Life's Helmet: 2009

Thursday, December 31, 2009

Airport Fiasco

On our way to Spokane, our flight from Phoenix to Denver got delayed causing us to miss our connecting flight to Spokane. After waiting at the airport for 2 1/2 hours and standing in the customer service line for another hour and a half, the airline told us that they would put us on standby for the next morning but most likely wouldn't be able to get us there until Christmas day. Obviously, we were quite disturbed by their response to our situation and when we began getting frustrated with them, they told us to get out of line. After more arguing we realized that we weren't getting anywhere and decided to wait for the standby flight the next morning.

After scouring the airport, we found a little nook behind a pillar and camped out for the next 8 hours. After a few more flight delays, a soda spill on the plane, and almost 24 hours of traveling, we made it to Spokane and were able to start our vacation. Lesson learned...NEVER fly during the holidays.

Our home away from home

Christmas In Spokane

This year we spent Christmas in Spokane with Ryan's family. Since two of his brother's recently got married, his parents' house was even more full than usual. With 11 adults, 4 kids, and an overly excited dog, the house was quite "busy."

Altogether, we were able to spend 10 straight days in Spokane. Some of the highlights of the trip were:

Celebrating Ryan's mom's birthday

Christmas morning

Playing with Ryan's nephews and niece's

Going to all of our favorite places to eat

Altogether, the trip was a blast. Thanks to the McFarlane family for a great holiday vacation!

Our Pre-Christmas

Since we spent Christmas with Ryan's family this year, we celebrated Christmas a few days early with my parents. The highlight of the night was definitely getting to see my dad's face when he opened his gift from us kids. We got him a muscle stimulator to play Jenga with so you can shock people as they go to reach for the tiles. I have never seen my dad laugh so hard! Totally priceless!

Monday, December 21, 2009

Wedding #2

This last weekend, Ryan's brother Rob got married in the Mesa temple. Amazingly, they were able to plan the entire wedding in only 6 weeks. Although they had a short time to plan, the wedding and reception turned out great! Congrats Rob & Cami - we're so excited for you guys!

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Custom Homes

Since being married, we've made it a tradition to decorate gingerbread houses each year. This year, Ryan and the boys decided they wanted to be more creative and skip the gingerbread "kits" so we could create "custom" homes with graham crackers. The project quickly turned into a serious task complete with a hot glue gun, "support systems," and some serious graham cracker cutting. Who knew that a candy house could turn into such a serious project!

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Our Family Tree...Literally

It's definitely not perfect, but after many hours of hard work, our tree is finally ready for our first Christmas in our new home!

A New Tradition

This year we decided to make our Christmas tree experience a little more interesting. In Arizona, they sell tree-cutting permits so you can choose and cut down your own tree during the Christmas season. So yesterday we ventured out to the forest with our friends Melanie and Jared to find our tree. While I wouldn't necessary call our tree the "perfect tree," the experience made it absolutely worth it. I think it's pretty safe to say that we have a new family tradition!

Thanksgiving

Although Ryan and I have been married for 3 years, this year was the first Thanksgiving we'd spent at my parents house. As always, dinner was amazing and we had fun getting to spend the day with family!

Ryan's brother Rob always seems to get stuck with the dishes

Sunday, November 22, 2009

3 Years

It's official - Ryan and I have been married for 3 years! And a crazy 3 years it's been! From graduating from college, moving to AZ, getting "real" jobs, and buying a house, it really does feel like we've grown up together. Ryan - You're a great husband and I couldn't imagine my life without you. What can I say boy, there's just something about you!

I love you Ry!

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Dressing Up

While Ryan's niece was in town, we whipped out my old Barbie's for her to play with. After seeing what a large selection of clothing we had for the dolls, we decided to have a contest to see who could dress their Barbie in the cutest outfit.

If you're wondering what happened to their hair, ask my sister Adrienne. I do not take responsibility for their awesome "do's." For those who watch "The Hills," we named our dolls Spencer, Heidi, and Lauren. Can you guess which one was Ryan's?

Wedding Weekend

This weekend, Ryan's family came to town for his brother Steve's wedding. Although we didn't get to spend much time with Steve and his new wife Kristi Kay, we had a ton of fun hanging out with the McFarlane clan!