Xmas coming soon!

Well, the kitchen is looking better but we still have some work to do. The new sink, counters, and stovetop are in and everything is working. Now, we need to buy a new fridge, remove one of the cabinets so the fridge will fit, paint and then put on a new tile backsplash. But all of that is going to have to wait because our social schedule is kind of full with the holidays.

Last Saturday was Meg's birthday so we went to Seattle to have Dim Sum to celebrate her birthday as well as Ann's (7th), Paul's (10th) and mine (2nd). After that, the boys left with for the night with Grammy Ann while Meg and I spent the day shopping around downtown. We again practiced our priceline negotiator skills and got a room at the downtown Sheraton. We met a lot of old friends at Elysian Fields and stayed until they kicked us out around 11:30. Lotsa fun.

Sunday we picked up the boys and then went to my nephew Max's birthday party in Tacoma. It was kind of a preview for the christmas festivities. Jess and Joe and Max and Henry left for the beach with Nana. They have "cousin camp" doing a lot of baking and crafts until Christmas. I have to work 3 days this week and I will head out on Wednesday. Meg has to work Thursday morning so we will have to take 2 cars. We will probably stay until Sat or Sun. On the 29th, the boys and I are heading to Bellingham for 3 days staying at a cabin. Meg has to work that week so we won't see her until Meg's cousin wedding in Bham on New Years Eve.

Big Day in the Nyland Kitchen

Sunday was demo day. The boys and I tore out the counters, the sink and the cooktop.

This morning the counter installing guy came in and put in our new "paperstone" counters. They are a mix of recycled paper and epoxy. The sink is in and the stovetop venting installer will be here next Friday. Now we need paint and then install a tile backsplash.

We got a little carried away with the permanent markers

Meg is in Vegas for the weekend with her girl friends. So, that means it is boys only at the Nyland house. New counters are coming on Monday so the boys got a little creative with the markers.

Thanksgiving and wine trip

Thanksgiving was at our house. We had our family plus June, Ann, Paul, Kara and Marge. Didn't take many photos. The next day, Nana took our boys to the beach house. Meg and I took off over the mountains for some wine tasting. We tasted our way from Yakima to Tricities on Friday and Pricelined the Red Lion for Friday and Saturday night. On Saturday we went down to Walla Walla. We stopped at the Whitman mission site before we got down to tasting in Walla Walla. We bought quite a bit of wine and had a pretty good dinner at Cedars on Saturday night in Tricities.

Phoenix trip

Last weekend Jess and I used some frequent flyer miles to go down to Phoenix and see the Seahawks. The game was a lot of fun even though we lost. It was nice to get away from the rain for a bit. We did some putt putt golfing, saw a movie (Christmas Carol 3D), and went to the Science Center. The first night we stayed at a cheap hotel that was not very accessible to the awful transit system they have in Phoenix. We switched to a nicer hotel near the stadium on the 2nd night. They have a real nice outdoor area kind of like Downtown Disney that is right next to the stadium. We ate at Margaritaville there after the game. I didn't take the big camera but Jess took some pics with his phone. He sent the picture of downtown Phoenix at 6pm to the blog. Phoenix was kind of a depressing sprawling city with not much happening away from the stadium. I don't think we will go back except for maybe a trip to Spring training some day. Next year, it will be Joe's turn to pick an away Seahawks or Mariners game.

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Lots of traffic at rush hour in Phoenix, Arizona

Beach house full of kids

We spent this last weekend at the beach house. We took my nephews Max and Henry along with Jess and Joe and Joe's friend Mason. On Saturday, my cousin showed up with his family including his 3 girls. That totals 8 kids which was just about the limit for the house. We had a lot of fun even though the weather didn't let us out much. A lot of cards, board games and video games.

Next weekend Jess and I are going to the Seahawks game in Phoenix.