Looks who's new!

Well, the word is out! We're expecting our first baby around August 11th! Last night and today we are making the big announcement before everyone figures it out one way or another.

Above is an ultrasound of the baby at 12 weeks.

Above is a nice profile at 13 weeks.

Alien baby! We think it really looks like Kent in this one!

Update

We've been very busy lately. Kent is now finished conducting the orchestra for the musical Oklahoma and Annie is 1/2 way through conducting the orchestra for Wizard of Oz. We have also kept very busy with our pep bands performing at home basketball matches.

Even with our busy schedules we were able to go skiing a few times. Our new favorite spot is a great skiing trail up Blewett Pass.

Annie and her sister Caitlin took a day trip to Seattle. Caitlin was looking for furniture at Ikea for her new house and Annie was just along for the ride. We stopped over at Tom and Kerry's house and got a chance to see some of our family from Alaska.

We bought a new sink faucet and were crossing our fingers that it would fit in our bathroom sink.

Luckily it fit, we love that it fits the style of our 1920's home and it is more functional than the last one.

We also made an improvement to our home by purchasing a new range. Our original one that came with the house never worked properly... so we were very excited to have a properly working range!

Coda

We've had a real hard week. Caitlin's new puppy has been a trying experience for us. He is a beautiful boy with a wonderful personality but a few nights ago it started having seizures. It's so hard to see this sweet puppy having such medical problems. If it was a one time occurrence it would be fine, but it happens way to often. We checked with a veterinarian, but there are not many positive signs for his future. We are all very sad that we have to return this little guy to the humane society. We've put a lot of time and energy into him; it's hard to have this happen. We all feel this is the best choice for us and him, but it's going to be a very tough day tomorrow.

Sunday Skiing

Sunday we went skiing out the Icicle Road in Leavenworth. Caitlin came along with us this time.

We skied up a hill and then flew down (or at least tried to)! Caitlin and I wiped out every minute or so because the snow was so fast. Kent was under control with his telemark skis.

Cassy loves the snow! When we call her, she runs and then pounces, digging her head under the layers of snow.

Coda

On Saturday we went to the Humane Society and picked out this little cutie for Caitlin! Caitlin (Annie's sister) lives in Cashmere now in her own house and needs some company. What's better than having a puppy peeing on your new carpet and chewing your shoes! It has to be "altered" but after the surgery it's ready to take home this Tuesday. We are going to be second parents to it this year when Caitlin is working at the hospital. We are really excited to help out raising a puppy. We haven't had that opportunity because we picked up Cassy at the Humane Society when she was a couple years old.

Kent came up with the name Coda and we all liked it. In musical terms it is sometimes the end of a piece or in Italian it means "tail".

One great idea we picked up when we were waiting in line was to drop off your old blankets at the Humane Society. They can always use them. We'll hopefully take some photos when we give the little guy a bath and introduce him to our houses.

Christmas Eve

For the second year the Icicle Brass Quintet performed for the Christmas Eve service at Sleeping Lady Resort in Leavenworth. It was a packed crowd in a very intimate space.

Chris Shimer, tuba; Jason Thornton, trombone; Kristin Keene, trumpet

Annie and Chris

There were readings with powerpoint presentations which kept the children in the audience entertained.

There was also some great singing.

Mission Ridge

On Christmas Eve we went to our local ski resort Mission Ridge to go skiing with Caitlin and her friend KC. We had an exciting time on the mountain.

Kent really enjoyed his new telemark skiis. He got a lot of practice, because of Annie's slower speeds down the mountain!

Annie trying to get some speed!

Caitlin, Kent and Annie at the top of Mission Ridge. What a beautiful day!

Leavenworth Christmas Lighting Festival

Annie plays in the Icicle Brass Quintet which performed today at the Leavenworth gazebo.

The Travel Channel was there filming the lighting ceremony, so watch for us on that channel this holiday season!

Kent had a great time dancing the chicken dance with the characters (actually students from Cashmere).

First Skiing of the Season!

Saturday we got out skiing for the first time this winter season. Kent used his new telemark ski's for the first time. He is really excited to get out into the back country and use them.

We stopped for a soup and cracker lunch.

After skiing we drove to Leavenworth and checked out the Leavenworth ski hill. There were many kids and adults enjoying the two small rope tows and the new tubing run. It looked like a lot of fun!

Winter Wonderland!

This morning we woke up to a winter wonderland! We couldn't believe how much snow accumulated overnight!

Cassy loves the snow. She runs around pouncing and burrowing into the snow.

Kent was very happy to be able to use his new toy!