Thats...3.5 years living in Seattle, 2 years of blissful marriage, 10 years being in love, 1.8 years at Responsys, 1.3 years at Logic 20/20, 1 month with a mustache, 8 months with shorter hair

Pretty crazy stuff.

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Let’s just focus on this year shall we? Even though time seemed to go by so quickly, we still managed to have a very fulfilling year. We explored our hometown, ventured to getaway, and enjoyed visits from our parents and friends. We also had some fun at parks, sporting events, and festivals. Here's a little bit about all these fun things...

SEATTLE, A CULTURED CITY:

Even after three years, we are still exploring our hometown of Seattle and it’s surrounding areas. There never seems to be a lack of something to do. No doubt about it, we love Seattle and we’re staying put. Some of our top spots included the Chihuly Glass Exhibit, Museum of Glass (in Tacoma), the Conservatory, and Mohai. If you ever want to visit, we know where to take you!

VISITORS:

Speaking of visits, we were lucky to have both sets of parents visit this fall. With the O’Neills we took the ferry over to Bainbridge and enjoyed time in Seattle with some good food, too.

The Browns joined us for Thanksgiving. It was the first time I (Heather) had made Thanksgiving dinner for more than Josh and me. It was a total success -- especially the stuffing and pie. Beyond all the turkey we also took the Browns to the Olympic Peninsula and explored some of the cute towns there.

Another visitor this fall was Josh’s best friend, Kevin. They both attended our church’s Resurgence conference (another item to note for the year: Josh got baptized!). They had a blast spending some time together - it was like they were never apart. It’s great that a friendships can last so long and over the miles.

GETAWAYS:

We love Seattle, but we also love to get out of dodge once and a while. Our big trip this year was across the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Any guesses on where that would be? If you guessed Victoria in British Columbia, you were right. There we met up with our good friend from Holland, Irene, and her boyfriend Jochem. We had a grand time seeing friends and checking out our BC neighbor.

Beyond our international trip, we also took a weekend getaway to Port Ludlow. This serene port on the Olympic Peninsula served as our home base when we hit up some local cideries and also spent the afternoon in Port Townsend. What a way to relax from our busy schedules!

Other awesome day trips: Snohomish and Dungeness Spit Hike

HEATHER'S TRIPS:

I (Heather) took two trips without Josh this year. I learned from this that I just don’t like trips without Josh!

The first trip was down to Encinitas to visit my parents to say goodbye to my childhood home. Yes, it’s true, my parents moved from the home that I lived in since I was about 8 years old. It was hard to sort through all my stuff (so many My Little Ponies!), and even harder to say goodbye to the house. On the same trip, I joined the family on the MS Walk in Legoland.

The other trip was to Chicago for my cousin Jeremy’s wedding and to see family. It was great to see my Grandma Ruth. She’s a tough old cookie, and still manages to eat her Hackney’s burger and fries. We also went to the site of my parent’s first date, Ravenna. There we saw Chicago (the band) play in Chicago (the city).

WORK:

We guess we have to work sometime. Heather has been a Program Manger with Responsys for just about two years now. Not to sound too cliche, the best part of the job is the people. They like each other so much that we’ll even do stuff on the weekends like Wayzgoose. Heather has also traveled down to San Fran for the big Interact Conference her company pulls off each year - quite impressive.

Josh has been a Senior Consultant with Logic a year now. He mainly works on Microsoft projects and ventures out to Redmond often. He has had a wide verity of projects there in a number of their groups and is getting to do what he does best: solve problems.

HAVING FUN:

We’re not all work and no play. There is definitely play. Definitely. Let’s list some of the awesomeness we have done this year:

Sports: Mariner’s Game at Safeco, Rat City Roller Derby, Luchadores, and best of all, the Sounders.
Festivals & Events: Kirkland Uncorked, Ballard Seafood Fest (ugh Lutefisk!), Sheepdog Trials in Vashon
Being Active: Snow shoeing, Kayaking in Lake Union, Northwest Trek
Movember: Josh supported men’s health in November by participating in Movember. This is when you shave the first of the month, and then grow a moustache. Josh’s ‘stache did pretty good, but sadly didn’t win the office award. I’m just glad to get back to the beard!

PARTING NOTE:

It surly has been a great year. We are so blessed to have such loving family, and kind friends. We hope you had a wonderful year. Enjoy this season and have a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

Cheers!

Heather & Josh