Photo with Santa

Here is this years photo with Santa. I am so pleased with how it turned out and that all of the kids are smiling!

Snow Flake Lane

We took the kids to Snow Flake Lane in Bellevue this year and made a whole night of it. It was one of our favorite nights of the week. We started the night with Christmas shopping...I took Emory and Bronson to pick something out for Wade and Wade took Alliya and Brennyn to pick out a present for me. The kids thought it was so much fun to "sneak around" and pick out their own present. We then had dinner at Red Robin and the kids actually got to meet the bird himself. Then it was finally time to stand outside (in the freezing weather) and watch the festivities. It starts with Christmas music playing loudly down the main street and then the drum line starts and comes out dancing in the street. They have Rudolph, a Snow Princess, a Snow Fairy, Polar Bear, and lots more. It reminds me of Disney Land and the parade they do at night. The last 15 minutes was the highlight as it started snowing from the rooftop. They have snow and fans and create almost a blizzard in the middle of Bellevue Way. It was a blast and the kids were so excited and dancing on the side walk. It is definitely a must-do every year.

Rudolph

The girls and the Snow Fairy. Brennyn said to her "I have wings at home too"

The Polar Bear

The Snow Princess

The cute girls! They love each other so much and play so well together.

Bellevue Botanical Gardens

We had the kids in Washington for a week and had a packed schedule full of fun Christmas activities and family fun. We decided to try out the Bellevue Botanical Gardens (based on the review from Becky and Amy) and it was great. They make trees, flowers and even water falls out of lights. The lights were amazing and we were able to walk the whole thing in about 15-20 minutes (a plus for the kids).

Our Family Thanksgiving

Our family always celebrates Thanksgiving on Saturday so everyone can be together. We had a great meal at my Grandma's, but before we could enjoy the holiday we had to do some manual labor at my moms (part of remodeling her house).

Decorating Grandma's Christmas Tree.

Alliya and Erik worked hard on assembling the chairs for the new dining room table. Wade did the base boards for the house, and I put together the table and cooked.

Finished product...

Our Thanksgiving

This year we didn't have any of the kids for Thanksgiving so we decided to make a trip to Whistler and stay the night there. We actually left more snow than they had at Whistler, but it snowed all night and was amazing to see all lit up with Christmas lights and the snow. It was a peaceful wonderful way to spend the holiday.

Pre-Thanksgiving Snow

Last year we didn't get any snow, and this year we got 8 inches before Thanksgiving. It started on Sunday and lasted until Thanksgiving. It made for an interesting Holiday commute, but we had a great time playing in it. Snow has to be one of my favorite things.

Playing in the snow with our awesome neighbors

The older kids thought it was a good idea to throw snowballs at the adults...that was until Jeff and Ian started throwing snowballs back.

The hills by the elementary school are great for sledding. We met Tracie and Chad and their girls Sophie and Taylor.

Chad and Taylor

The girls

Tracie and I had to get in on the fun.

Halloween Party - Adult Style

This was the second year that we had a Halloween party. We did it the weekend before Halloween and had our friends all dress up. This has turned into a fun tradition and it is always fun seeing the creative costumes.

Stephanie and Justin (Troy) aka Vampires

Kristin and Todd aka witch and skeleton

Becky and JJ aka - punk rockers

Karen and Jeff aka the cheerleader and the coach...hmmm???

This is the second year my husband has made me dress up as a boy (although this outfit doesn't look like a boy in this version of a boy scout...it actually came with a skirt - there was no way I was wearing that). I say next year I get to pick out our costume and it wont be as disturbing.

Tracie and Chad aka prisoner and prison guard

Julie and Joel aka Brett Favre and the reporter (mistress)

Steve and Donna - aka NCIS girl and waitress from True Blood (don't know the names)

Our trip to the pumpkin patch....we lucked out with great weather and found a u-pick pumpkin patch close to the house. The kids each got to pick out a pumpkin and it only cost us around $30 for 4 pumpkins....but the experience was worth it right???

As you can see I am still catching up on my blog posts...at least now I am in the month of October.

We had the kids in WA for a week in October and one of the days we spent at the zoo. They always have a great time and is one of their favorite places to go.

My Birthday Weekend

Here is another post that is way past due...we went to Glacier National Park for my birthday weekend in August. We spent the weekend driving around the park and seeing the sights.

This picture makes me laugh...

On the last day we stopped at a view point for the river and it had a great place to sit on the rocks and take in the sights. We brought our lunch and relaxed. Wade then thought it would be fun to go jump off the big rock. As long it is him in that freezing water and not me, I am fine with it.

I attempted to get in the water (I briefly thought about jumping off the rock with him until I felt the glacier water). This picture says it all...

Video of Wade jumping in - sorry it is sideways.