My REAL New Car

Yesterday, my dear sweet loving and thoughtful husband spent 7 1/2 hours at the Acura dealer negotiating on a new car for ME! What a guy. He bought me an Acura TSX. It is a charcoal grey with black leather interior. The car literally talks to you, thanks to the navigation system. Not only can the car talk, but unlike my teenager, the car can listen! You give the car a command, like "temperature 72" and the car repeats your command and then executes it. This is SO COOL. Yes, I'm a new car nerd! There are so many bells and whistles on this car that its going to take me months to figure them all out. Of course I could read the manual, but what fun would that be?
Thank you Tim! I love you!

Christmas Day

Merry Christmas

from our house to yours!

We were up with the sun today so Kaitlyn could tackle her presents under the tree. Apparently Santa was paying attention this year cuz Kaitlyn received her very own digital camera...now she can keep her mitts off mine. Thank you Santa!
Our friends Terri and Jay came over for a little while this afternoon to visit and exchange gifts. Terri and I have this weird connection that is unexplainable even after 20 years. We both got each other Amazing Grace gifts. Weird!
My Mom came over this afternoon and stayed for dinner. She, Tim and Kaitlyn are downstairs right now playing a game as I sit here and blog. We all have our priorities!
Tomorrow we are getting a new window installed to replace the one broken in the storm. Then Kaitlyn and I are headed for some serious shopping! I LOVE having the day after Christmas off!

~My New Car~

Tim, the generous husband that he is, knew that I really wanted a new car this Christmas, so he got me one!
Too bad that it's a remote controlled Z car and not a full size Z car sitting in my garage! I guess it's the thought that counts!

Merry Christmas

This morning was Christmas in the Babbitt house for Rose & Derek. It has been proven that Santa can indeed read! Most of their Christmas Wish Lists were fulfilled. Funny how that works!
They are each sporting some of the new attire in the photo...Derek with his North Carolina sweatshirt and Rose with her new North Face jacket.

Happy Birthday Chris!

Happy Birthday Chrissie Pissie!

This morning the Triple Threat met at the Hob Nob for Chris's Birthday breakfast. With her birthday falling on Christmas Eve, it is especially important that we separate the birthday celebrating from the Christmas celebrating! Unfortunately, Chris's wish was to play poker on her birthday, but our poker hang out was closed for the Holiday. How RUDE! But her favorite breakfast spot was open. We even got them to sing "Happy Birthday" which was enjoyed by all!

We wish you the happiest of birthdays and a wonderful year ahead!

Answered Prayers!

This was one of the most nerve racking mornings of my life! Today I sat for my Series 7 exam....and passed!

Thank you to the many people who have been praying for me. When I left the house at 5:50 this morning there was a little note of encouragement from Kaitlyn. She reminded me of the verse: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Today was proof of that! I know that God was with me through this process and guiding me to this end.

Congratulations should also go out to Mike Mauss who passed his Series 7 exam yesterday!

Woo Hoo! Let the celebrations begin!

Snow Days!

Oh the weather outside is frightful, but when you are a kid, it is so delightful!
Kaitlyn has spent the last two days at home due to the inclimate weather. This is her latest snow creation!

Sir Timothy and His Royal Princesses!

Photos from Thanksgiving Day 2006.

Report Card Time

This time of year can be so scary for the parents - as much as it is for the kids - except in the case of Kaityn affectionately called "Katie Sue" or "LewyToons". Her very first report card from High School came in the mail last week. There was a brief tense moment as I was opening the envelope, but in typical Kaitlyn fashion, all that appeared inside was a page full of A's! Congratulations Kaitlyn and keep up the good work!

Happy Halloween!

I was looking for a photo of Bailey in one of his adorable Halloween costumes to post, but couldn't seem to find an electronic version of one. In my searching, I found this adorable photo of Chase Alyssa Tanquilut and Uncle Timmy. Is she not the most adorable little thing? This photo was taken on Tim's 40th birthday, so its a little out-dated. Chase turned 5 in August and just started kindergarten. I wish we could see her all dressed up for Halloween!

Series 7 Hell

Could there be any more binders on my dining room table? This is where I sit for at least 2 hours every night trying to study for the Series 7 exam. I have study materials from 3 separate sources. Trust me when I say a lot of trees died so that I might understand this information!
Tonight is OPTIONS, basically I've decided it's legalized gambling! I finally figured out how to diagram the options to find out the break-even points, the maximum gain and the maximum loss for the calls, puts, spreads and straddles. Yes, it sounds like a foreign language, but hopefully it will soon be as easy to understand as English!!!!

Wisdom For Life....

Proverbs 17:9
He who covers and forgives an offense seeks love, but he who repeats or harps on a matter separates even close friends.

Sometimes its really good to go to church and have the pastor speaking directly to you, even with a thousand other people in the same room. This was the case today! I love how God has been granting my requests for "handwriting on the wall" recently.

There are several things happening in my life right now and I'm having a hard time keeping my seat belt fastened on the rollar coaster. Please pray that God will continue to show me the paths to take that align with His plans for my life! Any may I always remember to THINK before I speak (is it True, is it Helpful, is it Inspiring, is it Necessary, is it Kind?)!

~ Birthday Girl ~

Happy Birthday to You!
Happy Birthday to You!
Happy Birthday Dear Maxine!
Happy Birthday to You!

Wishing you a wonderful birthday and a year full of joy and happiness that surpasses all prior years combined!
I love you dearly and am so grateful for our 20 years of friendship. I hope we celebrate the next 20 birthdays together!
Love Always,
Mabel

So-Long....Farewell....Auf Wiedersehen

This morning I said "goodbye" to my dear friend Chris, as we loaded up the moving truck with her belongings and sent her off to Portland where she has a great job opportunity waiting for her.
I will miss her greatly, but due to the fact she finally broke down and bought a cell phone (which trust me is a MIRACLE!) we can chat whenever we want - for FREE since we both have Verizon.
Since Portland is just a mere 2 1/2 hour drive down the freeway, I'm sure we'll still see each other, but it won't be the same as walking a block down the street to see her at the bank or running into her and Lisa at lunch. Those spontanious moments I will miss, along with our 8:30 weekend breakfasts and poker tourneys.
GLUCK - GLUCK - GLUCK Miss Lyons on your new endeavors. Know that you are wished the very best and that I can't wait to come check out the new digs and actually be let in the door!!!!

Seaside

The view from our room on Saturday as the sun rises and the moon sets over the Pacific.








Then 30 minutes later as the sun begins to shine. This is what we could see from every spot in our hotel room, with the exception of the bathroom. Breathtaking! We'd open the sliding glass door so we could hear the soothing sounds of the ocean.


Cannon Beach with Haystack Rock in the distance.








Last night's sunset in Seaside as we walked the Prom on our way to dinner.

It's my birthday

It's official...this is what 39 looks like!

After dreading the coming of this day, it turned out to be OK. Here's how my day played out.......

Got to work this morning and had my own personal quartet singing "happy birthday". Got some great gifts from some incredibly sweet and generous people including: eye art, home-made cookies, a cookie bouquet, candles, candy, amazing orchids, and other fun stuff.
Had a little surprise in the conference room around 11:30 when I walked in to 3/4 of the Fabulous Foursome singing, more presents and the all important chocolate-raspberry birthday cake inscribed with "Happy Birthday Babbs". Pretty cool (and tasty!).
When I got home Tim had flowers and a beautiful diamond pendant waiting for me. The evening was capped off by a fantastic steak dinner and fresh baked spice cake with cream cheese frosting (all done by Timmy himself). Yes, I am on sugar-overload today! Terri and Jay came over for dinner and it was a great evening with family & friends. The perfect way to finish out a darn good birthday.

Thank you to all who celebrated with me and made my birthday so special !!!

She's Beautiful!

My Beautiful Baby!

What a large tongue you have Bailey!

Katie Sue & Timmy Too!

The Adventures of Maxine & Mabel

Maxine & Mabel take on SFO to Celebrate 20 Years!

First we took a bus to Vancouver, Canada and then a Princess Cruise to San Francisco and then spent a few days in the City. Our tour group consisted mainly of retired folks. We were the youngest on the bus of 53 people, we figured the average age was 65-70. By the end of the trip (who am I kidding, after the first 5 minutes) the geriatric generation was completely on my nerves! It was an exercise in patience....which I don't have!
Hanging out with Terri is always fun. I forget how easy our friendship is and how we can have an entire conversation with just a look or three little words. I guess that comes after 20 years of friendship! Some of our experiences included massages on the ship, morning cocktails (and afternoon, and evening!), lots of food, interesting art, a trip on the Napa Valley Wine Train, sightseeing, shopping on the Wharf and Union Square and lots and lots of laughter. During our trip, we traveled on several modes of transportation: Bus, Ship, Train, Cable Car, Taxi, and Airplane. We packed a lot into 5 days and 4 nights!
Can't wait to experience our "anniversary" trip when we celebrate 40 years of friendship. Oh no....we'll be the geriatric generation then! Perish the thought!!!!

Sunrise

The morning sky from our back deck as seen through the eyes of Kaitlyn.

Poker Update

What are the chances that twice in the last three attempts, Kris (yes, that's Kris with a "K") would make it to the final table in a poker tournament? Well, if you said 100%, you'd be absolutely correct and probably shocked (as was I)!

My first trip to the final table a few weeks ago had me finishing in 8th place and winning back my $20 entry fee.

Yesterday, Chris, Dani and I all played in the tournament at Chips. It was Dani's first "real" poker tournament and she did remarkably well. She was cool as a cucumber! Chris and Kris both made it to the final table. I even confiscated some of Chris's chips. Apparently my teacher taught me well! I ended up finishing 5th in the tournament and won $47!!!!! Whoo Hoo!!!

You might as well JUMP!

No, it's not the Van Halen song.....it's the Lewis/Babbitt teenagers jumping off the back of the Instant Gratification last weekend. Each has a unique jumping style as the camera catches them mid-air on the way into the chilly lake!


I love this shot too! I think it is so cool how the kids reflection is seen in the water below.

High Schooler

Kaitlyn's first day of high school.....and she survived!

What a happy family!

Shelley Mauss Photography is responsible for this lovely family photo and for the brand new blog header above. She rocks!

A Day on the Lake

Kaitlyn sitting in her newly found floatie!

Kaitlyn & Derek jumping off the back of the boat.

Miss Shelley enjoying her first outing in the Instant Gratification.

Stowaway

We had a stowaway on the Instant Gratification tonight. Tim and Kaitlyn were sharing their dinner with the ducks and the duckies didn't like it much when they stopped. This brave fellow just jumped right aboard the boat, probably thinking he had a better chance at more food .

Kaitlyn gave names to 4 of the 8 ducks this evening: Larry, Purdy, Queen and King. She believes the photo above is Larry.

I took the photo with my camera phone and actually figured out how to upload it to my computer....very impressive, if I do say so myself.

Still in Love.....

Photo compliments of Shelley Mauss Photography.












Yes, that is Tim's beer bottle in the background!

FOR ME?????

My Dream House on the shores of Lake Washington. Since my birthday is just a mere 5 short weeks away, Tim has been asking me what I want. Well, I picked out this amazingly beautiful house. You know what they say.....Dream Big! I think this house might just be big enough. There are even two chairs on the dock waiting to be filled with Babbitts!
The only problem is that the people hired to simply maintain the grounds probably make more money than we do! I don't think I'll be seeing this house with a big red bow on it anytime soon, but its a nice dream!

Commercial Ready!

Tim is ready to star in the next Coors Light commercial. We were out on the Instant Gratification this weekend and darned if he weren't wearing a Coors Light shirt while drinking a Coors Light. How unusual for Tim to be wearing a beer shirt and/or drinking a beer!
Don't you think the Coors company should pay for this great advertisement?

When you're HOT you're HOTT!

Tim-the-Tool-Man Babbitt

Most people would just use hornet spray to kill the nasty critters in their nest - but not my husband. Oh No! He uses expandable insulation foam to completely fill their home and suffocate the buggers. However, since he doesn't read directions, he did this during daylight hours and not all the hornets were inside their nest, so some of them are completely ticked off flying around trying to get back into their home. I do hope they go away soon!

Nasty Nasty Bees

Make that Bald-Faced Hornets. I got an email from Kaitlyn when I was at work today that we had a bees nest at home that was bigger than her head. Well, turns out she was right. It's the size of a freaking basketball! Needless to say that I will not be venturing into the backyard until these nasty little buggers are dead and gone! The exterminator people want $150 to dawn their gear and make this go away. Sounds like money well spent to me. Tim hasn't seen it yet, but guessing my his macho-man attitude, he'll be doing the job himself. I hope he doesn't get stung, cuz he'll be on his own. I'll be safely tucked away inside the house with all of the windows and doors closed and locked up tight! Did I mention that I HATE bees!!!

Up...Up....And Away

Tim Flies!
Yes, the photos are of Tim actually flying an airplane! A flight lesson, with fabulous instructor Jeff Christopher, was Tim's birthday present this year. Yesterday afternoon Tim and Jeff took to the sky from Northwest Aviation College in Auburn. They flew up over Enumclaw, right over our house on South Hill but Tim got to feeling mighty queasy and they headed back for the airport. Tim had a blast and only wish he hadn't felt so bad toward the end. Tim even received an official Pilot Log book with is flight details as a souvenier. Jeff said he'd fly with Tim again anytime. Boy, does Tim have some big shoes to fill with my birthday just a about 7 weeks away!
(coming in for landing over Lowes!)

Princess Fieona

Leave it to my sister to name my niece after a cartoon character, but she is so adorable that she has been forgiven! She might be named after the princess in Shrek, but she looks more like Boo from Monster's Inc.

a ray of sunshine....

Sometimes when you are at your lowest, the simplest things can help you remember the happy times...like attending a wedding. This weekend we made the trek to Bellingham for the wedding of Michael & Kristine Mauss (don't you just love her name?!) Not only was it a beautiful wedding and fun reception (Tim got to bartend on his birthday - what could be better for him....he got to be around beer all night long and 200+ people sang "Happy Birthday" to him) but Tom Mauss provided just the break that I needed. He got the Garden Suite at the Hotel Bellwether on Bellingham Bay for Tim and I. It was amazing! A beautiful setting and oh so relaxing....just what the doctor ordered! The scenic photo is the view (about 25 yards) from our patio. The other photos are some of my favorties from the evening! The last photo is from our stroll around the marina this morning before heading back to real life at home. It was a WONDERFUL escape - even if just for 24 hours!

Rest in Peace!

Darlene A. Lundberg

Dec. 6, 1929 to July 30, 2006

My step-mother, Darlene, passed from death to Paradise this past weekend after a courageous battle with cancer. She was diagnosed with lung cancer this spring and two weeks ago was hospitalized as the cancer had spread to her brain. After spending a week in the hospital we took her home, and cared for her with the help of Hospice until she passed away on Sunday. Today was her funeral service. Family and friends gathered to remember her. Some long-time friends of mine that never even met Darlene made the 1 1/2 hour drive to the service to support me. I also had a surprise guardian angel appear, Michael G. I was extremely touched by his presence, especially considering what his family is currently going through in their fight against cancer.
My Dad and Darlene were together for nearly 35 years. I was just a little girl when they got married. I didn't fully appreciate the gifts she brought to my life until I was an adult. She was a loving and caring person who had a special place in her heart for her grandchildren. She followed, and encouraged others to follow, that golden rule that "if you can't say something nice about someone, then you shouldn't say anything at all". Being from the old school, she tried not to cuss. Her favorite substitute phrases were "berry sauce" and "biscuit eater". I catch myself saying those phrases from time to time. She will be a part of me always.
Darlene, you were loved and will be greatly missed by many. I am so glad you are in a better place with a brand new body that is cancer free. Rest in Peace!

Birthday Party

Today Kaitlyn finally had her 14th birthday party. The girls (and Derek) had pizza, brownies and then headed off to the movies to see The Pirates of the Caribbean 2.