Mystery Getaway...

I know it's been half a year since I have last blogged!!!  What can I say, life is busy and we don't have internet at our new house...  Yeah, yeah, I know excuses excuses.  Our mystery trip is just what I needed to get back into the blogging rhythm, right?  I guess time will tell, but this trip was so fun I can't help but reminisce.  Josh planned a much needed surprise two night getaway.  We haven't had a multiple night getaway together, no children, since before children entered our lives!  He was adamant that it remain a surprise up until the very end.  As we got closer he even went so far as to have me close my eyes so that no signage would give blow the mystery.  We ended up at Tree House Point.  I was ecstatic!!!  Josh and I watch the tree house show and I had mentioned a while back how cool it would be to stay in one...  He remembered!!!!  

It was quaint and relaxing.  There are only five tree houses available for rent on the gorgeous property that is nestled on a river in Preston.  Our tree house had only the necessities, a bed and an electric kettle for coffee.  It was bed and breakfast style with bathrooms located very close to our tree house.  The bathrooms were gorgeous and smelled incredible as they were made from cedar and had huge glass showers.  The main house had a beautiful seating area with a fire place for guests to use.  It is also where the fantastic home made breakfast was served each morning.  Ont he grounds there were a couple tree houses that had no electricity and were there merely for exploration.  There were a couple fire pits as well and the main house even had smores kits that were available for guests to use.  

I was in heaven!  We were only minutes from North Bend and Issiquah so we did a little shopping and enjoyed great food each evening.  Other than that we were content to relax and read to pass the time in the gorgeous greenery.  I would most certainly love to go back and try out a different tree house.  We were so close to Snoqualmie we would take the opportunity to do a day hike next time.  On our way out of town we stopped at Snoqualmie Falls.  It of course was beautiful.  It was exactly what the two of us needed!!   

The Main House

Our Tree House... Bonbibi

Our Deck... This was my FAVORITE place to be!

Fireplace in the Main House

Yummy breakfast!!!

Another Tree House...

Bathrooms

Lazy mornings on the deck :-)

Snoqualmie Falls

     

Snow Day!

We finally received a decent amount of snow!  I love the way it looks, but I realize as I get older I would rather be inside enjoying it from a warm cozy spot on the couch, looking out the window.  My children however will insist that I get my butt out there!  Luckily, Josh is in charge of the snowman foundation and I get to be in charge of decor.  The kids also insisted upon swinging and sliding in the snow, which was actually really fun!  Josh took some video of them laughing which will be fun to watch.  After our snow adventure we came in for some hot cocoa.  Lincoln, my child who loathes trying new things, wouldn't even taste his.  Oh well, Brooklyn guzzled hers and his!  

NFC Championship Game

Josh and I were able to get tickets for the championship game against the 49ers! We had tried to get tickets to the previous playoff game, but like many other crazed fans, we had no such fortune. We actually missed out on tickets at first. Josh called and by the time he got through, they were sold out. But a few minutes later he received an email offer for tickets because we are on the season ticket list!!!!!!

I was estatic, literally bouncing up and down in my classroom. Thank goodness my students were at recess when I got the big news. Needless to say it was very hard to focus the rest of the week at work. I was dreaming about being in the stadium cheering on the Hawks!!!!! Luckily, I made it to Sunday.

We left at 9 a.m. and met some old friends for tailgating. Just being amongst a sea of blue and green was thrilling. There were people tailgating that didn't even have tickets for the game. On either side of us were huge commercial vans that had been transformed into Hawkmobiles! One even had a dish on top, a TV inside and the Broncos/Patriots game playing inside.

The excitement only increased as we made our way to the stadium. Melodious Seahawk chanting rang in our ears for the duration of our walk. Once we reached our seats we never left nor did we sit for more than 5 min the entire game. I nearly stroked out 12 times throughout the game due to the immense stress!  But with each positive play everyone in the stadium was bouncing around high fiving strangers. It was a blast. I was screaming so hard at times I thought surely I would pass out! But it was well worth my valiant effort to be a part of the noise that is The 12th Man.

On our way home we stopped for dinner because we hadn't eaten for the duration of the game. We went to Red Robin in Federal Way and nearly every person was in Hawk gear. People were chanting and hollering. It was epic. I am so glad we had the chance to be a part of it.

GO HAWKS!!!!!

Super Bowl

Super Bowl Sunday was fast approaching and we hadn't finalized any plans. After much deliberation wapprehensivepon having a pre super bowl party on Saturday night with our friends. It included food, drinks, reminiscing on the season, and a re watch of the NFC Championship game.

For Sunday we decided that we didn't want to have anyone over! We wanted to be able to sit and watch the game with as few interruptions as possible. I was so nervous for the start of the game and the media's non stop talk about the Broncos unrivaled offense and Peyton Manning's legacy were just ticking me off...  I finally went outside and cleaned the garage!

The start of the game was unreal, with the missed snap and the safety. I was excited, but remained apprehens when the next two scores we put up were field goals and not touch downs. Brooklyn was napping when the game began so all of our zealous celebrations were done in hushed whispers and mime like dances. Lincoln even whipped out his Seahawks dance! Thankfully Brooklyn work up mid game and we were able to scream and cheer at the kick off return. At that moment I remember thinking to myself, "did that just happen???"  By the 4th quarter our house was quiet again. It was surreal to sit, watch and know that though the game wasn't officially over, it was over and we had won. Our Seahawks had won the superbowl for the first time ever!!!!

Final House Update

Okay, we have been super busy to say the least-between finishing the house, moving, finishing my professional certification, projects at Josh's work, Thanksgiving, my birthday, our anniversary, Brooklyn's birthday, Christmas....  You get the point-October-January has been CRAZY!!!! But we are in our house now; moved in early October!!!  It still has finish work to be done and the "yard" is a blank canvas at this point, but we are in and we have space for our abundance of "stuff".  Oh, and did I mention that we LOVE it!!!!  It has been so much fun hosting things and not worrying about space.  I'll let the pics do the talking...

Mud Room!  I love this space!  We have a half bath in here, pantry, laundry, and an extra closet.  Kelly even made me a table for folding clothes.  I am in here sooo much!  It's nice that everything has a place and that it is roomy.

The master bedroom...  It is so nice to have actual room in our bedroom!  Before we basically had a narrow walking path around the bed.  

Our master even has a fire place.  Some people had commented that we would rarely use it, but we LOVE it!  It is so cozy and it was AWESOME when the power went out.

The master bath...  This is my side, we eacha re spoiled and have our own walk in closests in the bathroom.  We still need to custom order our mirrors... 

Josh's side :-)  We have a separate tub/shower.  I still feel like I am at a hotel when I use the tub!

The dining area

 

The kitchen-pre hardware for the cabinets...

With hardware...

Living room-pre mantle/firplace...

Mantle & Fireplace....

Ready for Christmas!

Formal Dining Room... I wasn't sure this would get used much, but it really does!  It is so nice to have the extra space when we have company.  And it can be completly closed off when the kids have ongoing coloring or puzzle projects.  

Lincoln's room and the sweet bunk bed Papa Kelly made him!

Brooklyn's Room