A Merry Christmas in Oregon

This Christmas, we drove to my parent's home in Bend, Oregon. Jacob and I had a wonderful time playing games, watching movies, visiting with family and with my grandparents, taking long walks in the snow+sunshine, and being festive at our annual Kemp Christmas Eve Party - they even got us to do a couple of duets for the program that evening. We were blessed with snow, and the wonderfully typical sunny skies of Central Oregon. We drove home through a winter wonderland on the Santiam Pass, and even got to stop and spend a little time visiting with some dear old friends. Who could ask for more? We had a wonderful and very blessed Christmas! And now we're ready for the New Year and busy getting ready for our little baby that will be coming in June! That will be the best gift of all this year!

Deck the Halls...

Last night we decorated our christmas tree and our home in the spirit of Christmas. I love this time of year! All the lights, music, and magic! It is fun to think that next year we will have a new person in our family and we'll get to watch him or her experience all of these magical things for the first time. I hope you are all enjoying the season and that everything good comes your way!!!

Special Friends Day

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to go to Sam's kindergarten classroom and be welcomed as Sam's guest and special friend for "Grandparents and Special Friends Day". It was truly special! The kids welcomed us with huge grins, partly out of excitement, and partly out of nervousness. Then, they proceeded to sing us a few songs, including "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine..." which was of course ADORABLE!

After the songs, Sam took me to his seat. Of course, being a kindergarten classroom, it was a very small seat, nonetheless, Sam invited me to sit down. Lately, he has been very concerned about me being pregnant, so it cracked me up when he said "Tysha, I'm going to let you sit in my seat, because you're pwegnant...and I'm not going to sit on your lap, because you're pwegnant." (Last week he informed me that when my belly grows too big and I can't fit into my clothes anymore I will need to get some returnity clothes...:) So, he stood and showed me some of his recent artwork, including something he made for me:

We visited and laughed and he served me (his "host") some refreshments. He sternly announced to his fellow little friend in line, "excuse me, but I was trying to serve my host first." I guess if I was the "host" I can say that not only was Sam a wonderful "guest" but he was also quite the pleasant gentleman. I am so proud to be his special friend and glad that he is also mine!

Jacob's new suit.

Saturday we headed out to do a little shopping and find Jacob a new suit. We started at U-Village and fueled up with some Jamba Juice to start our day of shopping.

For those of you who know Jacob, you probably haven't seen him in a suit for some time. He doesn't especially like wearing a suit - he is more of a khaki pants, white shirt or sweater kind of a guy. BUT. Today we went to our "new" ward. The Young Single Adult Ward of the University of Washington. ("U1"). Yes, Jacob has been asked to serve as the new 1st counselor to the Bishop in the ward. We were in this same ward only 9 or 10 months ago before we were married. The congregation is full of amazing people ranging in age from 18-30. Some are students at the local colleges and universities, and some are professionals who fall within the age range and come to socialize and meet up with people in a similar phase of life. I must admit that after 11 years of attending the singles ward I was happy to leave and join the "family" ward we attended in Magnolia. I loved volunteering in the nursery and primary programs with the kids. I was a little bit - okay, a lot bit - sad to leave the new friends we had made. But today when we walked in we were welcomed by many friendly and familiar faces. We still know half of the crowd. I think everyone was excited to see us (we hope!) and we are looking forward to serving in the ward and having a great time doing it! The bonus is - we can go to all their fun activities and parties! Maybe even the Halloween Party - though we're still planning on the haunted organ concert on campus.

AND don't you think Jacob looks handsome in his new suit? I sure do!

The Twins turn 30!

To celebrate our 30th year, Tia and I decided to take a special trip. Due to my wedding, we were unable to do the trip in January, so we decided to do it for our "half" birthday instead, when the weather is better anyway! We packed our bags and headed to the Northern land of...

Canada! We hopped aboard the Victoria Clipper, a catamaran that journeys through the San Juan Islands and lands in Victoria, British Columbia. Located on Vancouver Island, this little city boasts it's historic ties with England, which still run strong. Of course the Canadian outdoor culture also has a strong presence, as you can see me here with a Canadian Black Bear.

We stayed at the historic James Bay Inn. We enjoyed a huge room and antique furnishings.

Tia especially enjoyed some of the Victorian-era sofas, like this red velvet one in the lobby.

A very walkable city, we set out on foot to have some fun. We hiked around downtown and turned up a few streets until we found signs that led us to this: the Craigdarroch Castle. Over 30,000 square feet, this castle was a great representation of the lifestyles of the wealthy during the Victorian Age. It was filled with original furniture, stained glass, musical instruments, etc. We had a lot of fun exploring the four floors and enjoyed the view from the lookout tower. How fun it would have been to be invited to an "at home" - when the ladies of the house had social hour inclusive of ballroom dancing complete with a card filled out ahead of time letting you know which song and with whom your dance partner would be!

Later that evening, we happened upon a production of Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet in a local park square. It was easy to get swept up in the passionate and tragic tale of one of the most famous stories of all time. You know it's great acting when the actors can pull you into the story without any fancy backdrops or props.

After the play, we headed to the Empress Hotel. There, we went to the Bengal Lounge to listen to some live jazz and have some drinks.

This Bengal, displayed above the fireplace mantle, is the namesake of the lounge. Kind of unsettling if you look at him for too long...

But the jazz and the virgin mojitos were awesome! Best of all was the company of my sister. We have soooooo many laughs together!

Also while in Victoria, we visited the Parliament building and had a tour. Did you know the Queen of England still visits and has her own entrance? It is quite a spectacular building and the architecture is quite astounding.

Of course to make our trip to Victoria complete we had to visit the Butchart Gardens, world-renowned flower gardens just outside of Victoria.

Here is Tia in front of the "sunken garden". Below are some of my favorite photos from out visit. It was super-fun for me to take these pictures and enjoy the relaxing and beautiful garden atmosphere...We had a lovely time celebrating the 30 years since we came into this world, together! I love my sister and am so proud of her. I would like to thank her for a wonderful trip to Victoria, and wish her luck and she heads off to graduate school in Boston!