So much for 2009 being a calm one

My hope for the new year was that it would be calmer than past years. In 2007 Mark and I experienced the whirlwind joy of planning a wedding and getting married. In 2008 we picked up our lives and moved 2,000 miles away to Seattle, WA.

All I wanted was for a little peace in 2009.

Unfortunately that doesn't seem to be happening. On January 5th I lost my job due to the economic slow down. Not fun, but I can keep my chin up and get back to the job search. Last night, January 12 or it could have been January 13, my car was broken in to and our GPS unit was stolen. I know a part of it is my fault because I had put the TomTom in the center console. Now I'm trying to file a police report, claim this on insurance, and find a new job all at the same time. This certainly hasn't been a calm year so far.

Whale Watching

It was whale season in Hawaii when we visited for Christmas. Each year humpback whales return to Hawaii to give birth and mate. We were able to take a whale watching cruise and had several whale sightings. Here are two short videos of our sightings.

This video is of a competition pod of male whales. They compete to be the nearest to the female whale. There were about 5 males in this pod that we saw on the surface

This video is of the first whale we saw

As Promised - Pictures of our Hawaiian Christmas

Christmas in Hawaii


The church we attended on Christmas day



A statue of the Virgin Mary outside of the church

We saw so many rainbows

Enjoying happy hour - rough, I know!

Sunset picture from the beach at our hotel

All Mark wanted to do was drink out of a pineapple. He got his wish!

I had to get a pineapple drink too

View of the West Maui Mountains from our dinner cruise

Us on the dinner cruise

Mark and the sunset from our dinner cruise

This view made me happy every day

The grounds at the Sheraton Maui

A White Christmas

Our white Christmas was not like most others....we enjoyed the white sand of Maui, Hawaii. It was quite a surprise, but we had a blast. We soaked up our vitamin D for the Seattle winter. Pictures to come.

Happy new year everyone!!!!

It Took Moving to Seattle....

For me (Angela) to see Brett Favre play (no less for the NY Jets). It has been snowing since Thursday here in Seattle and the city has shut down, except for those Seahawks fans. On a last minute whim Mark and I got in the Jeep and headed to Qwest Field to watch the Seahawks take on the Jets in Coach Holmgren's last home game. He was once again facing Brett Favre in the snow. Here are a few pics from the game and the snow around us. Seriously, people were skiing in the streets.

The Field during the 1st Quarter

The Field during the 3rd Quarter


Who says it doesn't snow much in Seattle

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Football 2008

Even being 2000 miles from home, I was able to attend 3 Packer games this year. I bet the Pack wishes I could have attended more, as they went 3-0 during the games I attended. I was able to see them beat the Vikings and Colts in Green Bay, and the Seahawks in Seattle.




My buddies Al and Charlie Hatfield joined me in September to watch Oklahoma State travel to Seattle to play the Washington State. The 3 of us represented Oklahoma proud, and the Cowboys destroyed the Cougars on a sunny autumn day in Seattle.

Christmas in Seattle Volume 1

So, Angela finally gave me (Mark) write access to her blog. With this valuable information, expect several skiing, hiking, and adventurous photos of the northwest! In the meantime, please enjoy the following Christmas photos as we try to enjoy our 1st Christmas away from both of our homes.

We did put up a tree this year, and I suprised Angela with lights on the house when she was away visiting her family in Tulsa over Thanksgiving. We did try to encorporate as many tree ornaments as we could to remind us of our families back in Wisconsin and Oklahoma.

Merry Chrismas, and God Bless you all!!