Can you imagine being born in 1907? Mary Cole, our Great, Great Aunt celebrated her 100th birthday on May 19th, 2007. Mary is the daughter of Maren(Katrina)and Rasmus Christian Rasmussen who immigrated from Denmark in 1889. Maren and Rasmus had 3 children (Frankie, Edwin, and Mary)

Mary was married to Earl Cole and had 2 sons (Bobby and Donald). If you're wondering how we are related to Mary...here's the scoop. Frankie, otherwise known as "Grandma Frankie" is my mom's grandmother. Frankie was married to Harvey Albertson and they had 4 children(Jim, Mary Belle, Irene, Helen. Mary Belle is my mom's mom. Are you confused yet?

Anyway, we had a fabulous time and we were able to gather 5 generations to celebrate. My mom, cousin Sharon, Aunt Helen, Chris, Rowan and I felt so honored to share such an amazing day with our family.

ps. Aunt Mary is such a charmer! You wouldn't believe she's 100 by the way she moves around! At one point, she even tried to race Helen down the hall! It was also really nice to see how much she is loved by her friends at Sierra. She is truly a special lady!

No, that's not Lance you see..Every year (or least 2 years in row) we've packed up the camper and headed to Walla Walla to cheer on my brother Mark and my nephews bike race. Mark, of course, did really well and placed in the top 10, but the stars of the show were Parker and Rowan. Parker geared up for his second race while Rowan prepared for his first! They both did great and we enjoyed every minute of cheering them on.

It's moving day...finally! Along with planning a wedding and starting new jobs in the month of September Chris and I also decided to remodel the house we'd be moving into. (What were we thinking?) But, with tons of support (many dinners provided by the mom's)& help from Chris's dad and Roger..5 months later, we were able to turn a 50's style ranch into modern masterpiece!

One week in the sunshine, one week in the snow! Who could ask for a better honeymoon. Every year the Rathbun family heads to Bend Oregon to hang out, celebrate Christmas, and ski Mt. Bachelor! Only now, it's the Rathbun's, Butler's, Anderson's, and the Chesire's. (My oh my, our family has grown)

This year we got Rowan up on ski's and introduced Olivia to the snow. We also enjoyed a magic show at the resort which was complimented by the most amazing gingerbread house contest we'd ever seen. Next year the competition is on....

ps. In case you are wondering why we're doing shots on Christmas...well, here's the story. During our gift exchange if you want to steal a present you must take a shot first! Some see it as a deterrent others as an incentive.

Two days after the best day in our lives (up to this point), Chris and I were off to Kauai. After we arrived to beautiful sunshine and got settled into our hotel (Grand Hyatt in Po'ipu)we took off for a scenic drive. Chris couldn't wait to take the jeep for a little off-roading!! click "read more"

For the next week, we basked in the sun, hiked Waimea Canyon and toured around the island. We went to Polihale State Park (via the worst road ever), Waimea (Yummy Shrimp Station), Spouting Horn, Kilauea lighthouse, Princeville, Hanlei(our favorite place), Ke'e Beach,and much more. But the highlight of the trip was the helicopter tour. All we can say is WOW!! That is a must if you are going to Kauai.