Wow...I can't believe how long it has been since I have sat down at the computer and actually typed something. I think my keyboarding skills have slowed because of this.

Not much has really been going on, unless you want to hear more about my recent annoyances with Suzannah (which I am already over...till she does something else), my -23 pounds since joining Weight Watchers the end of October, or our trip to Washington.

We went to Washington the week before Christmas to visit family and friends. We left our home at 3:00 p.m., on friday, December 15. On the way up, we encountered a dramatic temperature change upon entering Oregon. The thermometer on our van actually said it was -2 degrees. All I know was that I was not getting out of the van for anything if it was that cold.

Our first stop was in Pasco, Washington. This was an unplanned stop. We had some extra time, so Jim decided he wanted to drop in on some old college friends. They were very happy to see us, and we visited with them for about an hour and a half before continuing on our way.

Our second stop was in Coure D' Alene, Idaho. We had planned to spend almost 2 days with Tricia, Derral, and their boys. The kids all had tons of fun together.

Early Monday morning, we got up and left Coure D' Alene, headed for our 3rd stop...lunch with my Mom. We drove to her apartment, then we went to Cheney (where Jim and I went to college) and had lunch at the new Subway. We left my Mom around 1:30 p.m. (her visit was so short because she was going to be in Fresno Christmas and New Years), and drove to our 4th stop, Wenatchee, to see my Grandma. It was really good to see her, and the kids really enjoyed finding all her treasures.

Tuesday morning, we got up and left Wenatchee at 11 p.m. (?). Our 5th stop was in Bellevue to visit my Dad and Aunt Deb. We spent our first night there hanging out at my Dad's apartment, watching episodes of Torchwood. The next day, I woke up and rearrange my Aunt's pantry (it really needed to be done). After 4 hours of swimming through and throwing away bag of stale or expired food, we went to my Dad's and meet up with him and a good friend of mine from high school, Chani. We all went to lunch at Red Robin, then went back to my Dad's and visited for a while. After Chani left, I was introduced to the BBC's Life on Mars and watched some anime with Anton. That night, we had Christmas at my Aunt's apartment. I had made a pot roast for dinner. I got lots of cool stuff, like a Scrabble dictionary, and season 1 of Veronica Mars. It was really fun to watch the kids unwrap their gifts and play with their new toys.

Thursday morning, we got up and headed to our 6th stop, Belfair, to visit Jim's mom, Patty. We met Patty, Tony, and Jordan in town for lunch, then we followed them out to the camp, where they have been serving a mission for the last 2 years. Jim, the kids, and I got to stay in the family cabin. I was awoken in the middle of the night to chewing sounds in the closet. My first thought was, "Great, there are mice!" I closed my eyes and tried to go back to sleep (I don't particularly like mice), then I felt the covers move slightly and I sat up as quick as a speeding bullet, thinking a mouse just jumped on the bed. There was nothing there, and at that point I had woken Jim up, and realized it was his foot that I was so afraid of. The next morning I also realized that it probably wasn't mice I heard in the closet, it was probably a squirrel (not that it really matters, they are both rodents).

After everyone had woke up and got ready, Jim, the kids, and I, followed Patty and Jordan to the property where Patty and Tony are going to live for the rest of their lives. We then all headed to the 7th stop on our journey, Doty, to visit with Jim's older sister, Shannon, and her family, as well as two of Jimmy's other brothers, Jeremy and Justin, and Justin's wife, Yvonne. We stayed the night at Jim's Uncle Phil and Aunt Sandi's home, got up in the morning and went back to Shannon's to celebrate Christmas, then went back to Uncle Phil and Aunt Sandi's to visit a little more and to see Jim's cousins, Liz and Tim, and all this before we hit the road at 4 p.m. to drive back to the Fresno Area.

We made a quick stop in Chehalis to get some gas and were finally back on the road and heading home at 5 p.m. It was pouring when we left Washington. Jim and I made it to 12 a.m. before we decided to call it a night and got a room in Medford, Oregon.

We arrived home safe and sound on December 24, at 5:30 p. m.

Christmas Day was really good. Mom, Terri, Keith, and Kaden came down to join us in celebrating this day with lots of presents and way too much food. Even Suzannah showed up at some point.

Jim and I spent most of the week between Christmas and New Years watching season 1 of Veronica Mars. I also watched the rest of the episodes of Torchwood that my Dad sent home with me and visited with my Mom.

I had my first dental check-up in 3 years on the 28th (by the way, Happy Birthday DAD!). They decided I was in need of a deep cleaning, below the gum line and stuff. I was there for 3 hours and I still had to go back the next day so they could finish the job (I was only there for an hour the second day), but on the bright side...NO CAVITIES!

On New Years, we had a little party. We play Apples to Apples, and the Farming Game. Everyone left around 12:30 a.m. and I finally finished the clean-up in time to be in bed by 2 a.m. It was still a lot of fun (oh the woes of being a hostess).