Surprise, surprise!

Yes, we are still here! It's been a LONG few weeks, and I couldn't blog about any of it because we were keeping our move to Portland a secret from Michael's mom, Becky (top photo), and his dad and stepmom, John and Janet. These photos are were taken about the time they figured out the secret (we wrapped change-of-address forms in Christmas packages for them).

We have been in town a little over a week, staying in Vancouver with Michael's sister, brother-in-law and niece Rebecca. They have graciously let us and the dogs crash in their basement, eat their food, watch their digital cable and use their washer and dryer. Thanks, guys! LOTS of free babysitting in our futures.

Michael's parents didn't know we'd be here for Christmas, let alone that we were moving here for good, so it was quite the double whammy of surprises. On top of all that, it was Rebecca's first Christmas!

The movers are showing up tomorrow, so we're still not settled or feeling like we are actually living here. Will post more once we get in the house and get our Internet service hooked up. 

In the meantime, happy new year!

This year's model

I got Michael a gift certificate a year ago for a straight-razor shave at a men's spa. He decided to make the most of it before it expired, so for the first time since I've known him (our first date was Dec. 18, 2002), he's clean-shaven.

It's like having a whole new, younger-looking husband! I love both versions, of course, but am definitely in favor of the change. Yay!

Bonita birthday

Not unlike South Park's Cartman, we are psyched for our visit tomorrow to Denver's famous Casa Bonita. Figured it would make for a memorable birthday, even though from everything we've heard, the food is wretched. Hey, they have Skee-Ball! And sorry for the YouTube link on Cartman; I couldn't get the embed feature to work today for some reason.

Check back for photos of cave-divers and the crazy gorilla.

And sorry I've been a blog slacker lately. You can blame the aging process. : )