November/December Rewind

What else could we have packed in these past two months??

Chad's youngest brother Boo turned 19 in November and we had a really fun family outing at the bowling alley. I was surprised at how good Chad and his entire family are - and I was not surprised at how bad I was. Apparently, Grandma Nellie and Grandpa Dick used to bowl in the bowling league at the Nyssa Sugar Bowl before it burnt down and they taught Teri and all her boys the tricks of the trade. Nellie gave me a few pointers and I even broke 100 one game! However, that doesn't really compete with the loads of strikes, spares, and Turkeys the rest of the players were getting! Seriously - turkeys!
Oregon v. USC wasn't the only football game I was able to go to this year. Karen had an extra ticket to the TCU v. BSU game and I went over to Boise and spent the day with Karen. We had a really fun day tailgating and watching the game. Even though her Broncos lost (those field goals will get ya), my Ducks won later that night! It is always great to spend some extra quality time with Karen.
In December, Chad went down to Winnemuca, Nevada to visit one of his buddies from high school - Heath. His poor wife, Katie had to put up with those two wild boys all weekend - I was working so I couldn't go down, but we did end up seeing them for a bit while they and their three children (including a very new baby girl) were in town for Christmas. Chad also got a new set of wheels and tires for his pickup - which I like to refer to as the "family vehicle" these days since mine is so much smaller :) He's very excited about the new wheels/tires... maybe not so much about the "family vehicle" status.
The same weekend Chad was in Nevada, I ended up going to Kuna, Idaho and Patrick's "3rd Annual Sweat-Stache Party". Justin and Courtney went along with me and we wore some really fabulous ugly sweaters. I found mine earlier that day and could not pass up the fur collar - I mean seriously, that is classy... look at the shoes. I made mustache props the night before since the invitation said "mustaches/sweaters mandatory". We had a really great time and ended up going to bed way too late. Somehow, I am getting older and the whole "stay up late drinking all night" doesn't go over as well as it used to!
Speaking of parties, we went to the Dinsmore/Meyer party at the Elks and I must say, it was the best one yet. Chad and I had a fantastic time, we would not leave the dance floor and when we did, there were so many great people to visit with! I had one picture of us on my phone from the night, but we both look a little haggard from swinging around the dance floor so it "accidentally" got deleted! We also went to Brewsky's on the 23rd and as Chad said "I know everyone here!" It was Dan's birthday so we had dinner and drinks with Dan, Mom, and Greg. Once we were done eating we made our way into the bar and it was jam-packed with tons of locals and others in town for the holidays. Greg, Chad, and I ended up taking the Ontario Courtesy Cab home and it was awesome. Seriously, I love those old-school cabs. The next morning, however - was not awesome... I needed sleep.

Oh and we ate. A lot. In December. Off the top of my head, we had the Snake River Produce dinner, Nyssa High School dinner, a dinner with the Cruickshank family, one with Jim & Trina, we stuffed ourselves at Mom & Dan's annual Christmas Eve presents and dinner, we ate even more at Nellie's with the Pounds' family, and then we topped it all off with dinner at Dad & Jana's. I'm thinking Chad and I need to hit the gym! With all that hustling around during the holidays, we are having serious conversations about leaving town during Christmas. Don't be mad if it happens.

During all the Christmas festivities, I mentioned I wanted to go see War Horse and my sister informed me that her two older boys had really been wanting to go see the movie too! Date night! So... last night, Chad, Matthew, Peter, and I met up with Greg at the movie theater and watched the movie - I thought it was very good, but you know I am a sucker for horse movies. Matthew and Peter stayed the night and we probably got home around 10:30 p.m. from the movie. Then we started Rodeo-Opoly (rodeo themed Monopoly) and we played and played and played until we were all too tired to function. I'm not going to tell you what time we all went to bed, but I am still tired. This is how we left the game and it was really getting interesting. Peter had just gone out and "scores" and "gold buckles" (houses and hotels) were starting to pop up all over the board. I'd kind of like them to come back and finish the game because I am pretty sure I was going to kick their trash. Bring it on boys! Seriously though, we had a super fun night together and need to do it more often.
And now on to January! We are looking forward to a wonderful 2012 full of many memories and moments that will be recorded here and in our hearts. First things first, the 2012 Rose Bowl. And to get you in the football and Oregon Duck v. Wisconsin Badger spirit, I leave you with the Top 10 Chipisms: The Wit & Wisdom of Chip Kelly. Oh yes, and just in case you haven't seen them - the uniforms for the Rose Bowl are worth checking out. Go Ducks!