Ruiter family Christmas was at Aunt Alice and Uncle Arvin’s house this year. They had recently remodeled their house and it was beautiful. We had a fun time.

Sunny and I joined Ian and Eric at the Seahawks game. The Seahawks started well, but eventually fell to the Patriots. Fun game!

Sunny and I traveled to Leavenworth with Mike and Jill for the lighting ceremony. We had a great time, the city did not let us down. The condo we stayed in was not far from downtown so we walked. Within Leavenworth we ducked in little shops to look at Christmas ornaments. For the lighting ceremony we ended up on the balcony of our restaurant overlooking the festival. We’re already planning to return next year.

Click here to see more photos from Leavenworth…

Sunny and I purchased a noble for our first Christmas Tree. We had to carry the tree across the street to get it home and squeeze it though the door. The tree is the perfect size for the living room! Sunny convinced me to decorate the tree immediately, and I’m glad we did. We had a great time and the tree is beautiful. I can’t wait to wrap presents to put under the tree! Merry Christmas!

Sunny and I had two Thanksgiving dinners today! In the afternoon we ate at Idamae and Khai’s house. That evening we had dinner at Laurie and Scott’s house. We ate so much we had to roll ourselves home!

We celebrated Mike’s Birthday at Laurie and Scott’s house.

Sunny and I joined Chris, Angela, Brian, Katie, John, Jessica, Alvin and Nora, Andre and Carrie for Angela’s Birthday at Outback. We had a great time and the food was terrific. The photos below are missing John and Jessica who were hiding from the camera… I’ll get them next time… For now, they are stick figures.

Sunny and I spent our three month anniversary on a road trip to La Conner and Deception Pass. We ate lunch at an outstanding brewery, which we found by accident. Sunny ate French Onion soup and I had a tasty salad and a beer. After wandering the beautiful streets of La Conner, we drove to Deception Pass, reaching there by sunset. We walked across the bridge, crossed below, and walked back. The view was incredible, we had an awesome view across the bay.

Sunny had never visited La Conner or Deception Pass before which made this trip even more adventurous. And I love road trips! We will have to come back and spend a day at the State Park.

In order to get my condo ready to be shown and hopefully sold, Sunny and I cleaned and staged my condo. We went with a different, more colorful look, than what I had when I lived at the condo. We moved around a few plants, added new pillow covers, new paintings, and boxed anything personal. If the condo sells, we will be on our way to owning our first home together.

Thankoween is a Verhoeven family tradition, a combination of Thanksgiving and Halloween. Thankoween is traditionally a large Thanksgiving dinner with yummy desserts and fun family games. This year Thankoween was at my Mom’s house. There was nearly 30 people around the three tables set in the living and dining rooms. We had a great time and dinner was outstanding.

After dinner we played shuffle board (another family tradition). I would have won the entire contest, but Sunny cheated so I lost to Aunt Marilyn… Next year I am going to keep track of the score myself… I love spending time with my family and can’t wait until next year’s dinner and shuffle board rematch.