I think it's time for an update!

All I have to say, is how SAD that my last post was for Halloween. I'm not quite sure what happened, but for the Holiday season I was completely out of the "blogging" mood. I think so much happened that I got overwhelmed and decided to take a little break. Well this isn't going to be thorough, but it will be a very non-detailed overview of the past few months.

For starters, I'll just say that Chris made it home just in time to celebrate Thanksgiving with us and the family, and it was really nice. My little brother and sister came up from Portland and stayed with us over the weekend since my Dad had to work, and it was really great to see them, as well as Chris (who got to stay all the way until January 19, and jsut barely left!)

On to Christmas!! Now having our own house, I was as excited as I was when I was a little kid, to put up Christmas decorations. I wanted a real tree, lights on our house and the works. I had to force Chris into some of my ideas, but he was the kind husband he should be, and made it all happen for me:) One cool thing we did with some people in our ward, was we went to a place where you pay a set fee, and get to choose from thousands of Christmas trees, and cut down any one you want! It was so much fun, and definitely something we'll do again! Anyone who lives around here should try it next year.

Here's Charli scoping out the selection!

Us, with what we thought was the most perfect tree ever! I'm the kind of person that wants to look at every single one before deciding.... but I was so scared we would loose this tree I made Chris go and guard it while I kept looking, but soon decided I wouldn't find one more perfect!

This definitely isn't a great shot but it's the only one i took of our tree once it was decorated.

Because we did it last year no problem, I decided to try and get a good picture of Charli myself, for our Christmas cards. This picture captures how we both felt trying to do this.

Christmas morning at Grandma Pugmire's house! We decided to open presents from Santa at our house first, then headed over there for more presents and breakfast!

It was so nice to go see Chris's Grandma (Grandma Johansen) over the break. Hopefully it wasn't too chaotic having almost the whole family over there all together, but I'm pretty sure she enjoyed it as much as we did.

Finally the best part of all!!!!!! IT SNOWED!!! Snow here can be somewhat of a rare occasion so when it happens, everyone takes FULL advantage of it! we went sledding, built snowmen, took pictures, and watched all the kids just love it! Charli even developed a slight obsession with Frosty the Snowman, and she still to this day will find her gloves, demand I put them on, then drag me to the door, saying "Frosty! Frosty! Frosty!" She even thinks that the guy on the Jack in the Box commercials is Frosty and will talk about if forever when she sees him on TV! I then have to explain the Frosty is gone, he went to Alaska with Daddy, and wont be back until next year. Very cute, but lets just say I'm ready for her to forget about Frosty.

We haven't done any landscaping in our yard yet, because we moved in to late in the fall, but this is our only little tree, and when it snowed i thought it was so beautiful I had to take a picture!

Charli and Chris sledding up at Stevens Pass.

My cute girl whom I love to death, and makes every single day happy and exciting for me:)

Happy Halloween!!

I feel like this year Halloween snuck up on me pretty fast. I think its because I've been so focused on my house, that everything else gets put on the back burner. However, it did turn out to be a pretty fun night. Actually Halloween started in our neighborhood around 2:30 in the afternoon, when the smart little kids got off the bus from school, made there way down the street, trick-or-treating every house they passed! Then at around 4:30, Halloween was in full swing, with the streets full of kids and their parents! So since charli was finally feeling better, I decided why not, and got Charli dressed and took her to a few houses in our neighborhood. At first she was a little shy, and wouldn't say trick-or-treat (like we had been practicing forever), but I think when she realized people were putting candy in her little pumpkin, she changed her mind, and would walk right up to their front doors. Her favorite part though, was by far handing out candy at our house. She would just wait by the door, and look out the little window watching for the kids to come. She helped put the candy in their bags, and would say "bye-bye" as they left. So cute. But seriously I bet we had well over a hundred trick-or-treaters. I was completely out of candy by 7, and still could barely get out the door to go to Bri and Robs annual Halloween party, because the door bell kept ringing. Finally we got there, and Bri and Rob truly out did themselves with there Halloween decorating. From the skeletons in the grass, to the lights, graves, and spiderwebs, it was honestly amazing!



So I had to put a picture of my mother-in-law, and Lindsay (and little Polina), because if there was a costume contest, I would have defiantly made them the winners!



Here's little Charli next to my awesome pumpkin..... That got smashed later that night:(



And just so Chris could see my hair, I'm posting this super shot of me and Charli.

Lately

Welp Once again I have been very negligent about my blogging, but I have been busy, so here's a little catch up on what we've all been up to.

Chris:
Once again he's left me for Alaska. It's king crab season, and freezing cold up there. this time he'll be gone for about 4 weeks and will hopefully be back some time before thanksgiving.... or hopefully even sooner.

Charli:
In my opinion she has been the most busy of us all. She loves more than anything to be right up in the middle of things, whatever they may be. Weather I'm doing makeup, making dinner, shopping or trying to get laundry folded. She is right there to help me, in any way she can.

A few pictures from the pumpkin patch we went to right before Chris left

One thing I've realized about Charli is that she is a "hunter and gatherer". She will find things in the morning, like a plastic cup, a lip gloss, seriously anything, and she will carry them around ALL DAY. If you dare try and take any of her little items away, be prepared for a major melt down. She really likes to put all these things in a little purse, bag, or pocket, but if she can't find one of these, she's content having her arms loaded up.

I just thought this was really cute. This is at Target, when she demanded to get down out of the cart, so she could pull these little suitcases around.

Finally me:

Mostly I've just been trying to keep my sanity with Chris gone. Other than that, I had chance to go to one of my best friends from high school's baby shower. It was crazy seeing everyone from back in the day, but so much fun too!

Kate, Taylor, Erika, Liz, Me, and Charli

Katie, Lauren, Aubrey, and Angela

In my free time, (late at night when Charli is asleep) I've undertaken painting my kitchen. I'll post pictures soon, but I'm finally all done, and I love it!

Glad to be back:)

This is by far the longest I've gone without a new post since I started this blog! I'm blaming my total slacking, on the fact that we just moved into our new house, and I've been without internet and cable for almost a month!!! We finally got it all set up this weekend, so hopefully I'll be back in the blogging business now. It was crazy to look at everyone's lives today, and see how much I've missed in just the short time Ive been out of the loop! Anyways I'm gonna keep this short, and post something else tomorrow with pictures and all sorts of updates, but yes we're still alive, and trying to get back into the swing of things.

Chris...

Chris has been in Alaska now for 2 weeks. I feel really bad, because I haven't posted any pictures of Charli since he's left, and this is really the only way for him to see current pictures of her. So, there is really nothing new going on, and nothing to exciting about these pictures. I just took a few the other day when she was playing outside:)

Busy summer

I think once the weather goes down hill again, I'll be much better at keeping updated on my blog. I feel like in the last month or so, I just haven't been in the mood. However, lots of exciting things are happening right now, the NFL season has officially started, our new house is almost done, tons of the fall prime time shows are starting (anyone recomend any?), and I've been staying really busy since Chris left for Alaska again. As many of you know, our house closes on September 26th, and there is a very likely possibility that I will be hear all on my own for that. We've known this may happen for a while now, so like the amazing husband he is, Chris got every tiny detail in order before he left, so if I'm by myself, it should be a simple low-stress event, and things should go smoothly. I'm not so worried about signing all the papers, its the moving I'm worried about. We want to get everything out of our storage unit before October first, so we don't have to pay an additional month, and I hate knowing that I'm going to have to inconvenience all my my brother-in-laws, to help me make that happen. Although it may be stressful, and can't explain how excited I am! We started out in a tiny apartment in Corvallis Oregon, lived there for two years, then came back to Washington, and lived in Chris's parents guest house (everyone calls it the apartment). It will be so amazing to finally have an official house to call our own. Which reminds me, does anyone know anything about "Direct Buy"??? They won't tell me how much the membership is over the phone, and I can't go to a show room without Chris. So I'm wondering if the savings are amazing enough to wait for him to get home before I buy any major pieces of furniture. Anyways, The Seahawks had a pretty pathetic loss today against buffalo, so that sucks. I hope they do well this year, its seriously so fun to watch them when they're playing good! Charli even claps her hands when she hears the crowd cheer on TV. Speaking of Charli, its time for me to brag about her. she is just the smartest little thing ever! She's learning all the animal sounds, and body parts. She knows what a cat, duck, cow, monkey, bunny, and sheep says, and where her ears, nose, and eyes are! She definitely has a mind of her own, and when she doesn't get her way, she doesn't hesitate to throw you a nice little tantrum. We have officially eliminated the bottle, which she didn't even notice, and she's drinking from just about any cup just fine! I just can't believe how fast she is growing. It makes me sad to look at pictures from even a few months ago! Anyways, sorry on pictures this time, I've actually been trying to upload a video since last night, and can't make it work. So there's a little update on whats going on around here these days.

HAWAII

Welp we're finally back from a much needed AMAZING trip to Hawaii. Chris's dad could possibly be the most generous person on the face of this planet, and flew the entire family, grand kids and all, to the North Shore of Oahu for 10 days. He not only did that, but he put us up in ocean front villas, that were absolutely incredible. It doesn't end there. Lets just make this short and say he basically took care of EVERYTHING. Needless to say, it was soooooo much fun! Chris and I don't get to go on to many vacations, so I had been looking forward to this for months, and it lived up to every hope I may have had. Chris and I really tried to take advantage of every second, and went to lots of amazing places, beaches, and restaurants. All and all, it was one of the best vacations I've ever been on. I honestly took over 200 pictures, so I tried to just pick a few favorites. These in no way captures the fun we had, but at least it might give a little glimpse.

Nap time was definitely an "on the go" thing most of this trip. She was great, and just made due sleeping where ever we were

I was definitely the one taking pictures on this trip, so I have TONS of Charli and her Dad.

I had to just get a picture of this little dress I found, that I absolutely love.

A few of us spent the last morning at sunset beach, and Torrin did a little boogie boarding... he needs just a little more practice I would say.

Charli and Me at Sunset beach

While we were there, we were blessed to attend the sealing of Chris's 3 youngest siblings in the Hawaii temple. They were absolutely adorable, and it was a beautiful ceremony.

Charli and Torrin at Sharks Cove

I just love this picture of Kaho, at Turtle Bay Beach

Charli couldn't get enough of these parrots! She would point at them and laugh when ever they moved.

Our little family at the Polynesian Cultural Center

Steph and AJ at Hanauma Bay. By far the most amazing beach I've ever been to in my life. The snorkeling was incredible, with tons of sea turtles, fish, and crystal clear water.

Just a picture that doesn't do this place any justice, but it's taken from the cliff above, overlooking a small part of Hanauma Bay

Please excuse my brother-in-law Robs obscene finger! This was one of the only pictures I got of everyone (except me) who went to Wiamea Falls. Charli napping in her stroller, as usual

This one is just funny, because someone put a leaf on her head, and it stayed there for a good 10 minutes before she realized it was there!

OK, so in my opinion it was worth the money and the walk, because you go through botanical gardens that are AMAZING, but the finally is supposed to be the falls...... here I am with Charli, in front of the falls/trickle. Normally you can swim, but since there has been so little rain, the water hasn't been flowing into little stream. Since its been standing still, the water collects lots of bacteria, so there's no swimming aloud.

We learned during this trip that Charli is obsessed with birds! A perfect example of this obsession is pictured here, with Charli chasing after this poor peacock. Little did I know that peacocks will attack other "things" that are it's same height. Luckily a lady who worked there saw us all laughing at Charli and told us she was getting way to close, and the peacock was getting mad.

Fia, Kinsey, Torrin, and Emma!

On one of the days, we went to a water park that Charli loved! Chris took her on a couple water slides, and she played in all the little fountains. The cold water didn't even phase her, she just loved it!

Over all it seriously was a pretty amazing trip, and I'm sad that its over. Especially now that Chris has to leave again on Wednesday for Alaska for another month. The one thing we do have to look forward to, is our house is finally going to close at the end of this month, and we will officially have a place to call our own! So I guess its happy furniture shopping for me:)