January started off with a trip to Hyak Park near Snoqualmie Pass to go sledding/ tubing. The weather was perfect - sunny and freezing cold ;) We came prepared with warm layers and snacks and spent 4 hours there, which is about 4x as long as I thought we'd last.
The park had a steep, groomed hill, which was great, but required waiting in lines.
There was also an area with a small hill, which the girls also liked.
And sometimes when you don't want to wait for a sled, you just slide down on your belly 😂
Proof that both Ken and I were there and smiling.
The girls started swimming lessons this month. They were excited, but I think it's a lot different than they expected. Amelia has already told me she wants to go back to gymnastics - which is definitely more her style. The jury is still out with Sophie - we'll see if she follows the crowd or does her own thing.
My birthday was celebrated at the Great Wolf Lodge - not necessarily my first choice for celebrating my birthday - but when there is no school that day, you do what you have to do. Thanks to Ken's Dad for the Christmas present that allowed us to stay there. The girls had so much fun playing in the water, riding on the slides, meeting Rachel the Racoon . . . and the wolf ears were a hit!
I think Amelia was in heaven just being able to wear her swimming suit for a day and a half.
It was nearly impossible to get pictures of our water adventures, but this one pretty well sums up how we felt by the time we left - tired and happy.
I threw myself a birthday party - good friends, good food, and fun games and laughter. A perfect evening. A few days later, I took Sophie on a date. We went to Starbucks for hot chocolate (her choice) and I brought games to play while we were there. I really enjoyed spending one on one time with her and I'm looking forward to my date with Amelia in Feb.
December - family activities, snow, and Christmas. A perfect way to spend a month. We went to Spanaway's Fantasy Lights drive-through display. The girls love it . . . mostly because we let them be unbuckled and hang their head out the window as we drive 5 mph through the display.
On the 8th, we got a skiff of snow. You can see how excited the girls were as they ran outside to play in it.
But I had to laugh as I watched them trying to make snow angels in it. 😂
The next day, we got a real snow storm, and lucky for everyone, school was already cancelled that day due to teacher prep. The girls loved playing with the boys up the street, and I loved that the boys loved playing with the girls.
It has been so cold lately, that Ken has been wearing his "puffy" coat. One day the girls discovered that they could fit in it together.
On the 23rd, one of Ken's co-workers invited us to come to her home for a horse riding activity for the girls. Her yard is all decorated with lights and then the girls get to ride a horse and pick out presents hanging from the trees. The girls loved it and didn't seem to mind the cold weather.
We did our annual sugar cookie making and decorating on the 24th. The girls are getting much less messy and I'm not so tightly wound watching them decorate, so we all had fun this year.
Ken broke down and got a trampoline for the girls for Christmas (I think he was tired of them jumping on the furniture). It's not the best picture, but I love Amelia's excitement as she figured out what was "hidden" outside.
We also got the girls roller skates and they've had fun rolling around in the garage.
Tune in next month for more snow play, water park fun, and birthday activities!
Thankfully, November was much less stressful/ busy than October. I started the month by going to Portland for the Time Out For Women conference. I was able to connect with a friend/ former roommate and had a great time - listening to the speakers, catching up on everything, and being kid free for over 24-hrs.
The girls learned a new song at school for Veteran's Day, and I thought it was too cute not to share.
I love it when babysitters come prepared to play. Maddi made turkey headbands with the girls; Ken is modeling Maddi's that she made and left behind.
I spent the month posting things I am grateful for on Instagram. Two of my favorite things are Amelia
and Sophia.
And the girls helped me decorate the wall all month with things we were all thankful for.
Thanksgiving is always a quiet affair at our house and this year Ken had to work, so dinner wasn't until later, but it was all good. Ken made his "caterpillar" again this year, otherwise known as turkey porchetta. It was great, especially because I didn't have to cook it.
We followed our family tradition of getting a Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. I love living in the Pacific NW where fresh trees are abundant and cheap. Who wouldn't love that?
And even better, we found one that we all liked, without too much whining!
When it comes to decorating, we each have our own style. Thank goodness, Ken's style is "patience" because he let the girls not only help him decorate but put the lights on too. I tried a new technique too - let the girls decorate, and then re-shuffle ornaments when they were done to make sure the entire tree had ornaments, not just the bottom half that they could reach.
And it turned out really well.
The girls also decorated "their" tree in the playroom.
I love that Amelia put her favorite seashell on top for the star.
On Saturday, we went to Portland to visit Ken's mom. The girls were worried that they would be bored, but Diane was prepared with crafts and the girls were in heaven. They crafted almost the whole time we were there.
I've slowly been putting up the rest of our Christmas decorations. My favorite ones are always the nativities, including this one, that is tiny, but kid-friendly. I had it arranged the way I typically do, but Sophie came home that afternoon and arranged it the way she likes it. I think I'll leave it that way - to remind myself to keep Christ at the center of my focus.
October just flew by . . . kind of like this duck . . . Amelia drew this picture in art class and her teacher selected it as one of the 5 from her school that was submit to the nationwide Junior Duck Stamp Contest. Go Amelia! She didn't get her drawing talent from me.
Sophia's 5th birthday was a fun event, even if I took horrible pictures and didn't even get one of her by herself. The girls colored, played games, ate brownies, opened presents, and broke open a piñata - the true hit of the party ;)
Almost before we knew it, it was the night before Halloween and we didn't have our pumpkins carved yet. The girls each drew a picture of what they wanted their pumpkins to look like, Sophia helped clean out the "guts" . .
. . . Amelia supervised, and Ken carved all 3 pumpkins! Yeah!
Yes - there really were 3 pumpkins - I'm not sure why I didn't get a picture of the 3rd one.
On Halloween, I got to be a chaperone with Amelia's class for a field trip to the pumpkin patch. It wasn't as organized as Sophia's pumpkin patch field trip (not the school's fault), but we were all grateful that we got a break from the rain and had a windy, but dry event.
Me and my girl eating our lunch together!
And then after school, it was time to get ready for Trunk-or-Treat. Sophia wanted to be a ghost - a simple costume, I thought, but I spent much more time on it than I expected trying to make sure it fit just right . . . and stayed on. Cutting the holes was the scariest part - I was so afraid she'd end up looking like Charlie Brown's ghost costume :) And of course, Amelia wanted to be Elsa - super easy costume, since she already had the dress - yeah!
I hope there are no tricks in November - just plenty of time to eat all the Halloween treats!
Ken had a conference in Portland for a week in Sept, and the girls got out of school early one day that week, so I was brave and the girls and I made a field trip to the WA State Fair. We've lived in WA for nearly 6 years and I've never been, so I figured now was as good a time as any.
The girls rode on rides. . .
(Sophia is on the far right of the slide)
Saw baby pigs that were only 1 day old . . .
Watched the clydesdales . . .
Petted sheep . . .
and had fair food and got faces painted. All in all a successful outing . . . and even better, we made it home in time for our normal bedtime. Wahoo!
Sophia had her first field trip to Hunter Family Farms on Oct. 6, and I got to come as a chaperone. She wanted her picture taken next to a few of the silly scarecrows.
So excited to be on the wagon heading out to the pumpkin patch.
Holding the "chosen" one :)
The next day, I got to be a chaperone for Amelia's field trip to the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge. I've always thought that was a cool place to go, but the field trip was so educational and fun; I think even the chaperones had fun and learned a few things :)
Amelia and some of her friends being tree huggers, ha-ha
One of many tree frogs that we saw. I don't think I've ever seen one before. They're only about the size of a quarter or smaller, and mostly bright green.
One of 2 snakes we saw . . . in the trees . . . waiting for the tree frogs. We weren't that close to the snakes, but I was still grateful they were only about 1/2" around.
And now I take a breather for 2 weeks, while we gear up/ prepare for Sophia's birthday and Halloween. But as Ken said to me this morning, "there's always something going on". . . so stay tuned for more.
