Setting Sail

Our long, nasty winter wore us down, so we decided to take a 10-day cruise through the Caribbean. We sailed through about six different islands. We found a great deal on a family suite, so we had this awesome balcony to take it all in!

My mom loves to travel and she'd never been on a cruise, so she sailed with us. The islands were beautiful. St. Lucia was one of our favorites. It didn't feel as touristy and we had a great guide who drove us deep into the island.

Elise loved this African museum.

But not as much as she loved the beach.

All the beaches were this beautiful, white sand and turquoise water.

We had a great day in Barbados. We had a really elaborate lunch at the beautiful Sandy Lane resort. It's apparently popular among the rich and famous.. and two year old girls.

We started and ended our trip in San Juan, Puerto Rico. This was probably our favorite stop. The old part of San Juan has a very European feel.

Let It Snow!

January brought two major snowstorms to DC. In one week, we got over four feet of snow, pretty much unheard of for this area. It was eery. The entire city shut down for a week. Here's what our grocery store looked like for several days. Totally surreal!



It's going to be a long winter.

OK, maybe it won't be so bad.

Great Visit, Great-Grandparents!

In January, we visited my grandparents in Mission, Texas. It was a little chilly by Texas standards, but we were still able to pick oranges and grapefruit from Grandma Helen's trees.


Elise is starting to show more and more personality. She's fairly shy at first, but when she warms up, she's the star of the show!


There are few things Elise loves more than "driving", so she was in heaven in Grandma's golf cart.


Good thing this only goes a few miles an hour!

Christmas in Utah

This was our first Christmas in Utah, now that Chris' parents retired to Orem. We had so much fun, we hardly noticed the 50 degree temperature difference!


A Christmas miracle: we eeked out just enough hair for a bow!


A year and a half year old, not a clue what Christmas is all about, but still the first one up that morning.


Momma and Elise's first time at Temple Square during Christmas. It did not disappoint!


Daddy loved showing Elise around the amazing temple grounds on New Years Eve.


Elise and her good friend Jonah. Maybe they'll meet back here someday.... :)

The Longest Mile

Well, it's been a looong three months. Chris was extended in Pakistan, so his two month trip turned into a three month trip. He is scheduled to fly home on December 23rd, and we have tickets for Salt Lake City the following day... but I've learned not to get my hopes up until he's on that plane. So, keep your fingers crossed for us!

I wish I could post a new picture of something fun and exciting, but the battery died on my camera about two weeks into this trip to Minnesota and I forgot to pack the charger. So, you'll have to use your imagination. Elise has grown so much these past few months. I hardly think Chris will recognize her. She's gone from baby to toddler, which means instead of flinging her strained peas across the room, she's throwing grandma's cell phone in the toilet. She's a really good girl, most of the time. Just don't aggravate her if she's tired or hungry (aww, just like mommy).

We are so glad to have had this time in Minnesota, grandma has been taking care of Elise during the day while I work for a few hours and we see my dad once a week for Vikings games. They've had a chance to see her grow up a little and it's been really fun.

We're also excited to take her to Salt Lake for Christmas. This will be our first visit to see Chris' parents since they moved from California earlier this year. I cannot wait to see the family and visit Temple Square, all lit up!

We hope you all have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.. and I hope to post some fun holiday photos in the coming weeks!

And The Winner Is...

Quito, Ecaudor!

We are so excited to get our next assignment, in beautiful Quito! It's high in the Andes and on the equator, so beautiful weather year round!

We'll definitely be working on our Spanish from now until July 2011, when we're scheduled to move.

And studying up on the city's rich history. It's been totally restored, and we hear the Old City is reminiscent of Madrid!

So start saving your pennies so you can come visit us. We'll visit the rainforest, straddle the equator, hop over to the Galapagos Islands, and eat a fancy six course dinner for under $10. Quito, here we come!

Happy Halloween

Year two of trick or treating.. still not getting the costume part. Definitely getting the candy part.

Gotta love trick or treating at the mall with Grandma!

Only one unfortunate incident.. we obviously don't see many Arabs in Minnesota.