November Rain

I once read the best way to lose traffic to your blog is to not post frequently. Clearly I did not take that one to heart. Things have been really busy this fall. I am very thankful to have the new job and not be on the road any more, but I will tell you this new position is harder than I thought. I still love working for Microsoft, and I can't believe how lucky I am to be working with such smart people, but the job itself is kicking my tail right now. No big deal though - I knew it would take quite a bit of ramp up time.

This does explain why I have not been updating as frequently as I would like - the time just isn't there. I do have a couple minutes right now, so here is what has been going on.

Family Photo Fun

A family friend of ours, Brian Soligon, is a talented photographer. A couple weekends ago he met us at Lake Sammamish State Park to take some family pictures. Click on the one below to see the greatest hits.















House Projects Keeping Me Busy





















We have some lofty goals for our house - we want to repaint the whole interior, replace all the doors, add new base board, remodel the downstairs bathroom, and add laminate flooring in the down stairs hallway. All of these projects begin with Rosie's room, which I painted about a month ago (it is now a light purple). As you can see I got some help from the kids. I will share more pictures as things progress.















Here we are taking care of leaves in the front yard.


Good News From Brett Phillips

Brett and I are still in contact - we exchange emails about once a week. It looks like he will be home for Christmas!!! Officially, he is set to arrive December 23rd, but like he says, we will believe it when his boots hit the ground. Keeping our fingers crossed.


Fun In T-Town

Went back to our old stomping grounds in North Tacoma a couple weeks back. The Venns were in town - Brett, his girl friend Georgette, Sue, and Mark - and we went down there to meet them. Hung out at Point Defiance Park and the Tacoma Waterfront. Click on the picture to see more of the day.

It was a beautiful day and I must admit every now and again I miss Tacoma.
















Pumpkins And Halloween - A Few Pics From October













































The Zoo

Met a bunch of co-workers and their kids at the zoo last weekend. A great time was had by all. Unfortunately the camera batteries ran out fairly quick, but I was able to get this one shot.
















Meghan Graduates

Went down to Portland to see Meghan graduate from Culinary School. BTW, she graduated Magna Cumme Laude - great job Meg. Her future destination is a show on the Food Network. In the meantime she is working as a pastry chef at the Fairmont Hotel in Seattle. She occasionally brings some treats over and I can tell you her education sure paid off.






























Matty Is Becoming Quite The Character

The little guy is coming into his own, which is not an easy thing when Rosie is your big sister. Here are a couple great pictures of Matty - or "the dude" as my dad has nicknamed him. As you can see, he was blessed and looks nothing like his daddy.












































Final Note: Democrats Win Big In The Mid-Term Elections.

Tom and Debbie Kennedy are happy - Dave and Katie Donohoue not so much.

I actually did not vote - I forgot to switch my registration when I moved. Feel guilty - this was the first time I did not vote since I turned 18. The only candidate I was really pulling for was / is Dave Reichart - I will feel bad if he loses by 1 vote.