Merry Christmas - Round II

On Saturday we packed up a bit of the apartment into boxes and also packed our bags for California.



Again, thanks to Justin's awesome boss, we were able to take our time driving to San Jose and had time to stop in Vancouver to spend some time with the Thompsons for Christmas, round II.



Beautiful Christmas tree at Grandma Brink's.



Grandparents Paula & Bob Thompson with Grandma Grace Brink.

After a scrumptious dinner at Applebees (a treat from Grandma Grace), we headed back to the Brink's house for dessert and presents. It was truly a blessing to be able to see family before we continued our drive to San Jose.

Lee and me.


Paula, Grace and Karen opening their gifts from us - our wedding portrait.

Curtis was pretty tuckered out by the end of the holiday, having been trapped inside for days due to the snow storm. It took 2 coffees to get him going again ;) after shoveling Grandma Grace's driveway and walk!


On Sunday we hit up the mall, got the oil changed in the Tribute and had a fun, late lunch at Ruby Tuesdays (a treat from Grandparents Paula and Bob). It was a great send off, complete with hugs and well-wishes all around.

We hope to see everyone again very soon!

Merry Christmas - Round I

Happy Holidays, everyone! Due to bad weather, and Justin's awesome new boss, we were able to rearrange travel plans (ehem...again) and spend Christmas in Grandview before our drive to San Jose. We drove over to Gtown on Tuesday to spend three action-packed days of presents, Wiis, Xboxes, cousins, carols and, of course, food.

x

Christmas Eve was spent at the Emerson's. We followed Emerson tradition by lounging the day away before indulging in homemade clam chowder before the Christmas Eve candlelight service at our church. Later in the evening we opened presents, and:

Dad got a fire extinguisher for the motor home,

Mom got some new loppers for the yard, and

I got some new slippers!!!!!

Mom and dad got each other a Wii - dad really enjoys the bowling game. Just look at how he focuses!

Joe got an Xbox game that led to lots of Joe-Justin bonding time at Fort Joe (located in the basement). Madden + Guitar Hero = JoeAndJustinWereInTheBasementTheWholeTime! :)

Christmas Day was spent at the Olmstead's. Events kicked off with brunch, then presents, a nap, snack time, spiked cocoa, spiked cider, spiked egg nog and another nap.

x

Mom and dad opening gifts.

Carl and Lexi, buried in presents.

After dinner we all played Rock Band and Wii bowling, took another nap and ate dessert. Then Joe, Justin and Donnie tied sleds to the 4-wheelers to do some serious "sledding" through the orchards. The camera was not allowed to go sledding, so we have no documentation, but this was said to be the best sledding ever!

We left around noon Friday for Seattle. It was a brisk 14' F for the trek over the pass, and luckily we made it back in time before the storm.

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

Back in Washington!

I have finally made it back to Washington and am hanging out at SeaTac waiting for my lovely wife to get off work. Luckily I have my bags as well, being as the baggage carousel broke down after only two bags made it down. Mine was one of the two! There is a mob of people angrily awaiting their bags and I fear there might be a riot soon. I might riot with them, just for fun.

I've been talking with some of my friends and it sounds like a lot of people are canceling their holiday plans because of the weather. Christine and I will be traveling down to San Jose this week but leaving most of our belongings in a very expensive storage unit in Lake Forest Park (our apartment).

Well, we will keep you all updated when/if things change (they will).

Merry Christmas,
Justin and Christine

The Joys of Traveling

I have recently discovered that now it not a very good time to be flying. After waiting for a hour or so in the "express" baggage check line, I am currently sitting at San Jose International airport hoping that my flight to Seattle doesn't get canceled. I'm also watching an airport employee drill holes in the terminal roof (I'm not entirely sure what for)...

Northern California hasn't had great weather, it's been a been a lot better than Washington! Hopefully I will make it back tonight so we can start packing up all of our stuff for the long awaited move to San Jose.

Happy Holidays,
Justin

Snowed in? Elf yourself!

I'm sure most of you have seen the Elf Yourself program from OfficeMax - this year I tried it out myself.

Merry Christmas from Justin and Christine!


Watch it here: http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/csRkNqVXm4KlB17Cnx6M

Mother Nature vs Team Thompson

Mother Nature...ohhh why must you torture us so? It would appear she does not support our move to SJ, and she's in a particularly bad mood about it!

Below is a picture of a charter bus hanging over I-5 in downtown Seattle yesterday:

(source: http://twitpic.com/ub3s)

Take it easy on the road during your holiday travels, everyone! Stay safe!

Oh the weather outside is frighful. Seriously.

I arrived safely in Seattle last night, and thanks to Miss Linsley, got back to our [no-one-wants-it] apartment -- arriving just in time, it seems. Seattle receive more snow today than it has in nearly a decade, they say, and they city has nearly come to a halt. Last night was so chilly here I wore sweats, a t-shirt, sweatshirt and two pairs of socks topped with an extra blanket to bed, and still think I got frostbite on my nose.

At lease it's not as cold here as it is in Grandview! Though they didn't get much snow, Gtown was down to 17 last night. Burrr.

Here is a picture of the deck at my office. Normally you would see Puget Sound and the Qwest Field parking lot... you can barely make out one of the cranes on the dock.

And here is a picture out the window at our apartment.

Our office closed at noon today and snow continued to fall. We'll see how things go tomorrow!

"They've got a lot of space, there'll be a place where I can stay"

Well, as you can tell, we've been busy since Thanksgiving - Justin has been to Las Vegas and back, and now we're both in San Jose. Justin arrived on Monday the 8th, and I drove one of the cars down on Wednesday. Mom offered to meet me in Portland to keep me company and stayed with us in San Jose for a day - it was nice to have a travel companion to tinker with the TomTom and to realize I'm not the only person who yells at TomTom when it tells us to go the wrong way ;). Here are a few shots of the surroundings we found as we crossed over into California, including Mt. Shasta:

On Thursday, mom and I went to scope out some of the RV parks for two reasons. 1) Mom and dad will need a place to park the RV when they come to visit us, and 2) there is a strong possibility that if we don't get rid of our apartment in Seattle, we might call the RV our home in San Jose for a month or two (eeeeeeeee). We're very thankful that my parents have offered the RV to us - it's much better than a cardboard box. The Coyote Valley RV and Golf Resort seems to be the best.

On Friday I went to scope out some apartments in the San Jose area and found a quaint little cottage-like house in Morgan Hill, which is (significantly?) south of the city. It comes with a private yard AND a washer/dryer! Morgan Hill surprisingly looks a LOT like the Columbia Valley - if the town had been a bit smaller, I would have sworn I was in Prosser with the Horse Heaven Hills to the right and the Rattlesnake Hills to the left. I can't tell you how comforting it was to know there are farmers in these parts...both Justin and I agree the San Jose are looks much different than what we expected. I yelped for joy when I saw a John Deere store and an orchard, no joke.

I'll be in San Jose until the 17th as I've made some appointments for "informational interviews" with a few businesses on Monday and Wednesday. Wish me luck! There is a woman coming to look at our Seattle apartment on Sunday, Sarah and Eric are doing us a huge favor as they've offered to give the woman a tour as we'll be out of town. Say a prayer that everything works out!! If it doesn't, you'll all have to bring your own cardboard box when you come to visit us :)

More soon!

Until we meet again

Justin was in Vegas the week after Thanksgiving and was able to spend the weekend in Seattle before heading off to San Jose so we got some of our buddies together in Federal Way for one last hurrah before we make the move. Curtis came up to visit for the weekend too before he made the trek across the mountains to Pullman where his girlfriend Jamie goes to college. It was great to see everyone and we hope they can make it to San Jose to visit us soon!







Cory, Selena, Ryan, John, Christine, Justin (photog = Curtis)















Selena, Ryan, John, Justin, Cory















Selena and Ryan - they're getting married next summer!

The [Thompson's] First Thanksgiving

We'd like to thank Sarah, Linda and Marianne for making our first Thanksgiving away from family warm, filling and an in-the-moment reminder to be thankful for our friends.

We had a great time with everyone and welcomed in the Christmas season by watching Elf. Baby Eli was too tired to play the Wii, but if the Wii had a game where you strike a cute baby pose, he would definitely win.We hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. Here comes December...AH!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving!

We're spending Thanksgiving with the Eric & Sarah Cox family in Monroe, Wash. this year - a family which just welcomed its third member to the world on November 12, 2008.

Elijah Andrew Cox and Grandpa Randy Cox

Justin and I were lucky enough to be there to welcome Eli to and new mom Sarah back to their room after delivery, and are excited to eat turkey and play football, card games and the Wii with him this Thursday. I hear he's got wicked Wii bowling skillz already!

Crapple Cup

While the said two worst teams in the Pac 10 were competing neck and neck almost throughout the entire game, the ending of Apple Cup 2008 could not have been sweeter. Just as the fam was ready to pack up and leave with a few minutes remaining, the Cougs took a lucky dive into overtime, and came out victorious with a 16-13 win over those blasted UW Huskies.

We had a great weekend with the family and were glad to see good ol' Pullman one more time before the big move. Justin was also pumped to get a chance to wear his massive hunting coat.

PS - Please note the Huskies were listed as #1 on ESPN's Bottom 10 this week.

GO COUGS!

Palouse bound

Over the river and through the woods, to Apple Cup we go!

It's that time of year again, and this time the 110-year old battle will play out in Pullman at Martin Stadium. JT and I are headed out this evening and are excited about spending time with the Cougar RV crew.

Go Cougs!

You ain't seen nothin' like it

Condo for rent! Condo for rent!

Available January 1, this one bedroom/one bath condo unit in Lake Forest Park (approx. 760 sq ft) features a full kitchen with stainless steel appliances, (fridge, oven and dishwasher), one large bedroom, living room and full bath (tub/shower + 2 sinks). The unit also includes an electric fireplace, dining area, washer/dryer, separate storage space and one reserved covered parking spot (additional parking available for $25).

There is a closet in the living room, one in the bedroom and 2 shelves for storage space above the washer/dryer. The unit was recently remodeled by the owners.

Residents are allowed rooftop access – a good spot for lounging or a bbq – with views of Lake Washington and Mt. Rainier. The living room also provides a partial view of Lake Washington.

Details:
$900/month.
Available January 1, 2009.
Water, sewer, garbage included.
Cable/internet ready.
1 mile from Lake Forest Park Towne Centre (includes Third Place Books, Albertsons, Starbucks).

Do you know the way to San Jose?

So, do you? Well, you best figure it out because that's where you'll have to go to visit us! That's right, Justin has officially accepted a new position (Yea, Justin!) within his company, which requires a transfer to San Jose - we're slated to be new residents by January 1, 2009. As some of you know, this has been a long time coming...it's been three months since Justin's boss first approached us with the idea of a promotion/transfer - first is was eastern WA, then Los Angeles - and now that we have an official offer, it's time to get things rollin': rent out our apartment, REpack everything (why didn't I keep the boxes from our wedding gifts?!?!), turn in my two weeks, find a new job, get a first look at the place we'll now call home, get a rental truck, say goodbye to friends and co-workers, FIND A NEW PLACE TO LIVE, ring in the New Year...

Of course it'll be scary, exciting, stressful, rewarding and a whirlwind, but we're definitely looking forward to the adventure.

Prayers are welcome :)

- CT