Snowboarding (round 2).

Saturday we decided to go again...What a perfect day!!! Sun shining, no clouds...warm enough to only wear a sweatshirt, hat, gloves!!! LOVE IT. The snow at Alpental is still perfect too. I have been rejuvenated to keep snowboarding all SPRING long! Pray we get more snow throughout the end of March and April. My parents joined us for a perfect day!

Snowboarding!!!

Finally...we got up to the mountain! Brandon and I bought season passes to Snoqualmie last spring for the 2009-2010 season. Then the first big snowstorm hit early November...it was going to be a great season. So we upgraded our passes to Unlimited. Little did we know...Brandon would be busy studying and working ALL the time...and I wouldn't being going as often with friends this season...but Friday we made it up!! Sunny skies, warm temps!! Actually awesome snow! Brandon is still learning, but he is catching on so quickly! He's awesome, actually able to keep up!!

All stud with his new Christmas gear: sun goggles, hat and gloves!

Aww. What a gorgeous day in Washington!!!

Perfect snow, perfect company! Love you Brandon!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

This year, Brandon and I had a low key celebration! Brandon was tired from studying for his 2 finals Wednesday...he finished his 2nd quarter at Seattle U! And I had few hours of sleep after working Tuesday night and getting up early to make food for dinner! My sister and mom came over at 1 to help cook! We made homemade soda bread, potato soup, brownies with mint green frosting, corned beef and cabbage and my aunt brought the fixins' for Reuben sandwiches. I have to say homemade soda bread with the caraway seeds is SOO delicious! I didn't expect it to be so good. The next day we toasted it and put butter on it ~ also so delicious! We went to my grandparents house for good food, company and games. By 9 o'clock I sat down on the couch to relax and was out! Hope all had a great day celebrating!

(Irish) Potato Soup

Corned Beef and Cabbage...yummers!

The amazing soda bread!

An Irish celebration can't be complete with some good ol' Guinness!

Grandma and Mom

Grandpa!

Woodinville Wineries!

On Saturday, I joined my parents in attending the release party of new wines at William Church Winery! They were fantastic! There is a difference between my $5-10 bottles of wines I buy on sale vs. the $30-60 wines we tasted Saturday. I even ended up joining a wine club at Red Sky Winery, where I will be specially invited to exclusive release parties! haha! My dad even bartered a oil painting he had bought a couple years back of jazz players that would go great in a jazz themed winery for some wine!! All in all we went to 7 wineries (all within walking distance) and had a great time!! I'm ready for next time!

Wow February has been a whirlwind. With working full-time, Valentine's Day and my many birthday celebrations, its no wonder that I haven't written in a while. Where do my friends with kids get time??

Valentine's Day was great. After finding out a week before Valentine's Day from my dear friend that my 1/2 year anniversary was not Feb 14, but Jan 14, I was a little bummed. Don't ask me how I did the math wrong but for 2 1/2 years was just thinking Valentine's Day was my 1/2 year wedding anniversary. Oh well. Brandon and I still had a great celebration with lobster and crab. He even surprised me with dark chocolate Reese's that I had been DYING to try..(I love dark chocolate). Surprisingly, the peanut butter masks the taste of the chocolate so both milk and dark both taste delicious! I'll take either!!! Happy (late) Valentine's Day Brandon, Love you!

So after Valentine's Day I worked a few nights until my first birthday celebration. All my high school friends' birthdays are all within a month of mine. So my local friends with February birthdays came over for homemade fish tacos, homemade guacamole and homemade skinny girl margaritas. Everything was sooo good. The margaritas were made with soda water and freshly squeezed lime instead of the regular sweet mix...so they were healthier and not as sweet...Thanks Karen and Colleen for a great time!!!! After this celebration I worked a few nights..

My birthday was great this year!!! It was my star birthday!!! 26 on February 26th. I had been waiting FOREVER for this birthday. HAHA. I remember being in elementary school thinking I will NEVER be 26 as my friends with star birthdays in elementary school hit their star birthdays. My birthday did not let me down. Friday night my parents and sister came over and we made the same fish tacos, guacamole and margaritas again...(when I find something I like get obsessive about it). My family were dying to try them too...they loved them...although my dad thought they were too spicy...he still ate them surprisingly...he said it was an extra birthday present for me!!! Thanks for a great time! Brandon surprised me with a new point and shoot camera. It is a Panasonic Lumix wide angle Leica lens....I will love it for times when my Nikon DSLR is too bulky...like dancing at SAX!

My sister and mom added 'stars' to the crown.

Bethany ~ here is the link to the fish tacos...so good! At allrecipes.com they are called Fish Tacos with Honey-Cumin Cilantro Slaw and Chipotle Mayo

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Fish-Tacos-with-Honey-Cumin-Cilantro-Slaw-and-Chipotle-Mayo/Detail.aspx

Saturday lunch time was spent at my inlaws house to celebrate again!!! They spoiled me also with great gifts! Thanks for the great time. Saturday night I went to belltown in Seattle to celebrate with friends. I was able to eat at my favorite sushi restaurant ever ~ Umi! We managed to find seats at the bar so we got everything I would have ordered normally on happy hour! (so awesome)!

We finished at Lulu's where we enjoyed a few cocktails!! Thanks Erin, Scott, Annie Rose, Bruce, Chase, Karen, Colleen, Carly, and Brianne for making my celebration awesome! A few of the night!!

Since my aunt's birthday is the day before mine, my extended family gets together to celebrate as well. So Sunday afternoon was spent at my grandparents house looking at baby albums of my aunt and me!!! So fun to look back but it actually makes me want children even more! I so wonder what they will look like! I wanted clam linguini and offered to make it! So we had another feast of lasagna, clam linguini, salad and really crusty bread!!! Good wine, good family, a great way to end the birthday festivities. I really want to say thank you to Brandon for clearing out his schedule to celebrate my weeked with me. He was there 100% of the time, not even on his cell phone! Thanks, I love you!

My lovely friends at Tacoma had to work my birthday weekend but we plan to go out tonight in Bellevue! So I guess the celebration continues. My friend Jessica's birthday is this coming week so we are going out for our birthdays together....

Superbowl 2010

New Orlean Saints victorious over the Indianapolis Colts.

31 - 17

This weekend was so fun. Friday night I invited my family over for homemade spaghetti and games. Christine (my sister) ended up spending the entire weekend with us. Her boyfriend came up Saturday and we ended up doing Happy Hour on Saturday evening together. Sunday morning Christine and I made my new favorite, Eggs Benedict!! Yummy. Then we headed off to the local country club to watch the Super Bowl with my parents and their friends. What a great game! Brandon and I had money on a few different squares and games so I was more interested in the game due to the chance to win big money!!!

Thanks Christine and Brandon to a great, relaxing weekend!!

I had to represent Seattle Football!! Wishful thinking...wishing they were in the Superbowl!!!

PS. Chrstine has heels, mine are flats! I'd like to think I am not that much shorter! :)

WHISTLER Jan 2010.

My great friend Ana was heading to Whistler for the weekend with her boyfriend and some friends, so I decided to join them!!! Ana and I love to snowboard together...we had 4 nights and it was fun to see the preparations being made for the Olympics. I also found my new true love....honey lager!! It was so delicious; Ana and I made a point to buy a (jug!) of it every day....I tried finding it in the store yesterday but couldn't..I will have to do some research. Here are just a couple pictures of the weekend. Thanks Ana and Travis!!!