Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, B-Day & V-Day!

Valentines Day/Weekend 2012

Brasada Ranch, Bend OR

We drove down to Bend, OR for a friends wedding reception and decided to stay somewhere a little more special than a normal hotel. Let me tell you this place was GORGEOUS! The mountain views are outstanding and the "Ranch House Suites" were so luxurious. (There are only eight of them 4 upper and 4 lower) I was so happy we spent the extra money to stay here. (They were having a promotion for the month of Feb.) 

The first night we stayed in one of the upstairs suites. We arrived in Bend and went to say hi to Jim & Mara (the Bridge and Groom). We then ventured to downtown Bend where we ate at Greggs Grill. It was delicious. 

The Suite

View from our private patio.

The mountains were covered by the clouds the first day.

The next morning Graig and Jim were off to golf. Yes GOLF! It was 24 degrees feels like 17. Graig was  breaking one of his rules, golfing under 60 degree weather. While they were out golfing I was taking my sweet little time getting ready in the amazing bathroom. We were suppose to switch to a suite downstairs for Sat. night because when I booked the rooms that was all they had available. Turns out they upgraded us to a cabin on the golf course with a hot tub! Wahoo! :) 

Dedicated golfers. :)

The day we left we woke up to clear skies and incredible mountain views.

I think the mountain behind Graig is "Broken Top" which was the name of the suite we stayed in.

The other mountains are called;The Sisters, Mt. Bachelor, and I think Mt. Hood.

Front and back views of the cabin we stayed in the second night.

The hot tub next to us was great for gazing at the stars.

More views of the mountains.

Graig and his friends have played golf here for the past few summers. They even won a golf tournament the first year and won four nights in one of their cabin suites. This is a picture of the guys driving by the cabin we were moved too. Turns out it was the exact same cabin they staying in when they had won the tournament. 

After that we got ready and went to the "Brown" wedding reception. To see their pretty pictures click HERE scroll down to Jim & Mara They are a beautiful couple and we are so happy for them !

That night Jim & Mara, Elden & Kimmy came back to our cabin for some relaxation. We played the card game golf, went in the hot tub and had a great time. The stars outside were incredible since there were no "city lights" or clouds around to hide the stars.

This is what the inside of the cabin looked like. I guess I only took a video of it so I used the pictures they had on their website.

It was a great weekend! I'm glad I got to spend it with my Valentine :)

Birthdays! 

Dec 31: Aunt Karen turned..?, Jamie turned 24, Jan 3: Grandma Christensen turned..? 

Jan 8:I turned 27, Jan 30:Nash turned 3, and Jan 31:Momma Ward turned ...? Not sure :) 

Nash is by far the easiest to shop for. This year I asked him what he would like. He said a rocket ship. Thanks to skype I got to watch him open his gift and see the excitement all over his face. I loved it!  Well first I should say this is how the conversation went. Breana called and Nash asked if he could open his package. I said yes of course but said give me five minutes I need to finish drying me hair. He said "aww five minutes! " lol Yes five minutes. Seeing him soo excited about his new rocket launcher was priceless. He kept saying " 321 blast off!" For my birthday Graig got me a new camera so I'm going to try to be better about taking more pictures in general. I used to love getting lots of pictures of things but I have been a slacker lately. I also got some other awesome items: both of which are for my teaching days but I LOVE them and can't wait to use them in the future.

I also got to go to lunch with one of my bestest friends and her mom. Courtney and Barb the day before my birthday. We enjoyed catching up and talking about the old days. :) Love you both and thanks for the yummy lunch! Then my other two besties took me to dinner. I have such great friends! Thanks Nikki and Molly! It was a great birthday!

Washington Snow Storm January 2012

A couple weeks after the new year started we were hearing talk about a snow storm coming. 

It sure came and schools were cancelled for the week. Most schools had Monday off due to Martin Luther King Jr. Day but the snow dumped and caused the roads to be icy. I was so lucky I did not have to commute on the dangerous roads. We all know I would have been going 5mph and a nervous wreck! HAHA so I just stayed in the warm house and watched the beautiful snow fall from inside. Bee Gee (Graigs Grandparents Dog) came outside a couple times with me while I scraped the driveway. 

Shoveling the driveway was my work out for the week and

 my chance to be out in the snow doing something.

New Years 2012

We celebrated at the Jaegerman household. 

That morning was very busy. 

My dad, Breana, Chase, Nash, Kade and I went down to Seattle.

 It was a cold but sunny day. 

We explored Pike Place Market, the Space Needle, and the "carousal"

 that they have in front of Macys at Christmas time. 

That night we rang in the new year all together. 

Papa with smiley Kade.

Seattle Gum Wall

When we walked around the Space Needle Nash kept calling it a rocket ship. I told him it was going to have fireworks shooting off it that night. So we recorded the show and the next morning I had him watch it. He kept asking " why isn't the rocket ship taking off?" lol. I guess it was time to tell him that it just "looked" like a rocket ship but really was not a rocket ship. :) He is so dang smart! We also spent time in Nana & Papas new hot tub!

That night we played games and did a New Years toast!

 HAPPY NEW YEAR

 One morning the boys helped me make pancakes, bacon, and eggs. 

They were the best little helpers. Kade sure loved the pancakes. :)

The next day we visited the Museum of Flight. 

We wanted to go up to play in the snow but the weather conditions said rain/wind. 

That would not be fun especially with a 3 yr old and 1 1/2 yr old. 

The boys loved seeing all of the airplanes at the flight museum. 

Papa with his grandsons.

Froerers

Wards

Christmas 2011

Graig and I were lucky this year because we were able to spend Christmas with both of our families. 

His parents, Jamie and Janelle flew in the week before Christmas.

 We made gingerbread houses, played lots of games, and went to the movies. 

ZOO Lights

Nash said "That's not real!" about the shark. 

HAHA umm yes it is real! 

They liked seeing the fish and sharks.

Nash and his mom riding a CAMEL!

We went down to my parents late Christmas Eve and spent it together  with my parents, Sheila and Kevin. We then went to my grandparents house on Christmas day. 

Look how in to catching the "butterfly" Kade was.
 It was so fun to watch them play with their new toys. 

Christmas Devotional

If you didn't watch the Christmas Devotional you should. They showed an amazing video of Christ's Birth click HERE to watch the video.President Monson gave a great talk titled "Because He Came"

One part of his talk that really stood out to me was this :

And yet, Christmas is what we make of it. Despite all the distractions, we can see to it that Christ is at the center of our celebration. If we have not already done so, we can establish Christmas traditions for ourselves and for our families which will help us capture and keep the spirit of Christmas

"I, with you, have witnessed during the past few days and weeks what has become over the years the annual commercialization of Christmas. I am saddened to see Christmas becoming less and less about Christ and more and more about marketing and sales, parties and presents.

I couldn't agree more. "Christmas is what WE make of it." Christmas is such a special time to remember the birth of our Savior and all that he has done for us in our lives. I think some people are so wrapped up in the gift giving that they often ten to forget what it really should be about. I love this time of year and the special memories that I have with my family, Graig's family and I'm excited for Graig and I to make new memories with our family one day. 

Can you believe March is just around the corner!

I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas, New Year and Valentines day! 

House Hunting Status: We currently have a pending offer on a short sale home but their is nothing "short" about it. We are waiting to hear back from the bank and that could take months. If we do find something in the mean time we are able to walk away and we are still looking because we have no idea what the bank would counter us and we don't want to miss out if something else comes along. We are being patient and know that the Lord will guide us to where we need to be.