Snow Days

Winter arrived early this year. This week we've had a crazy amount of snow. It all started Sunday night, and since we didn't get any snow last year the kids were so excited that they hurried out because they weren't sure how long it would last.

Here are a few reasons we love snow days in Seattle:

Jumping on the Trampoline

"it's like being in an igloo"-Lydia

Our cul-de-sac becomes a sled hill and everyone on our street comes over to play!

Sledding with friends!

Sipping hot chocolate and cooling it off with snow.

Watching Jacob hike up and down the hill. He's a die hard sledder- he thinks he went down the hill 2000 times.
Landon and Mason took the responsibility of walking to the neighborhood grocery store for me. With a short shopping list, $20 and a cell phone they felt so grown up, and it helped me out.
Snow ball fights of coarse!

School being cancelled and hanging out with friends, laughing the whole time.

Playing so long Lydia's boot shoelaces freeze together, but it's so worth it!

Fall Soccer

Lydia had a great time playing soccer this fall. We thought she mostly wanted to spend time with friends, but we she seems to have a lot of fun with the sport as well.

Jostling for position

The downside of fall soccer (or maybe its just soccer in the Northwest) is that the fields get pretty sloshy by the end of the season. Lydia played goalie the final game and got to stand in a pile of mud.

And of course, her biggest fan.

Lower Lake Lena

In August Landon and Mason went on their first real camping trip. As 11 year old scouts they were invited to join the older scout troop on a backpacking trip to Lower Lake Lena (pdf), just inside the Olympic National Park.

Trailhead

The entire trail looked pretty much like this. Roughly 3.5 miles each way, but the first half is all uphill and feels more like 7 by itself.

We crossed a couple bridges, this one very tame. I wish I had a picture of the bridge/log we crossed while looking for a campsite. Bro. Curtis and I are still just grateful we all made it.

Finally made it to the top. Beautiful hike and picturesque lake!

The most notable part of the trip was that the few campgrounds were all taken. We hiked well into the evening hours looking for a place to setup tents and build a fire to cook our meals. We ended up settling for a rocky, stumpy and mossy hillside that was just clear enough to lay a few sleeping bags down. I'll leave it at that so Landon and Mason can add in all the folklore they feel necessary while telling you the story themselves.

Jacob turns 3!

We love this little boy! It's hard to believe but this past Sunday he turned 3! We gave him a new church shirt and tie for his birthday, which he proudly wore because it was just like what Landon and Mason wear. He offically went from toddler to little man! After church we had Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Matt over for dinner. We gave Jacob the head of the table for his special day!

Last year it was Elmo this year Jacob loves Mickey Mouse!
So a Mickey Mouse birthday cake it was.

The next day we had Jacob's first friend birthday party.

We had the birthday party after school so his best little playmate Lydia could join in on the fun however, it made for a long day for him to wait.

For fun, I made a Mickey Mouse clubhouse for Jacob's party out of a washer box.

Finally, the friends arrived! Jacob was so exicted to share his birthday with 6 little friends.

We played a few games, put on Mickey ears and danced the "Fancy Dance".Cake time!

Happy Birthday Jacob!

Favors!Ever since the party Lydia and Jacob have hardly left the clubhouse (washer box). On Friday night they even slept in it together. Who knew a box could be so much fun!

Country Kids

During the first week of March my brother Josh and his family came to Washington for a visit. Technically Josh was working that week so he was away at the farm, but we were able to spend time with the rest of his family. On the weekend we drove out to where he was working and spent a day in the country. It was an amazingly beautiful day for early March as the kids ran and played all over an 180 acre farm in Elma, Washington.

My brother Josh is a successful business man in Austin, Texas. But when he comes out to the farm on occasion he gets to live the country lifestyle and that means growing a beard.

On the farm is an old farm house. It may not look like much on the outside, but inside it is completely remodeled and sleeps close to 25 people.

Josh works closely with the owner of his company so it was just the two of them that came out to this farm for a week. Most of the time they spend working in this apple orchard and blueberry field.

Lydia loved the farm. She hardly came into the house that day. At one point she told me when I asked her if she liked the country she said "I'm a country girl mom, not a city girl".

Jacob adores his cousin Amelia. They have a great time anytime they are together. Playing with cousins on a farm reminded me of when I was little playing with my cousins on my Grandpa's farm. The Rhino was a hit and it was the only way to see all the farm.

Landon and Mason even had their first driving lessons.

We ended the day with a bonfire, hot dogs, and marshmallows. Thanks Josh for sharing this fun place with us!

Fun in California

Every February our kids have a week off for what the school district calls "Mid-Winter Break". We have always wanted to sneak away during this week and go somewhere sunny and warm but have never done such. So after many years we decided this was the year to do it. We talked about many different sunny places, and in the end decided to visit California. The weather wasn't hot by any means but very enjoyable. Most of all we loved getting away as a family and making many great memories.

First the flight:it's as fun as an amusement park ride for Lydia

(not so much for her parents though)

I love the ocean!! I tell Zeke that I have to see it at least once a year, which I always do, since we reside not to far from the Northwest Beaches. But seeing the California beaches with surfers, seals and sun is amazing!

Unfortunately this is the only picture I have of the CA beach (and it was taken from the car:( . Somehow we lost on our computer 1 1/2 days of pictures. It makes me sad, because they were some of my favorite pictures all from the beach and some from Sea World. I asked Zeke for 2 weeks to work his magic and retrieve them, and to give him credit he did everything he could think of with no luck.

I am trying to think positive though, because we could have lost them all.

SEA WORLD
We loved Sea World!!

Lydia was so excited because her first grade class had been studying about Penguins and she was able to see so many different kinds of Penguins in this amazing exhibit.


Jacob has a fascination with fish! He would out last everyone of us while observing all the fish life at Sea World.

Our first show was the Sea Lion show and it was so much funny that we had to go back the second day to see it again!

We spent more money on feeding the seals then we did on our own lunch that day, and boy the seals aren't too shy wanting the goods.

We loved the Flamingos too.

Sea World has a Sesame Street area. Jacob loves Elmo, but we weren't too sure how he would react to all the characters until he ran right into Elmo's arms.

The Shamu Show was spectacular!

Besides this one picture, all the other pictures of the show were lost.

Landon, Mason and Zeke braved the front rows and had blast getting splashed.

Out of all the shows we saw on our trip this was our favorite!

WILD ANIMAL PARK

We spent one day in the Wild Animal Park. It is an 1800 acre zoo in beautiful Escondido. We didn't know this at the time but it is a breeding zoo for the San Diego Zoo, so they try to keep the animals in as close to their natural habitat as possible.

We were so excited when the first animal we saw at the zoo was a 6 day old elephant.

Born on Valentines day!

It was beautiful there.

We were able to ride a tram, this allowed us to get very close to the animals.

We even joined the jaguars during their lunch time.

Would you want her job?

Lions are the boys favorites!

So many interesting birds were throughout this park.

We so much walking it was fun to stop at the Zoo's playground for awhile.

Jacob got up close to his friendly bird.

The birds were so pretty and friendly I decided to feed them some nectar. Didn't know I would turn into the bird lady. The one on my must of thought my hairspray or something had nectar in it, because he ate some of my hair.

Mormon Battalion Center

One day we went to visit this newly remodeled visitor center. We didn't know what to expect and were very pleasantly surprised. It was so wonderful! If you are ever in San Diego go it's AMAZING!!

Landon and Mason have always had a great interest in church history, and I will admit they knew more about the Mormon Battalion then I did prior to visiting the visitor center. They were trilled to dress up like the and feel what the soldiers had to carry for 1,900 miles.

At the end of the tour we were able to mine for gold. Our tour guide happened to be from Washington, and I had worked with her mom many years ago while serving in a Stake calling. It was neat to have that acquaintance and have her share a piece of her mission with our family.

Later we visited Old Town.

SAN DIEGO TEMPLE

Our family had only seen pictures of this beautiful temple, so it was neat for us to go and walk the grounds in person.

DISNEYLAND

We ended our trip with 3 days in Disneyland.

We had seen so many animals at Sea World and the Zoo we were ready for some rides!!

And more shows...

It was hard to tell if Landon was embarrassed that he was picked out of the crowd to join the HSM3 parade or if he was excited. I think maybe a little of both.

Then there is the characters. Jacob and Lydia loved them ALL!

I was even able to get my big boys to pose for a few character shots.

What a HAPPY place.

Lydia and Landon got their dancing bug out during this fun parade!

But the ultimate favorite of all 3 of my big kids was the Jedi training.

Lydia was just as excited to get trained as were her brothers. For a few moments she was the only one that had been picked out of our family to join the training, and we thought oh-no! Luckily the boys were picked shortly after so they could all become official Jedi Warriors.

Below: Lydia fighting Darth Vader (who would have thought)

Mason showing his Jedi skills. Can you tell how serious he is?

Landon was serious also! Zeke and I had some good chuckles watching.

Lydia is an offical Jedi now:)

More characters and more hugs.

And of course Mickey!

We played so hard at Disneyland, that we would put off eating, until the park was closed. Here is Mason late one night building a Mickey Pizza.
O--what fun it is......
Jacob completely suprised our family during this vacation. He walked everywhere! We brought a stroller everyday, but he insisted on walking and holding our hands instead. I can't imagine how many steps those small legs took, but not once did he complain. He was in heaven!

So much fun!

Bye Disneyland, Bye California!

Thanks for the memories!!!