my goodness was it COLD! Being right there on the water was amazing but it was amazing from the truck! =o) Even Mackenzie didn't want to go outside, which says a lot for her! But I was able to get a few pictures from the customers house that we were unloading at!

Over the weekend we sat in Tacoma, WA, which by far is no where near as pretty as Bremerton, WA. But none the less we had a great week and weekend.

This week we were back in Oregon but in another area! We were in Portland and now in Oakland, OR on our way to San Diego, CA! Where I might sadly say is going to be great but not nearly as amazing as WA and OR have been. We will be hitting warmer weather, which is weird for us now that we have been to 0 degrees and below. I am just happy that we were able to make a run up here before our journey comes to an end!

Although I did not get any photos of Utah or Idaho, well ones worth using, I do say that I made up for it in Washington and Oregon! I had such a blast going through these two states and now look forward to traveling California literally from top to bottom.... until next time!

Thanksgiving 2009!

With Christmas fast approaching I guess I should get my post about Thanksgiving up... =o)

This year was the first time in about 7 years that we have gotten our whole family together... I was able to see all my cousins and my aunts and uncles. It was a great time getting together with everyone! I even got to see my great Aunt and Uncle. We played cards, drank, ate and just had a fun time! It was so nice to have the whole family together even my older brother made it out to NM, although it took him a little longer than anticipated (he took the scenic route). But non the less we were able to get photos of our whole family together, which we haven't done since before my youngest brother was born!!! My mom was also able to get pictures of all her kids together for the first time in about 4 or 5 years!

All in all it was a great time and we were all able to see our family members, it was a long wait but it was great!!!!

We had a great weekend... hope to go back again soon! Cant wait for Christmas at my Gammy and Papa's house!