Great Wolf Lodge

We finally did it.
We went to Great Wolf Lodge!

So many people we know and many students have gone, but we hadn't experienced it yet.  Partly because Colson was a bit young, partly because it was expensive for a weekend stay and partly because we are busy doing many other things.

But we took advantage of a middle of the week day off from school (semester break) and booked a night, totally surprising the boys.  We packed everything Sunday night, went to school on Monday morning like usual and then took them out of school at noon.  They had no idea.  On the trip down, they asked us where we were going but we wouldn't tell them. They tried to guess, but didn't even come close.

When they finally figured it out (as we were pulling into Great Wolf Lodge) they got excited!  The hotel is beautiful in a rustic kind of way.  It's kid friendly and the boys fell in love with the bunk beds in the room!  That was the biggest hit!

The water park was pretty awesome, too!  It was large, with a lot of areas to play in.

Colson started off on the little slide and was very independent in this area!

There was an area that kids could cross the water holding on to the ropes and stepping on the floating lilypads and animals.  This was easy for Cannon!

We all loved the water slides.  We went on one over and over as a family, where we could all fit in one large tube.  Colson was very nervous about this at first and was whimpering with fear.  But as soon as we went down, the smile arrived and he smiled the entire way down.  Then he asked to do it again! 

 

 There was a large arcade there and boys loved this, too.  It was fun to see which games they enjoyed and which ones were passed over.  Some games you could earn tickets.  We earned enough for a large size deck of cards and some candy.

The boys in front of the humongous fireplace.  

A quick picture with one of the critters.

Storytime before bed in the great hall.  There was a 'show' by the clock tower and then an employee read a story.  

Everyday Pictures

The days continue on and I find there are more and more days between blog posts.  Busy, but not really any busier than normal.  I think I am just prioritizing differently.  I am keeping up weekly on my Project Life album so I feel I am constantly writing about what we are doing.  However that is mostly for our home scrapbooks.  I think I need to figure out how to upload those to the blog since they are very similar.  Hmmmm???!!!

Anyway, here are some everyday photos from the last couple of weeks.  These don't show the "BIG" things that happen, but the everyday, little moments that are always occurring.

Playing at the YMCA.  The boys enjoy playing at the kids area.  Cannon can stay there by himself. He makes friends easily and enjoys joining in on whatever is going on.  Colson likes to play on the big toy with the slide.

A trip to Menchie's for lunch.  Love this pictures.  Colson's smile is great and look at Cannon's missing two front teeth!

Colson at his tumbling class.  He listens well (is one of the only ones who does) and loves to tumble!

Cannon working on his creation:  A double stack egg holder.  He borrowed Brenda's glue gun and added more parts to make it stronger and more stable.  

A surprise package arrived for the boys from Grandma and Grandpa Anderson!  The boys are each reading their cards.  We are still eating on the chicklets!

I found this Hershey's Kiss in Cannon's lunchbox and went to give it to him to eat.  He told me that he got it from his teacher and he saved it for me.  Awwww!  xoxoxoxox

Cannon's been into making breakfast for us in the morning.  He made waffles one morning and pancakes the next day.

It is time to vote for our school bond.  We are supporting the Sumner School District by voting. White River has a bond out, too and if passed, will totally renovate the middle school and Elk Ridge Elementary, as well as upgrade the rest of the elementary schools and put a covered grandstand in at the high school.

The library is one of my favorite places!  I love going and searching for great books. The choices are endless.

Enjoying every moment!

Monster Jam

Since the boys are such home bodies (and so am I) it's easy to be content hanging out at home all of the time.  Don't get me wrong...chilling at home is good and there isn't anything wrong with that. But it's nice to get out and do things sometimes.  We are trying to do more things outside of the house with the kids to give them more experiences and of course, make memories!

This weekend, Chris took the boys to Monster Jam at the Tacoma Dome.  Chris and Cannon went last year but this was Colson's first time.  

They all had a lot of fun.  It was very loud so thank goodness for earplugs and noise cancelling earmuffs.  They liked to see the trucks do wheelies and donuts.  One or two flipped over, which is always a hit for the fans.  The same drivers also drove quads and side by sides.  

Everyone came home with smiles on their faces!

Enjoying every moment. 

Day Trip

The first Saturday in January we took a day trip to the Elk Feeding Station near Naches.  Dan and Claire had told us about this and we all decided to set a date to go.

It was a great drive over Hwy 12.  I don't recall traveling on this road before but Chris says I have!  It was a very pretty drive.  There was a lot of snow, but the roads were bare.  The trip was longer than we expected...about three hours, but everyone did great.  Not that the boys wouldn't.  They are good travelers.  As we continued on, we watched the temperature drop and drop and drop.  When we finally made it to the feeding station, it was 7 degrees!

It was an amazing site.  To see so many elk in one spot was just breathtaking.  There were some huge bulls with large racks among the hundreds of cows.  We spent as much time as we could outside looking at them before heading into the ranger station and checking things out in there.  (Where is was warm!)  If it wasn't so darn cold, we would have stayed and gone out on the trucks that take people out into the middle of the elk.  That would have been something!  And the boys would have loved it.  

After our visit, we continued on through Naches and up around the canyon to Ellensburg for lunch. We were all starving and lunch was yummy.  We finally continued on to I-90 and home over Snoqualmie Pass.  The traffic to get to the ski area was crazy.  I was glad we were going the other way!

It was a fun day!
Enjoying every moment.

Swimming Has Begun

Another round of swimming lessons has started!  It's been about a year since the boys have taken lessons.  Plus, the pool we've always gone to at Sumner High School has closed to the public.  Lucky for us, the YMCA opened in Sumner and we have taken advantage of the perks that come with membership.  One of them is free swimming lessons for the boys!

Cannon is enjoying his lessons so far.  He is in a big group of kids, but there are two teachers.  It's been fun to watch him swim the length of the pool.  He has also become more confident doing the backstroke, even after only two lessons.  He will probably move up to a higher swim group next session.

Colson is in a small group of five kids.  He is doing a nice job kicking, practicing moving his arms and trying to float on his back.  At the end of the lesson, they get to jump in and he likes that.  He is also building confidence and that is important.

Fun times with the Ross boys!
Enjoying every moment.

Goodbye Front Tooth!

Cannon has lost a total of four teeth.  And this last one, he had some help getting it out!  Cannon lost his first top, front tooth not too long ago.  The other one was only a little lose when the dentist decided to have it pulled.  Cannon's adult tooth was growing in backwards.  The hope is that with the baby tooth out, there will be room for the adult tooth to move straight down.  We did try and give it some good wiggles and turns and pulls before his appointment, hoping to pull it on our own.  But we didn't have any luck.  So in we went for a quick procedure.  Cannon was excellent.  It took longer (about 40 minutes) to prep him and only seconds to pull the tooth!

Colson was a good brother, just hanging out.  He was comfortable, kicked back in the dentists chair, watching the movie with Cannon.  Funny and cute!    

Here he is without his two front teeth!  How does he look?!

Enjoying every moment!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!  It's one of our favorite times of the year!  I love the holiday season, starting right when the decorations go up the day after Thanksgiving.

We had a beautiful tree this year.  It was a Fraser Fir.  It fit perfectly and looked great after it was decorated.

Christmas Eve night.  Posing for pictures even though they didn't want to.  Love them!

Santa left some great presents!  Colson went straight to the Lego box!  He LOVED it.  Cannon got a metal detector.

Cannon unloading his stocking:  Gum, movie, gloves, Tic Tacs, whistle, candy, chapstick, etc.

The mess that Christmas morning brings.  Love all of it!

As always, it was a great holiday season.
Mom, Dad and Karin made it over the pass before they closed it!  We've had a ton of snow this year and the pass was closed off and on for days.  It was even closed for nearly 24 hours, which is usually unheard of.  Many people were stuck on one side of the mountain or the other.

We had a nice ham for Christmas Eve dinner.  At the last minute, because we were out of oven room, (the pie took precedence!) we had to put the ham in the crockpot.  It turned out very good and allowed us to use the oven for the scalloped potatoes, green bean casserole and rolls.  Everything was very good.  Mom's homemade apple pie with the crumble and caramel top.  I could just eat that for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

Football and movies were also on our to do list.  We started the Harry Potter marathon, the kids watched a Christmas movie and then we watched college bowl games and a couple of NFL games.  It is nice to have the time to sit down and relax, without feeling guilty!

Enjoying every moment!

Baking Cookies

Baking cookies is a tradition in many households around this time of year.  There were many acquaintances posting pictures about their all day baking tradition.  I remember baking sugar cookies and my favorite, spritz cookies, when I was growing up.  We don't bake all day, but the boys usually bake cookies with Grandma Anderson.  I love that they will have similar memories as I do.  (We'll have to work on making spritz cookies!)

The boys made Gingerbread boys and then sugar cookies.  I love looking at these pictures and seeing how serious they are.  They are focused on their task!  

Putting frosting and LOTS of sprinkles on the cookies is the best!

Enjoying every moment!