2009 comes to an end

I have been fortunate enough to have the last 2 weeks off of work for Christmas. It has been unbelievably nice to sleep in, not have a daily schedule to stick to, and actually get some house work done! One of the best things about not working during the week was being able to go up snowboarding midweek and avoid the crowds. Bon and I decided to go have a "girls only" boarding day at Stevens Pass. The conditions weren't ideal, but we still had a great time. Its been years since we'd gone together.

Taking a break on the backside of Stevens Pass.

View from the lift on the backside.

Self portrait on the lift.

Bon and I at the top

I would've taken more pictures but my batteries died early in the day.

Christmas was great this year! It was our 6th Christmas together as a married couple and we were yet again able to attend both of our families functions. On Christmas Eve we had our annual Hinckley Family dinner at my parents house. Then we went over to Jaime's Aunt's house for his families huge get-together which included singing Christmas carols, the very popular white elephant gift exchange, reading of the Christmas story, and festive snacks. We had a great time and it was fun to be able to catch up with family that we don't get to see very often.

Christmas morning we went to my parents first to open presents with my siblings and then drove to Puyallup to Jaime's families Christmas morning brunch. Here is our niece Clare with Maxx (Todd's dog) wearing their matching antlers.

All other pictures taken this day are on Jaime's mom's camera and I haven't got a hold of them yet. After hanging out at Nicole's for a while, we met back up with my siblings and decided to go see "Sherlock Holmes." It was a good movie, but it was not the best idea to go see it on Christmas and its opening day. The theater was absolutely packed! I didn't realize how many people do this as a Christmas Day tradition.

The next day was clear and sunny! Perfect day for dirtbiking. A bunch of us went out to Ravensdale to spend the day riding. Once we got up to the track, we discovered that it was incredibly windy. The sustained winds were strong enough that they created a constant loud whistling from blowing through the power line towers. The gusts were strong enough to blow your bike over. It was pretty crazy. Even in the trails branches were falling all around us.

Jaime and Todd crossing the tracks while I look out for trains.

Dustin going up a crazy steep hill climb. Sadly, nobody was able to make it to the top.

Me hiding in a little dig out in the side of the hill up at the track. It was the only place to get out of the wind.

New Year Eve was lots of fun! I can't believe another decade has come and gone. It is amazing to think how fast the last ten years went by. We had a get-together at our house and got to spend quality time with friends and family. The leftover fireworks from the 4th of July sure came in handy! It was fun to watch all the guys became 7 year old boys again....up until they thought it was funny to aim all the fireworks at the girls. But no one got hurt and we all had a good time.

Andra and Dustin

Kevin, Aaron and Jaime

Alex and Bon.

Alex and Bon enjoying the bonfire.

Me and Bon by the bonfire.

The street light was really bright......

Happy New Year!! We're looking forward to what 2010 has in store for us.