A Morning Adventure

Last Friday before everyone left for home, some of us headed to Tacoma to ride the Link (a big hit for the boys) and play at the Children's Museum.  We've done this same trip a few times but it never gets old.

The best part about the day is the ride to and from the museum.  There is parking by the museum but we choose to park by the first stop of the Tacoma Link.  We park, walk a short distance and then get on the Link, which takes us through Tacoma.  We get off a block away from the museum.

The boys had a great time, as always, playing at the museum.  Colson loves to 'cook' food and Cannon enjoys running around exploring everything at a high rate of speed.  The water area is a huge hit and both Cannon and Colson could play there for a long time.  After the water, Colson hit a few places and liked building with the magnetic shapes the most.  We also played with the instruments, traced designs, went down the slide and played with scarves.  Cannon did a lot of climbing, loved the slide and had a grand time building out of PVC pipes.

On the way back home, we stopped at the UW Store, got some hot cocoa at Starbucks and then headed for home.  It was a fun morning!

Enjoying every moment!

Photos From Karin

Karin sent me some of the pictures she took from over the holidays.  Here are a few:

Thanks for sharing!  Such fun times and great memories!

Enjoying every moment.

Remember

There are many things that I hope I don't forget and then after only a short time, the details are sketchy!  I am so glad for the blog, pictures and memory keeping that will help our family remember the everyday things that occur.

Here are a few things that I don't want to forget:

Mary Poppins
Last night we sat down as a family and watched Mary Poppins.  I have seen the movie more times than I can count but it's been years and years since I have watched it.  Cannon really enjoyed it and even started to watch it again today.

Blankie
Colson still has a blankie that he likes to use when he is tired or cuddled up.  I love the way that he he takes it and moves his fingers around the outside edge, until he finds just the right corner.

Seahawks
The Seahawks have had their best season ever this year.  They finished the regular season 13-4 and will go into the playoffs as the number one seed.  They have a first round bye and then home field advantage.

Little Kitty
We have a little black kitty that is living under our house.  It's been hanging around for about a month or so and we've tried to catch it, but it's too scared.  The kitty loves DC and chases DC around the yard.  The kitty likes to hide under the motorhome or where the jet boat is.  We often see the kitty sitting on our front or back porch.  When we realized it was living under the house we started to leave a bowl of food out for him (or her).

Enjoying every moment.

Miscellaneous Christmas Photos

Here are a few photos mom took from when she was here over the holidays.  I'm glad for another perspective...someone else's eye besides mine.  Thanks, mom!

Karin and the boys rolling out sugar cookies. They had fun deciding on which cookie cutter to use and both boys worked hard at using the rolling pin.  I loved seeing the mess of flour everywhere.  It was exactly how it should have been!  

Colson posing for a picture with his new blanket from Auntie Brenda and Uncle Greg.  He's wrapped up in it every day since Christmas and calls it "his special blanket."  

The boys posing for pictures...not once where they both smiling at the same time or looking at the camera at the same time.  Typical.

Cannon hugging Grandpa after Grandpa opened the gift from the boys...a pocket watch that said "Grandpa" on it.  What a great picture!  

Karin and Chris after a motorcycle ride.  They went for a short ride on Chris' new motorcycle.  

Enjoying every moment.

Christmas Eve

Loving having family here for Christmas!  This year I am especially glad because I got sick Christmas Eve morning and had to force myself to finish up the last minute things that needed to be done.  Chris had gotten sick the day before, Colson the night before and Cannon hasn't been feeling well for a few days.  So I guess it was my turn.  Luckily, it was only a 24 hour flu so by Christmas afternoon, I was feeling much better.

Cannon and Colson spent time with Grandma and Auntie Karin making cookies.  Some to eat and some to leave out for Santa.  They had a blast rolling the dough, cutting the cookies and frosting them.  What great memories!

I tried to get some pictures of the boys by the tree, but they are at the age (especially Colson) where sitting still for even a second doesn't happen.  Most were blurry because someone (Colson!) was moving.  But I got a few shots that will work.

We had a nice soup for dinner that I put together before spending the rest of the day on the couch.  The boys went to bed at their normal time and then "Santa" came to fill stockings and leave out gifts. Before bed, Cannon put out cookies for Santa and counted out carrots for the reindeer.  He set them in the living room with the note he wrote earlier in the day.

Except for being sick, it was a good day!

Enjoying every moment.

Christmas at Home

Christmas Day. 

One of my favorite days of the year.  

This is the first year the boys have had Christmas at home. This was the first year we have had Christmas in this house.  This is only the second year I have been at home for Christmas...ever.  

Our tradition is to always travel to Spokane for the holidays.  However this year, with Christmas being in the middle of the week, it didn't work out that we could go, so we invited my parents and sister here to celebrate with us.  I was sad to not be in Spokane, but I was also excited to be at home, too.  

And it has been great to be home and have family here with us.  What I realized is that it doesn't matter where you are, but it's who you are with that is most important.  

We took forever to open gifts because we love to watch other people open their gifts.  It's not about the receiving, but the giving!  And the boys wanted to stop after they opened a present and play with whatever it was.  The living room was quite a mess by the time we were done.  

Karin and Mom made a yummy egg casserole for breakfast and then we had a ham tonight.  We've watched two movies and just enjoyed hanging out and being together. The boys never made it out of their pajamas!  

Enjoying every moment!  

A Night Away

It's been a long time since Chris and I enjoyed a night away by ourselves.  We feel lucky when we can get away for a few hours on our own.  So we took full advantage of the time we had!

Last night was Chris' company Christmas party.  It was held at the Tulalip Casino up in Marysville.  We got an early start on the road and stopped at Sebastian's store on the way before continuing north.  The hotel was beautiful and the rooms amazing.  We haven't stayed in a room that nice since....I don't remember when!

The party was nice...small, just for management.  But it was nice to see people away from work in a relaxed setting. The food was outstanding and there were so many choices.  Everything tasted great.  We wish we would have had room to eat more...or take some home!

The casino was a typical casino. We didn't gamble but walked through and checked things out.  This morning, we had the breakfast buffet which was great, too.

We loved the comfortable room and especially knowing we didn't have to get up in the morning.  After we checked out, we walked through the outlet mall which is next to the hotel and then headed a few miles down the road to see a movie. We watched, Saving Mr. Banks, which told the background of Mary Poppins.

It was so absolutely wonderful to be away. The boys stayed here with Granny Joy and were happy, of course.  However Colson missed us and was glad when we walked in the door.  

Enjoying every moment.  

Snow Day!

We woke up this morning to everything covered with snow...not a lot but it was sure pretty.  The snow was still falling and the school district decided on a two hour late start.  The boys were already up, dressed and excited for the snow.  I was happy for a relaxing, non-rushed morning.  A bit later, after all of the other districts around had cancelled school, White River followed suit.  So we started our Winter Break with an extra snow day!

The boys wanted to go out and play in the snow so I helped them get all bundled up and they headed out to play. They loved it and I remember that excitement of a snow day!  The boys actually stayed outside for about 45 minutes, playing, digging, sliding, riding bikes and enjoying the snow.  I think they both got too cold and finally came in.

Enjoying this extra day with the boys and feeling relaxed as we start our break!

Enjoying every moment.

Fun. Lots of It.

We are counting down the last couple of days until winter break.  These last two days have a lot going on which excites the students even more than they already are.

Today Cannon's class had their Winter Centers and spent the morning playing, creating and laughing through some fun stations.  I was able to pop in for a visit during this time and watched the kids enjoying themselves. Cannon was playing an addition game, using candy pieces for markers!  They also got to make a book, decorate an ornament and much more.

A tradition at Mountain Meadow is our annual Winter Workshop.  All of the teachers and aids each come up with a craft and all of the students get to sign up for one of them.  Then today, we have an all school 'switch' and we welcome 15 wonderful students from 1st-5th grade.  We guide them through our project, play a little holiday music and give them some a treat.  It's fun to have a mix of kids.  The best part is when my class comes back with their projects.  They are all so excited to show them off.

Colson even got to spend some time at school today.  He came with Jacie when she was volunteering and Colson spent most of the time in my room.  He was so good playing, drawing, cutting and just hanging out. He liked seeing Cannon and saying hi to my students, too.

It was a fun day.  (I was happy it was over, however!)

And only one more day to go!

Enjoying every moment.

Kindergarten Gingerbread Houses

Today Cannon's kindergarten class made gingerbread houses.  My class is buddies with the kindergarten class so we came down to assist.  The 4th graders each helped their buddy decorate their houses and all were very creative!

 

It was crowded.  It was loud.  It smelled like sugar in the room.  But everyone was having fun and making great memories!

Enjoying every moment!

Who Is That Bearded Guy?!

Do you recognize him?

Cannon was having some fun with the bubbles in the bath.  Now we know what Cannon will look like when he is old and gray!

Enjoying every moment!

Silly Colson

A few random "Colson" shots...

Colson loves to "hide" behind the curtain.  Today, the sun was out and I could see his silhouette perfectly.  I tried to capture it with my camera phone...and you get the idea...but it's not the same.  We had a lot of laughs pretending to scare each other when he poked his head out.  

Last night I found this on the couch.  It is a Colson memento.  A line of stickers.

This morning, Colson was up at 4:47 ready to go.  I turned on a cartoon for him but he came back to get me about 5:30.  So we hung out on the couch this morning.

Colson is a pretty funny little boy!  He is strong willed, but learning to ask when he needs help instead of getting upset and throwing a fit.  :)  Even though he wakes us up WAY too early in the morning, we still love him!

Enjoying every moment.

Merry Christmas From Cannon

Cannon brought home his Christmas gift Friday and we were allowed to open it right away.  (And not save it for Christmas morning.)  He was very excited and asked us about a hundred times when we would open it. Well, maybe not a hundred, but at least twenty!

Chris and I opened it together and oohed and aahed over our present.  Cannon was beaming and so proud.

We found a perfect place for it so everyone could enjoy it and I know it will be hung up with all of the Christmas decorations for many years to come!

Enjoying every moment.

Teddy Study + Santa Picture = Productive Morning

Cannon had a Teddy Study appointment scheduled for this morning.  He's an old pro at it by now.  He gave blood without blinking an eye...watching the needle closely.  (makes me squirm!)  Every time we go in, Cannon always leaves with a small toy and a gift.  Today, they gave him an umbrella.  It was a huge hit and Cannon took it to school this afternoon, secretly hoping that it would rain!

After Cannon's appointment, we headed up to hopefully get Santa pictures taken.  The line was longer than I thought, but we made it after only about 30 minutes in line.  Both boys did wonderful, talked to Santa and smiled great!  The best part was before we even got in line.  As we were getting out of our car, we saw Santa outside, heading back into the mall.  He waved at the boys and then invited Cannon to hold his hand and escort him inside.  That was so cool for Cannon!

We made it back up to Buckley just in time to drop off Colson and get to school by noon.  Whew!

Enjoying every moment!

Miscellaneous Photos

Here are some miscellaneous photos from the last week or so.

Cannon is reading like crazy and is flying through the books that his teacher sends home.  I love listening to him read. 

When Cannon got up this morning, Colson and I had already eaten.  So Cannon mixed up some more waffle mix and made himself two waffles.  

Colson has no fear (for the most part) and has been enjoying climbing to the top of the big play toy at church.  He's not tall enough to climb up some of the way, so Cannon has to give him a little boost. But being up two stories climbing on an open net doesn't seem to bother Colson!  Then he slides down a huge curvy slide with a smile on his face!

Enjoying every moment.