Easter 2013

Henry's first Easter Basket

Henry with Grandma and Grandpa Kirk

I woke up this morning and thought it was Friday.
Bummer.

Work has been slowing down a little; now I'm just running instead of sprinting to keep up.

Jon and I have never celebrated Valentine's Day, at least not really. One year I brought him take out Jai Thai, but I think that's the most exciting thing we've ever done. This year won't be any different.

In fact, the only reason I mention Valentine's Day is because Sweethearts just hit stores, and I LOVE that candy! I'm eating some right now.

My remaining three hearts include sayings such as...
"My Girl"
"All Mine"
and
"Marry Me"

So creative.

Christmas, Part 2

**Christmas 2009, in pictures**

Opening presents on Christmas Eve

Christmas dinner with the Boyers, Dills, and Hunts

On the Coho Ferry heading to Victoria, B.C.


The Kirk Family in front of the Empress Hotel in Victoria


At The Harbor House celebrating my Grandparents' 50th Anniversary

Christmas, Part I

It's almost time for vacation. I have 4 hours of work left today, 8.5 hours tomorrow, and then tomorrow at 4:30pm, I'm free for 11 whole days!

The last time I had 11 days off was last year at Christmas. Needless to say, I'm PUMPED!

Christmas is always super busy, but I don't really mind. I enjoy seeing family, eating food, working on puzzles, and playing lots of board (and video) games! My family and Jon's family are SO different and it's always fun to see both during the holidays because we experience two completely unique celebrations.

Jon and I opened our presents from each other already. We knew this week would be crazy, so we wanted to have time to sit down and enjoy opening presents with one another, away from all of the family. Here is what I got :)

This shirt, in three different colors:




Five pairs of socks, including these:




And the BEST present was SCENE IT for Xbox:

Jon is not the best gift giver*, but he definitely listened to my hints throughout the year and bought me things that he knew I liked. Plus, the clothes were very practical.

We also started a tradition this year of using stockings like an advent calendar, where we each get a present a day as a countdown until Christmas. It definitely helped us get into the holiday spirit! I had a ton of fun putting together a bunch of little meaningful (and a few meaningless) gifts for Jon to open through the last couple weeks. I also loved getting a present every day. I think it helped squelch my usual snooping urges.

Tomorrow we're heading straight from work to Puyallup to kick off our Christmas marathon. I can't wait to see everyone (and to eat lots of cookies!)

I'll be back next Tuesday to update about our Christmas adventures, including a trip to Port Angeles and Victoria.

Merry Christmas!
-Kristin


*Disclaimer: It's not his love language, and I like him regardless of his gift giving ability.

3.5 weeks until CHRISTMAS!
I'm more excited for time off then I am for the actual holiday.

Today is my last day of class for the quarter. I'm pumped.
I don't go back until Jan 4th.

Thanksgiving = Success.

I'm 1/2 done with Christmas shopping.
My goal is to be 100% done by December 1st.

Crazy? Possibly. But the idea of spending any amount of time inside a mall during the month of December makes me want to crawl under my desk and cry.

The practice turkey last night was fantastic.

Jon and I brined it overnight on Friday, then we rubbed it with butter and tons of seasoning. It might be the best turkey I've ever had - super moist and really flavorful. Can you tell I am impressed with myself?

The only mishap was the fact that our meat thermometer actually MELTED in the oven! We had to rely on that little red pop-up timer that comes with the turkey. Thankfully, it worked. But on my shopping list is a new thermometer - I don't want to overcook the turkey!

Anyways, everything went fine and Jon and I both feel a lot more confident about making a turkey for round 2.

Jon and I are hosting Thanksgiving this year.

I'm *super* nervous.

So, tomorrow I am making an faux-Thanksgiving feast, to test out my recipes and see if I'm capable of making a decent turkey.

Wish me luck!

I finished my latest sewing project last night. I made a 1940's inspired skirt - and well, it had potential to be super cute, but it's just too big on me :( I'd also never done a zipper before, at least not on a skirt - it's not perfect, but I'm pretty proud of it anyways. Maybe if I think of it tonight I'll post a picture of the finished product on here!

Tonight, I'll finish up the purse I'm making for one of my mom's co-workers and have it all packaged and ready to give to her when Jon and I go down to Portland this weekend. (PS - Ciara, if you're reading this, we're coming to Portland this weekend!) I just have to put the straps and buttons on and it will be good to go!

Tomorrow night, Jon and I are having the siblings over for a St. Patty's Day dinner. I'm making corned beef, colcannon, and soda bread. I've never made Irish food before, so we'll see how it goes! This holiday always makes me a little homesick, I used to always go over to the Owen's house and have a traditional Irish feast with Ciara and family. But alas, here I am trying to make my own feast and start my own traditions.

I can't believe school starts in two weeks, and then vacation in three weeks... dang, I'm excited!

Weekend/Storm Update

For those of you who have been asking, yes, I am still alive and not completely trapped in the insane amount of snow. Even though it hasn't really snowed since Sunday, we still have about 8 inches here in Seattle. Most of the roads are icy/slushy messes, with a few key arterials plowed. None of the roads are being salted because Seattleites love the environment and don't want to hurt the fish in the Puget Sound - so some of the roads have been sanded, but that is the extent of help we've gotten from the city.

Today is the first and last day back at work before Christmas. We had snow days on Thursday, Friday and Monday, and although today was not much better, we had to come in to work. I was a bit disappointed because I was really hoping to get to Portland early, but alas, at least I'll leave for my two week vacation without any pending work hanging over my head.

After work today, Jon and I are hitting the road and heading down to Portland to kick off the Christmas festivities. We are praying that it doesn't start snowing again before we arrive at my parents' house. Thankfully, we have front wheel drive and a good set of chains, so we are at least equipped to get home safely. We'll be in Portland from the 23rd-25th and then we're off to the beach until the 28th. Jon and I have been so busy this month, we're so excited for a nice long vacation. Jon has to work next week for a couple days, but I'm off until January 5th. Yay!

We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas. We've been praying for those of you who are stuck here because of the snow and unable to fly home for the holidays. Hopefully the airports will clear up in the next couple days and you can make it home by the 25th!

Merry Christmas!!!

Love,
Kristin

One Year!

As of 4:37 pm today, Jon and I will have been married for exactly one year. Here is the picture Jon's dad took of us right after he pronounced us man and wife. Of all of our wedding pictures, this one is by far my favorite. I love seeing all of our family and friends behind us, looking just as happy as we do!



So many people told us that the first year of marriage is always the hardest. I guess Jon and I have been lucky. We've certainly grown a lot this year, but it was fun and exciting and challenging and rewarding... I'm pretty pumped to be spending the rest of my life with him.

Happy Anniversary love!

One Week

In exactly one week from tomorrow, Jon and I will be driving down to Portland to kick off the Christmas festivities. I can't wait! I am currently missing my family like crazy.

In the meantime, I am praying hard for more snow.

Portland

Jon and I are heading down to Portland this weekend to celebrate Thanksgiving and his birthday with my family. We'll be feasting, getting the Christmas tree, drinking plenty of coffee, watching movies, and generally enjoying our time with my FOO (family of origin.)

And the best part is, I'm only working a half day today, so our trip to Portland will commence in approximately 1.5 hours. Boo yah!

Thanksgiving Weekend 2008

Things I did this weekend...

• Completed 2 puzzles (am currently working on 3rd)
• Watched Hitchcock, was not impressed
  
• Baked Grandma Sherry's hot rolls
• Did not have turkey, prime rib instead. Never again.
• Watched several episodes of How I Met Your Mother
  
• Slept in
  
• Played Taboo, Cribbage, and Catch Phrase
  
• Missed my family
• Went to Best Buy to buy a 40" TV. Came home with 46" due to inability to say no to my husband's cute face
  
• Enjoyed a Thanksgiving left-over potluck with loved ones
  
• Slept in
  
• Saw Twilight for the second time. Liked it the same.
  
• Put up Christmas lights
• Finished Christmas shopping
  
• Cleaned the apartment
  
• Watched 27 Dresses
  
• Was impressed by new TV
  
• Watched The Notebook
• Relished the opportunity to catch up on my film watching
• Cried when the weekend was over...
  

Happy Thanksgiving!

First and foremost, I really liked Twilight. I didn't love it, but it exceeded my expectations and I have every intention of seeing it again (hopefully in a theater without the screaming teenage girls).

However, Rob Pattinson is a disappointment. I want to like him, really I do. I think he makes a fantastic Edward. However, he has millions of young girls looking up to him and here he is this past weekend wondering drunk around L.A. Not exactly the kind of person you want your 13 year old daughter to have a poster of over her bed.



But enough about the movie, what I'm REALLY excited about is THANKSGIVING! Jon and I are heading down to Puyallup today right after work and we will be spending the entire weekend down there. This will be the first time in my life I haven't spent a holiday with my family. We had originally planned on heading down to Portland on Friday morning. However, my great great aunt passed away on Friday and her funeral is the day after Thanksgiving so my parents will be out of town to attend that. I'm bummed not to see them this weekend, but Jon and I are going to head down to Portland early next weekend to get some quality time in with them before Christmas.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and have a chance to share the holiday with people that you truly love. As much as I'll miss my family this weekend, I'm thankful to be spending the holiday with Jon's family and friends.

Love,
Kristin

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

Next to Christmas and Thanksgiving, Halloween is my favorite holiday of the year! If nothing else, it signifies the kick-off of the Christmas Season!

Things I'm Currently Excited About:

1. Getting coffee in 4 minutes
2. The donuts I ate earlier this morning
3. Carving pumpkins tonight
4. Listening to "Spooky Sounds" while carving pumpkin
5. Watching Hocus Pocus
6. Dusk
   
7. 50% off Halloween candy after today
   
8. Going shopping with Jenny tomorrow
9. 4:30