Happy 30th Babe!

We celebrated Brad's 30th Birthday at our new home and invited all of our family and friends to a Football theme birthday party. We had so much fun hanging out, eating food, having a dance party with the kiddos, and bocce ball. Here are a few pictures from the Birthday party. My Cousin Charrone made this poster for the party. It was really funny. Happy Birthday Babe. I made the cake myself.....it wasn't easy, i put it together with icing since it fell apart. Brad looks scared in this picture....I think he is realizing that he is turning 30 in this picture. Kiddos watching TV on our couch.
Dance Party in our den.Marc, Daniel and my birthday boy

Happy Birthday Babe. Can't wait to spend the next 30 years and more with you.

I Love Thee Newfoundland

Mom and I flew into St. John's pretty late the day before my birthday. Luckily my Grandma's sister, my Great Aunt Bernadette and my beautiful cousin Joyce live in St. Johns so we got to stay with her for a night. When we arrived at her house we did what every Newfoundlander does when they do to someones house....have a cup of Tetley Tea and have snack. In this case we had homemade bread with Cheese whiz and fresh berries. I remember when my Grandma and Poppy lived on Jerseyside hill and we would go visit Bernadette and Joe. She was always so sweet to me and I love her so. Our first day there we all went to my Aunt Diane's Salon to all get our hair done. It was a lot of fun! Maurice had his first haircut, grandma had her hair colored and styled and so did my Aunt Nancy and Mom :)My Grandma and my Mom getting their hair did :)Aunt Nancy, Baby Maurice, and Aunt DianeNewfoundland is beautiful.....I was lucky enough to go about 2 years ago and even luckier to go for my huge family reunion! I grew up in Argentia, Newfoundland on the base when my Dad was stationed there. I got to spend a lot of time with my Grandma and Poppy, Aunts and Uncles. My Grandma Snow White's maiden name was Traverse and she was a family of 14 (Listed Below on our family T-shirt that my Aunt Diane had made for the family) In the photo is my Great Grandpa Tom and Great Grandmother Veronica. My mom is a family of 10 and 8 out of the 10 were able to come home for the reunion and man was it a party. About 175 people came to my family reunion. It was amazing to see people I haven't seen since I was a kiddo and meet people that I have heard about but never had the chance to meet. My Great Aunt Lizzie and my Great Aunt Anne's crowd was such a fun to be around. We totally hit it off....probably because we are really awesome, but its just a guess. My Great Aunt Anne, My Grandma's Boyfriend Clem O'Keefe, My Grandma, and My Great Aunt Lizzie having a great time joking around at Aunt Lizzie's house. I believe she had about 18 people staying at their house. There were people sleeping everywhere including tents outside :)This is my Great Aunt Anne's daughter Tammy and her partner Wanda. It was so nice to finally meet my cousins and spend time with them. I would list them all but it would take forever....big family and all :)

Here are a few of the really really cute ones that I have:

Baby Maurice, my Aunt Nancy's youngest....he just had his first haircut so I was entertaining him while Veronica got hers cut by my Aunt Diane. Veronica and I saying Cheese while I was watching her at my Aunt Nancy's House on Jerseyside Hill. We were playing with puzzles and watching cartoons. She says the cutest things. This is Princess Gillian, she is my Uncle Rodney's oldest. She loves the new Twilight movie and can tell you anything you could ever want to know about it. She is so kind and so helpful with the rest of the cousins. This is Lucas my Uncle Rodney's youngest showing us his awesome dance moves. He reminds me so much of my Uncle Rodney when he was younger, he cracks me up. This is my cousin Kayla, my Uncle Larry's youngest, my cousin Emily, my Aunt Arlene's oldest, Gillian, and Zachary, my Aunt Arlene's youngest. For the Come Home Year reunion they were holding a scavenger hunt so we decided to represent for the White Family Grandkids and found as many items as we could on the list. In this photo we found a spike to the old railway that came through town. The railway has been gone for about 75 years so we totally lucked out and found them. Kayla found a piece of one, Gillian and Emily found a big nail that was used in the railway and so did Zachary. They have eagle eyes.

Here we are in front of the old trophy shop that is now a bed and breakfast. The scavenger hunt list made you figure out where the old locations were and take photos in front of them. Another one of the scavenger hunt items....Bennett's has been closed for about 20 years but its still standing. Luckily we gathered about 9 out of the 20 items on the scavenger hunt list. The items were pretty hard to find. We were the only ones that entered and we won the grand prize of $100. The kids were so happy and I am so happy that we showed Jerseyside and Ferndale how the White Family is awesome!

The family reunion itself was probably the most fun. We shared stories of long ago, danced the Newfie jig, ate food together, drank and laughed. It was incredible to see how many people I am related to. This is a photo of my Grandma and everyone in our family who came home for the reunion. Keep in mind we are missing quite a few cousins, great grand kids, an aunt and an uncle. 8 out of 10 of my Grandma's Some of the Grandkids, there are sooo many more. Having the family Dinner and listening to My Great Aunt Judy tell stories.The dancing begins....we danced for about 4 hours straight to an awesome bandThis is how the night ended....I love how my Aunt Anne always kisses everyone. That's her brother my great Uncle Gory. After the reunion was over that night we went to my Aunt Diane and Uncle Peter's house til 2am and laughed ate soup and went to bed.

My most favorite part of my trip was learning how to make my grandmas homemade bread. We made 5 loafs and I brought home two :) Such a treat and so special that I learned from the pro.

I Love my Grandma Snow White soooo much. I'm her favorite.

Birthday Girl

This year I turned 26 years old. 25 turned out pretty good for me, so hopefully 26 will do the same. My mom surprised me with a ticket to Newfoundland for my family reunion! I was so excited to go home and visit my Grandma and spend time with my family. My Grandma made me the best birthday cake I have ever had.....fish cakes. They were soooooo yummy. Best Birthday Gift Ever! ....Brad wrote gave me the most perfect Birthday card, he is so sweet to me. I especially loved the part about how everyday is my birthday because he is my husband. That's why I love him so much. He is such a nerd.

Job Well Done

With my job, I have been working on a transportation project in coordination with the Washington State Department of Transportation....for about 10 years. It's finally done and we even had a ribbon cutting ceremony. It was so nice to finally see a transportation safety project that I have worked on completed. Here is a photo of me with Senator Mary Margaret Haugen in front of the new SR20 sign, it was pretty cool, I signed the back of it along with everyone who participated in the project.

TV is Awesome

Now that Brad and I are done wrestling with Comcast cable we can enjoy watching TV. One of our favorites is Entourage. Last season was amazing and I can't wait to see how this one goes. I get excited to see the episodes every Sunday.

Another show we LOVE is Rescue Me. It cracks us up. We relax together on the couch every week all cuddled on our new couch, pjs, and comfy blankets. Does it get any better than relaxing with someone you? I ask a lot of questions when we watch TV, it bugged Brad at first but now he's use to it. My parents hate watching TV with me :)

Brad and I are also subscribers to Netflix. Sometimes we forget to watch movies and lose interest in the new movies that we get, but all in all its pretty entertaining to see new movies. We recently watched Knock Around Guys. Total mob movie, which I love. I'm a big Sopranos Fan. we add movies to our queue as we think of them and we get them randomly which is awesome. New movies are always fun, especially since we can relax at home and watch them.

Happy Birthday Grandma Cobey

Grandma Cobey and the rest of the Tesch crew went to a wonderful Chinese dinner to celebrate Grandma's 82nd birthday. There was sooooo much food and we left with full bellys. We all went in on her birthday present and bought her a digital picture frame that had photos of all of us.

Laney Baby

(I'll post pictures after Brad posts them first :))

July 1, 2009

Brad and I started our day super early to get ready and go to Kansas to visit Laney. We have been so excited to see her and counting down the days. Mom Tesch picked us up at o'dark thirty in the morning and we were off to Jenn's house and then the airport. In the car for two hours, then in the airport for 2 hours, on the plane for 3 hours, at the car rental place for an hour (note to self....do not rent a car from Avis), then from Denver to Garden city, Kansas a lovely 4.5 hour drive. We were all exhausted, but were so ready to see that little smile of hers. Our car was awesome, we might have to get one. It was a Pontiac G8...super nice car. As soon as we got there we all got a biggggggg hug and kiss, watched her ride her bike, and we all went to her last t-ball game of the year. It was so fun to see her play. She was pouting about playing pitcher, it was so adorable. I've never seen a t-ball game, the kids were having so much fun. We were so happy we made it to the game in time. Brad would have been so upset if we missed it. After the game we checked into our hotel, had a bite to eat, and relaxed a little. Its amazing how tall she has grown since the last time we saw her. That night we watched cartoons in our room and cuddled in bed. She is such a cuddle bug. She was either in Brad's arms, my arms, or sideways between the two of us.

July 2, 2009

Brad, Jenn, Mom T, and I took Laney to her favorite place to see animals.....the zoo. The zoo is like an outdoor park that is free for everyone. It was so neat to walk through it and see all of the animals. Laney told us all about the different animals and where they were. I was excited to see the giraffes since they are my favorite animal. They were so cute. Laney said, "Look there is Laney, Nikki, and Daddy." as she pointed at the giraffes. She melts my heart. It was such a hot day at the zoo, so we took breaks every chance we got. We finally took a break at a bench near the bears. Laney said that it was our family bench. It was the most perfect bench in the zoo. Afterwards we went inside to get Laney another animal friend. She made a wolf and an otter. She named her otter after her Aunt Jenny. We sang songs about Jenny the Otter, it was really cute and the song is still stuck in my head. That night we went to the pool in the hotel to cool off. The last time we saw Laney she was a little scared to swim and now she was doing so well swimming. She is becoming such a big girl! After the pool we went back to our room and Brad played Barbie's with Laney. Laney and I have been planning to take pictures of her dad playing with Barbies so that she could bribe him, since boys don't play with Barbies. She would giggle and snort everytime we talked about it. It was bathtime after that, where we did the waterfall to wash her hair. She loves the bath. She sang songs about being in the bath and playing with her animals. Brad and I just laughed and laughed. I kept waking up in the middle of the night to make sure Laney was sleeping okay and I would see her and her daddy cuddling. He loves her so much and he is such a wonderful father.

July 3rd, 2009

Brad, Jenny, Mom T. and I took Laney to the Water Park. It was another hot day, but it was so relaxing playing in the water and watching Laney jump and play in the water. We took turns pushing Laney around the pool, then she pushed us. It was such a wonderful day. Afterwards we went back to the hotel and made stepping stones for her Mom's new yard and for our new house that she made and painted. They turned out so cute. That night Laney stayed the night with Grandma Debbie and Aunt Jenny for girls night. She was really excited to do a sleep over.

Happy 4th of July, 2009

We spent the day relaxing because we were all super tired from flying, our stomachs were off because of the food we were eating, and we were so busy the day before. We met Laney's Grammy and Uncle Casey for dinner, bought fireworks, shot them off in the street togehter, and then went to the big firework show. It was so pretty to see the big fireworks. I forgot how wonderful fireworks are. I haven't gone to see them in years. It was so much fun. Afterwards we relaxed downstairs in the hot tub and the pool. When I was changing her into her swimsuit she said, "Dad, sometimes a girl needs privacy." She says the funniest things. Laney is such a water lover. She loves the hot tub, the pool, the bathtub.

July 5th, 2009

Packing and leaving is never a fun day. When we dropped her off she didn't even cry, she just said, "See you next time Dad!" I cried for an hour after we left. I hate sayting goodbye to her. She is such a beautiful, funny, and sweet girl. I am so lucky that I am her stepmom and that I can be a part of her life. She is perfect in every way.

As we drove the long drive back to Denver we were caught in a lighting and thunder storm. It was raining like crazy with dark grey skies. It was pretty scary, but Brad got us through it with his awesome driving skills. It was a long day but we finally made it home at 1:00am. Lucky us we had to get up at 6am to go to work. Yawn.

We had such a wonderful time and I can't wait to kiss her little face again.

RIP Bambi

Our first night at our new home was wonderful. The next morning I woke up and walked around the house trying to find things in boxes, got ready for work, and I drove down our new street. I kept thinking, this street is so pretty. We are so lucky to live here. I even saw a baby deer eating grass on the side of the road. When my car came up to the deer it startled the poor thing and the deer ran into the street and was hit by a huge ford truck going about 50mph. The deer helicoptered over an oncoming car and then skid across the street in front of my car. I saw the horrific death of Bambi in slow motion. All i could do was cry, it was awful. As I drove to work hysterical, I called Brad so he could calm me down. He told me that it wasn't my fault that the deer ran off into oncoming traffic because deers are stupid and that's why they don't run for president. He always knows what to say to make me feel better. I just felt so bad that I scared him and then he died. Poor, Poor Bambi!

Moving Madness

Moving Sucks.......packing everything you own, trying to organize it, getting help to move, cleaning the apartment, cleaning the house, checking out of the apartment, painting. Its not easy, but we had a fun time. Thanks to everyone who helped out, we really needed your help quick and you all pulled through! Thank you all so much!

Nicole helping me pack the apartment one box at a time. She helped me pack, move, get meals, clean both places, and paint. She is seriously a true friend and I love her for that.

Dad and Dad loading up the moving van

Christine the rock star and I painting the new house at 2:00am, she is seriously amazing to help me so much! I couldn't have done it without her.

My Mom is awesome at trim work, so I put her to work

Something I learned about My husband: Brad HATES to paint.

My father in law on his hands and knees painting in the master bathroom

Mom T and Brad Taking a break in our kitchen.

I think the paint got to my dad.

Our house is looking better and better. I can't wait till we get it all done!

Painting the hallway at 1:00am

Happy Father's Day

Ever since we have been married, its hard to decide whose house we are going to for all of the holidays. Friday we spent the day with Brad's dad Barry. We got him a new hose for the yard that rolls up. He really needed a new one, so we knew just the thing that we wanted to get him. We had a yummy dinner and spent the night playing with the kids and hanging out with family. Saturday Brad and I spent the day with my dad. We bought tickets for my mom, dad, Brad, and I to go to the Mariners Game. It has been ages since my Dad went to a game and he loves to go. We had really great seats in section 117, great baseball food, a beautiful day, and a winning game! It was perfect.

Giving my sweetie a kiss

Sunday Brad and I celebrated Brad being the wonderful father that he is. We went to church, went to home depot and picked out things that we wanted for our new house which was really fun, and spent the night relaxing in our apartment. I got him a Nike duffel bag for his trips to the gym and his basketball games and a new pair of Jordan's.....I know the way to his heart.....sports and food :) While I made dinner he talked to Laney for a little bit and they watched cartoons together. Our cartoon channel is in the same time zone so they can watch them together. Its so adorable.

I Love my Dads!