Sunny and I are planning to sell our condo. To help make the space look larger, we decided to brighten up the condo with a coat of white paint on the ceiling. We started early and painted a thick coat over nearly the entire ceiling. The difference is startling. Our condo shines! Sunny also touched up the walls. Now we don’t want to sell…

After dinner with my family, Sunny and I ate another Thanksgiving dinner at the Daiger’s! Two dinners in one day is one of my favorite things! Laurie is a terrific cook, the turkey was magnificent. I am stuffed!

The Ruiter Thanksgiving at Aunt Alice’s house. Dinner was terrific! I love Thanksgiving dinner – and there is no better way to spend it than with family.

I saw Brandon Sanderson speak at the University Bookstore! Brandon Sanderson is the co-author of the Gathering Storm. Sadly, Robert Jordan, my favorite author, passed a way a few years ago. Robert Jordan was the author of The Wheel of Time series. After Robert Jordan passed away, Brandon Sanderson picked up his notes and continued the story. The Wheel of Time is a fantasy series that spans eleven books. The Gathering Storm is the twelfth book in the series and should end the series. It was fun to hear Brandon speak and I can’t wait to read the book!

Collin is only one month away from having a baby girl. Adam and Collin have named their daughter Trinity. The shower was so much fun.

I was also introduced to John and Jessica’s daughter Eleanor Sara!

Only two days back from our cruise in the Caribbean and it is snowing in Everett! I am not happy about this, but if it is going to snow, I hope it dumps inches. But for now I miss the hot sand in Barbados.

Sunny and I just returned from our Caribbean Cruise, we had an incredible time! We cruised on Holland America from Fort Lauderdale to St. Maarten, St. Lucia, Barbados, Martinique, Tortola, and the Bahamas. From Tortola we took a excursion to Virgin Gorda, which was my favorite island. We visited eight islands! The ship is an engineering marvel, it is huge! I got lost a few times.

St. Lucia was a really interesting island. Two tall volcanos tower over a small bay. Some of my favorite photos were taken here. In Barbados Sunny and I were able to sneak onto a private beach. But of all the islands, Virgin Gorda was my favorite. Huge rocks are scattered around the beach forming secluded pools.

Click here to see more photos from our cruise…

We stopped into a costume store to try on Halloween Costumes. I look great as a blond.

A few of the costumes my coworkers wore…

Carving pumpkins at my parent’s house has become a tradition with our family. We love carving a small army of pumpkins and arranging them on the back porch. They look terrific with all the candles lit. The time we spend together as a family is very important to me.

Thankoween has become a wonderful tradition in my family. Celebrated somewhere between Halloween and Thanksgiving, Thankoween is an excuse to eat two Thanksgiving dinners! And I love to eat! Steven’s mustache was terrific!