Our first year together!!! - Part 2: The trip!

On the day of our Anniversary, September 7th, Ryan had a secret trip planned for us! I was so excited! He gave me a couple of hints, but I had NO idea where we were going. It's always more fun that way :-)

We left the house about 11am, and got on the road. We headed down 405, then got onto I-5 near Southcenter. We drove for a bit, then a bit longer, and kept driving. For a second, I was wondering where the heck he was taking me. Then we headed east toward Bremerton. I have never really been out that way. We went over the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, and drove past a lot of scenery, but have no idea where we were. LOL! Eventually we started seeing signs for Gig Harbor and Hood Canal. We wound our way down toward Hood Canal, and ended up on this cute little road lining the water. How beautiful! Then, we slowed down, and there was a sign for the Alderbrook Resort! How fun! It reminded me a lot of Willows Lodge. Northwestern and rugged.

We hung out for a bit, found our room, and walked down on the dock to look at the boats and the water. Then we had to go back to the room to change. Ryan then surprised me with a sunset cruise with wine and cheese before dinner! So gorgeous! We slowly trolled around the inlet, admiring the mountains and the slow descent of the sun to create a beautiful sunset. Very fun! When we returned, we made our way to the restaurant for a great Northwest dinner of salmon and sides. Yum!

The next day, we tootled around, ate breakfast, and checked out. Then we took all of the back-roads to get back to I-5. So pretty out there! I would love to go back some day :-)

Our first year together!! - Part 1: The cake!

So we made it! Did anyone think we wouldn't? Still... the first year comes with new advantures, surprises, discoveries, and even more love than you thought you could have for someone. Our first year has been great! Very busy with lots of big important things going on. But we have had a blast and can't wait to continue on our journey. :-)

For our Anniversary, actually the night before the actual day, I made Ryan a "gourmet" meal that we ate picnic-style on our family room floor. Very romantic with candles and a blanket! Heehee! We decided to eat our cake that night since the following day, Ryan was surprising me with a trip to a secret destination. It was still just as delicious as our wedding day! And I had forgotten what flavor was on the top of the cake... but to my delight, it was my favorite of the flavors we had... banana with Kahlua creme filling. Yuuuummmmm!! I guess that's why I made it the top so we could enjoy it again ;)

Chicken-Zucchini Casserole

Hello friends!

Ok, so I LOVE casseroles anyways, but this one.... is FANTASTIC! If you like zucchini, if you like stuffing, and you eat chicken, this casserole is for YOU! Enjoy :-)

CHICKEN - ZUCCHINI CASSEROLE

3 stalks celery, chopped
1 med. onion, chopped
1 stick butter (I usually only do about a 1/4 stick of butter)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 c. chicken broth
1 pkg. Pepperidge Farm cornbread stuffing mix (reserve 1/2 c.)
1 c. sour cream
1 chicken, boiled & deboned & chopped

Saute first 3 ingredients. Then add 1 medium chopped zucchini and saute until tender. Mix together remainder of ingredients and pour into greased casserole. Top with reserved dressing mix. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Fall! Almost here!

Ooooo, I love Fall and all that it brings! I can start to feel it in the air. Even though the days are still warm, the mornings are foggy and crisp, and the nights are cool. The sun is coming up later, and going down sooner. Fall is my favorite season! I can't WAIT!

Apple cider... pumpkin pie... red and orange leaves... bumpy and lumpy gourds... Halloween... sweaters... chilly breezes... turning the heat on... thunderstorms... colorful mums... haystacks... and so much more!!!

We are so blessed in the Northwest to have fantastic Fall's! Bring it on! And enjoy yours :)

Happy, Happy Birthday!!

August 26th, 2009 marks my 25th birthday!! Holy crud, I'm getting old! Wasn't high school and college just a couple of quarters ago!?! ;)

Anywho, I had a GREAT birthday today! I am blessed with a great family, friends, and work buds that made it a special day indeed :) Thanks to all of them for a fun time!

Just a couple of fun moments throughout my day...

The girls....

Cute little Jack... not really wanting to play along so much with our little photo-op torture ;)

Yay! Only one candle to blow out... lots of effort

OMG!! Will one ever grow out of birthday spankings????

Jin'Ah... enjoying the remenents of wedding champagne...

My desk is so pretty!

Pink and greeeeen! :)

Sarah even made me delicious banana cupcakes! Soooo good!

The birthday Lunch Bunch

Ice cream and balloons... doesn't get much better than that ;)

Ryan spoiled me with Play Money with his portrait in the middle like real money... LOL! He is so funny!! It represents real moola that I can use towards furniture!! Thank you hubs!! A GREAT present that I have been wanting for a long time!!!

To Be a Farmer's Wife!: The joys of gardening and produce production

At first, I was turned off by the thought of having a large, expansive garden, like my husband would have liked. One, because we don't have the room for it. Two, because I didn't want my whole yard to be a farmer's market!

I patiently allowed Ryan to have the far side of the house to excercise his green thumb (mostly not visible when you are in the back yard... well, I didn't tell him that's why he only got that much space). I "oooo'd" and "aawww'd" when he would ask me to come and look at what was growing on a daily basis. And then I would quietly go back to what I was doing. ;)

But then something happened... I started to care what the garden looked like, and I started being interested in what made the garden grow better in some spots and not others. I started to pay attention to what was blooming, and now, sprouting into real life produce!

Maybe we were born in the wrong century... or maybe we are just nerds. Either way, we like our garden, and I guess it's not so bad being married to a farmer at heart. :-)

Here are some fun pics of our new little sprouts. This hot heat has really made them go gang-busters lately! I'll have to keep you all updated on their progress!

Our Garden :-)

Onions! They are getting sooo big!

Itty-bity pumpkins... hopefully they will grow big enough for us to carve them. We will have to have a pumpkin carving party!

Acorn squash... love that shape.

We just found a couple of these guys the other day... they are volunteer pepper plants. We make our own compost and then use it in the garden... we must have had some pepper seeds in there that found their way to the surface. Yum!

The Farmer himself. Get those weeds out of there!

My stocks!! One of only 3 surviving starts.


Our lovely little hydrangea :) He started as just a little guy from another plant. He is well on his way to growing big and strong!

Goodness gracious... It's hot out!!

Ok, so I grew up in Lake Stevens, and have never lived anywhere other than the greater Seattle area. And man! We DO NOT get heat like this often! I feel like an old lady when I get all groggy and nasty-sweaty (yes, that could definitely be a technical term). It is pushing 93 today and is supposed to get hotter later this week!! Drink your water! ;)

This past weekend, we went to Salem, Oregon for Ryan's first-ever Feskens Family Reunion. Boy, was it fun! ;) 95 degrees and tons of people I have never met. Doesn't that sound like fun to you?! I am being a bad wife. It really wasn't so bad. It was interesting to learn about the Family Tree and about past generations and how the Feskes family became the Feskens family. It's always so weird when you meet new people who have your same last name.