Happy Thanksgiving!!!

We had an awesome day, it seems like it went by so quick. We spent the day with my Mom's side of the family, which is always a really great time. This years meal was hosted by Dave and Shelli, at their new place. They really did an outstanding job, and pulled everything off, without a hitch. Mallory and Alecia met for the first time, and hit it off really well. An excellent day was had by all, here are some pictures from our day!!

Here is Mallory on the car ride home, looks like she had a good day!

It was really great to spend some time with my neice Faye, she is getting so big, so fast.

Grammy, Aunt Judy and My Mom

I was able to get some pictures with my Grandparents, which I am realy happy about. It has been a while since I have had updated photos, I don't see them nearly enough, and it was great to spend the day with them.

I hope everyone out there had as great of a day as I did. We have a busy weekend ahead, lots of moving and unpacking and organizing to do. Lots of things to be thankful for these days!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Kristine

It's That Time of Year Again!

Time where you think about your Christmas Cards...........mine are always a bit complicated, really never an easy thing, something I think about over the courses of the year. Here is why, I started a tradition with my cards many years ago with my cats, I believe it is something that friends and family look forward receiving..........."How will Kris torture her animals this year?"

I have a problem, I am stumped, I am out of ideas. I am afraid that I am going to fail at my Christmas Card duty this year...........

Here are a few samples of what I have done in years past..........

We had "Musky & Phil Clause"
(Definitely not one of "their" favorites)



We had Luau Cats...........Happy Holidays from our Bungalow to yours!
(A good time was had by all on this one, who doesn't love a Luau)



We had really handsome Argyle Sweater Cats
(Maybe "Reincats")

So there is my challenge, what now? I know the cats are wondering what I am going to do to them next, this is the time of year that they bolt into the other room when they see me coming. I always liked dress up, what's their problem.......looks fun to me!

Cheers,
Kristine

Happy 18th Birthday Derek

Today is Derek's 18th Birthday, very exciting! Derek is a senior this year, so we have some cool stuff to look forward to with him, Graduation, deciding where he wants to go to school, this is a big year for him. 18 was a great year for me, I hope this turns out to be one of his favorites too! Here are some pictures of Derek, he is a talented Wake Boarder and Snow Boarder.

This is Derek Wake Boarding at the family camp on Lovell Lake, with this weather we are having I think we are all looking forward to being back on the boat as soon as possible!

Here he is Snow Boarding at Bretton Woods, I guess the snow gives some people something to look forward too.

So..........Happy Birthday D!

Lots accomplished this weekend!

So we got a ton accomplished this weekend with the move. I would say majority of the boxes are packed and moved over to the new place. Our new "Landlady" has been nice enough to let us move some of our stuff over slowly, which helps out a ton. Most of what we have left is the big stuff, beds couches, tables.....all that good stuff. It feels good to have completed such a big portion of the move this weekend. More than likely most of the items will be completely moved in by Friday, and we will be able to take next weekend to start unpacking and get settled. YAY!

Even with all of our packing and moving this weekend, we still managed to find some time for some fun too, On Friday Night Alex came over and we played Scrabble (Which by the way, I am the queen and can not be beat), we had so much fun that night, that she came back on Saturday and we played Clue, but not without incendent, I am not so sure that we played by the rules, since on most games, Mallory has her own rules, for the most part we took her word for it, and played by her rules, a little tricky, but I still WON! For those of you who don't know, I love competition, and love to win!

We have a busy week ahead, all good things though. Steve's son Derek is turning 18 on Tuesday, very exciting for him, one of my best girlfrieds, Gretchen has a Birthday that same day, we have Thanksgiving on Thursday, which we are looking forward too. We are spending the Holiday with my Mom's family this year, which is really exciting, since we don't see that side of the family a ton. So I am looking forward to that. We will do the bulk of the final part of our move on Friday, get settled through the weekend, with another Birthday for one of our favorite little girls, Courtney, who is turning 4 this weekend. So lots to do, but like I said, all good stuff. I am looking forward to a quiet week the following week though to get settled in to the new place. Steve is traveling for the week, so I will stay busy unpacking and decorating.

That's all I've got for now, onto a nice short work week!

Kristine

New to this "Blogging Thing"......

So, I have a new found interest in blogging, I guess I never realized the extent of blogging and sharing your personal experiences with family, friends and even strangers. Something about being able to write it all down, and have someone show an interest in what is on our minds is intriguing to me. I have found that the blogs that I follow frequently, have become something I look forward to checking in on, I am interested in updates, and it is often times how I start my day, by checking in on those that I may not know personally, but have somehow become a part of my life. Anyhow, that is why I am here.

Currently, we have some pretty cool things happening in our life, which is a great thing, since this has not been one of our better years, that's for sure. I needed something good to happen, so even though it may not seem major to all of you, to us it is exciting. We are moving into a new apartment:

Here is why it is great.......

1. We are back in Exeter, which is exciting for lots of reasons. That is where we spend a lot of our time socially, and the apartment is in a great location to walk to lots of great shops, and restaurants.

2. The apartment is really great! It is in the processes of getting renovated, so new kitchen, new floors, new paint.......all that good stuff. And stuff that I'm not used too, never having been a home owner, I have always just dealt with what comes with renting. So we are excited to have new, pretty stuff.

3. Our landlord is wonderful, she is an acquaintance of ours, and super nice. Good Landlords are always a good thing, if you have to rent!

4. Steve is in sales, and travels quite a bit. He has always had an office outside of the house, since we haven't had a large enough place for him to have one, so good news........he is moving his office home, which of course, saves us some money, and it will be great for him to be able to be home and work when he needs too.

5. There are 3 bedrooms, plus the office. So lots of space, and this is even more exciting, especially for Steve's daughter Mallory, she will have her own room, one she can decorate, a place of her own. She is 9, and needs her own space, very exciting for her. And I am excited to decorate a little girls room too!!


Here is why it is a little sad too:

1. Currently, we live in the apartment next door to my Dad, My Step-Mom and my Sister Alex, who is 15. Needless to say, I am pretty close with my family, it is nice having them next door when Steve travels, and I am home alone. We spend a lot of time with them socially, so we will miss that.

2. Mallory is very close with Alex as well, she looks forward to seeing her on her weekends and nights with us. She is itching to get over there as soon as she wakes up in the morning. We spend a ton of time with Alex when we have Mallory, and we hope that doesn't change. For the record, Mallory's bedroom has a bed for Alex too.

3. The house I live in, is the house I grew up in, it is old and has great character, and lots of memories. But, we have out grown it. And it is time for Mallory to have a bedroom, and maybe time for me to "cut the cord", so to speak.

4. The town of Newfields, is a great, small, quaint little town. The town where everyone knows everyone, and families that grow up there, rarely leave! It seems that if you were a kid catching the bus in Newfields, at some point, you will be walking your own children to catch the bus in Newfields. Things rarely change in that town. And it will be sad not to be a part of it.

For all of these "sad" reasons, there is a good reason to be excited about our new "adventure".

So, I guess for my first post, I covered what I have happening currently. Though there is lots more I could talk about, I'll save it for my future posts.

I look forward to being a part of the blogging community!