Merry Christmas 2008

This Christmas Jake watched Elf for the first time...

"I know him! I know him!"

"You stink. You smell like beef and cheese. You don't smell like Santa."

"You sit on a throne of lies!"

We had a great Christmas this year and enjoyed spending time with both our families. We spent Christmas Eve at the McFarland's and Christmas day with the Ottesons. Jake & I both cleaned up in game department...that should keep us busy this winter. We also gave some "reeeeal nice" gifts - including (a long overdue) family picture of the Otteson clan. We had the picture taken in October then gave it to the family for Christmas.

Jake is enjoying some time off from school - in between the "to do" lists I leave him when I go off to work. It was a tough semester though, so I guess he has earned his break :) The tables will turn when I start school next fall at the University of Utah. I will get my masters in social work (3 semesters). I am excited (and a little nervous) to finally get into the program!

Buckingham Palace

On Friday, August 22nd we moved into our new apartment in Farmington. We love it (thus it's royal title) and it is 3 times bigger than our SLC apartment. It's a great neighborhood and we're looking forward to a change in scenery. Come visit us at our new place...you won't be disappointed!

Catching up...

Well, it's been a busy spring/summer and we've had a blast - but we've neglected our blog! So here is our attempt to show what we've been up to.




In April, we took a unplanned weekend trip down to Moab and had an awesome time!










Jake graduated from Utah State with his bachelors in Business in May. (He starts his Masters program this fall.) And yes, the coon
graduated too...in his mini cap and gown!









I finally ran that 1/2 marathon I've been talking about for ages! :) Ogden Canyon was a beautiful run (a great distraction from thinking about 13 miles) and finished in about 2 hours. I'll definitely do another...








Jake's parents bought a wave runner (they were going to buy a shed, so the wave runner is now named "little sheddy") So fortunately we've spent a lot of time this summer out on the water.









Our one year anniversary in San Francisco in May! Our favorite part was biking across the golden gate bridge. That night there was an amazing firework show at the bay bridge...just for our anniversary I'm sure ;)







This July, the McFarland family all went out to Georgia. This was Jake's first time seeing my "2nd home". We spent some time at the homestead in North Georgia before going to Savannah / Tybee Island. It was great to spend some time with the entire family!

Hazel Elise McFarland

This weekend we were able to meet the chunkiest new addition to the McFarland family. Hazel was born on February 27, 2008. After waiting two weeks over the due date, Jason and Sara are glad she's finally here. I'm pretty sure big brother Kaleid is excited too :)

Midway Feb 26th, 2008

What do you get when you combine 300 lb ice blocks, a chainsaw, and a blowtorch? One heck of an ice sculpting contest! Jake was thrilled when one of the sculptors decided to amuse the KIDS with his favorite cartoon characters, SpongeBob Squarepants.