Saturday, December 4, 2010

Merry Christmas from the Haleys - 2010

2010 has been quite a year for the Haleys... Full of joys, sorrows, losses and lots of thanks for every day they have been allowed to take another breath! They'd like to share the year with you!! (The blue, underlined words are links to pictures on smugmug or to other sites.)

Let’s start with an update on their grandkids! Mya and Austin turned 14 – they will be 15 in 2011, old enough to drive! Serena, Taylor and Tanner turned 12, Kinley and Reghan turned 11, Makenah and Ashton turned 7, Ella turned 5 and Josiah turned 4. Let’s see… Yup that is 11. AND #12 will be here in April! Daughter Megan is expecting her 4th child.

And now, before we get too far in to 2010, let’s see how 2009 ended…

Marissa and her family – husband Johnny and sons Taylor and Ashton – came to Cheryl and Doug's house for Christmas Eve. They cheated though and went out for dinner – Mexican of course - El Charro. Then they went home and opened gifts ending with the customary treasure hunt!



Check out the pictures of a fun Christmas Eve here.



Then they crashed the Spokane Christmas celebration! There was food, games, fun and gifts. The partying tuckered everyone out – even Doug's Dad’s dog Bo!






See all of the fun in pictures here!










So now, let’s visit 2010…

January

The year started the way 2009 ended, connecting with old classmates, old co-workers and “long lost” family members they never knew they were even related to! Haha Cheryl decided to head to Colville, WA to visit with an old girlfriend there – Lori and her husband Les.

These were both friends from Cheryl's junior high through freshman years of school. She also visited with some other former classmates while there. Pictures of the visit are here.

For Christmas 2009, Doug gave Cheryl (and himself!) dance lessons at the Abbey Ballroom in Tacoma with Terry West Productions. They started in the beginner’s class for the West Coast Swing. Doug didn't have a problem knowing which foot was left and which was right, but be darned if he could keep a beat... Anyway, they went to 4 weeks of lessons before Doug tweaked his back and lessons were out of the question for several weeks. They hope to pick them up again in 2011! Check out Cheryl's dancing boots!

Both Doug and Cheryl's birthdays occur in January - two days apart from one another. However, Cheryl wants it to be pointed out she is 1 year AND 2 days younger than Doug... They decided for 2010 they would celebrate their birthdays in Boise with several days of skiing at Bogus Basin.

Check out pictures of the weekend here.

They were able to head up to Bogus twice. Once with Caleb, Greg, Mya, Reghan and Tanner. Monica even went along and hung out in the lodge. They went up again on Monday with Greg, Mya and Tanner. This was Cheryl's first time boarding in SIX years since her back surgery. Check out Cheryl @ Bogus! She did great and is feeling fine!

They also started adding older pictures they've scanned to FB and SmugMug. Check out their growing album of "old" pictures here!









February

February included a trip to Boise to help Monica move, a Valentine's get away and a three day trip to Phoenix for Doug to attend a conference on Financial Management for Law Firms.

While the focus of their February visit to Boise was to help Monica move, Cheryl managed to find time to spend with her friends Rita and Jorene.




For Valentines, let's use Cheryl's FB post - Doug, you are the greatest example of a sweetheart! So grateful I'm your Valentine! Surprising me with the South Pacific play, dinner at Palominos & a night at the Pan Pacific Seattle hotel with an afternoon checkout (reservations you made back in Nov.!) I love you Doug & feel very spoiled & loved!! What's amazing is that you do this stuff for me all year long, not just today!! Thank you for the man you've chosen to be!!

And you remember a little earlier in this post where it mentioned Doug had tweaked his back? Well here's a FB comment about his back on February 14th... I am so crooked that from behind, my head is to the right of my right hip... I am so crooked, even if I stand on tippy toe on my right foot I still am not straight... I am so crooked, I need to whine...I hurt! boo-hoo After some x-rays, an MRI and a few doctor visits they determined he needed physical therapy and would be fine... It was the middle of March though before he was 100% again!

March

Grandson Ashton celebrated his 7th birthday in March. He had some friends over for a sleep-over and then family joined in on the celebration the next day. Check out more pictures of his birthday party here.

Cheryl had rotator cuff surgery in March. It has been a long recovery and still aches at times, but in the long run the tear has been repaired and they hope the surgery gives her a stronger shoulder!

And while Doug rides the Gold Wing to work almost every day, he looks forward to "real" rides!
He took his first ride in March on a warm and sunny afternoon. Check out the blog post here.

April

April brings baseball in to their life - grandkids and Mariners! They took in one of Ashton's games in April.

More pictures can be seen here!




Caleb visited for a long weekend. One of the days involved a visit to Seattle to do some shopping and goof around at the Seattle Center.

Check out more pictures of his visit here!




And April brought their first Mariners game of the season.



They were given some wonderful seats just behind home plate. Remember the Seattle Sonics? Remember Detlef Schrempf?


He was seated in the same row as Cheryl and Doug. Doug went down and said hello along with some other mumbled words... haha At least he didn't bother him for his autograph!


May

May? Well, May was about Hawaii! Mostly. Doug's office was moving over Memorial Day weekend and that was his focus for May - even at the rate of 2 to 3 hours a day from Hawaii. The time invested was worth it as their move went off without a hitch. 30 people shut down on Friday and started back up Tuesday morning as if nothing happened. Nice!

But now back to the highlight of the year! Hawaii!! It was the first time for both Cheryl and Doug so they decided to spend nearly three weeks there on three different islands!

They left on April 29th and came home on May 16th.


The trip started on Oahu where they attended the wedding of a daughter of a long time friend of Cheryl's.

They were able to spend some time with other relatives including son Greg and his wife Megan.



They visited Pearl Harbor and the Dole Pineapple Plantation, snorkeled from a catamaran off the beach of Waikiki and visited Haleiwa.

From there they traveled to the Big Island of Hawaii. They did the most organized tours here -


snorkeling from a catamaran in a beautiful bay with a shark, a volcano tour where they got to see the glow of the flowing lava at night and took in a wonderful luau!




















The last island, and by far the most beautiful and relaxing of their trip was Kauai! No organized trips...just relaxing on the beach, snorkeling here and there,
an open-door helicopter ride, a hike along the Napali coast and Doug rented a Harley to "ride the island"!




It was a wonderful vacation and yes, they will go back, to Kauai!

In case you want to see ALL of the pictures taken during their vacation, here are the links!




June

Along came summer and Doug and Cheryl were out and about - Mariner games and street fairs. Doug even got to meet Dino Rossi!

June also included a visit from Cheryl's Mom and Dad. They did some sight-seeing and took a trip to Port Angeles to watch Doug's sister-in-law Gwen finish her first half-marathon - the North Olympic Discovery Half-Marathon. Afterwards they visited with Doug's Uncle Tom and Aunt Joan, as well as with Doug's Dad and step-mom Linda and Gwen and her family.

They also took a quick weekend trip to Boise to help Monica move in to a more appropriate place for her and the kids. They always enjoy seeing family in Boise - especially Doug when he gets to go to the Boise co-op and buy wine!

July

July continued their round of the street fairs and Mariner games - many of them aboard the Gold Wing, including a trip one day that included Kent Cornucopia Days, Ballard Seafood Fest and a Mariners' game with Felix Hernandez pitching!

And of course they were there when Jose Lopez hit a grand slam in the bottom of the 8th to give the Mariners a win over the NY Yankees! Oh yeah!

They rode the Gold Wing to Lynden WA to attend a surprise birthday party for Cheryl's Cousin Keith.



The ride included their first visit to the Conway Pub and a chance to meet some other motorcycle riders.
Check out the pictures here!

July also included a retirement party for Doug's brother-in-law Wes. He had decided to retire early to help with his cancer battle. His son Colin and wife Isha threw a wonderful party at their home!







And July brought more visitors - Talya and her family from Oklahoma! They were here for a wedding and to visit family.
Doug and Cheryl were able to spend a number of days with them as well as have some wonderful pictures taken in Darrington!

When Talya and the grandkids arrived, they headed for a Chinese buffet! While sitting around after lunch, Kinley (now 11) turned to Grandpa Doug and asks, "So Grandpa, what was it like in the old days?" LOL The question was humorous, but they actually had quite a conversation around how things have changed since Grandpa was their age... One of their adventures was to Kingston - just cause.





Check out a few more pictures of their visit here!







August

August started with a 4+ day motorcycle ride to Glacier Park and Going to the Sun Road! Total trip - 1478 miles!


They road with friends from Spangle, WA - Marty, Kathy and Gary.

Check out the blog post about the ride - more pictures and more links! Glacier Park 2010!











September

September 3 brought the passing of Doug's brother-in-law Wes. He lost his courageous fight with cancer and went home to be with our Lord. It was of course a hard time for Doug's sister Debbie and her sons Kenny and Colin.



A Celebration of Wes' Life was held shortly after his passing - a time to remember Wes - for family, friends and former co-workers.



Rest in peace Wes.

September also included a cornhole tournament at Doug's daughter's place in Oso, WA.
They even had a taco truck there with some yummy food! All had a good time and Marissa ended up winning the tournament! Check out a few pictures of the day here!




And Doug and Cheryl went to the last four games of the Mariner season - yup all four of them. And they lost all four... Maybe next year! Doug finally got to stop at this Mexican Food bus along the light rail!

Doug and Cheryl went to the Puyallup Fair in September - Cheryl's first time.
They participated in 3 simultaneousness treasure hunts taking them all over the fairgrounds! Check out all of the fair pictures here!

And September included an ABX (Airborne Express for you uninitiated! haha) reunion at Sammamish Lake State Park!



September also saw the loss of Cheryl's job. She was laid off on September 3 and as of the writing of this blog is still looking for work...

October

October included attendance to some of grandson Ashton's football games - his first year playing tackle football. You can check out more pictures of #12's stellar season here!

Doug's nephew Ben ran a half-marathon in Spokane - so that gave the Haleys a reason to have a party in Spokane! Food, family and cards - a great combo!


Caleb also came out to visit again in October...mostly just spent some time with his Mom hanging out...







November



Doug and Cheryl celebrated their 5th anniversary on November 14th. Doug's FB post on the 14th - FIVE YEARS and two months ago, I met this lady from Boise, ID. We met online @ christiancafe.com 9/9/05 and after exactly 1 week of phone conversations, I flew to Boise to meet her on 9/16/05. As I walked towards her after coming off the plane, I knew in an instant this was it. As I hugged her and we walked towards baggage claim, it was like I was with a life-long friend. ‎4-1/2 hours later I asked her to marry me. Just shy of two months later we got married and she moved to the Puget Sound area. Now five years later we get to celebrate that "instant" in life. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY CHERYL ANN. I love you - forever!

The weekend after their anniversary, they went to a Weekend to Remember Marriage Getaway at the Semiahmoo Resort in Blaine WA. It was a rich and re-affirming weekend, ending with a renewal of their wedding vows. The Haleys recommend this get-a-way to all!

November 22 brought quite a winter storm to their area. The Haleys would eventually get a foot of snow! Doug's commute home on the 22nd was horrendous! A 40 minute commute turned in to 6 hours. At one point he moved only .3 miles (Yes, POINT 3) in TWO hours! Then, just 2 miles from home, Doug skidded on ice, crashing in to a curb. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but the car was un-drivable and needed to be left near the scene of the crash. Doug's office closed the next day and he was able to recover his car and get a rental car. Their car is back on the road again!

Cheryl created a great snowman out of the snow and then she and Doug had a little fun with Frosty...





Thanksgiving followed a few days later.
Cheryl and Doug invited her nephew Josh and his wife Kerstin and their daughter Claire over for dinner. They played guitar hero,


ate WAY too much GREAT food and then played cards.


Check out all of the pictures here!


Wrapping up November was a dinner cruise as part of the Christmas Ship Parade. The Christmas ship was followed by several boats including their ship where they enjoyed a 4 course meal. All of the boats were decorated with Christmas lights.

The Christmas ship would stop offshore from various locations and carolers on the boat would sing, broadcast to the shore via huge speakers. Doug and Cheryl were able to go outside on to a deck of the ship and listen to the carols.



Pictures of the evening can be seen here.


December

December started with a fun weekend...

Doug and Cheryl did some Christmas caroling of their own - from kayaks!



That's right, they paddled a kayak up to houseboats on Lake Union where they sang carols along with 40 other kayakers to party guests at the particular houseboat.













Then on the 5th they were able to attend a Seahawk game against the Panthers (compliments of some friends!).



Enough said!


So, that's the year for the Haleys in a nutshell. A very large nutshell! LOL There is still more ahead though before the end of the year. You'll just have to check back again next year to see how they finished off the year!

The Haleys just need to say they have a very blessed life. They are thankful to their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for their health, Doug's job and beautiful family.


Merry Christmas everyone!


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