Looking back on 2006

Before we get too far into the new year, I wanted to take a look back at what we did last year. We had a busy year, but it was pretty relaxed compared to 2005 (started a new job, bought a house, got Cowboy, got engaged and got married). We had a lot of fun experiences and shared good times with our friends and families. We're looking forward to a 2007 filled with just as much love, laughter and Cowboy-vexation!

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January

We rang in the New Year at Mark & Rebecca's Pimps 'n' Goldiggas party, followed by fireworks at Justin's and martinis at Marcus'. Gary was in town with Valentina, so we finally got to meet the Italiana who'd stolen his heart. We also enjoyed some Texas BBQ at Dave & Dawn's Rose Bowl party, lots of sushi at my birthday dinner, and a Sh*tkickers show at the Tractor Tavern. We ended January in North Carolina, celebrating the Chinese New Year with my mom and Manfred.

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February

February was a pretty mellow month. We followed up one of the most beautiful ski days at Crystal with one of the coldest ski days at Crystal. We also attended a Superbowl party at a new bar in downtown Seattle, went to another Sh*tkickers show, and celebrated Valentine's Day with dinner at Monsoon and a comedy show at the Paramount.

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March

We started off March with ski trip to Beaver Creek with Chris' family. We attended the DMQ 11th Anniversary show at the Crocodile, where I won a free pony by bringing 25+ guests. We celebrated St. Paddy's day at Kells, followed by a Corndog Day celebration at Tristan's. We attended the Point B Gala at the Triple Door, went on a few hikes, and had our first BBQ of the year.

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April

Chris went on a trip to Zion National Park with his family. We went to another Sh*tkickers show (I know, it's getting ridiculous). We celebrated Chris' birthday with dinner at Morton's, comedy at the Comedy Underground and martinis at Marcus'. My friend Joel K was in town for work, so we met up with him for brunch at Cafe Flora's. We tried to hike to Mason Lake, but lost the trail in the snow. We got all gussied up for the Bonza Bash -- a black-tie birthday party hosted by a group of Aussies.

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May

We said good-bye to Mark & Rebecca as they left for sunnier skies in Texas. We avoided the Cinco de Mayo crowds by heading to Brauwers in Fremont. I played a dead refugee in the Seattle Opera's production of "Macbeth". We went on a very rainy hike to Otter Falls and I took Cowboy on lots of long and sunny walks around Wallingford, Fremont and Greenlake.

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June

We took Cowboy on his first backpacking trip to Necklace Valley. We visited my dad & Joan in Pennsylvania, where Chris had his first exposure to the Amish. He also had his first exposure to Ohio when we drove up the hill to cross the state line (for his benefit). We went to the DMQ Prom show, where we realized that our cheesy 80's clothing are actually trendy again. We bought kayaks and spent a lot of time on the water. We also spent a fair amount of time in the water, as we tried to pull Cowboy on a raft behind our kayaks.

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July

We spent 4th of July in Colorado, where we visited with Chris' family and climbed Engineer. We saw Lyle Lovett at the Chateau Ste. Michelle in Woodinville. We cut down the giant tree in our backyard and filled up our garage with firewood. We celebrated Tristan & Laura's wedding, spent a lot of time on the water, BBQ'd with Eric & Jen, enjoyed opera in the garden at Wenarto's, and partied with the pirates at the Starbucks' family picnic. We did not attend a DMQ or Sh*tkickers show (much to Chris' relief).

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August

We didn't spend a lot of time at home in August. I started off the month with a trip to the Walla Walla wineries to celebrate Lori's bachelorette weekend. The next weekend, we headed out to Sun Mountain Lodge for the Point B Getaway. Then we were off to Europe for our honeymoon, which we'd delayed for a year. We started the honeymoon in Switzerland, where we hiked for a week in the Berner Oberland. After a quick trip through Zurich and Venice, we boarded the m/s Andrea for a week of cruising along the coast and islands of Croatia. After Croatia, we spent a few days in Venice and then headed back to Zurich for one last day before flying home. It was a fantastic trip.

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September

We returned from our honeymoon in early September. Chris' parents came out for a visit just in time to help us celebrate our one-year anniversary. We also went to the Puyallup rodeo finals with Robin, Glenda & Tatum, where we heard the happy news that Tatum will be getting a little brother or sister in Feb 2007. After two DMQ-free months, we saw DMQ at the Fremont Oktoberfest. The month ended with Chris and Todd finally fulfilling the golfing dream they've shared since college -- they played Pebble Beach and Spy Glass in Monterey.

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October

Things finally began to settle down a bit in October. I did take one trip -- to celebrate Oktoberfest in SF with Trisha -- but other than that, we stayed pretty close to home. Ben & Carrie had an open house to show off the work they did over the summer and to celebrate Carrie's birthday and promotion. We went to a Sh*tkickers show. Margaret and I climbed Granite Mountain, where I took a photo of Cowboy that was published in the Seattle Times. I also dressed Cowboy up as Cownt Dracula for Halloween.

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November

November was a very rainy month -- the wettest month ever recorded in Seattle. We avoided the rain by staying indoors, enjoying a delicious dinner at Chez Garner, our first English Sunday dinner at Ben & Carrie's, and bowling with Mark & Erin. We celebrated Thanksgiving with my dad & Joan in Pennsylvania. When we returned, we got in our first ski days of the season. I was lucky enough to be flying to Vegas the day it snowed in Seattle, so I got to hang out for an entire day in the airport. I spent a week in Vegas at Autodesk University, where I got to be one of those people who walks around the casinos with my branded conference bag and a huge name tag.

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December

We kicked off the month with the Figgy Pudding Caroling Competition in downtown Seattle. I sang with the Coffee Choir, and we won first place in both the Figlanthropy (raising money for the Pike Market Senior Center) and Best Chorale categories. Margaret, Carrie & I baked a ridiculous amount of cookies. Emily & Brett got married, I ran in the Jingle Bell Run with Katherine & David, and Aran turned 30. We helped Jeff move into his new house and wished Mike & Jen well as they left for Truckee. We skied at Steven's and Crystal and celebrated the holidays at Eric & Jen's Christmas party. We spent Christmas in Colorado with Chris' family, where we managed to schedule our flights to avoid the major snowstorms that shut Denver down. We replaced our wood-burning fireplace with a gas insert, so now we have a lot of firewood we don't need. Margaret & I spent the last day of the year snowshoeing, and then Chris & I headed to Ben & Carrie's for a New Year's Eve dinner.

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So that was our 2006! I've been keeping this blog for a year now, and I hope that you have enjoyed following our adventures! And in case you've been keeping track, I did keep my New Year's resolution from last year: I didn't send my friends and family to a porn site by accident. Yay! I hope this year is just as successful.