The Proposal! :)

I have always known Brett to be one that can move mountains and create lemonade out of lemons. He proved that once again by changing a very miserable day into one that we will never forget.

Just like in my daydreams, Brett got on one knee and asked me to marry him! I was so surprised and couldn't stop squealing or wiggling but finally got control of myself and noticed he had the most beautiful ring. He is the love of my life and we are so looking forward to a beautiful wedding to celebrate our love sometime in the next 12 months. Details to come.

The Burglary :(

We are very sad to report that our house was broken into and the burglar(s) took anything and everything they wanted.

While we deal with the insurance claim and replacing items, we are more focused on protecting ourselves and our home from future break-in's.

We hope that our misfortune can be a lesson for us all. Here are some tips that we would like to offer:

- Get an Alarm! It is much wiser to get an alarm BEFORE something happens than afterwards. Often this will give you a slight discount on your insurance. (our police friend recommended ADT)

- Get an Alarm Sign! If you aren't going to get an alarm, spend $10 to buy a sign saying you do (http://www.ebay.com/ has a LOT of them!)

- Install motion sensor lights outside

- Install video cameras, or a cheaper option, fake video cameras http://www.fakecamera.com/

- Don't help burglars! Don't store hammers, shovels, ladders in your back yard.

- Know what you have! Take photos of everything you own, room by room, drawer by drawer. It is a difficult memory game to remember what fills every kitchen cabinet and each drawer when they are empty. Also, write down serial numbers of everything in your home that has one (TV, appliances, etc). This will help immensely with an insurance claim

- Make copies of passports, birth certificates, credit cards, etc. And store them in a different location or better yet, send them to someone else (we will be happy to accept them)

- Hide and Seek! You can fool them. Hide your valuables in a safe and then hide the safe. The best place is a child's room as that is the last place they tend to look.

- Keys! Keys are one of the most valuable things you own. Don't leave your spare keys in an obvious spot.

- Leave something for them! In an obvious hiding spot, leave some cash. This is a tip repeated and repeated because they will not leave until they have enough valuables and best that they take the obvious money and leave the house relatively quickly then turn-over the whole house.

- Engrave all valuables such as stereos, microwaves, video cameras, with your driver's license number. (Engraving tools are usually available through your local law enforcement agency)

- Get a Dog! Humane Society: http://www.hsus.org/ (definitely the most fun thing on the list!)

Elf Yourself

Turn up the volume and get ready for a good laugh: http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1225575487

Thanks NATALIE for this comical treat!

If interested, here are some others of our friends and family:

• David and Gena: http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1343374581
• Walshes: http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1331524635
• The Millers: http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1331361004
• The (future) Nimmerguts: http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1330433218
• The Bishops: http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1225868007
• The Gossetts: http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1226159554

Cutting down our Xmas Tree

"Can we have them all?"
"I love the way they come ready with snow on them"

There are the smilers, & then the do-ers. here are the smilers hard at work

"If i can touch the top, it's not big enough"

one tool, so many uses - tree saw, Robin Hood Bow.

Not sure who's having more fun...?

Costa Rica

Great diving & lots to see, plenty of rays & this old guy. Came to check us out & off he went.

Crocodile infested river. Know wonder why we're holding on so tightly!

Hotel with a private pool, just had to share it with the crabs (oh, and the lizzards, racoons, birds and the bat!)

Halloween

Inflatable muscles! I wonder if they come in adult sizes....

Pumpkin Carving

1.) Exactly what hardwood floors were designed for.
2.) The artist happily at work
3.) Wow - now that's a scary face!

Landscaping Project

"See, Maro - it's much better if you do it just like this.."

Thoughts from Scout;

a.) all these sticks & nothing to chase

b.) Cant wait to get these in the ground so i can pee on them

The Best Card Ever!

Thanks to our friend, Natalie, Oli found intense intrigue with greeting cards. Well, at least the ones that play tunes. Can we all sing along? Bow Wow Wow, Yippee Yo Yippe Yay....

We tackled the Bow Wow card just before it was taken into the bath!

Slug Hunt

At St. Edwards Park, Scout chases squirrels, Oli hunts for slugs....everyone is happy.

Sister Karen's Visit

Karen's visit was jam-packed...swimming lessons, dinner out, Oli's birthday party, a walk around the zoo, a hike at St Edwards Park, a trip to Marymoor for her neph-dog and finished up with some speedy shopping at U-Village. All in all, a nice visit and we do hope she comes back soon! Thanks for coming!

Oli's birthday

Happy Birthday to You

Happy Birthday to You,

Happy Birthday dear Oli,

Happy Birthday to you!

Not sure what he is grabbing for...the flame of a candle, a marshmallow or better yet, the candy letters that spell his name.

Jo/Mum's Visit

Jo/Mum's visit was simply not long enough! But we made the most of the time she was here..., enjoyed an afternoon on the lake

visited lots of Oli's and Scout's favorite parks
enjoyed an afternoon on the lake

Thanks to Maro and Charlie, we enjoyed a sunny Seattle day on the lake. Oli
really wanted to go swimming and promised Daddy he would after Daddy went in.
Daddy enjoyed a nice brisk swim and Oli enjoyed cold knee caps. And the rest of
us on the boat enjoyed a precious smile from a precious lil' boy...

and sadly picked out Fishy #4 and Fishy #5. Wonder what # we will be at when Jo/Mum returns from Australia (hopefully we are still in single digits).

Oli's First Camping Adventure

Hiking in (the pack is bigger than the sherpa).... Setting up Camp (blind leading the blind)..... Making Dinner (Oli stepping up and showing some leadership, must have been hungry!)...

Eating Dessert (more marshmallows) .... Settlin' in for the night!

Picnic

A lovely evening picnic lakeside with good friends.

Till next summer....

Coconuts

A mystery revealed....what is inside a coconut???

I guess Scout was bored...or scared of that strong swinging hammer (squashed toes anyone?).

Ragnar 2007

Who knew that running 200 miles would be any fun?? Only using Honeybuckets for 2 days...not sleeping...not eating...living in a sweaty, smelly van... All to the only slightly over used motivational music - 'Rocky!' and the quote for the weekend 'looking good!'



Well, that smile should tell you it isn't so bad...


And another smile...or is he just happy to have so many accessories on (headlamp, MP3 player, race number, IT band strap, reflector vest...what else do you need, runner?)

And the satisfation of finishing. :)

All in all a great weekend with great friends accomplishing something that didn't seem possible. Till next year....

Florida

SueP and Ron Visit

One hard core construction team at work.

Ummm. Or not as the case may be...

Happy Fathers Day!!

We Become Landlords

Here is one of the two houses in Tacoma.

Landlording has its ups and downs but as long as keep the furniture in the houses, the tenants off of the roofs, the water in the sink and the checks in the mail, we are content.

House #2 (i know, they look the same). This one with Scout, Oli & Geoff the Seagull patrolling the grounds.

Lewis Comes to Visit

For good reason, this is the only photograph I have from their entire visit. Why? Tony, or should I say Sanzari is too good at being the photographer...

Thanks, Auntie Penny for the help on the aquarium artwork, it turned out perfect!

Whistler

We were lucky enough to have Ben and Karen visit for a week but even luckier to be the very first to know of their engagement. Well, after half of the skiers on Whistler that day that went whizzing past them during the "down on one knee" moment. Congrats a million times over, Ben and Karen! See you in Austria!

Marathon'ing in Carlsbad

With fresh legs and a brisk morning, Julie and I got prepared for our race.

And then we ran, and ran and ran but with the ocean breeze, lots of support and a good meal to come home to (Thanks, Mom!), it was a great race!

A Visit to Brisbane

A selection of photos to show the fantastic time we had in Brisbane. The ulitmate highlight was, of course, meeting and getting to know David and Gena and they went out of their way to plan some fun activities.

Crikey! What a collection of unique animals (well, unique to me) at the Australia Zoo. We were lucky enough to have the Croc Show hosted by none-the-less than Terri Irwin.

A lovely dinner out (and lovely conversation) And an incredibly memorable trip to Tangalooma to see the dolphins and we even got to feed them. One of them, the girl REALLY like Brett, she was flirting with him (but I can't blame her!).

Thanks, David and Gena for all of the memories, but particularly Tangalooma!