Christmas Photos

First we had a beautiful WHITE Christmas! These pics are from what we call the "retention pond" about 1/2 block from our house. As it turns out, it's a great place for the little kids to go sledding. Who would have guessed?! Izzy really enjoyed sledding and playing in the snow with the rest of the neighborhood kids. And I didn't realize there were so many before....

Back in our Front yard we made snow angels and a snowman "John". This was inbetween snow storms before my parents arrived. Because by Sunday before Christmas, Snowman John was just a bump in the snow and our angels were all filled in.

Mom and Dad were really lucky to arrive on Sunday before Christmas from Arkansas. They were only a couple hours delayed getting in; and I hear that it was not because of the weather. They must have been very, very lucky to make between snow storms. Anyway, we were very happy they did and enjoyed having them here all week. The kids really enjoyed playing with them in the snow. Too back that Mom and Dad are "Winter Texans" and don't own any snow gear. :)

Izzy and Xander were very good this year and Santa knew just what they liked. They really enjoyed all the presents they received from Santa and family. Izzy says her favorite was the set of 7 Disney Princess "barbie dolls". And Xander definately likes the shake 'em up race car track and cars best.

Happy Holidays!

To all the Friends and Family that we won't be able to see this Holiday Season, We Miss You!

Winter's Here!

We're enjoying a little bit of Winter here in Seattle, just in time to get into the Christmas spirit. Last night it snowed, just enought to put a light dusting on the grass. The streets were a little icy early this morning when Chris has t get up and walk up to work. Thank goodness he wasn't driving. But this afternoon the streets are all clear. The snow is starting to melt, too. So you may have heard that we live in the lowest point of Seattle. There is a retention pond just across the street. It turns out it was perfect for sledding down this morning. Izzy and Xander met up with some friends in the neighborhood and had a great time sledding, running around in the snow and having a small snowball fight. Xander even had a blast riding down the hill all by himself.

Yesterday we also got some winter fun ice skating at the Seattle Center. Izzy really improved over last year. She started out using a "walker" and ended the day not needing one at all. We even saw some ice carving!

Fall Colors

We've had an amazing October here in Seattle! Most of the month has been sunny and the leaves have changed beautiful colors. These pics are from a walk this afternoon to the Arborium close to our house. I hope the weather doesn't change before Grandpa Carl and Grandma Sharon are able to see them this week.

Izzy and Xander also got to wear their Halloween costumes to church this morning. They are both really cute and love playing super heros.

Fair Time!

We went to the Puyallup Fair today. Rode some rides, ate some cotton candy, etc. All in all a good day.

Xander's Train Set

We finally received the wooden train set for the train table on Friday. So, that's what we did with our evening. Chris put it together with a little "help" and both kids enjoyed playing with it. And again this morning that's what they went for first thing. Guess how long it took for them to take apart the set up Chris worked so hard at...... It was this morning before he even woke up. I think this will give him (Chris) endless hours of play with Xander. :)

Izzy's First Day of Kindergarten

Izzy started kindergarten on Wednesday, 9/3/08. She was very excited! She's going to Madrona K-8. This is a Seattle public school. She has to wear uniforms, blue school t-shirt with navy bottoms. I'm really loving that! No pink, no arguement about what to wear! She's sitting at a table of 5-6 other kids and I know 2 of them went to her summer daycare program. Here are a few pics....


Izzy and Dad before school. Chris got to take Izzy on her first day.



Izzy and her teacher on the first day.



Izzy at her desk.

She came home the first day and told me they wrote numbers but she was only able to get to 38 before it was time to stop. She was little disappointed she couldn't do more. The day before she was practicing numbers at home and wrote up to 100! We're so proud!

Out and About

This Labor Day weekend, the kids and I tried to get out and about while C. was out of town. We went to the Zoo with a friend, walked up to Madrona playground where we always have to stop at Cupcake Royale in Cafe Verite.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Xander!

We celebrated Xander's 2nd Birthday before Memaw had to hope the train back home. G'pa Bill also was able to make it for his party at the playground. It was a really long trip for G'pa Bill. His train got held up an extra 4 hours! That's almost twice as long as it should take to get here.

We had a great little party at the playground with cupcakes. The weather was great, infact, I'm glad we had it at 10am because it was really starting to get warm! We had 3 two year olds and Izzy. We all enjoyed the cupcakes, but I think the kids enjoyed them a little more from the icing on the frosting.

Medival Festival

During Memaw's visit we took the opportunity to visit a local Medival summer festival. Camlann Medieval Village is a short drive from Seattle. After walking around and enjoying the festival we had dinner at the Bors Hede Inn. This was definately the highlight of the day. We got in trouble for using out flash camera at the Inn. :) It was worth it, though.

Memaw's Visit

Memaw came to visit and watch Xander the third week of August while his daycare was closed for a week. They had a great time getting to knew each other. Xander got a new train table at the beginning of that week that kept him occupied most of the time. He still hasn't gotten the train to go with it (it's in the mail, bought on ebay last week). They played cars, he has about 50+ and he climbed all over it.

Update

So, I've been a little busy to blog for a few weeks. We had an unexpected family emergency and had to fly to Arkansas to attend Chris' uncle funeral. It was a unexpected, but he lived a long full life. We're really miss him.

So, on our trip to Arkansas I got the full experience of summer in the South. It was HOT!!!! We were drained of energy from being outside for even a little while. We're really glad of our "summer" here in the Pacific Northwest. Today being one of the hottest days of the summer topping out at about 87.

Here's a pic of us in AR all dressed up.... Can you believe how much the kids have grown?!

The kids did get to have fun on the trip playing with they're extended family. I don't think Izzy remembered Morgan much from previous visit and we all have never met David. They had a great time playing together. We're definately going to have to visit more often. Next time I think you guys should come to Seattle. :)