way up north!

ryan had a job way up north in coeur d' alene. i got to go with!
we were there for a total of 11 days.

it was really fun. i didn't mind staying in the hotels. they had a swimming pool and gym. which i pretty much had to myself because apparently nobody goes to visit this time of year. i'm grateful for my sister that calls me every single day and of course my job that i am able to take with me wherever i please.

the hotels gave us free breakfasts, but then we ate out for our lunch and dinners. i was dying for a home cooked meal.

we went and saw the cataldo mission.
for those of you who don't know (cause i for sure didn't) this is the oldest standing building in idaho. 
it sure was a pretty day. but man almighty was it cold!

let me appreciate the door hardware for just a min...
for those who don't know... i work for an online door hardware business. so i really take that bit of extra time to appreciate it.

alright. thanks. that felt good.

this church was really neat. and i swear it was colder inside the building than outside.
i hear my grandma or my mom in the back of my head saying "don't swear!"

hey...but at least it was pretty!
my favorite were the ceilings.

they said these ceilings were stained with berries. i wanna say huckleberries, but they could have been blueberries.
and you can see what the walls of the church were made of...

straw and a paste of some kind.
inside the house...

i loved the lake! it was so big it almost looked like an ocean.

and this was the hotel we stayed in...

JUST KIDDING!

but pretty huh?!

it was so so cold.

it was a really fun almost 2 weeks, but if you are eating out for every meal, you die for a home cooked meal!

on the way home we went through orofino (someday i will get an orofino maniac shirt, right holly and jeff? ;) ) and mcCall. and mcCall had a winter carnival. they have huge ice sculptures through the town. so cool! we kinda missed the actual carnival so they might look a little melty.

(Jurassic Park)

the end

1 Month and 16 days ago...

it was CHRISTMAS WEEKEND!

holy moly. our christmas weekend came and passed like a son of a gun.
let me give you the gist.

friday before christmas:

we went ice skating with my parents and little brother...
it was fun until my mom fell and smacked her head on the ice. poor thing.

christmas eve:

we went to my aunts house to decorate cookies... but we showed up late. we didn't get to decorate them. but we did get to eat them.

then we went to my parents' to hang out and we all made a ginger bread house together as we laughed and giggled.

we went to visit this house for their awesome christmas light display. there were TONS of people lined up blocks and blocks away. we were lucky and got a great parking spot.

 we toasted with champagne glasses full of orange julius. and watched the nativity story.

christmas day:

christmas day was on sunday this year. we had church at 9:00 so we got up a little early so we could open presents before church.

i was expecting the new computer ryan was building for christmas... but when ryan came down stairs to start breakfast he pulled out a present from the "spider closet" (which i am sure is pretty self explanatory) and put it under the tree before i saw. he said it was from santa.

he opened his presents first. he said his favorite was his new tools!

then it was MY turn. i thought it was probably some slippers i tried on when we went shopping for family together. they were so fuzzy and soft. even after i opened it i was thinking it was fuzzy slippers. i was smiling. and i said aww. but then i saw Nikon on the box. i was in total shock! and then i started to cry. it was a brand new D3100 Nikon camera with a brand new camera case to carry it in. how sweet. it was awesome!

after church we went to to my parents' and opened presents. and later we had fondue. it kinda started to be a tradition at my mom's it was so much fun.

ryan was really cold. and i thought he looked really cute :)

it was a fabulous christmas!

Christmas Stockings

ryan and i have never had any christmas stockings. i went to a friends house and saw some that she made. they were so adorable. she told me that she could show me how to make some. so that's what we did yesterday. this is my first sewing craft. i am so proud of myself. that's no joke.

thanks my friend! :)

Oh Christmas Tree...

this is our first time to go out in the forest and cut down a christmas tree. ryan and his family used to do it, but i only partly remember doing it like maybe one time when i was young.
it meant a lot to me and i hope we can have it as a family tradition.  
(thanks jeff v. for driving us all the way there and packing our tree all the way back)

  
jeff found his tree first and it was a lot taller than it looked at a distance....

i think it was around 11 feet. but it was such a good looking tree, ryan and i got a little jealous. and so we were really on the hunt to find our perfect tree. not just any tree... a very tall tree. to fit in our very tall ceiling home. we drove up and down the road and up and down and back and forth. but then... we found one.


12.5 feet tall.

the tea room....

a week and a half ago i went and hung out with my mom. she works so much i don't get to see her very often. but this time i had a car (thanks to the stokers) so i was able to say, "can i come over?" we went to a little place that my mom calls "the tea room"... why? i'm not sure, cause its really called "miss tami's cottage". 

we had the southwest club and the monte cristo. SOO GOOD. our table acted like a lazy susan, so it made it easy to share our sandwiches. although, i don't think it was supposed to turn like that.

we got a little silly in this place. it was a good thing they let us have our own room by the fake fireplace and the creepy santa and mrs. clause.

we were leaving and 2 ladies were shocked when they found out that my mom was indeed my mom, rather than a sister. she pretty much LOVED that. I forgot to tell you mom, that my friend saw some pictures of us on my wall and she thought you were a sister too. :) thanks for this day. it was so much fun. XOXO

we wish you a merry christmas!

love,

charly, mom, mr. and mrs. santa creeps