Kyla Rocks the Wreath!

I love my helper elves!

National Swear Day 2016

National Swear Day is kinda becoming a dud, as Dwayne hasn’t sworn while getting and setting up our Christmas tree for years now.  In spite of that, we still make it one of my favorite days of the year.

Check out the blue sky and perfect weather!

We are going to find the perfect 11’ tree…

at our favorite farm that has always had perfect, tall trees, until all of us consumers bought them out the last few years.

We finally had to settle for a pre-cut, and more expensive, tree.  But we’ve gotten screaming deals the last two years, so it evens out, especially when you consider the s’mores.

Dwayne and I even found a cute little place to practice our kissing.

I’m also a big fan of the letters to Santa.

Dear Santa,

I have been very good this year.  Well, except for the one time I hid Grampa’s wine materials.  I would really like to find a book of edible foods in the forests of Washington, and Love, under the tree.

From,

Kyla

Dear Santa,

I have been very good this year. Well, except for the one time when I been kinda bad. I would really like to find a vet kit under the tree.

From,

Piper

Dear Santa,
I have been very good this year. Well, except for the one time when I didn’t. I would really like to find a phone under the tree.

From,

Wesley

 

Thanksgiving

We are thankful for many things, but there was a slight pall over our Thanksgiving as we wait for Aunt Janet to recover from her stroke so she can join us for holidays again. 

Grandma let the kids decorate her tree (and again later when P&C came over, and once again when Little Amber toddled around!).

Wesley choose the huge bathtub to himself over helping his sisters with the tree.

And Daddy can always be relied on for a good nap!

Thanks, Mom, for hosting a wonderful Thanksgiving!

When Super Wesley Man Slumbers

(If you have followed the hole-in-the-wall saga, that white spot behind him is what’s left of the plaster patch I did a few months ago.)

Theater Debut

Missoula Children’s Theater came to our school last week, and Kyla was one of the icicle townspeople in their version of The Princess in the Pea!  I think she had about 7 words to say solo, but it was a great experience for her. 

Turtles

Thankfully, not new pets. I’m just recycling the old ones! 

What they can do with a piece of string and a laundry basket.

10 to 1, the clean laundry is now in a pile on Piper’s floor.

Adventure Weekend in Bellingham!

Romantic weekends away are not that rare for us, but taking the kids along was a first.  Dwayne got us an awesome room on the Bellingham Bay, and we were going to make the most of our (November) weekend in a beautiful town.

We were there too early to check in to our hotel, so I took us to Whatcom Falls, a trip down memory lane as that’s where dumb college students jump the falls.  I was a dumb college student.

Isn’t it gorgeous?

And this was our view over the bay…from our (squeal!) window seat.

We took the kids to their first Theater Sports, owned by former Who’s Line is it Anyway star, Ryan Stiles.  It was a family-friendly event, but our kids were the youngest by a decade or more.  Uh hm, there’s a reasonable chance that Dwayne and I were about a decade older than the rest of the audience.  Stupid college towns.

On Saturday night, Dwayne got us a sunset reservation at Chuckanut Manor.  It wasn’t the restaurant we both thought it was, but it was lovely.  Sunset, at least in PNW November, meant about 4:30, so it was an early dinner.

I tried raw oysters for the first time.  The one with the horseradish was excellent…and nearly deadly. 

The night was beautiful, so when we got back, I played the Mom Card and suggested we all go for a walk.

The hotel is at the beginning of a long boardwalk, eventually connecting with another park and the Interurban Trail.  I love walking with Kyla!  When the others had given up and gone back, Kyla begged to go on and on. We walked for miles together that night, and I will treasure that memory forever.

As we left Bellingham on Sunday, I had us stop at Lake Padden for another little family walk.  I decided to not tell any in the car that it was a 2.6 mile hike around the lake until we were back in the car munching on chocolate bars.  Wesley kept up with Kyla and me, complaining the entire time, while Piper and Dwayne walk their own pace. The kids were all proud of how far they walked…even though the grumblings lasted for days later. 

Family Portrait

We never got around to taking my Mother’s Day portraits, so I brought my new camera over to my parents before we headed out of town for the weekend.  We got cute ones of the kids, but a malfunction gave us just one family one, with me not smiling. 

This turned out to be the last time we saw Maddux, as well.  We dropped him off for the weekend and he was in a new adoptive home by the time we returned.  Piper missed him a little, but we’ve adjusted just fine being a non-K9 household.

 

Look Up!

That’s a glass ceiling, and it’s suffocating me.

Da Fam

My family.  I kinda like them.  Especially the big hairy one.  I’m a bit partial to the beardless one.  The cute blondies in the middle ain’t bad either.