O Tannenbaum!!!

It's Christmastime!!! Yesterday we did one of my very favorite Christmas traditions, we got our Christmas Tree!!!! Our very first Christmas tree together!!! In the Anderson Family, we all go out to the wilderness (otherwise known as Arlington, WA) together and find the most perfect, beautiful tree out of all the contenders and cut it down to make it the Anderson Family Christmas Tree. It is quite an honor to be chosen and everyone always has a fun time being together and adding their input on which tree deserves that honor.

Jason, Dad, and Gabriel at the Christmas tree farm.

Do I spy a candy cane??

Word to the wise...keep a sharp eye on your candy cane when Gabriel is around!!

Mom finds her tree but, GASP, we forgot the words to the Anderson Family Christmas Tree Song. Dad was quick on his feet, literally, and made up a little dance we could do to appease the Christmas Tree Gods and ensure a green and fragrant tree all season long.

For Scott and I, the search c0ntinued a little deeper into the realms of Christmas Tree Land. We found the object of our desire and Scott quickly got to work cutting it down. Scott had a fun time cutting down his own Christmas tree for the very first time!!

Jason was full of the Christmas spirit as he helped us cut down our tree.

Victory is mine!!! Now that we have our tree, will get it home and decorate it beautifully!!!

The decorated tree. It's much more impressive in person, but I think it's just amazing!!! I love all my ornaments and I took pictures of some of my favorites...although there are too many to take pictures of all of my favorites...I guess that is what the full tree shot is for. :)

I love this glass angel, even though angels don't have wings...I still think it's beautiful. The lights make the angels' skirt glow and sparkle through the wings...oh how I love having a wonderfully decorated, amazingly fragrant Christmas tree in my house!!! It's the best part of the season!!!! Now it really feels like Christmas!!

Ugly sweater party!!!

Archery app for two players

Best iPhone app ever!!!!!!

The Sweet Taste of Victory

Even though it felt like it snuck up on us, this last Saturday was the annual Turkey Bowl Flag Football Tournament. After last year's debacle with the broken finger, I knew I had better make the most of this year's competition cause it could be my last. Here is my very cute nephew Gabriel, at one point he was holding 4 footballs in his arms. He also really liked playing with all the tackling equipment and knocking over the tackling dummies.

This year our name was North By Northwest. For most of our team, it was our fourth year playing together so we were pretty hungry for the title (we've come in 2nd, 3rd, and 5th). We played really well and had a good day. We only came up against one team we didn't beat, but no one else had even scored on them all day long and it was a really close game. We were pumped by that news and ready for revenge. We met up with them again in the finals and outscored them to win it all and take home the trophy.
I just need to take this opportunity to say how amazingly sweet it was to beat them. Everyone played a huge part on the team this year and we would have had a very different outcome without every member. Here's the crew celebrating our victory... ahh what a delicious moment. "We Are The Champions" playing over the speakers just for us. The tangible metal and plastic symbol of our victory in our hands, and the feeling of triumph that comes from hard work, dedication, and the strength to play through the pain.


As always, we couldn't have done it without our loyal fans!! Gabriel told his mom there was no way he could miss the Turkey Bowl and he had to be there to cheer us on. Dang straight!! (running on the field in the middle of the play to waste some time during our opponents last possession didn't hurt either...hehe. not that it was planned....just really good timing on his part.) And thanks to Scott who endured getting lost and the freezing cold to watch me play. And of course Mom came down to cheer us on, which meant a lot and Dad was with us in spirit even though he couldn't be there in person. He's getting better every day and should be out of the hospital soon!!! :D
Me and the Trophy. I just can't describe how amazed and excited I am that we won. All the years of being so close finally paid off. I didn't want to put the trophy down I was so happy to have it. It's going to rotate around for a little while so everyone gets a turn with it and then it will settle down with Troy (my brother and our captain) since he kept us going as a team.

I had said before the tournament started that I probably wouldn't play next year...i really am too old to be running around with those young'uns, so amidst the celebration I had to give my formal resignation from the sport. It was difficult but definitely needed to be done. Thanks for all your love, support, cheers....it was a great ride. :)

Listening to Elder Oaks

You can't really tell it's him in the picture, but Elder Oaks came to our stake for a special conference last Sunday. His talk was so amazing...lots of stuff to work on though. Scott and I did so well at getting up early and getting to the building in time to get seats. only one problem...wrong building. haha We ended up at the right building about a half hour early, but still every seat was taken...and most of the standing room. So i stood behind the back row and Scott scrounged up some chairs so we could all sit. Brian and Cathy came out to listen too. It was such a wonderful day...anyway that's the story behind the picture.

Hockey Night

Last night, my cousin and I went to cheer on our local hockey team, the Everett Silvertips. My boss' boss' boss had some extra tickets and told me they were first come, first serve. Amazingly enough, I got there first!! We had a lot of fun and learned a lot about hockey.

• Hockey players like to confuse everyone by entering and leaving the ice whenever they want.
• Hockey Fans are more violent then the players-there is nothing they won't do to encourage a good fight between players.
• A blatant chop to the neck with your stick is not a foul.
• Hockey can be stretched out like no other sport...not even football has anything on hockey. if there is 1.3 seconds on the clock expect that game to last for at least 10 more minutes.
• Hockey players spend more time taking breaks then playing the game.

Those are just some of the things I learned last night. Here are some of the pictures I took:

Cousin and I chillin in our seats...we were right behind the goal about 6 rows back. We had a pretty good view of everything and feared for our life a few times when a shot towards the goal went astray. But they have nets and stuff up to protect you from that sort of thing.

Just some of the action packed night we enjoyed. The 'Tips, as they're known to the folks around here, came really close to making a spectacular comeback, but it was too little, too late. They ended up losing 3-4. Tough break for the Tips. It was a really fun night for us, but I feel bad for all those disappointed fans...not one real fight the entire night. It's ok...there's always next time!

A tough morning

These were my favorite shoes....

Mariner's Game

For our "One-Year-As-A-Couple" Anniversary Scott surprised me with tickets to the Mariners game. We had amazing seats...2nd row from the field and right by the ball girl...not that it helped us score a foul ball...they always give those to little kids..LAME!!!
The Mariner's played so well, and the Oakland A's sucked it up, so we got to watch the M's soar to a 7-0 victory!!!

We had so much fun!!! Except when a foul ball came inches from hitting me in the head and then the 60-year old man behind us was trying to break my arm to get the ball. I told him I would get the ball for him since he couldn't reach it, but I guess he didn't believe me cause he started whacking my hand with his glove to keep me away from the ball. He was yelling, "It's my ball, don't touch it!! It's mine!!!" Real Mature, man. I didn't realize you could call dibs on foul balls. I doubt his system would hold up in a court of law.

Women in Black

On Saturday, Scott and I had the privilege to go to the Temple with our friends Janessa and Scott. It was such a wonderful experience and it really made me wanna give back, you know. At lunch time we found the perfect opportunity....

Women in Black. They stand for peace and justice (and frumpy black clothes). I know you are all dying to join (sorry guys....it's only for the girls, although they may join the silent vigil in numbers less then two) so check them out online at womeninblack.org. they are not yet on facebook, but Janessa has been working around the clock to reconcile this horrible oversite.

Peace, Justice, and really ugly shoes. We are The Women in Black.

Labor Day in Long Beach, WA

In a rainy little town on the southern most tip of the Washington coast sits a happy little cabin about a half mile off the beach. Scott and I and our parents took a trip there for Labor Day Weekend. The weather really surprised us, sunny and warm with just a few rainy spots here and there. I'm not allowed to disclose all of the events that went on this weekend, it's strictly G-14 classified, but here are some of the things I can tell you about.

North Head Lighthouse:

After a short hike through a forest you come out on a cliff above the water. This cliff is where they built the light house back in the 1860s.

Our dream house. It's a little known secret that Scott has always wanted to live in a refurbished chicken coop. It needs a little work, and Scott can't fit through the door, but maybe someday...

oh yeah...we watched these surfers for a while...they must be freakin crazy. The water in this part of the Pacific Ocean is about 45 degrees. Even in a wet suit, that's cold.

Fort Columbia:

Good ole Fort Columbia. It was built to protect the Columbia River from intruders. Now it just has lots of cool stuff to climb on and dungeons to exlore. Oh, and I should mention, we did not put Brian and Cathy on photo restriction, although Brian might have liked the break ;), at the lighthouse. They arrived later in the afternoon and we went to the lighthouse in the morning.

Civil War Reenactment:

On Sunday we headed down to Fort Stevens in Oregon. We heard tell of a Civil War reenactment and thought we should check it out. The people who do this make it as athentic as possible. There were no BBQ's, or Coleman tents. Everyone dressed in period clothes, ate period food (minus the fish and chips van that snuck it's way in) and lived like people would have back in the day....Made me very grateful that I live in a time with running water, heat, washers and dryers...

I think this guy was new on the circuit cause it took him about 30 minutes to split that one piece of wood. By the time he was done with it, his fire was probably out. I wanted to go take it from him since he was obviously incapable of this task, but I left my hoop skirt and bonnet at home, so I just let him struggle.

The boys with dangerous weapons.

My mom and I with our finery.


The actual reenactment. The Union soldiers were brave and fought hard, but found it in their best interest to retreat and find their revenge another day.

Beard's Hollow & The Beach:

Here's a little candid shot of my handsome husband...Love you Scott!!! On Monday we took advantage of the weather by visiting a place called Beard's Hollow. There are huge rocks to climb on when the tide is out. We had a lot of fun taking pictures, climbing, and jumping. We didn't see any beards though, interestly enough.

Whenever it's nice out at Long Beach, you must take pictures or no one will believe you. The Lord really answered my prayers by giving us such beautiful weather while we were there.
Mom, showing off her cheerleading skills. Go Team Awesome!!! We had such a fun trip!!! for more info go to www.longbeachisawesome/creedthoughts.gov.