Christmas Trip 2010 - Part 1

Early last week, we headed out to Montana for the holidays. It is always a fun, but busy time whenever we come out due to the plethora of loving family we have in Montana... and we been enjoying every minute. Here are some highlights from the first part of our trip.

The first couple days of the trip were filled with a remodel project at Chet's parents' house! For Christmas, his mom is getting her room redone... complete with removal of 70s wallpaper, fresh light fixtures and hardware on the doors and new paint. Removing wallpaper is not our favorite thing (and very time consuming) but the early finished project is looking good after two days of work!

On Christmas Eve morning, we headed up to Polson to see my grandma and some of my relatives on my dad's side of the family. We spent the day enjoying the snowy, foggy view smelling lovely things baking in the kitchen and lots of visiting. It was such an enjoyable visit!

Out to lunch to Pizza Hut with Grandma, Aunt Debbie, Uncle Mike and the girls.

Cara was baking amazing rolls, cookies and more!

Afternoon nap time...

Danae with her toys and creations...

Me and Danae

Rolls in the oven!

View from Grandma's kitchen window!

Danae and I went outside after lunch to take some pictures of the snow. After the most recent snowstorm, it had not warmed up so everything was just crystallized in snow... and it was apparent that the wind had been blowing during the storm as all the crystals were on the south side of the branches!

Us and Grandma

Aunt Debbie and Cara

We headed back to Missoula for church on Christmas Eve. It was a nice service and we were able to see lots of Chet's family friends there. After a nice dinner and opening presents, we had a special dessert! Chet had mentioned liking "ice cream cake roll" when he was little for his birthday. So his mom made one and pulled it out for dessert! I had never had it before but it was quite tasty.

On Christmas morning, we drove up to Lincoln to have Christmas with Chet's parents and his entire side of his family. There were 32 people in his aunt and uncle's place! Here is some scenery driving up there that morning...

Since we were already in Lincoln on Christmas, that evening we drove another hour and a half over to Great Falls to see my mom's side of the family, staying with my aunt and uncle for a couple nights with other family members visiting. We also had the treat of going skiing/snowboarding with my cousins, Nicole and Nolan, to the Showdown Ski area. We had a great day despite lack of fresh snow!

Today we'll leave Great Falls and head back to Missoula for more fun and visiting! And maybe some more snowboarding... :)

Holiday Happenings

December has flown by! I realize that it is the "holiday rush" but there have just been so many fun things going on - trips, get-togethers, family time - that I don't know how we are now upon the week of Christmas! Here is a little bit of what has been going on for us during this holiday season!

We went to Leavenworth to celebrate the anniversary of our engagement 5 years ago! We enjoyed the crowds of the tree lighting... and then went to a restaurant to watch the Huskies beat the Cougs in the Apple Cup!

We stayed at the house of some friends of ours... a cozy cabin-like atmosphere with a beautiful view of the mountains. They were at work until Sunday night so we had the place to ourselves. We watched tons of Christmas movies, read books, addressed Christmas cards and just generally relaxed. Both of us definitely want a cabin now and wouldn't mind living in a more scenic, quiet place than Seattle! We didn't want to leave at the end of the weekend!

On the way home from Leavenworth, we went snowboarding for the first time of the season. Not the most amazing snow that day, but it was so quiet that we just did lap after lap on the groomed runs!

We've also gone snowboarding in some amazing powder that made out legs completely exhausted. We can't wait to go up again, work schedules permitting.

We celebrated Chet's birthday on December 18th with a flurry of bday and Christmas activity! That morning, we (both of us) went paintballing with a group of folks for another friend's birthday. I was the only girl out of the 12 of us but had a blast! I definitely kept up to the boys and had some good shots that left some of the guys pretty impressed. Chet was so proud of me for going out there and being competitive... and we had a good time shooting at each other (and then comparing our welts later). We've been enjoying the colors the bruises have been changing to the last few days.

Then my family came over to celebrate Chet's birthday and do Christmas early! We had dinner, opened presents and then went to "A Christmas Story - The Musical."

The tree and presents

My rearranged nativity scene... note the lurking snowmen and animals alternated light and dark like Oreos. Thanks, Dad!

The ladies of the family with the bags I sewed for presents!

The birthday boy with his special red plate.

The 5th Ave for the musical! So much fun!

Adam and Brenda looking cute.

Then, yesterday, we enjoyed some more holiday festivities. I helped with the children's Christmas program at church in the morning wrangling/guiding the toddler angels through their part. The kids were all so cute in their Christmas outfits singing their hearts out (or looking distracted, etc).

Yesterday evening, my friend, Faith, and I had a big party to celebrate our husbands' birthdays! Chet's is the 18th and Kevin's is the 24th so this was a good way to get all sorts of friends together! We just had soup, breads, desserts and yummy holiday beverages... and lots of chatting and catching up. I think we ended up with almost 25 people over the course of the night... and it seemed like the birthday boys were enjoying themselves! I got so busy though that I didn't take pictures!

Next, on to Montana for the holidays! There is more celebrating to be had over the next week or so. Such a fun, but busy time of year!

Five years ago...

Five years ago, my best friend and love of my life proposed next to a cozy fireplace on a snowy night in Leavenworth. We had gone snowboarding together for the day and he'd nervously kept the diamond ring safe through our outdoor excursion. Then, we enjoyed the lights in Leavenworth, finally ending up at the Enzian Hotel where we sat by the fire, drank hot apple cider, and a family friend of his (who plays the piano there regularly) snuck in our song at the time. As he played "Can't Help Falling in Love (with You)", Chet proposed quietly and sweetly. I don't think that some of the other people in the area even noticed... but that is just the way he is. Kind, thoughtful and able to show love in a quiet way. Then, after we took pictures and relished in the moment, he brought me to the family friend's house where OUR families and some friends had traveled over to have a celebration party. He planned it all and kept it all a surprise in order to make the night special...

... and it was very special! So special that we actually go back to Leavenworth every year in some way, shape or form to celebrate that beginning. We're headed off tomorrow to enjoy a weekend away in Leavenworth, get a new ornament for our tree (we get a new one each year together) and probably do some snowboarding.

Lights in Leavenworth

Us right after getting engaged with Chet's family friend who plays the piano

I am so thankful for my loving husband, the years together and all the years (and memories) to come! Love you, Chet!

The Gessaman Fam at Thanksgiving

A few pics of our Thanksgiving day with my immediate family...

Yummy food!

Adam and I having fun taking pictures of each other through a pitcher. He was teaching me about Digital SLRs.

Us on Thanksgiving.

Our family on Thanksgiving! Only person missing is Jordan's girlfriend, Kylie!