welcome to our winter wonderland

We've heard a little bit of buzz going around doubting the amount of snow we have received. To squash such distrust, we will let the pictures speak for themselves.

WE MADE IT!!

Well Dave and I made it through our first year of marriage and we've decided to give it another go. Here's to one more!

Christmas is coming!!

Dave and I have had some requests for pictures of our new condo, so I have taken some to put up only because we finally have something to blog about. CHRISTMAS IS ALMOST HERE! so, in the honor of Christmas....



My parents and my brother, Matt visited us for Thanksgiving and left this morning after 5 days that went way too quickly. They were a little like the 3 wise men bringing with them many gifts. Dave and I scored an extremely generous amount of Larson honey and some tasty banana bread to go with it. They brought me some much needed bowls courtesy of crate and barrel and my mom made me a beautiful quilt for our guest bedroom (picture to follow). Dave, my brother and I skied Snowmass mountain for a day, we played many games that often turned a bit inappropriate thanks to a certain guest. Dave and I are so thankful you guys came to spend the holiday with us. We love you. Mom, you have all the pictures from your trip here so I'll have to get them from you so I can post a couple photos of what we did during your visit. But alas, photos of the condo.

a trespasser

Let's just say we dodged a bullet on this one. We could have both been goners if I hadn't spotted this thing.




Also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE DOUG.

And - Moose is still adorable and perfect. Exhibit A:
Exhibit B:

Teaching reflection

Some stories:

*Dave, Moose and I were invited over "to play and spend the night" at one of my students house, by one of my students while I was teaching a math lesson. To entice me, I was assured that she could "make a really cozy bed for Moose".

*One student was grabbing himself "down there" and I asked him if he needed to use the bathroom. His response "No, I just have an itch on my penis".

*While modeling a writing activity and telling a story about taking my dog on a walk, a student piped up and said "so that's how you're so skinny!" (it really boosted my self-confidence. Seeing how the day before, a student touched my belly and asked why it felt so big. I told him it was because I did lots of sit ups. Convinced him it was all muscle. He was very impressed.

In other news, Dave and I have found renters for our Condo and will be moving up valley into a new condo in 13 days!! The best part, you have to have a security code to get in. No burglars.

More to come.

We've been invaded

The Dorr homestead in Colorado has been broken into. Only things taken belonged to Nikki. If you see her wedding band on craigslist, give us a call. Cash reward

Watch your back, Mitchell

Apparently, Team Dikki is not very good at blogging regularly.

We visited OREGON a few weeks back for some time at the cabin in Diamond Lake, a trip to Philomath, and a short stay in Hockinson. Did I mention we drove?

Here are the goods:
Unlike Golly, Moose is a great traveler. I spent a lot of time on the couch. My brother did some weird things. Crater Lake was blue. Dave washed the millions of bugs stuck to the grill of our car. Hannah enjoyed meeting Moose... We pigged out at Fatty Pattys.

Moose

David and I got a dog! We named him Moose. We think he is a weimeraner chesapeake bay retriever. He is 3 years old. His previous owners had left him on the side of the street and never came to claim him. Their loss! He's a really sweet dog. Here is a picture of him right after a bath. He doesn't look happy. But I look happy enough for the both of us...

R.I.P

Nikster (2002-2008)

You were a loyal car. Always ready to go for a drive no matter what time of day. I hope your new owner takes good care of you. You will be missed.

I think a moment of silence is in order....











I got a different car to takes the Nikster's place. But it will not be the same.

Memorial Day

Today I sprained my ankle. I may not live.

Nikki

Jokes on me

It was just a typical evening at home one night while I was making dinner. But then I discovered this: Apparently, Dave thought that it made a "cool design".

Some important updates

This is a picture one of my 4th graders drew me. Is this really how the students see me? Now, in other more important news:
I balanced an egg on it's top.
Jake and Beka visited. The boys played video games on their computers
Beka and I put some green stuff on our faces.

Meet the Chins

Just another typical day in Colorado at the Dorrs'....until the Chins showed up!!

Mr. Chin
Mrs. Chin

To Sarah:

I see your 84 words typed in one minute and I raise you...

92 words

Speed test

Facebook

I received a message in my inbox on facebook that I thought needed to be shared. This is what the message looked like.

Are you the Nikki Larson I know?
I broke friends with her some time ago and have regretted it ever since.
I have been trying to contact her to say how sorry I was and to express
that it was my greatest regret. I was so stupid and would love to be in
contact again. She really was a true friend.

Does this lady really think we were friends? I looked on her profile and she's from the United Kingdom. That's not even close to Washington. Nonetheless, I hope she finds what she's looking for on facebook.

Trips

First, I just got some excellent photos from my mom that they took on their trip to our cabin in Diamond Lake over Presidents weekend.
Here are my parents in front of the cabin standing at the second level. They don't seem to be too worried about the issue of the door being buried at this point.
Here's mom looking classy as she glides effortlessly across the Lake on her skiis.
Dad looking hip as he sports a backwards hat and sunglasses.
This is the chunk of ice that fell off of the roof. It has been explained to me that "it sounded like a bomb went off!" when it fell.
Digging their way into the cabin.

Now, for Dave and my President's Day weekend trip. We went to Denver where we got lost numberous times, spent way too much money, Dave used the word pretty about 25 times to describe the scenary and we watched a very off-broadway show of Beauty and the Beast. Shrek it out.
We saw wild life. I believe we saw herds of deer on numberous occasions. We saw birds, elk, that's all.
Here we are trying to pretend like we've just really enjoyed the first half of Beauty and the Beast. We could have been the actors.
After the show, we were able to take pictures with the "actors". Instead, we took pictures from afar. I know they just look like normal people, but i think that's Gaston and his sidekick in this picture.
On our way home we saw all these cars parked out on the lake.
So we got out of the car into the wind and cold and stood out there for about 1 minute. The ice looked to be about 5 feet thick. But you never know with those things. Ya know?

So now you decide. Who lives a more exciting life: Us, or my parents?

blind dating

So. Nikki and I have been doing a bit of church hopping lately. You know how it goes: You have a basic idea of what you are looking for in a church. You want the church to be charming, you want to have some good chemistry with the church, and you want it to feel natural. Pretty much, church hopping is like blind dating. You know a little bit about the church, but as you pull into the parking lot, you can't help but judge the church by how it looks. Is this a traditional church? Is is trendy or edgy? You had spent a lot of time getting ready, and you want so badly for the day to go well. You picked out the perfect outfit. You made sure your hair was just right. Your mind is racing. You start to feel a little self-conscious. Did I overdress? As you walk through the front door, you have no idea what to expect. Will they like me? You hope to yourself that if everything else falls through, that at the least the snacks will be worth showing up for. To avoid an awkward, shallow conversation with the greeter, you head straight for the snack table. After pounding down a few donut holes, you decide to head for an unclaimed pew with coffee in hand. The usher smiles, and you politely smile back. Deep down, you are wondering if someone can really be that happy to be handing out pastel-colored church picnic announcements. You could have spent several more minutes pondering this, but you are distracted by a smell. Now, let's be honest. Every church has a smell. It is usually something pleasant, but overpowering: potporri, a large, vanilla candle, or maybe some insense. Whatever the smell, you can be sure it was put there by some well-meaning old lady, and it definitely is not subtle. In spite of it all, you sit down in your pew, and you begin to look around. WHERE ARE ALL THE PEOPLE? You decide that you must have come on an 'off-night'. All of a sudden, a man begins to walk up to the podium. It's the pastor. You can't help but wonder, could he be the one?...

So, pretty much, we are still looking for a church. In other news, Nikki still has no friends in Colorado (except her 2nd graders), and really isn't trying that hard. She seems to be bonding with the 40-somethings who teach at her school. There could be something there. As for me, I keep on working too many hours at the office, while miraculously finding time to trade stocks online, risking money we can't afford to lose. Other than that, this is probably the last time I will ever write a blog, because it ended up pretty long, and only about one sixth as funny as it was in my head before I wrote it.

Peace and love,

Dave

Snow Angel 101

How to make the perfect snow angel.
1. Think about it.
2. Get in the ready position.
3. Begin angeling.
4. Keep it up.
5. Get up very slowly and carefully.
6. Admire your work.