Merry Christmas from The Christiansens!

Work Christmas Party

The bank had a very fun Christmas casino-themed party this year! Everyone from our branch was there and we had a nice buffet dinner, awards, and giveaways. Curtis and I didn't win anything, but we had a great time socializing and playing texas holdem with fake money.

Herbert Lester Taylor

Herbert Lester Taylor 1916-2011 - (Les), 95, passed away peacefully at his home of nearly 60 years on 26 November 2011 in Boise, Idaho, just 2-1/2 years after the passing of his wife, Sallie. A graveside service in honor of his life will be held Tuesday at 11 AM at Dry Creek Cemetery, 9600 Hill Road, Boise. At a family gathering of children, grandchildren and great grandchildren in early November, Les was recognized by the Sheet Metal Union and received his 60-year pin. He was delighted with that recognition. He was looking forward to celebrating his 96th birthday in January. A son of Herbert and Jennie Cookman Taylor, Les was born in Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, England, on 30 January 1916. He was the eldest of three siblings: Gilbert, Evelyn and Jean, who all preceded him in death. Les grew up helping his dad on the small farm of chickens, goats and pigs, often riding his bicycle downhill to deliver eggs, and then dragging himself and the bike loaded with supplies uphill to home at Cross Edge. He left school at 14, as was the custom, and worked at the fish and chip shop in town. Later he was employed at Woods Sheet Metal in Oswaldtwistle and during WWII worked away in Leicestershire building Wellington Bombers, a British twin-engine, long-range medium bomber that was widely used in the early years of the war. Named after Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, it was the only British bomber to be produced for the entire duration of the war. Les was recognized for developing an improvement to the building method of the Wellington. Well known in Oswaldtwistle as a youth, Les and his brother Gilbert were sought-after dance partners, which is how he and Sallie Berry met. They were married 31 December 1938. Les and Sallie, with their two sons and daughter, immigrated in 1950 on the Queen Mary to the U.S., where they hoped to establish a more productive future for the family. They lived in Melba and Nampa before putting down roots in West Boise in 1952. Endowed with a traditional work ethic, Les and Sallie raised chickens by the thousands and sold eggs by the dozens every day for 25 years. Sallie gathered, graded, and packed eggs and looked after baby chicks, and Les fed the hens and built the coops, in addition to his full-time sheet metal job. In Boise, two more daughters were born, helping to keep Les and Sallie young. In 1961 they built their dream home on the farm with its large covered patio, where they enjoyed family gatherings. When Les retired from E.W. Little Sheet Metal Company in 1980, they traveled to England numerous times, went on many cruises and visited various parts of the world. Together they enjoyed golfing, reading, bike riding and gardening. Les watched his big-screen TV daily and enjoyed soccer matches from England, especially his Blackburn Rovers and Manchester United. He was an avid reader and a faithful patron of the library. Les's granddaughters loved his sense of humor and his grandsons his construction ability, from farm buildings to patio to toys. He spent many hours both before and after retirement in his work shop making useful items for family and friends, including storage cupboards for his children, numerous "y" puzzles for each of his grandsons, and decorative planters, vases, shelf units, trellises and umbrella stands of copper, sheet metal and other metals. His children and grandchildren loved hearing his stories of growing up in England. Les was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Tender hearted, he hated to be caught crying. He was generous and willing to give of his means. He left a legacy of hard work and often said, "If a job is worth doing, it's worth doing well." We will all miss him very much.

We recognize Grandpa Les and Grandma Sallie's little angel, Kelsey Fisher, their youngest grandchild and caregiver, who made their lives so much easier the past four years and brought them much joy.

US Half Marathon

At the end of June, Curtis thought we should train for a big race.

We were already working out at the gym and doing a lot of running.

So we decided on a half marathon and I told Curtis he could choose where we'd race...

So this was the one! We trained for just over four months. Curtis and I used a half marathon guide for our running schedule. It was great preparing for this race physically and mentally.

The course went around the Marina, across the Golden Gate Bridge, up a pretty wicked hill and back, ending in front of Ghirardelli Square.

Curtis was a rockstar, of course. We were able to high-five each other on the Golden Gate Bridge on Curt's way back.

Overall Place: 631 out of 3541

Division Place: 176 out of 531

Gender Place: 456 out of 1582

Time: 1:54:43

Overall Place: 2361 out of 3541

Division Place: 527 out of 817

Gender Place: 1141 out of 1959

Time: 2:27:48

I did well up to mile 10, but kept pushing on. I had a half mile left, when Curtis had met to finish the race with me. What a great accomplishment for the both of us!

This was our view from mile 7.

San Francisco

Curtis and I had the chance to go to San Francisco to run a half marathon. We spent the entire weekend with Ryan and Angela - who were wonderful hosts! They live a few blocks from the marina and we did a lot of walking. They took us to a Saturday market that was filled with such delicious fruits and pretty looking goodies.

San Francisco is filled with different types of old trains.

We went to Lombards street - the crookedest road in the world, Fisherman's Wharf, looked through shops and watched tons of seals from the pier. We had deep dish pizza with corn mill crust and stopped by Kara's Cupcakes for a gourmet treat. There are so many places to eat in San Francisco.

Curtis and I spent out last day walking around downtown San Fran,

Chinatown and up to Coit Tower.

We had such an awesome time with Ryan and Angela! Thank you! We miss you and are so glad we were able to come and see you!

Happy Halloween!

Curtis' scary Pumpkin

Hailey's spooky Owl

In front of the house with our carved pumpkins. Curtis roasted the pumpkin seeds afterwards. I've never had pumpkin seeds before. They were pretty good!

Fisher Family Fall Fun Festival

Our family had a fun evening at Linder Farms. We went through the cornmaze, went on a hayride, and ate delicious hand dipped corn dogs.

Barber to Boise

This race started at Barber Park and took us along the greenbelt, then around and into the Boise State Arena. It was a cool, but sunny Saturday morning. I've been running by myself for three and a half months, so it was good practice to get out there and run with a bigger group of people. I felt I did really well and felt even better after finishing the 6.1 mile run.

Placed 37 out of 77 in my division

Placed 434 out of 817 overall

Race Time: 57:39.5

Diamond Dash

Kelsey invited me to help her in the Lee Read Diamond Dash. It was pretty fun! We spent two hours running around downtown Boise solving clues and getting to the next destination all via text messaging. We ended up with 89 points. The winner had thirty points more than us and won a $10,000 diamond ring. I hope Lee Read will do this again, because we had a great time and all of it was free.

Dirty Dash

Curtis' work put a few groups together to participate in the Dirty Dash fun run up at Bogus Basin. What a fun experience this was! I'm pretty sure the pictures will explain everything! It was a 10k race with quite a crazy course. Obstacles like jumping over hugh hay bales, crawling through plastic tubes, climbing wooden ladders and walls, high knees through tires, and swimming in a mud bath at the end! Our group laughed pretty much the entire way. We even got to donate our shoes afterwards for children across seas. Can't wait until next year!