Our Weekend in Leavenworth

We just got back from a wonderful weekend in Leavenworth! A friend of mine couldn't use their timeshare condo so we snatched it up. Our condo was absolutely beautiful--probably the nicest place we've ever stayed!! Our room overlooked the Wenatchee River and Blackbird Island. One of the highlights of the weekend for boys was the HUGE jet tub--I've never seen them so willing to take baths. :-)

The other highlight of the weekend was sledding--the boys did some sledding on the busy hill in town but found it even more fun to sled on the big hill right behind the lodge. It was steeper and less crowded. As an added bonus, I was able to watch from the comfort of our condo!

After a day of sledding and shopping, we joined the hundreds of others in the drizzling rain to watch the Lighting Ceremony. We didn't have a very good vantage point but we were close to a restaurant so we were able to get a table as soon as the lighting was over!! It was a wonderful weekend full of family fun!

Oh Christmas Tree

Today was a great day! Started with church with Troy's parents--so nice to have them in town and at church with us. Then we headed out to hunt down our Christmas tree.
We decided to go to Farmer Brown's in Arlington and drove straight into a winter wonderland.
It didn't take long to find the perfect tree and cut it down. Since it was just the four of us for the first time ever, the hard part was getting the annual family picture in front of the tree. We settled on two different group shots and called it good. We warmed up with some hot cocoa and visited the pond before we hit the road.
The tree is now home, lit and decorated and looks great! Every year, I love decorating the tree. We have so many ornaments with wonderful memories attached to them that remind us of how blessed we are to have such wonderful friends and family.

Lights of Christmas

The other night we all bundled up and headed to the Lights of Christmas in Warm Beach. The boys had been there before but it had been a couple years, so it was like their first time all over again!! One of our first stops was the Animals of the Nativity barn to visit the llamas, sheep, and bunnies. Next we stopped by the pony rides but found out that Gabe has gotten just a little too tall to ride. He was very dissappointed! :-( The thousands and thousands of lights were amazing and so were the cinnamon-sugar donuts that we waited in a 15 minute line for--they were well worth the wait! Despite the cold temperatures, we had a great time!!

All I want for Christmas...

Gabe has lost two front teeth this month--he's got quite the toothless grin now! I find myself humming the song "All I want for Christmas are my two front teeth" all the time now! He's pretty cute and very excited that his name will be on the tooth chart twice for the month of November. In first grade, those are the important things in life!

Thanksgiving 2009

Hard to believe Thanksgiving has already come and gone again! My how time flies!! We had a great day with Lisa, Guy and Amanda. Lisa and Guy got up at the crack of dawn to prepare the turkey and stuffing. It was delicious!! Lisa and I made the rest of the fixins and had a great time laughing and drinking while we cooked! After dinner we had the 2009 Connect Four World Championship of which Troy was the winner--good job Troy!! It was a great day full of things to be thankful for. We are especially thankful for our friends and family, near and far! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

Happy Halloween!!

Aargh, we be seekin' ye treasure, matey!! Captain Daniel and his crewmate Pirate Gabe set out in search of treasure this Hallowed Eve!! There was much treasure to be had and many minutes spent inspecting the booty after the search. Captain Daniel and Pirate Gabe then returned to the ship to hand out booty to other mateys! Happy Halloween me hearties!!

The Great Pumpkin Patch Adventure

Last Saturday we ventured out for our annual trip to the pumpkin patch. In years past we've gone to a couple different farms in Snohomish. This year we thought we'd try a new one. So we went online and found Fairbanks Farm in Edmonds.

Low and behold, right in the middle of a neighborhood in the Edmonds/Lynnwood/Picnic Point area is a family owned farm. The big draw to this farm was that everyone got a cup of food to feed to the chickens, ducks and other birds, including mean peacocks that tried to eat all the food. There were little piglets that were only about two weeks old. They were so cute!! We were also able to pet goats, baby chicks and bunnies.
After spending time with the animals we trekked out to the pumpkin patch. Gabe and Daniel each picked there own pumpkin. The boys enjoyed pushing the wheelbarrow full of pumpkins back to the barn.

Although the farm was small and run down, we all had fun!! I missed my kettle corn and pumpkin donuts from the other farms though, so we'll probably go back there next year!!

Gabe's 7th Birthday!

Gabe turned 7 on October 1st! Seems like we've been celebrating all week long.

On his actual birthday, we brought cookies to share with his friends at school. I felt like a hero when I walked into the classroom with the treats!! All the kids seemed really excited about celebrating with Gabe--he was, after all, only the second birthday of the year. :-)

Later that day, Gabe chose the Old Spaghetti Factory for his birthday dinner. We had a great time eating in the trolley and the nice folks there sang happy birthday to him, which he seemed to enjoy! Then we came home and opened some presents--all gifts were a big hit!

Today, we had a dinosaur party at Forest Park. There were 5 other boys there to help celebrate with us. We went on a Dinosaur Letterboxing Adventure and the kids all dug for dinosaur eggs. Then we had cupcakes and presents, of course! It was a great day!!

Happy Birthday, Gabe!!

Puppy Slumber Party

Charlie had his first puppy slumber party over the weekend!
Our good friend Tanya and her family were all at the Puyallup Fair showing their dog, Josie. So we got to puppy sit Katrina, their 7 month old puppy.
Katrina and Charlie had a great time--they wrestled and chased each other for hours on end! You would think it would get old after a while but they never seemed to tire of it...until 8:30 at night at which point they both crashed and didn't make a peep until 7:00 the next morning!! They were tired little puppies!!

The next morning, they were back at it again. Wrestling, running, chasing, mixed with a little barking at the neighbor dog--what more could you want at a sleepover! :-)

First Day of School!

Today was the first day of school for Gabe and Daniel! After going to the same private school two years in a row, starting at the neighborhood public school has turned out to be a pretty big transition!

As a Kindergartener, Daniel had already met his teacher and seen his classroom a couple different times, so he was feeling pretty good this morning! Starting in a new school as a first grader was not quite as easy for Gabe. We went to the open house last night and met his teacher, who seems super sweet. But Gabe still had more than a few butterflies in his tummy this morning!

I'm happy to report that everyone had a great day! They talked non-stop all the way home, telling me all about their day and their classrooms. Glad to have the first day over and done and that everyone seems happy!!

Seeking Ye Treasure, Me Hearty!!

Last weekend, my brilliant husband saw an article in the Everett Herald about Letterboxing. Letterboxing is like a treasure hunt. You can go to AtlasQuest to find clues of how to get to the treasure. So, we found a letterbox near us and headed out for a family adventure. In our haste to pack a picnic lunch and leave, I forgot to bring my camera to commemorate the event. It was so much fun!! Our first letterboxing experience was a pretty easy one in Forest Park called Mayan Rainforest Temple.

Since we had so much fun last weekend, we decided to try it again this weekend. Today we set out on a letterbox adventure in Howarth Park (another park near us) called The Curious Bobcat. After easily finding The Curious Bobcat, we added our stamps to their book and added their stamp to ours and returned the box to its hiding place.

Next, we headed down the hill to Howarth Park Beach. The boys went to the same beach yesterday with Celia and the other daycare kids. So they enjoyed showing us all the places they played and things they did. Even though the sun was hiding behind the clouds, it was a great morning adventure as a family!

Everett High School Class of 89 Reunion

Last night, Troy and I attended our 20 year class reunion at the Everett Golf and Country Club. There were only about 30 classmates from our graduating class of over 300 so that kind of tells you about our class!! It was fun to see some people that we haven't seen in a long time but most of our friends didn't make it to the Saturday night function. Sounds like we missed out on lots of fun and craziness at the Friday night party for grads only. Glad we're done with that for another 10 years!! (Pictured below: Corrie Pardue and me; and Troy looking handsome!)

Junior Farmers of America

Gabe and Daniel have spent the past couple mornings at Farm Adventure Camp at Forest Park Farm. They've been feeding and petting all the animals, holding bunnies, riding horses and learning about the animals while touring the farm. Tomorrow is their last day and they tell me they're having a picnic. It's been great fun for them (and for me to have a couple mornings to myself!!).

A Week of Family Fun

We have had a fun-filled week with family!!

Monday we met Pam, our sister-in-law, and her kids, Andrew and Emily, in Seattle. We took the kids to the Seattle Aquarium and then wandered around Pike Place Market for a little while. It was a pretty hot day made even hotter by being surrounded by people in the market but, after hitting a couple coffee shops along the way, we had a great time!!

On Wednesday we met Pam and the kids at Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium. Another hot day but it was made bearable by shady spots and indoor exhibits. :-) The best part was our front row view of the Walrus talk. Those are some darn smart animals!!

After the zoo we drove to Gig Harbor for some ice cream cones and a very short walk by the harbor. Then we all hit the road and headed to the Canal. The minute we got there we all got in our swimsuits, applied more sunscreen and jumped into the water--ahh!!

Thursday and Friday were spent mostly in the water. All the kids are like little fish out there floating around in the water and there was much more grown up water time than usual due to the really hot weather and nice temperature of the canal water. We had a great time!!

Saturday was Troy's family's 37th anual Family Party. There were about 60 people there from the age of 10 months to 89 years old! It was a great day full of family, food and fun!