Project #1

Our basement has a separate entrance and is finished to be rented out as an apartment. So, through a posting on Craig's list we found a great renter to live downstairs. Our first major project was to put in a window so the place meets fire code.

Cyrus did a great job. I am so lucky he enjoys projects. That was a major reason we wanted to own a home.

Fire Escapes

Cyrus recently starred in a short music video directed and produced by our friend Tim. You'll notice my name in the credits too, but the only direction Tim gave me was to be in love with Cyrus - so this is not acting. It's a great song, great story, great filming, and the actor is so hot!

I don't know how to put the video on our blog - nor do I have permission to do so. But you can check out Tim's blog and see it for yourself. His wife, Abby, posted it on Sept. 26. Check it out.
http://www.tabbyeyes.blogspot.com/

Theatre

Last week was the first week of teaching classes for both of us. I will let Cyrus fill you in on his own stories, but here is one of my own.

Along with feelings of excitement and anxiety that go along with the first week of school, I felt sad. I thought it was because the we didn't close on the house on time, but on Thursday I realized I was mourning the loss of my classes and students from the past year. You see, I have had the unique opportunity of teaching almost the same group of students for two years. And the classes that were not repeats were the Cambridge classes and we had a special bond of forging the first year of the program successfully. I missed the students I knew and that knew me. It was tough to have 120 new students in my room and not know any of them. And they don't know me. I am sure I felt this way my first year but I was feeling too many other things to know the difference. Apparently this is not an atypical feeling for teachers so it has been nice to talk with my colleagues. I look forward to knowing this years students as well as that first group. And I think I made my first breakthrough with them.

Last Friday I taught a safety lesson that was a bit unusual. I started class by telling students that due to all the accidents we had last year (a harmless fib) our principal is cracking down on lab safety and has hired someone to give a presentation to every science class. The presenter's name is Ms. Cary Less and they need to take notes as they watch her demonstration about safety. Then I went in the hall, dressed up in a long black wig, fancy jewelry and all and came back in with a new voice. I acted as Ms. Cary Less and demonstrated a simple lab. I monologued the whole thing, exagerated whenever I could, made large sweeping motions and made a ton of mistakes. Some kids stared at me and admitted later they weren't sure if it was me at first. Some kids tried to get me to break character. Many of them laughed at me and with me. So after the skit I go outside, get out of my costume and come back in. They had to list all the things I did wrong and from there we made a science safety contract that we should use for lab protocol. It was a fun day. I think it broke the ice and hopefully they understand that I want class to be fun and relaxed as we learn. I'll let you know what happens.

Big News

Roma grape tomatoes and basil from my new garden.

I have three tomato plants of different variety.

From left to right: cherry tomatoes, better boy hybrid tomatoes and roma grape tomatoes. Plus the basil plant down in front.

My confession is that I did nothing to harvest such beautiful food. I owe everything to Liz, the planter and caretaker of the garden. Liz left me this beautiful garden since Cyrus and I bought the home Chad and Liz owned!

Welcome to our new home. What we love so far is that with the home also came a garden, a beautiful front yard and a great big tree.

The tree shades the front yard so it is the perfect place to sit morning, afternoon or evening. We love it. I am sure we will use it often. Having a bit of outdoor space of our own was a big reason we wanted to own a home and so far this one is working out well. The front yard is also conducive to meeting neighbors. So far we have met our neighbors on either side of us and two families across the street. As soon as we open the door there is someone on the sidewalk waiting to introduce themselves, tell us about their family and all the other people on the block. I am feeling well informed and between the two of us are trying to remember everyone's name. It's a nice change from our apartment where we've lived for a year and had a hard time catching neighbors on the way in or out of the building.

The house is old (1912) and it has fir floors, tall ceilings and it's just the right size (small). We do have room for guests, so when you're in the area stop by! Pictures of the inside will come soon.

Sunday Night Dinners

The History:
Four years ago, we had just graduated from college and spent our second summer in Canada as mountain guides for Beyond. I spent the month of September living in Montana and Cyrus started coaching the UPS crew team. In October I returned to Tacoma and lived in an attic apartment with Stephanie. And we met Beth. Beth was an intern for TCM that year. The three of us began to spend every Monday night together. We would have Beth over for dinner and then sometimes walk to Frisko Freeze for milkshakes and we talked all night. We met every Monday until Beth left Tacoma and I went back to Beyond for the summer.

When Cyrus and I returned from Beyond after our third summer we celebrated Steph and Reid's marriage (3 years tomorrow!) and we began dating. Steph and I continued our Monday night tradition, now including Reid and Cyrus. The four of us ate dinner together regularly through the first year of their marriage and our dating relationship.

Our Current Group:
In the past two years our dinner group has grown. Jacob and Kelly, Abby and Tim, Andy and Elisa have rounded out the group. I am not sure we can grow much larger since no one has a table large enough! Although Steph and Reid now have a dog, Miles, and Jacob and Kelly have added baby Micah - but they don't take up a spot at the table. Oh, and we now meet on Sunday nights.

How It Works:
We rotate hosting duties every week. The hosts provide the main dish and ask the rest of us to bring something to share. Usually we are assigned drinks, side dish, salad or dessert. I love to cook and read cookbooks, so Sunday Night Dinner is the perfect excuse to pour over my latest issue of Cooking Light or my favorite cookbooks to find the perfect dish. This is also the reason Cyrus and I asked for a table and chairs for a wedding present (thank you Stevens family).

Our Own Tradition:
We will continue to gather every Sunday, including guests (family and friends) whenever they come to visit. The few hours on Sunday evenings are my favorite time of the week. Our little group has shared life events including; new jobs, old jobs, marriages, new homes, home projects, a baby, pets, church, vacations, holiday celebrations, and grad. school. I look forward to more Sundays and spending time with the friends that have shaped our life here in Tacoma.

-Abbie

Our Honeymoon

We are about to celebrate our one year anniversary.

And we finally learned how to add to this website. So, we thought we would start our own posts with our trip to Banff.

We will not try to fill in the entire year but share some highlights and then move forward into year #2!

We broke up our two days of driving by

go karting outside of Glacier National Park

Abbie and Cyrus on their way to Banff...

and happily married!

Cyrus at Olive Lake, Kootenay NP

Castle Mountain, Banff Canada

Crags above SE side of Lake Louise, Banff

Looking SW across Lake Louise.

Mt. Temple to the up and left, Mt. Victoria up and right in the clouds. Abbie and I bought our first rope from an Australian working in Banff for the summer. had been waiting all summer for the purchase and had a great time climbing on the cliffs on the right of this picture. Good view from the top!

Glacial silt into Lake Louise.

Cyrus is pretty sure this is what give the

lake its amazing baby blue color.

Looking NE across Lake Louise to the Chateau de Lake Louise.

Chateau de Lake Louise. It's really different to see a large resort in a national park, because we are not used to seeing this in the states.

Our Wedding - August 19, 2006

Click on the Image for a larger view...
Cyrus' father is a very talented photographer. He spent most of his time in Red Lodge behind the camera documenting the event and people. These photographs are a great gift to us as it is an authentic representation of our wedding. Thank you Ian. It was Ian who started this blog as a way for us to share these photos with our family and friends. We hope to continue sharing as we adventure together in life.

Thanks for the great signs Dad!

Pastor Tad

Tad, Steven and Cyrus

Cyrus and his nephew, Steven

Lookin' good

Our Best Man, Reid

The Groom

Waiting to see Abbie for the first time...

Oh My!

Our Moms

Father of the Bride

One of the better ideas we had...Since we were married in Luther, MT (about 20 minutes from Red Lodge) we rented a bus to drive guests to the wedding site and back to the reception. Before the wedding, the wedding party rode out early. What follows are some of my favorite portraits.

Reid

Maybe a little nervous

But Happy

Stephanie, Matron of Honor

Davis

Abby

Davis

Kristy

Annie

Abbie's Mom racing past the bus

Annie

Drew

Annie

Reid
Abbie's brother, Tim
Heather
Lanny
J.T.
Abby
Abbie and Steph
Jess, suprised by the bride
Mom checking out the view

the wedding site

Tim and Jacob, our musical friends Tad, our pastor
Sue B.
It's hard walking in heels down a dirt road





My girls looking beautiful
Dad and I arriving in the carriage We had a great time riding down the hill. We talked the whole way, laughed and enjoyed the moments before the ceremony together.
I got really nervous when we got closer to the crowd. There were so many friends and family members gathered in Luther, Montana. Many of the people I had not seen yet and I was overwhelmed by their presence. Thank you all for making it such a special day.

Taking it all in....I am pretty sure I wasn't breathing at this time.
Morgan and Rebekah

Beautiful Mom
GG drove all the way from California to be with us