Catching Up: November Daybook

From a while ago... This is totally late but I thought I might throw up a few photos from our annual trip to Schilter Farm. The boys had a blast. They loved the pony ride even though looking at Grant's face you wouldn't know it. Miles loved the hay jump and Grant loved the giant sand table. At the end we picked out pumpkins while Grant threw a fit about who knows what...

 

 

 

 

Halloween... The boys went trick-or-treating as a robot and a Packers football player. They had so much fun collecting candy and knocking over our neighbor's decorations. We have video of Grant touching a little witch on someone's doorstep and saying to Miles "let's knock it over" and proceeding to knock it over as the homeowner opens the door. I told Patrick he was in charge of costumes this year. He was really excited to make a robot costume for Miles but you may not know it because it ended up just being a box covered with foil. I laughed because it looked a little white-trash and wondered why he didn't add a few buttons to the front or those silver dryer hose things for his arms and legs. Oh well, it got the job done and he thought he was pretty cool. Clark was a race car driver. But he had to miss out on the candy this year.

 

 

 

What I'm reading... I just finished Dad is Fat by comedian Jim Gaffigan. It was pretty funny. I've seen his stand-up before so there were a few jokes in there that I'd heard previously. I liked that he was totally honest, totally loves his wife, and totally loves his kids even though he makes fun of how crazy and hectic having kids can be (which gets a little old by the end). I just started reading The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. Like, just started it so I'm not sure what to think yet. I've never read his work before but have heard good things so I figured why not give it a shot?

Speaking of... Jim Gaffigan, he's hilarious. Check out his stand-up routine Mr. Universe on Netflix. He's Catholic with 5 kids and his humor is clean which is refreshing, but still so, so funny.

What Patrick is up to... Woodworking! We refinished our kitchen table this summer and it turned out awesome. We got this table from my brother and sister-in-law, Mitch and Erica, when they moved to Nashville and they got it from my Aunt Shannon who got it from her aunt (I think?) We're very happy with how it turned out. It was a ton of work but worth it. We talked about what to do about the chairs since the cushions were falling off and the actual chair wasn't actual wood; it was plastic. The "wood" had worn off and there was a melted spot on one of the chairs. We thought we could just buy new chairs but what if they didn't match right or the color was off? Then, Cheri suggested benches. Brilliant! We can pack a bunch of kids on them, there wouldn't be a ton of chair to sweep around and it just makes sense for our family. Patrick decided that he could build them. So, that's what he's been up to once we finally decided on what type of bench and wood. They look amazing and I'd say this is his best work in woodworking so far. We just have a couple more coats of polyurethane to do so I'll post pics when they're complete.

About Clark... he's been such a good baby so far. He nurses and sleeps well and is just plain cute. I just want to kiss him all the time. And sometimes I do!

A few pictures to share... Just some cute pictures of the boys. That is all.

Miles loves holding Clark. Every morning he asks to hold him and then he'll just sit there for 15 minutes holding Clark and watching TV. I keep asking him if he's done holding him but he keeps saying 'no, not yet.'

Grant loves to touch Clark. Especially when he's sleeping. Good thing Clark doesn't mind too much because he'll have to get used to being poked and roughed up a little with two older brothers. (I spy a little smirk on Clark's face).

Snow Day

 

We loaded up the car on Saturday morning and headed east. After over 4 years of living in Olympia we finally made it out to Mt. Rainier. It was about a 1 1/2 hour drive complete with a total meltdown from Miles by the time we pulled into the parking lot. Maybe he was nauseous from the switchbacks? Who knows, but he was pineing for home for the last 10 minutes of the drive.

Grant soon caught onto the meltdown mode as we forced layers of snow clothes on his little body in "A Christmas Story" fashion and the whole mountain was serenaded by shrieks and screams. We coaxed them to get over it with bribes of sledding and brownies and hot chocolate and unicorns and rainbows. Thanks to the people in the parking lot the whole ordeal didn't go without a few funny remarks.

Anyhoo, we made it. Got up to the bunny hill with our saucer sleds and had the boys test out their first run. Success! They loved it! The long drive and crying were worth it. They weren't scared to go down the hill alone which I thought Grant might be. He wouldn't even hang on over the bumps.

We did that for a while and then decided to have lunch in the snow back at our car. I was surprised that Miles was even hungry because he ate half the snow on the mountain.

After lunch and hot cocoa we played in the snow and went back to the bunny hill again for more sledding. We left by 3:30 and had a quiet car ride home as the boys slept. They were tuckered out!

 

We'll definitely do this again! Aside from the meltdown we really enjoyed the drive. It reminded me of driving up to Mt. Baker. Basically the same scenery. It was clear up there with a high of 62 degrees too so the view of Mt. Rainier and the surrounding mountains was amazing.

A Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! What a Christmas it has been. What a December it has been! Patrick and I were just talking about how quickly December went by. I think we packed in all that we could starting with Thanksgiving.

We spent a nice long weekend with our good friends and Miles' godparents in Vancouver. The boys and I had many walks outside bundled up in the cold and hot cocoa to warm up with after the walk. As a family we went on an evening walk to look at Christmas lights in our neighorhood, and another night we went for a drive to look at more. Patrick took the week off during Christmas so we could spend extra time with our families and that is where I'll pick up from here with loads of pictures.

We started out our week going to Bellevue Square with Patrick's mom, brother and his girlfriend, sister and her boy friend, and nephew. We got Santa pictures, went ice skating, ate dinner at Red Robin, and watched the Snow Flake Lane parade complete with drummers and fake snow. This was our second year going to it and I look forward to making it a tradition and especially when the boys can actually skate instead of dead-leg it all over the ice.

Helping Austin skate.

That night we went up to my parents' house and spent the next three-ish days there. We went bowling after mass on Sunday for Owen's 4th birthday and ate sandwiches and supcakes after.

Uncle Zach teaching Miles how to bowl.

Cutest shoes ever.

Grandma Di with the youngest granson, Eli (3mo).

Monday was spent visiting my Grandma and Grandpa John out in Deming. It was special because we rarely see them outside of family functions so we were able to spend quality time together. Miles even went on a tractor ride with Grandpa. Grant was too afraid.

 

Monday night Mitch and Erica (and almost 5 month old baby in Erica's belly) arrived from Nashville. What a great Christmas gift to see them and a baby bump. We celebrated them being back for Christmas with drinks and Jenga. I forgot how fun that game is!

From left, Owen, Isaac, Eli, Liam, Aidan, Grant, Miles picking his nose and Coco photo-bombing.

 

Nono and Eli dressed for Christmas Mass.

Santa arrived early on Christmas Eve morning per Grandma Di's special request. Uncle Mitch donned the Santa costume and came bumbling in complete with a very low hanging stomach and Southern Accent.

 

The kids, and adults for that matter, tore through paper and bows to some wonderful and thoughtful gifts.

The day was spent talking, playing, and eating. Later, we attended the Children's Mass at Sacred Heart. Although the boys were being difficult since mass was during their normal dinner hour, it was fun to see the Nativity play and hear Fr. Joe's message spoken so the children could understand.

On Christmas morning Patrick and I packed everything up said our "see ya laters" and headed south to his parent's new home. It is techincally still in Everett but only a couple miles (if that) from Mukilteo and practically on the water. What a view they get to wake up to every morning!

Picture was taken on my ipod so it's not doing justice for the view.

We opened gifts with his entire family in the afternoon and ate dinner together that night. It was a relaxing day and so nice to spend time visiting.

The next day we hung out with Jason, Patrick's brother, and his nephew Austin (6yrs). We walked to the nearby park by the water and let the kids run off some energy. We were tired from all the fun so the afternoon and evening were spent playing monopoly and relaxing.

On Friday, Rhonda offered to watch the boys while we got out for lunch. I insisted we go to P.F. Chang's since Patrick hadn't ever been there. It was delicious as usual. We got some Cold Stone and walked around the mall for a little bit before heading back.

Some relatives from Canada came down for dinner that night. I just love his relatives. They're so fun, friendly, thoughtful, and we share the same values and faith so I feel like I can really connect with them. It was even more special because Patrick's cousins came all the way down from Barrhead, a 13 hr drive with their kiddos Jordan and Isla who we hadn't seen since our wedding 4 yrs ago. You might remember Isla as the flower girl from our wedding. Well, she's in second grade now! They're so well behaved and such sweet kids.

Chris, Megan, Jordan, Isla, David, Rhonda, and us.

Saturday was our day to head home. I can always tell how much fun I had by how happy I am to be home. Usually, if I go out for a bit or a short weekend I don't mind whether I'm home or not, but if I'm gone for a while being busy and having loads of fun I am super ready to be home to unwind from it all. That's how I felt on Saturday. I felt fulfilled by all the family we spent time with and everything we did together.

What a Christmas it was!

And Happy New Year!! Blessings and prayers to you all in 2014.

Alpenrose and Nguyen Family Visit; Year 2

We had another great weekend spending time with our good friends and Miles' godparents Tuan and Sara. We headed down to their house in Vancouver Friday night for a fun-packed weekend. I think it's best to tell the story of our weekend mainly through pictures...

We started out our weekend the moment we arrived, around 8pm, by caravanning to the Oregon Zoo for Zoo Lights. We were a bit late and had to take the shuttle from the overflow parking lot but it turned out to be an extra surprise because the shuttle was a school bus. Miles has been talking about riding the school bus a lot lately so he was on Cloud 9 from the moment he saw it. We forgot the camera for Zoo Lights so there aren't any pictures but it was pretty neat to see so many lights. Tuan and Sara packed hot cocoa and which we sipped as we walked. The boys loved it and still talk about the bus they rode.

Saturday, the boys woke up rather early so we were a little slow getting ourselves together. Sara made a delicious quiche for breakfast and I had made banana bread too. After downing a couple cups of coffee we jetted out to Alpenrose Dairy Farm to visit their Christmas Village like we did last year.

There was a train room where a train club has a whole village scene set up. That was a big hit for the kids.

Tuan and Xavier (2yrs)

Later, Patrick bought us some fresh milk and cookies from their store that we all enjoyed as we waited in line to walk through their Storybook Lane. 

Even Kolbe (5mo) got a little taste of the cookies!

Afterwards, we watched an Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas episode in the old theatre and walked to the car with more hot cocoa.

When we got back the boys went down for naps. They had snacked to much that they weren't hungry for lunch. I made clam chowder and rolls, Tuan made a toasty fire, and we enjoyed it all without the kiddos running around and with a nice cold glass of Tuan's beer he had conveniently on tap in the dinning room. That was probably my favorite part of the weekend; good food, even better beer, and great company. It was awesome to sit and talk without having to get up every 2 minutes because of the kiddos.

That night Tuan and Sara offered to watch Miles and Grant so we could attend Patrick's company Christmas party in Portland. It was a beautiful party with great food. The theme was New Orleans so you can imagine some of the spicy food we tried, everything from Jambalaya to Cajun Fried Chicken and Bananas Foster for desert.

The next morning we went to mass and came back to watch the Seahawks. It was a pretty relaxed day and felt great to just hang after doing so much over the past day and a half.

Do they look like they had a good time or what!? They're watching Monsters Inc. Looks like we'll be getting that movie too!

Thanks again to Tuan and Sara for having us and watching the boys so we could get a date night. We always enjoy spending time with you and look forward to making this a tradition.

(you can check out our trip here from last year here)