Merry Christmas from the Anaya family!
Just like every year, 2009 was filled with lots of fun and adventures for Bryan and I. Much has stayed the same for us; however, there has been one huge change for us.
Bryan is still working in Redmond for Microsoft. He works on the Exchange team as a user experience designer. His work focuses on the Outlook Web App, which is the web version of Outlook. Bryan still has his own company creating web sites and enjoys the creative outlet that it brings him. I have been substitute teaching for the Marysville School District, and have been enjoying my time teaching. I also like the flexible work schedule I have with substituting.
The picture on our Christmas card was taken at Coronado beach near San Diego. In March, we flew down to San Diego for several days to spend time with Bryan’s siblings. We had lots of fun with them hiking, exploring the coastline, and even seeing the inside of an aircraft carrier.
In May, we spent 17 days in Australia. We first went to Cairns where we snorkeled at the Great Barrier Reef, walked through the rainforest, and saw lots of native animals. Then we were off to the beautiful city of Melbourne where we walked around the city to the gorgeous gardens and explored numerous museums. We were able to see the whole city from the top of a 55 story building. After Melbourne we flew to Sydney where we met up with some friends and went to Bowral and Kangaroo Valley, two towns south of Sydney. While there, we were able to take some time to relax, and explore the area. We saw an amazing 266 ft waterfall, got very close to a wallaby and a wombat, and saw some of the most beautiful scenery. Then we were off to Sydney to enjoy the city for the last 4 nights of our trip. While we were in Sydney we were lucky enough to have a very good friend of ours as a tour guide. We walked along Manly beach, explored many of the highlights of the city including some museums, the royal Botanical gardens, Paddy’s Market, had amazing coffee and cannolis in the Italian part of Sydney, saw Double Bay, and had some of the most amazing food! We had so many amazing adventures and we thoroughly enjoyed all of our time in Australia.
Bryan and I spent a lot of time at the Oregon coast this summer with my parents and family. We had so much fun exploring tide pools, fishing for crabs, going to the aquarium, and flying kites. Bryan and I also spent a lot of time hiking in the mountains just east of our house. We really enjoy being outdoors and seeing the beautiful surroundings God has made for us.
In September, we flew to Los Angles where we spent time with some of our good friends in Camarillo. While with them we had lots of good food, went kayaking, hiked in Ojai, and rode bikes in Santa Barbra. Then we were off to the annual Hume Lake Couple’s conference. Bryan and I were able to go to Hume a day early with my sister and brother-in-law, which gave us time to discover the woods and streams around the lake. While there, we competed in a GPS challenge and took a ride in golf carts with family. We also learned about God’s word how to strengthen our relationship.
The one huge thing that has changed for us this year is the expansion of our family. In October we found out that I am pregnant and that our baby is due the beginning of June. Bryan and I are very excited and are looking forward to this new time in our lives.
As Bryan and I look back on 2009 we see how God has worked in our lives and how richly blessed we really are. No matter how big, or how small, we hope that you feel surrounded by the Lord’s blessing this Christmas season.
Lots of Love,
Bryan, Christy, and Baby
Carvin’ up some fun!
When the Anaya family came to visit we took some time to pick out pumpkins from a local pumpkin patch then we got to carving. Everyone created their own pumpkin and had a unique design of their own. Except Bryan’s mom designed her pumpkin and scooped out the seeds and I did the carving. There are still two pumpkins left that need to be carved so we will see if Bryan and I will get to them before Halloween.
Hume Lake Couples Retreat
This year Bryan and I were able to keep up with the tradition and we joined 10 other couples at Hume Lake for the couples retreat.
On Saturday, we had plenty of time to run around an have lots of fun. After our team spanked all the other teams Bryan (my husband), Allison, Jared, Bryan (my cousin), Abbi, and I rented golf carts and raced around Hume. At one point Bryan and I were on two wheels trying to pass the other two golf carts. We had lots of fun but the hills were killer. You almost had to get out and push the golf carts up the hill. We eventually made our way up the hill to the Joshua Institute and took some couples and group pictures. I think we broke most of the rules, but as the speaker said that weekend, “all is fair in love and war.”
As per tradition we took a big group picture at the end of the weekend.
GPS Adventure Game
On Friday night we decided to sign up (with a little coaxing from my dad) for the GPS Adventure game. My father signed himself, my mother, Bryan and I up on a team. We were determined to kick butt and win so we all agreed to wear shorts and tennis shoes and be ready to run.
On Saturday afternoon before the game began other couples from our group came to play. So, of course I had to start talking smack and let them know that we were going to spank them. Little did I know that the night before they had signed up to be on our team. So, I had only one thing left to do, become the team captain.
Our team of 7 worked well together to quickly find all the clues. Once we got within 50 feet of the clues my dad was amazing at finding where they were hidden. It was like he had a homing beacon for the things. To put it mildly, we beat all the other teams. I felt a little bad when 30 minutes later we were riding around and saw another team still looking for clues. Guess they signed up on the wrong team.
Over the River and Through the Woods
Bryan and I went early to the couples conference with my sister and her husband. On Friday, Jared and Allison led us to a stream that fed into the lake. We proceeded to follow the stream and just take time to look around. We had tons of fun finding small waterfalls and other interesting things. We had tons of fun exploring!
Story Time
While we were visiting my grandparents in Visalia the Crawford clan came by and we had a chance to visit. Blake had Bryan read to him and I couldn’t resist taking a picture!
Out to Sea
On Saturday afternoon we went kayaking in the Ventura bay.
On Sunday, after church, we traveled to Ojai and had burritos in the Park. Then we were off on a short hike where we overlooked the valley. Then, it was off to Santa Barbra to ride bikes and Rollerblade along the beach.
Food, Food, and More Food!
A few weeks ago we flew into LAX to visit with our friends Victi and Gumby. (Some names have been changed to protect the innocent.) Our journey began with the ever so famous Philippe French dipped sandwiches. Since we knew that Philippe’s wasn’t our only food stop that night we took a walk down Olvera St. to work off a little bit of what we ate.
The second place we ended up that night was at Pazzo Gelato. Bryan and I split the limoncello and some other fruity flavor. Obviously, the other flavor wasn’t memorable, but the limoncello was perfectly sour with the right hint of sweetness.
Our final stop (thank goodness as my tummy couldn’t take anymore) of the evening was at Pinks. For those of you who don’t know Pink’s is a hot dog place. I’m thinking the place is pretty popular since it was pretty late and there was a significant line in front of the place.
When we got back to their place there was even more food waiting for us. We felt as if we were staying in a 5 star hotel with a free minibar. Well, there was no booze, just some tasty treats that enjoyed at a later date.
Seeking Waterfalls
Our friend, Tawni, was in Seattle this weekend so we took the opportunity to hang out, hike, and cook some delicious food. First we visited the actual Granite falls. We took lots of pictures from the platform nest to the river, then we decided to get a closer look and climbed across the rocks right up next to the river.
From there we went to the ranger station and got some advice to do the lake 22 hike because there we several waterfalls along the path leading to the lake. Since it was getting late we all agreed that we would hike to the first waterfall we found and then head back. Only going so far was a good thing since we literally found a water “fall”. Tawni and I decided to climb under the bridge and across the rocks so that Bryan could get a picture of us in front of the falls. It started out as a good idea until I tried to follow Tawni only to find out I was about three inches too short and would have to find another route. Then once we got onto the rock in front of the falls I slipped and landed in a puddle. Fortunately, for everyone else, Bryan got a picture of the fall and Tawni trying to help me back up. Unfortunately, my pants were soaked for the hike back and the ride home.
Later that evening Tawni and I stayed up until midnight making the most delicious brownies. They were layered with brownie on the bottom, white chocolate caramel on top of that, then dark chocolate ganache, and candied pecans to top it off. They ended up being super delicious when we finally ate them on Sunday morning. We always have tons of fun when Tawni comes to visit so we are looking forward to our next adventure.
Heather Lake Hike
This afternoon Bryan and I hiked the Heather lake Trail in the Mt. Baker National Forest. It was a short 4 mile hike to the lake and back. The trail to the lake was surrounded by huge trees and was slightly rocky. When we got to the lake there were great views from the trail. I posted some of the pictures we took below.
