After skipping a year of Holiday letters, it feels as though there is too much to say and not enough time. It’s been really busy around here while we switch gears to the holidays, so please bear (elk?) with us as we try to remember everything that’s happened.
Last winter was a rough introduction to the new house - we were without power for a full week after the big windstorm swept through the area, affecting a large portion of the Puget Sound region. The house got down to 45 degrees, except for the downstairs. We stayed with Savannah’s parents for the duration.
There were some things we took away from this experience: 1) we needed a generator, 2) the downstairs gas fireplace operates on a battery, and 3) gas water heaters work without any electricity at all. We installed a generator hookup to the house and will be ready for what comes this winter.
We’ve done a tad bit of home improvement - we painted the outside of the house and started building a giant (permanent) compost bin. The house looks fantastic with its new (red) color. The compost bin is only about half-done. It turns out that our soil isn’t really soil at all. It’s more like sand holding miniature boulders together with a thin veneer of topsoil, so digging post holes was quite a bit of effort. Savannah’s Dad and Rob also re-nailed the siding to the garage, performing a much better job than the original contractors.
Besides work over the summer, we also got out a town a bit, taking a trip to Reno to meet Savannah’s aunts and uncles and spent a week messing around in the sun and the casinos. There was a little bit of gambling and we toured the car museum – they even had the Bat Mobile! We took one day and hit South Lake Tahoe, where AirBiscuit went into the water. He’s absolutely crazy because that water wasn’t more than 50 degrees. We got lucky and ended our stay just as the large wildfires were taking hold.
In September we were able to visit AirBiscuit’s brother and his wife in LA for a few days. We had a wonderful time with them at the beach. Savannah finally got to see Universal Studios; she was so excited the whole time that they took pictures of everything along the tram tour. She even got attacked by Jaws, which just made her day, and they were all drenched in Jurassic Park to top it all off.
For Thanksgiving, we went to Spokane to stay with AirBiscuit’s parents. They just had their house remodeled and the differences were striking. They turned their back porch into a sunroom, expanded the garage, and added a new master bedroom and bath off the back corner of the house. We got to see the whole family, including our nephew and niece.
Now, we’re settling in for Christmas and wanted to take time to let you know that we’re doing great in our new home. We hope you and yours have a fun and safe holiday.