At the Seattle Aquarium

We decided to spend the night down at the Waterfront Marriott because as an employee I could get a $40 per night rate, so we packed our jammies and our swimsuits and headed downtown after we dropped the Soranno's at the airport.  Our plans were to just relax, watch movies in our room and swim in their indoor/outdoor pool.  We had a great time and the hotel was beautiful!  The next day we went to the Aquarium which was right across the street.  We had a great time.

We got quite a show from the octopus!  Apparently, from what we overheard the aquarium regulars saying, he usually spends most of his time hiding out in the rocks in his tank, but when we were there, he was swimming around and really performing for us!

Luke and Hayley both got a little too close to Mr. Octopus!  We pulled them to safety just in time!

Future Photographer

Hayley often asks if she can use my camera when we're out and about... Here are some photo's that she took while at the Seattle Aquarium.  We think she does a beautiful job and that she really has an eye for interesting perspectives.

Farewell Photo Shoot

We always seem to wait till the last minute to take group pictures and this visit was no exception.  Chris, Mike, Madison, and Jillian were minutes from heading off to the airport to head home when we got the camera out and snapped a bunch of group family shots...

Thanksgiving at the Deti's

We spent a lovely Thanksgiving with family (The Soranno's and Uncle Mike Schanzle). Chris and I (mostly Chris) made the dinner. We decided to try something different this year... instead of gravy, we went with a Mole sauce. I wouldn't recommend it for future dinners! :) Even though the turkey ended up dry, we still had a very nice time together!

A nice pretty table...

Soranno's, Schanzle, and Deti's...

Uncle Mike Schanzle, Madison, and Wes....

Sadie and Coco... friends forever!

Too much turkey and Mole Sauce!  It happens every year!

Hayley's Baptism & Confirmation!

Hayley has been going through Confirmation class at church for the past few months. It has been a lot of work for her, but she has really learned a lot and grown a tremendous amount spiritually! We're very proud of her. During these past few months she has done a number of service projects with the rest of the sixth graders going through the class. They volunteered at Storehouse Ministries one Saturday. This is a local food bank that helps people in need. She and a couple of her friends sorted through strawberries that were donated by local grocery stores. She had to pull all of the moldy ones and throw them away. She also worked at Vine Maple Place (a ministry that helps women and children start anew in apartments). They weeded the playground and spent the day placing new wood chips. It was a lot of hard work, but a wonderful cause. The sixth graders also had overnighters and weekly lunches before their classes. They also went on a retreat to Miracle Ranch in Gig Harbor. At the last minute her friend, Savannah, got sick and wasn't able to go which made Hayley so upset that she didn't want to go anymore! We had to totally talk her into going and I'm so glad we did because she just had an awesome time! She tried so many new things (like horseback riding, paint ball, and bungee jumping!). In her words, it was 'Life Changing!'.

Here Hayley is being baptized by our Pastor, Daniel Foster and her Youth Pastor, Marc Kennedy.

Here Hayley is being confirmed into the Methodist Church.

Hayley and all of the other sixth graders that went through the Confirmation Ceremony.

Hayley with Dad and Mom on her special day. Also in attendance, but not photographed: Aunt Chris, Uncle Mike Soranno, Uncle Mike Schanzle, Madison, and Jillian and Luke.

The Soranno's Thanksgiving Week Visit

Chris (Aunt OCD), Mike, Madison and Jillian and Sadie came up to visit us for the week prior to Thanksgiving. It was a very nice treat! We had a lot of fun together. Here's just a sampling of what we did: Hiked Mount Peak in Enumclaw, ditched school and saw 'New Moon' at 9:30 in the morning, painted Hayley's room, painted nails, walked dogs, did a little Christmas shopping, and basically partied!

Here Chris and me are prepping yet another meal all the while looking good while we do it! :)


Aunt OCD, I mean Aunt Chris painting Hayley's room. It was her gift to Hayley for her Baptism and Confirmation. What a special gift to give her Godchild!

This picture is actually just a photo op... the girls wanted to help with the painting, but Aunt Chris felt like they would hold up her pace! Hayley wanted extremely bright colors for her room this time around. This was the one we settled on instead of lime green or neon orange!

Here I am painting Hayley and Jilli's nails in what else, but exteme neon colors! Different one for each nail!

Jilli loves posing for photos!

Veteran's Day Assembly

Well, it was the annual Veteran's Day Assembly at Hayley and Luke's school, so I do believe that this was Wes' seventh year being honored for his time that he served in the Navy! The kids beg him to be able to make this assembly each year... they're so proud of their dad! Grass Lake does an awesome job of honoring all of the veterans. It's always a very moving ceremony, but this year it was the best ever... they incorporated more singing, a drama production and they brought in some Veteran's from the VFW.

Here's Wes being escorted to the front of the gym by Hayley and Luke.

All of the boy and girl scouts participated in the assembly as well. They held flags and lined the walkway where the Veteran's walked down. They also performed the flag ceremony.

Luke and his buddy Hunter (or is it his twin Nicholas?!) saluting the flag as it's being marched down the walkway.

Twick or Tweet

Well, we had another really fun Halloween trick-or-treating with our friends. The weather was beautiful, dry, and crisp! We met up with a lot of our cub scout friends at the Reitan's house where we pre-functioned before heading out to collect our loot!


Wes even got into the spirit of Halloween this year! Here he is posing with our friend, Anna, before we went out trick-or-treating with the kids.

Coco had so much fun... she didn't want to wear a costume, but she loved her glow necklace! She had such a good time walking with the Reitan's dog, Cisco!

Hayley posing as her 'Alien Witch' and Luke is ready for combat in his soldier outfit. I have a feeling that it won't be the last time I see him dressed up in this costume!

Hayley counting out her loot!