We're home to visit

Well, we got into Oakland airport on Saturday night and were glad to see mom and dad. Since we've been here, we have been trying to spend as much time at home as possible. Our first full day home was spent hanging out around the house. Caitlynn and Adam as well as my sister in law Kate came over for dinner and we watched a movie called Omen. The next day was also spent laying around the house, baking cookies, and watching Cars and Mission Impossible 3 - both of them were really good. This afternoon we drove up to visit grandpa and Jan. Grandpa looks great and Jan looks like she wishes that her shoulder would heal asap.

Timber has been acclimating to the area well. He has been getting along well with Wendy and Sammy and is having a lot of fun with Jan's dog Andy. I think that her likes playing with other dogs who are as tall as he is (Andy is a datchund). Brooke leaves in a few hours for Miami. She is going to hang out with her friend Tara while I go to Tahoe with my friend Toby. I'm already looking forward to having each of us get back into town and spending Thanksgiving with mom, dad and the rest of the family. Brooke wants me to pay attention to her and not this blog so I will be back later.

Here are some photos from our visit to Haunted Horror Nights at Universal Studios in Orlando. We went on a Thursday night thinking that there wouldn't be as many people there. WOW - were we wrong. Most of the attractions had hour-long wait times. It really would have been worth the extra money to get a pass that would have allowed us to jump ahead in line.

Nevertheless, we had a good time. We rode on some roller coasters which acutally weren't that crowded. There were several themed haunted houses but because of the wait times, we only did two. One was the Bates Motel and was done very well and the other had a potpourri of scary people from famous movies jump out at you (like Hellraiser, Jason, Scream, etc.). There were also themed areas. One was Haunted Harvest with people walking in stilts (the woman in red in one of the pictures above). Another was made to look like San Francisco with a virus that broke out and turned people into zombies (the man in the suit above). Lastly was an area with vampires and demons (both pictures with Brooke in them). Lastly, a picture of me with Brooke's friends Jasmine and Rosie.

We're leaving for New York tomorrow before we head out to CA on Saturday, so I probably won't post again until I get to CA. I just talked to Jon which was great. Jon, if you're reading this, it was nice to hear your voice - just what the doctor ordered! Much love, bro.

Or-land-oh!

Here are some pictures from our trip to Orlando. In these pictures, you'll see Brooke's sister Kristen, her son Billy, and her daighter Brianna. The pictures of Brooke and I were taken during a Flintstones style bike ride in a Walt Disney resort area. We had a lot of fun and I can see why a lot of people who live in the Northeast head down south to Florida during the winter months. The temperature was in the high 70's, low 80's while we were there.
I'll post more in a bit.

Holiday Party

Here are some pictures from our holiday party that was held a few weeks ago. It was nice to be loosen up a bit and spend time with the other agents in a more relaxed setting. There was good food, a band, and more importantly, a good excuse for Brooke to get all dressed up. WOW!

Here is a picture of Brooke's mom Carolyn (the one on the right) with Cathy (who is seated on the left). As you might know, Carolyn is my business partner here in the real estate office and Cathy is also an agent (and one of Carolyn's best friends). I share an office with both of them. Carolyn and I are a team and have a desk and Cathy and her son-in-law Dan share the other desk. Four people in one office equals fun and chaos.

The pictures I posted in my last blog were of the inside of our house. It is coming along nicely, thanks to Brooke. We still have a lot to do, but we're pretty much at the point where nothing requires immediate attention except for getting some blinds/curtains for the living room windows. I'm sure we'll stay busy this winter doing things around the house since winter slows me down a lot at work.

My godmother Pew asked me to post another picture of the fall season up here, so here is a fall picture that I took a few weeks ago. Look out Ansel Adams. Now, all of the leaves are pretty much down but it is still pretty in its own way. Well, I should get home. I uploaded all of our photos, so I will be able to post a lot of them over the next several days. Bye 'til then...

~*Home Sweet Home Part 2*~

guest bedroom
fireplace with pumpkins
dining room
living room view from loft

*~Home sweet home~*

Here are the before and after pictures of the exterior of our home. Isn't it crazy what a little paint and yardwork can do?! We're eventually going to get a new front door and do some landscaping, but these changes really helped the "curb appeal". For the next post, I'll include some interior photos.

1st of the month

Well, Brooke and I just got back from our vacation to Florida. I can see why a lot of people from the northeast like to head south for the winter. As the last of the leaves fall from the trees and the cold air gets colder, it was nice to head down there and get a sunburn in the 80+ degree weather. We're supposed to get some snow sometime this week. Uuuuggggghhhhh!!!!!!
I don't have much going on here at work, so I'm going to get out of here. We took a lot of pictures on our trip, so I have a lot of pics post. I'll try to get that started tomorrow.