We love you Mike!

Ahhh, the last game of Mike Holmgren's Seahawk career and Zach and I got to be there to see him off! Kora and Marisa were supposed to go but due to this crazy weather they didn't feel comfortable driving from Olympia so Zach and I volunteered to take their tickets. . .suite tickets at club level. They were sooo awesome and it snowed the entire game. Kathy Holmgren raised the 12th Man Flag and I almost started crying. We had such a fun Sunday. GO HAWKS and thank you Mike for 10 wonderful years!!!!

The beginning of the game. . .

By halftime. . .

Our view!

Snowed in. . .

Zach and I decided to take a walk up to the Junction for Happy Hour yesterday. We wanted to go to Jaks but got there only to find out they were closed due to the weather! Apparently, the cooks couldn't get in from where they live. . .so we went next door toThe Matador. It felt like we were at a ski lodge with everyone in snow hats and scarves. It was cooold but fun and it got us out of the house for a bit.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

I was so mad yesterday because my family was getting snow in Olympia all day and we had nothing. . .until I woke up this morning at 5:30am. I thought I was going to have to go out to the resort today but in just the amount of time I was in the shower, our grass was covered and it hasn't stopped coming down since then. They even had to close the West Seattle Bridge because of a huge accident! Here a few pics I took about a half hour ago with my phone.

One Decoration. . .

I feel so pathetic this year because I haven't put up any Christmas decorations yet. The trip to Hawaii and now preparing for our move has made it difficult to do, not to mention our storage closet is a mess and I need to organize it before I can even get to the Christmas decoration box. :( YUCK I was at Safeway last night and bought this cute little Santa for $15!! I've had my eye on it for about a month now so I finally decided--buy it! This is it for decorations so far. Zach and I are planning on getting a very little tree this weekend so we'll put out a few more decorations then. I just don't want to go overboard since we'll basically have to box it all up again on Dec. 26th--total Scrooge. . .but with the move scheduled for Dec. 27th, everything must be boxed--including decorations!

Apartment for Rent

It's official--Zach and I are finally moving to Woodinville on December 27th! Not the most ideal time to be moving but we reserved movers to help so it should be a little less painful than our last move. With that being said, there is an adorable 2 bedroom apartment for rent in West Seattle just a walk away from the water and the junction! It comes with easy on street parking as well as one parking spot, washer/dryer/dishwasher/all new everything since it was just built!, fireplace and storage. Backyard and a great landlord--Zach's dad. :) We currently pay $1300 so I assume rent would be about the same. If you know anyone who would be interested please let me know. We love it over here and are sad to move out of West Seattle but also excited to have more space for all of our stuff! There will be an open house this Sunday from noon-3pm if you or anyone you know want to come take a look!

Hawaii 08'

Zach and I just got back from a wonderful trip to Hawaii. We started in Waikiki for the Coug game, where it rained and we lost. We were anxious to get on the short plane to Maui for the real part of our vacation! We stayed at the Wailea Marriott Beach Resort & Spa with some help from Bird who hooked us up with a better rate than we would have gotten booking online. The resort just completed a soft goods renovation 6 months ago so it was gorgeous! Our room faced a pool and the ocean. It was in the 80's the entire time with no rain. We went on a snorkeling trip one day, laid by the pool, walked the beach, body surfed, visited Kaanapali and The Hula Grill. Ladies, I thought of our awesome trip the whole time we sat and listened to the music and watched passer-bys. I even took a pic of the pool we spent every day at. Everyone kept asking if we were newlyweds and I'd say, ALMOST. :) Check out photos here: http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=17hppa8h.4e863jpl&x=0&y=-mvvdp6&localeid=en_US

There may be some dupes--sorry.

Here are few for fun now.

Thanksgiving

This year we all went to Kora and Nick's for Thanksgiving and got to eat off their new dining room table. It was probably one of my most favorite Thanksgivings in history. Leah, Mike and Lorissa stopped by, my Aunt Beth, Uncle Monty and Sara stopped by and we were joined for the entire day by Nick's parents and Marie and Zack Fluke since their family was in Hawaii! It was so festive and made me so thankful. Nick deep fried the turkey which was delicious, Amy made some awesome stuffing, Marisa made her delicious green bean casserole, there were pies, pies, and more pies. It was just a wonderful day with family and friends.

The beautiful tableThe turkey after we all devoured it

Sophia watching Christmas movies since dinner is over

Thank you Kora and Nick for hosting us all. We had a great time and love your home!

Back from vacation

Zach and I just got back from Hawaii so as soon as we play catch up and download pictures I'll update everyone. It was a great vacation but we are both ready to be back in the NW for the holidays!

Baby Boy!

Some of you may have seen this already if you check out my sister-in-law's blog but if not the news is KYLE AND AMY ARE EXPECTING A BABY BOY!! I am so excited that they'll have a ballerina and a ball player! Amy's due date is still April 6th. . .2 days after my wedding--YIKES, it could be an eventful evening. Hee hee They think they have a name picked out which is quite an accomplishment beings it took them forever to decide on Sophia. I'm sure Amy wouldn't care if I mentioned what that name is but just in case, I'll save that for them to announce. :) I'm just so excited for them and excited to be an Auntie again. . .and again in June when Marisa is due. It is going to be so fun watching my baby sisters tum grow--I know she is going to be an adorable pregnant person. Ah, babies, babies-I love it!

Lucky Dog

For those of you who know me well, you know I didn't grow up with dogs and to put it nicely, was a little hesitant about ever having one myself. . .until I met Lucky Dog. He is Zach's dad's dog who lives above us. He is 98 years old in dog years which is perfect for me. He doesn't jump up on me or try to lick me. :) Rudy, Zach's dad is in Thailand for a month so we offered to take care of Lucky while he is gone. . .I mean, he would come in and hang out with us regularly anyway so it seemed the best thing to do. I LOVE IT. It is so nice having a little companion here with me during the day and I love taking him on walks. We went on a walk today down to the water facing good ol' Vashon Island. I got some pretty shots I thought I would share with you. I like to be the one holding the leash but we walk much faster than Zach. I told Zach I probably shouldn't own a dog younger than Lucky because I would have to run with him the entire time. . .for a 98 year old we walk pretty fast!

Mr. Lucky Dog

Zach and Lucky playin in the leaves

Me givin Lucky some love even though it looks like I'm strangling him, I'm really scratching him behind his ears.

The beautiful sunset and lovely Vashon Island

You gotta love em. ..

So, those of you that live with men might appreciate this story. One day I was overwhelmed with the mess we had acquired in our lovely little home so I said to Zach, "I wish sometimes you would just NOTICE that there are piles of clothes on the couch that have been there all week, I wish you would NOTICE that the floors are filthy and need to be swept and vacuumed, or that the recycling and garbage need to be taken out. I feel like a nagger when I have to ask you to do those things. . .as I am ranting on, he quietly gets up and starts putting the clothes away. . .I don't usually separate our piles because I usually am the one that puts the clothes away and can easily tell what is his and what is mine. He, on the other hand, doesn't realize these things quite so easily so he put my jeans, the only jeans I have that are short enough to wear with tennis shoes or flats with his pile of jeans. At the time, I was like, thanks Zach for doing that. . .so that same night I remembered that the Big Blue Truck was coming around our neighborhood to pick up used clothing. You leave a bag out on the street by 7:30am and they'll pick up your stuff--I love this because I never seem to make it to Goodwill, clothes sit in my trunk for months. I reminded Zach of this and said, "go through your closet and take whatever out you don't need and don't forget jeans since we just got you some new ones. He looks in his closet and grabs some things and brings them to me, literally in 2 minutes. I said, as I have the 2 pairs of jeans in my hand, "how did you choose these two pairs to give away?" He said, I just know they're old. "Okay," I think and stuff them into the bag and put it out on the street. Next day I go to grab that pair of jeans I know is clean and they are nowhere to be found. I instantly know what has happened. I was frantic, livid and trying to be a calm 32 year old. I knew I had two football games to go to that weekend that clearly I was not going to wear high heels to so I had to take the jeans I was planning on getting hemmed eventually so I would actually have 2 pairs of short jeans to a lady that could actually get the hemming done in one day. I was scared because I had never been there but she came through for me in the clutch and had the jeans done in a few hours! I don't let Zach live this story down, I definitely remind him of it every day but he also reminds me that I actually touched the jeans last before going into the give away bag. Ladies, my tip to you--let them help around the house but always thoroughly check everything they have done. I love this guy to death so I can at least laugh about it now but boy, was I mad that day!

Marisa & Richie sittin in a tree. . .

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes BABY IN A BABY CARRIAGE!!!! That's right, Marisa just announced on Friday that she is pregnant. Well, I guessed it because she wasn't having our normal Friday afternoon, game day drink so when she got in my car to go to the game, I asked "so why weren't you having any drinks, are you pregnant or something?" and she just stared at me with a smile on her face. . .we aren't very good at lying. :) I grabbed her by the hair (which is hilarious) and hugged her and started crying of course. Zach was in his car behind us and all of a sudden he came knocking on the window and asked if Marisa was pregnant too because he saw us hugging too. She then announced it at Joe's game since most of the fam was there. Everyone is very excited for them!! She is very newly pregnant so we think she will be due in early June. . .which means she should have a cute tummy at my wedding. :) Sophia and Hussey Baby #2 will have another cousin to play with soon. FUN, FUN

Congratulations Marisa and Richie!!

A Baby Shower For Tanya

On Sunday, Oct. 26th us girls all got together to celebrate Baby Farrow! Tanya got lots of snuggly, fun things for the baby due at the end of November. She looked great and we are all so excited that the pregnancy has gone so well and all are healthy!!! We look forward to the new addition, another girl for our "girl get togethers". :)
I just had to add a pic of little Ellie--we were all excited she was able to join us!

Fall Drive

Zach and I decided we wanted to drive to Carnation today to look at the pretty fall colors. We stopped off for breakfast at the Fall City Roadside Inn (I think that was the name) for breakfast. It brought back lots of memories of training for the STP because we used to stop off in Fall City when we did long bike rides to use the bathroom, grab some more liquids and food and take a break. We then drove up to Salish Lodge to look at the Falls--gorgeous this time of year. . .our drive then took us to North Bend via Snolqualmie and back towards Carnation. On our way to Carnation we found a pumpkin patch. Zach has never been to a pumpkin patch so I really wanted to show him what it was all about--so much better than going to Safeway to get a pumpkin. The last picture is on Beach Drive on Alki--that's what I get to look at when I go on runs, I love it! It was a really fun and beautiful day.

And the planning continues. . .

As many of you know, Zach and I picked our wedding site long before we actually got engaged. I mean, when you know its going to happen and you find the place of your dreams--book it Dano! It is called Sodo Park by Herban Feast and its located just south of the stadiums. It's an old warehouse that they converted into a beautiful event space. Here's a few pictures:
This weekend Leah and I did some wedding dress shopping. . .nothing like sharing all this with your Best Friend. It's been really fun. Leah went to 2 stores on Saturday. I Do Bridal was the first place and was very unsuccessful. The service was horrible, the space too small for all the people that were there and they only book 1 hour appointments so you barely get into the dressing rooms and you're being kicked out. On to the next store--Princess Bride in Bothell. A HUGE sigh of relief. . .we walk in, its bigger, cleaner, and the service 10 times better! Leah found her dress and it is soooo beautiful. I had scheduled two appointments for Sunday, 1. I Do Bridal and 2. Cynderellies Closet. While I was at Princess Bride I checked to see if they had openings the next day and they did so I canceled I Do and scheduled an appointment at PB. While Leah was trying on dresses I was poking around to see if I liked anything and I showed Londa (Leah's Mom) a dress I thought was pretty. It was the first one I ended up trying on on Sunday and it was also the one I ended up buying! I cancelled my second appointment and called it a day. I highly recommend Princess Bride to anyone getting married. The customer service is excellent. I'm so excited that Leah and I both found our dresses this weekend. (I'm glad I did since my wedding is in 6 months--barely enough time for the dress to get here)

Weekend update

Saturday of course meant football. Kyle and Jason came up to go to the Husky game and I also went to this game with Zach. While tailgating I turned around and said, "Hey isn't that Don James or something?" The guys turned around to see Coach Lambright (Lambo). . .so it wasn't Don James, I was pretty impressed that I at least recognized him to be a Husky Coach from the past. :) Well, a few drinks in and Kyle and Jason were ready to introduce themselves (and bring me along to take pictures). Then Jeff and Zach thought they better go over and talk to the Coach as well. It was very fun for these guys--a true highlight of their day.Today Zach and I decided to take a drive to Snohomish to look at the trees as they start changing colors and then to go antiquing. I love that Zach likes to do this too!! We were surprised to see that there was an old car show going on so lots of action and lots of fun cars to look at. Zach is not much of a car person but I was loving it. Here are a few shots. . .

It's Great to be an Auntie

I just had to post this picture because I think it is so dang cute. As usual, I am holding Sophia because all I ever want to do is hold her and squeeze her (just like how I used to be with Joe) :) She is at such a fun age. (Wish Michelle was here for the Auntie pic but we'll get another one) For some reason it does look like I have chipmunk cheeks or I'm playing chubbie bunny. Oh well. hee hee

Hussey Ram Fans

Joe had his first HOME game of the season last night against Black Hills. North Thurston played a great game and Joe had some wonderful passes which helped NT take away the 34-6 victory!! On the way into the game, we spotted Big Blue and got some snapshots in front of it--GO RAMS Here's the link to the Olympian's article: http://activepaper.olivesoftware.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=T0xNLzIwMDgvMDkvMTIjQXIwMjkwOA==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

I'm goin to the chapel. . .

And we're gonna get married!

As many of you know, Zach and I have been making wedding plans for awhile now but we weren't officially engaged until now--It's official. We had plans to go to dinner on Friday night with a bunch of people to the Metroplitan Grill. Zach and I both love the water taxi from Alki to downtown so we took that instead of driving. I brought my camera because last time we were on it, I forgot it and you can get some amazing shots of the city. We went to the front of the boat to get a picture and as soon as we were done and I was looking at it to see if I liked it, I looked up and Zach had the ring and asked if I would marry him. I grabbed the ring and hugged him and said yes, of course and he had to tell me to please put the ring on because I got so excited I forgot to and he we was worried it would fall overboard. It's a beautiful oval shaped diamond solitaire--he knew I really wanted an oval (ever since working at Curt Berry Jewelers in high school). We still went to dinner but the group we were supposed to meet up with was actually at El Gaucho. . .another great steak house in Seattle. Ummm, I celebrated quite a bit with champagne, wine, a Cosmo (thanks Mom & Dad), beer and a shot (thanks Luke). Saturday was our Qwest Cougar Football game and getting up for that was quite difficult but when I got there Leah and Mike had a bottle of Vueve to celebrate with so once I started up again, the hangover went away--thank Goodness!

We're Engaged!!

The view from the water taxi

Us at dinner (look how big Zach's steak is!!)

The Ricshaw ride from our tailgate to the stadium!

GO RAMS!!!

It's football season again and that means Joe is at two-a-days!! Last year Joe started the season as QB1 (1st string quarterback for North Thurston) but got hurt half way through the season so after lots of rehabilitation he is back!! I am so excited to see him play every Friday but also very nervous. He'll have a brace just like Kyle did his senior year. It will protect him but gah, I still don't want to see him get sacked. . .He made it into the paper so here are some pics and a link to the article--it's great and Kyle even made it to print. HA

http://activepaper.olivesoftware.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=T0xNLzIwMDgvMDgvMjYjQXIwMjQwMg==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

WE ARE PROUD OF YOU, SAY WE ARE PROUD OF YOU, HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY!

Busy, Busy

I had an action packed weekend but it was all great! I love that it was so hot, well except for when I was sitting at breakfast on Sunday morning and pretty much sliding off the leather booth in my own sweat. Ick. :) Anyways, the weekend started with Zach and I having dinner and drinks down on Alki. It was fun, lots of people watching. We came home and played music real loud (his dad was gone so it was okay) and danced around in the kitchen. He has some great music downloaded on his computer and it links right into our tv/stereo system which is perfect. Then on Saturday I had a family reunion at my Aunt and Uncle's in Tumwater. They have a pool so we got to lay out and swim around in the 90 degree heat. Sophia was there and making me a nervous wreck because she doesn't want to wear a life jacket and wants to walk right into the pool like its hard ground. We had to be on her at all times. She was so dang cute though. Her new thing is doing "nastics" (gymnastics) since watching the Olympics. When the reunion was over some of us kids went back to mom and dads to sit around their fire pit and make smores. We got eaten alive by mosquitoes so unfortunately did not stay out too long. Then Kora, Marisa and Joe came back up to my house with me and spent the night. It was a Hussey sleepover! We woke up bright and early on Sunday to help Kora move out of her apartment in Seattle and down to Olympia!! She finally made the move. She'll live with my parents til the end of August and then she moves into a cute little 2 bedroom home near Olympia high school. She gets to work from home so she still has her job with Worktank which is great and now she is finally near Nick. It's all coming together for her. :) I will miss having her up here since we have been the "aunties" living in Seattle together but she will come up once a week and so we'll probably plan on doing dinner together those nights. I'll already see her this Thursday. :) Sunday night I met Lorissa up at Newcastle Golf Course for dinner and drinks and I finally met Zach's sister, Jessica who works there. I was a little nervous to meet her but once she walked by and I asked if she was Jessica and then introduced myself the ice was broken and we chatted for quite a while. She is adorable. She's much younger than Zach so she's sorta like his Joe. :) I don't have any pictures to go with this post so this is it. Hope everyone has a great week.

Family Vaca etc. etc.

Last weekend we had "Vaca All I Ever Wanted" with my family in Eastern Washington. I didn't get very many pics but here are a few cute ones. It was a great time. .. we made awesome steaks, mashed potatoes, salad and beans on night one, had yummy enchiladas from Ris on night two and went out to din on night 3. Lots of Cranium which meant LOTS of laughs. Wish I would have gotten pics of us playing that because I think we laughed our way through it every time we played. I was on the winning team each time. :) This weekend Zach and I went to UW Picture Day. ..I know my Coug friends are cringing. . .I agreed to go only because I love the excitement of football season starting and everyone being so excited about their teams. . .if the Cougs were here and had Picture Day I know Zach would have joined me as well. Joe and Janice stopped by today which was fun. I got to show them around West Seattle and the things Zach and I love about living over here. Another great summer weekend.

The Desert Canyon Fire Truck. . .hmmn a pick-up truck? Weird????

Zach & Joe playin some golf-I think Joe creamed him. :)

Just hangin out on the deck. ..Ris, Shells, Joe enjoying the summer sun!

Sophes & Zach just takin a pit break for lunch-YUM

Jake Locker at Picture Day, so it's not my team but Heeellloooo Jake. :)