Our First Home Improvement

We have finally made our first home improvement. Well, we have done lots of little things, but this change has been the biggest so far. OK, maybe not that big to some of you, but anyway...... here is our new fireplace. Matt did ALL the work. I gave moral support and fed him whatever he wanted. That totally counts.

Look it's Andrea and Joe

OK, so I need to put myself IN the pictures I post. Here is one that I like. Joe, Matt and I went to Legion Park, here in Everett, Washington. They have a botanical garden and a sculpture that we stuffed ourselves into....laughing the whole time.

Love those boys of mine

Birthday at the beach!

Happy Birthday Doe !!

Matt's beautiful mother, my mom-in-law, was born today, a few years ago. To celebrate, we were invited to a beach house on Camano Island. Aunt Bonnie and her family, sans Sam, were at this beautiful house and we went along! We had burgers and salads and cool drinks. Joe and Grace painted driftwood and rocks, and the adults relaxed in the sun.

Going going gone!!!

After much wiggling and moving, Joe FINALLY lost his first tooth! He put the tooth in a plastic bag, showed the entire neighborhood, then placed it under his pillow for the night. This morning he woke up to $6.00!! What a generous tooth fairy.

Matt loves his bike!

Matt joined bike team Cucina Fresca.

Sarah and Libby visit from Virginia

Joe got a tent and a sleeping bag for his birthday, and it's summer. That being said, we headed over to Lou's AMAZING house and gave the outside overnight thing a whirl. If everyone survives (aka, if I can handle the dark) then we will upgrade to the actual wilderness real life thing in August. We had veggie dogs and beef dogs and of course, s'mores. We put up the tent, and we also put up the canvas awning we got from my parents ( thanks again, mom, we LOVE it).

new old house, new landscaping, new things!

i bought hanging baskets. the first things i have added to the house...hooks and all. Second, Matt bought an American Flag. We love how it looks with the house! Then we weeded FOREVER and pulled out the old and dying plants and replaced them (thank you Doe and Ned) I think all that is missing is some bark. That helps with weeds, right? I am learning to garden, and the hanging baskets are my first attempt. Matt mows and waters and edges and does more to that lawn I ever knew you could do. I am keeping with the baskets and think herbs in a pot or square planter might be my next attempt.

Open House!

Food, Friends, Family, Fun! Friday night at the Hubbard's new house there were self-guided tours, finger food on the dining table and drinks keeping cool in tubs of ice. Andrea's parents and grandpa were in town - a perfect time for a party! People visited and mingled around. Andrea and Matt were great hosts - greeting newcomers, offering food, introducing friends and family, giving tours and setting up Rockband in the basement! The weather was beautiful and the company enjoyable! An all around great night!

Birthday Time for Andrea!

Yesterday, for Andrea's birthday, Matt had planned the evening to the last detail (secretly and with a little help from super secret friends). He told Andrea that he had made dinner plans. Andrea changed her clothes, put her stuff in her 'date purse' and even put on some jewelry - she was ready for a nice sit down dinner with 2 of her favorite guys! They picked up Joe and headed south on I-5 toward Seattle ... "where could he be taking us??" Andrea wondered. He turned on to 520 and crossed the water toward Bellevue ... traffic was not pleasant ... but they were together and it was her birthday! Then he pulled into Burgermaster ... what?!

Matt hopped out and took Joe to 'wash his hands'. Andrea thought for sure that they weren't actually eating here ...

When they returned Matt turned on his headlights (to indicate they needed service) and they ordered. Andrea was talking all about her 2 hour conversation with Jennalee, her good friend that moved to Texas 5+ years ago. She talked about how they would come to Burgermaster and Jennalee would order a Turkeymaster and they would sit and talk and eat. She was talking and talking ... Matt was listening intently and smiling to himself - he knew he had outdone himself and Andrea was playing right into his hand!

When dinner arrived on a metal tray hooked on her window, Andrea brought in the food with an envelope ... Matt told her to open it.

It was an itinerary for a round-trip ticket to Texas!! Andrea smiled and bounced in her seat and hollered and hugged Matt! Upon looking at the dates she noticed that she'd be in Texas over Jennalee's birthday and that made the trip even more exciting!!

Matt mentioned that he had been directed to put pantyhose on his head ... and that he wasn't sure what that was all about.

"Have you ever done it? Cuz it's pretty d@*# funny!" Matt admitted that he hadn't tried it - he's missing out!! Andrea got a good laugh out of that - ahh memories!!

What a great husband! What a great birthday! What a GREAT surprise!! Matt's the BEST!!

We were Forked!

Matt and Andrea were properly welcomed to the neighborhood ... this is what they found in their yard when they returned from their weekend away to Leavenworth! Too funny - notice the 'picket fence' around the edges ... the culprits lined the entire front yard!! They thought they knew who did it ... but upon making their accusation they found out they didn't know who had welcomed them - but they feel 'loved'!

Tours now available - call for scheduling!

The Hubbard's are proud owners of their first house! Built in 1931 it's a charming custom craftsman. It really is a darling house!

Here's what the agent had to say: "Classic Big Historic Home on Rucker Hill. This is the one you've been waiting for! Bring your dreams, this special 2034 ASF home with an additional 1190 ASF basement needs your creative cosmetic touches and then it will shine. You can see the Cascades and the city skyline too! 4 big bedrooms, an office, classic first level with nice oak floors, huge living/dining rooms, fireplace, builtins and HUGE kitchen with eating nook. Wow! Big master, gas heat, new windows. I'm happy all over! Welcome home!"

The neighbors are nice, Joseph is out-numbered by girls now though!

They moved in on Saturday Feb. 16th, it was party central they had many friends helping with the move and pizza and music and tours going into the night! Sunday Matt and Andrea were unloading boxes and Joe was outside. They heard him holler "Dad, they're asking me my name." Andrea looked out the window and the girls were in their window talking to Joe. The girls have a bounce house and before he knew it they were all playing together and bossing Joe around. Joe's great at making friends!!

They are looking forward to fixing up the house ... but for now they're just trying to get moved in! You will notice from the pictures that Matt has a 'man-cave' in the basement - he has tested it for sound proof-ness and blocked the window so that it can be nice and dark. He has a couch aimed at the big screen TV and guitar and drums in place for 'Rock Band' parties!

Andrea is now a certified Hubbard, she recently updated her driver's license and informed the IRS! It's official the Hubbard's are here to stay!

(click on the slide show and then as you move your curser over the pictures they will stop moving and the titles will appear.)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

December was a GREAT month for Matt and Andrea! All month they were looking forward to Christmas morning with Joe!
On the 14th they had Marylou and Robert over for the Tree Decorating Party! Joe had picked out the Tree topper and Matt helped him place it just right!

Christmas Eve was at Matt and Andrea's house, Ned, Doe (Matt's parents), Marylou and Robert all came over.
Joe told Marylou, "Marylou - I want a 6 person kazoo party!" and so they did ... Ned, Doe, Marylou, Robert, Joe and Matt ... six people ... perfect!

Christmas Morning was MAGICAL! Joe woke Matt and Andrea at 6:30, they all came out to see that Santa had been there, he ate the cookies and had some milk and the reindeer had nibbled the celery! He left some pretty great stuff in their stockings, too!

Joe opened presents and then had fun shaped pancakes! They were 'cookie-cutter-d' from round pancakes and Joe LOVED them!

The favorite gifts this Christmas included:

Andrea - Anniversary ring that Matt was working on for 4-ish months and a matching set of jewelry - earrings, bracelet and necklace.


Matt - Bike helmet, he just joined the Cucina Fresca Flying Tomatoes bicycle team!


Joe - LEGOS a vehicle, dinosaur, city police station, helicopter pad with helicopter - they had GREAT fun putting it all together! He is now a Candy Land cheater extrordinaire (thanks uncle johner) and he loves his harmonica!

All in all it was a FANTASTIC Christmas!

We rode the Christmas Train

Saturday Nov. 24th, they rose before the sun to make their way to North Bend. Their tickets were for the first day, first ride at 8:00AM! Matt, Andrea and Joe were so happy to be with Sarah (Matt's sister) and Libby (Sarah's daughter) that they didn't mind the time, the dark or the FREEZING weather! [Sarah and Libby came from Virginia for Thanksgiving and stayed through the beginning of December!] They enjoyed the ride to Snoqualmie, the train museum, cookies, hot chocolate and especially visiting with Santa!

Libby and Sarah

Mr. Claus ...

(not the jolly old elf we were expecting, but Santa nonetheless)

Best Buddies!

Libby's funny - she calls Joe "Cousin Joseph" and she keeps him in line! She's so fun to have around! Matt, Andrea and Joe look forward to visiting Virginia someday! (sooner than later hopefully!)

Joe's School Picture 2007-08

Joe fixed his own hair, picked out his outfit and smiled is new 'signature' no-teeth smile for his Kindergarten Picture Day.

Being exposed to other kids has changed this kid! It's not 'cool' to have a teethy grin, it's not 'cool' to eat veggies, and it's certainly not 'cool to have your hair combed by your parents!! This picture is a PERFECT depiction of Joe this year! We LOVE him and hope that he starts eating his vegetables again real soon!

Lions and Tigers, Flamingos and Power Rangers?

Lions and Tigers and Bears (oh my!) at the Pumpkin Prowl ... Flamigos and Power Rangers at the door! Trick or Treat! Matt's cousin and niece, Jennifer and Grace, met Matt, Andrea and Joe at the Woodland Park Zoo the Sunday before Halloween (still in 2007, folks - we're playin' catch-up here).

There were some awesome carved pumpkins, great scarecrows, fun treats to collect and cool costumes, the best of which were 2 little boys wearing white boxes - they were a washer and dryer!!

Then on Halloween night they met at Aunt Bonnie's (Jennifer's mom) house - her Seattle neighborhood is a hot spot for old school trick-or-treaters, the whole neighborhood participates providing hordes of kids with a bunch of candy!! One neighbor made his trailer into a haunted tunnel of sorts ... he did a pretty good job too - Joe went in the door ... and came right back out ... "too scary!" Another neighbor's answer to "Trick or Treat?" was "I'd love to see a trick!" Joe put is hands up to his face, fingers covering his nose with his thumbs in his mouth - clicked his thumbnails off his teeth and announced "I'm cracking my nose!" She was duly impressed and dropped 2 candies in his bag as his reward - Joe's such a character!!

Grace was a Flamingo complete with furry pink wings and tail feathers, pink tights, some fantastic pink gym shoes and a smiling beak - she was adorable! Joe was the Red Power Ranger and whenever he had his costume on (before and after Halloween) he'd say, "When I have this on ... I'm in charge!" Don't mess with this Power Ranger!! They made their way around the neighborhood - Joe kept tripping over things, he couldn't see because of his mask so it was off and on, off and on! They had a great time and made quite a haul!!

"Can I have this one?"

3000 miles in 12 days

The end of June 2007, Matt, Andrea and Joe piled in the blue windstar - well, first they took the back bench seat out and folded down one of the passenger-captain-chairs, loaded in everything but the kitchen sink (including Joe's bike, Matt's golf clubs, Andrea's wedding gifts that she wanted to show her family, and a case of wine from the Columbia Winery that they were going to 'smuggle' into Wyoming - it seems there's a certain kind of wine that they don't export ... anyway ... ) the van was BRILLIANT! They had a roof top carrier but according to Matt there would be too much drag - the van would lose it's aerodynamic design if they put it on top - causing them to use more gas!! So everything went inside and they were quite comfortable! DVD player screen positioned for Joe and they were off! Friday night they drove through the night and arrived in West Yellowstone Saturday morning. The only way to Cody, WY from this side of Yellowstone is either around the park ... or through it. Justin and his family drove down from Great Falls, MT and met them and they all spent the weekend going through Yellowstone National Park. They spent 12 hours in Yellowstone on Sunday and can't wait to go back!! Joe LOVED the Geysers!

They arrived Sunday night late at the Gillespies in Cody. Cody, WY - Population 10,000 grows to 300,000 in the summer time due to the fact that it's the east enterance to Yellowstone National Park and everyone headed to Yellowstone must pass through Cody to get there. Monday morning was the Cody 4th of July Kid's Parade! Andrea's cousin, Jenelle, decorated Joe's bike so he could ride in the parade with her kids Sarah and Reece, Taylor (Justin's daughter) and Chantz (Johner's son). Joe's just learning to ride a 2 wheeler and hasn't mastered it quite yet (Matt followed him at a slow jog the entire length of the parade route) ... he only fell once but it was a doozie - mid-parade, he lost control and SPLAT! The crowd let out a gasp of concern to which Joe quickly jumped up, hands raised, and announced, "I'm alright!"


It was HOTTER THAN HADES so Andrea, Matt, Joe and all the cousins cooled themselves at the ONE pool in town down at the KOA campground. They hung out on the porch with the 'Clampets', went to an old western gunshow at the Irma Hotel, stopped into the Gillespies consignment shop that they bought last spring "Mountain Made Treasures", watched the 4th of July Parade go down Cody's main drag, had a BBQ at Jenelle's house and played in the sprinkler, went to a rodeo (where they let Joe be the photographer for a little bit and got 15 shots of the giant Coke bottle!), watched the sunset and lit fireworks!

They left Cody on Thursday, drove all day and arrived at Lusk, WY - a small ranching community in eastern Wyoming where Bob and Polly Johnson live. The Johnson's are Dee's parents, Dee is one of Andrea's good friends - they met just after Dee's husband accidentally rear-ended her and she was referred to Andrea's healing hands! They spent the weekend at the Johnson's ranch. Joe played with the filthy dogs (they LOVED him), in the sprinkler clown, with a peeing frog, and fed the wild 'Y' cow a barley cake!

Monday morning they packed it in and drove the 800 miles from Lusk, WY to Missoula, MT with the promise that Joe could swim at the hotel when they got there ... They finally arrived at 9:30pm and the pool closed at 10 ... Joe went to bed sad but without a fight because it opened promptly at 7:00 the next morning! They played in the pool and Joe got to go down the slide!!


They drove from Missoula to Spokane where they left Joe with is maternal Grandparents then Matt and Andrea headed into the sunset on their way home.


The 3000 miles were filled with many sights, sounds, heat and laughs! It was a GREAT time had by all!!