Farewell, Christmas

We've been slowly packing away Christmas all week, and today Donald took down the exterior lights, thus making it official: Christmas is over at the Winn house.

Overall, it was a good season. We decided to make this Christmas our lowest budget yet, and ya know what? That decision only made the Holidays more enjoyable. Christmas isn't about spending money, and we've decided that starting next year, our Little Winn(s) will be getting three presents each. Jesus only received three gifts, and there's no reason it should take more than that to satisfy our family's wants.

If anyone's wondering (and I'm sure you're not) I got Pixelmator (photo editing software... which I have yet to use, whoops) and Donald received SmartWool slippers.

Because of our commitment to downsize our Christmas budget, I decided to make a few wreaths instead of buying. For LESS than the price of buying one, I made four. This is common knowledge for most, but we lived in Germany for my first three Decembers as an "adult", so it's only now that I realize how cheap it is to do it all myself! I'm kicking myself for all the money I spent on dinky wreaths the last few years... but being abroad, our options seemed limited.

For the rest of my "decorating on the cheap" I went around the house and frantically put bows and snowflakes on everything I saw. It may not be glamorous, but within minutes my house screamed of Christmas.

I also made a cheap little banner for our entry way to remind everyone of what the season is about.

The dogs were particularly adorable this year. Because our living room is relatively small, I decided to put the tree up in the dinning room (which is comparatively large) and sees less traffic. The dining room is also the dogs' favorite spot to lounge, and they seemed to appreciate the extra coziness that the tree provided.

CUTE, RIGHT?!?!

We had a few friends over mid-month for a Christmas BBQ, and I was able to use some leftover gift tag supplies to make invitations for the neighbors.

It was a small turnout of maybe 10 people, but it was fun.

One of our neighbors is from Russia, and I'm somewhat excited to start learning the language and testing it out on her. ;-)

And no, we didn't have a white Christmas, but we did have a white late December. When I woke up for work and realized the what was going on, I literally RAN outside (in my robe and Donald's snow boots) to take pictures. Snow around here is infrequent, so a frosty house decorated for Christmas could be a once-in-a-decade opportunity.

Christmas 2010 was great, but 2011 is sure to be our best yet. I can hardly wait to have our Little Winn home so (s)he can help me make cookies to leave out for Santa. :-)

Another Year Older :-)

Yesterday Donald took me to the Harry Potter Exhibition at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle for my birthday. I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE Harry Potter, and I had been looking forward to this date for a long time.

No photography was allowed inside, which was a bit of a bummer. I still managed to snap a picture of the exterior though.

I highly suggest going, but only if you're a big HP fan. Otherwise, the $26 entry fee is a pretty steep price to pay for looking at movie props (but again, worth EVERY penny if you're a fanatic).

We only spent about 20 additional minutes in the Science Center, but it was just long enough for the souvenir magnet I had bought in the Harry Potter gift shop to get *lost* (um, stolen). After forgetting I had put it down 5 minute earlier, it was gone when I went back to get it. According to Donald, that equates to me losing it. Obviously I have superior moral standards, because I'm waiting for my adorable magnet to be returned to me on judgement day. Oh well, better to be a forgetful fool than an opportunistic thief, haha!

Playing at the Science Center:

For dinner we went to the Rain Forest Cafe, which brought back good memories. I had only been once before, roughly 5 years ago, when my mom met Donald for the first time.

The night came to an awesome close when I came home to find a TRAIN around my Christmas tree!! My mom had come over that morning while I was at work and given it to Donald to install. There are definitely some upsides to having your husband on mandatory Christmas vacation while you're still working... it makes coming home SO wonderful, especially when it's your birthday!

Chamber of Commerce Charity Event

On Friday night Donald, along with 3 other members of his brigade, were invited act as representatives at a charity event for military children hosted by the Gig Harbor Chamber of Commerce. Of course he needed a hot date to accompany him, and I was more than willing to do so.

The food was delicious, the company was friendly, and it was wonderful seeing so many people recognized for all the hard work they had put into bettering their community. That, and they filled an entire van full of toys for needy children at Fort Lewis.

The best part though?

I got to dress up!

Adam and Mom's visit - Pt. 1 - Thanksgiving w/ the Sr. Missionaries

On November 21st my mom flew in to visit us here in Germany. A few days later, on the 26th, Donald's best friend Adam arrived.
The following day was Thanksgiving, and dinner with the missionaries was only the beginning of our adventures!!

Halloween

Our first holiday back together was fantastic!

He, true to character, went as a devil. I was his fallen angel. Not creepy at all, I know... but we sure looked cute, right?







With so many people having only been in town for a few days, all plans were very last minute. Ultimately, we ended up having a casual BBQ at our house. A handful of people came over with their kids and we stuffed our faces while playing Rock Band.