Christmas Gift Exchange

The day after Christmas we hosted the "second generation gift exchange." Back in Indo it was longstanding tradition to have a gift exchange with the Pusts, Dukes, and Wileys (among others). This year it was time for the kids to carry on this tradition. This is not just any gift exchange. There are no rules about how many times a gift can be stolen, only a time limit on the frantic stealing. While sometimes it can get pretty intense, there were too many good gifts this year and most everyone was content with their final gift. Jared was unfortunate enough to end up with the "box cheese" from Indonesia. He had actually fought to keep this gift, stating that box cheese never goes bad. Well he was wrong... half of the cheese was actually missing and the rest was a very foul smelling gray powder. At least he still got an Indonesian picture frame out of the deal.

Cassie and Pedro the Christmas Pinata

Jared Sporting Josh's Winnings

Christmas Day

About one week before Christmas, Jared was given the opportunity to take a last minute trip to Indonesia, which of course he jumped on. Being gone for six days allowed him to spend two days in Sentani with mom and dad. He was able to squeeze in two fishing trips, one dive trip, two soccer games, Christmas with mom & dad, and quick visits with lots of friends. I'm not sure if it filled his craving for spending time back home in Indo, or if it made his craving stronger, but either way it was a wonderful time that he can't stop talking about.

When I got off work the morning of Christmas eve, I picked Jared up from the airport. He headed out to do all his Christmas shopping and I slept as I had work again that night. The next morning (Christmas) Jared picked me up from work... after an absolutely crazy night... and took me out to breakfast at the only place open, Denny's. I happen to love Denny's, so it was a perfect surprise. After that we headed home for a very lazy Christmas day. We opened presents and went to bed. It was great that he was jet-lagged, because it meant we were actually on a similar sleep pattern. That afternoon we got up planning to bake cookies and make candy for the Christmas party the next day. Jared made the family traditional peanut butter bars and then we both ended up taking another nap... oops.

The next morning we went over to the Pust's to have a luncheon with Indo people in honor of the Duke's coming through town. We gave Aunt Barb a present that Joan had sent back from Indo... a small plastic cow labeled "toothpick and tampon holder." By scrutinizing the picture on the front of the wrapper, we determined that tampon was a mis-translation for Q-tip. If that helps... we still aren't sure why you would store your toothpicks with your Q-tips, but it is quite a bit better than storing them with your tampons! Needless to say, we had a good time catching up and sharing funny stories from Indo.

Jared's Birthday

Jared's birthday was also his first day of Christmas break; what a b-day gift! To celebrate we had a low-key gathering with friends stopping in throughout the evening. It was a good time with yummy food, a movie, and a partial game of settlers. The Beck's even stopped by with their beautiful 2 day old baby girl. Once again, I am sad to say I did not take photos... I will be better about that... starting in 2008. =)

Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving my family came down to Vancouver to check out our new home for the first time. Mom, Dad, Melissa, Becca, and both the dogs all made the trip in one car. While I did work that weekend, I was able to have Wednesday and Thursday off to spend some time with family. Grandma and Grandpa also came up from Beaverton on Thursday for the afternoon and evening. Grandma brought a wonderful stuffing dish, mashed potatoes, and rolls. Mom made her yummy cran-apple crisp and pecan bars. Jared and I tried our hand at turkey for the first time and it was a success! I think we owe it to the turkey roaster the Prentice's lent us... it kept all the juices nice and close to the turkey, plus it freed up the oven for other baking and heating needs. What a wonderful invention. It was great to have so many family members together at one table in our new home. Sadly, I somehow forgot to pull out the camera... I will post pictures if I can track down copies of the ones grandpa took.

Hiking and Houseguests

Last week Jared's mentor teacher, Karen, invited us to go on our first hike of Southwest Washington. The plan was to summit Beacon Rock, the second largest free-standing rock in the world. Unfortunately when we reached the trailhead, we were greeted with a barrier stating that a rock slide had temporarily closed the trail. Beacon rock is situated partway out into the Columbia river and, as you can imagine, has breathtaking views. Disappointed that we wouldn't be able to make it to the top, we still started up the trail in the hopes of seeing the water before our way was blocked. About five minutes later we were stopped not by a rockslide, but by a locked metal gate with no way around. Since we had not yet had our hiking fix, we moved just down the road to another trailhead. This one headed uphill to several waterfalls. The last one had what was called the Pool of Winds. The waterfall had created a sort of cylindrical cave about eight feet in diameter with a pool at the bottom before the water ran out into the next waterfall. Because of the shape of the rock, the wind whipped through the cave in a whirlwind fasion. If you leanded in front of the opening you would get a face full of fast moving mist. It was pretty cool. After the hike Karen and Dave had us over for dinner. Karen made an amazing Sheppard's Pie (another first for me, but not the last).

Another exciting event of the past week was the arrival of a second houseguest. Jared's childhood friend, Josh, just moved to town to go to Culinary school. He is spending a few weeks with us while he job/apartment hunts. Jonathan and Josh have re-connected a bit and it looks like they will share an apartment. While we are excited for them and know it is a blessing for them to have roommates, we are going to miss the extra people. It is sad to think that we may be alone in our house in another week. So this is empty nest syndrome...?