Happy Birthday Dad!!

Today would have been his BIG 6-0!! You are missed!!

Christmas Day 2008

Christmas morning...opening up the stockings all sleepy eyed!! Lauren was all smiles when she opened up her PINK iPod and Emma was reading her letter from Santa before busting open her package..the iHome!! Zack got to open his stocking too before heading out to Port Angeles!!

Later that day Hillary and Tyler arrived and all five of the cousins got to open all their presents. Bart's parent's Woody and Carol Anne joined us too!!

The girls all enjoying tea with the new tea set... The boys putting together an erector set!!

We all had a wonderful Christmas. Hopefully everyone else did too!!

Merry Christmas from Santa Long Legs!!

Well, there will be no picture of the kids with Santa this year. We waited for Ryan and Jill to get here so we could take all the kids to see Santa. The girls were excited to be with Annabella for her first visit to see Santa. They got all ready and marched into the mall all ready to sit on Santa's lap and tell them what they wanted!! Lauren.....a pink Ipod, Emma....a pink IHome. (they really like pink) Anyways, we got there, after a little bickering and arguing with my husband, after tromping through the foot high snow, after fighting the huge Christmas Eve crowds, only to stand in a HUGE, LONG line. Where did all these people come from?? Why were they all waiting to see Santa on Christmas Eve? I mean, we had a reason, we were waiting for Annabella. So after standing there for 30 minutes, Santa's helpers came and told the people right in front of us, that they would be the last people to see Santa. We were one person too late. My kids handled it well...they just said he probably knew they wanted the Ipod and IHome...in pink!! But there were plenty of other disappointed kids and pissed parents. So we trekked back home and I decided it was time to have a beer!!

Poor Annabella, she missed out on Santa, so I had to take her picture when we got home!!

Christmas Eve Karaoke!

WOW!! I have been so busy since Christmas!! But now all that fun is over. The company has all gone home, the house is finally cleaned up and I have some downtime to add to my blog while the kids play!!

At first we didn't think we were going to have any company. It snowed so much the week before Christmas and the roads were solid sheets of ice. We even sat on Skype..listening to Ryan say over and over that they were not going to come up. Suzanne also said she was going to skip it....but then I think they remembered how much they all LOVE karaoke and how sad they would be if they missed it!! LOL....so here are some pics Jill took of everyone singing. Lauren isn't that great of a reader yet, so she prefers to dance!! :)

Emma FINALLY got her earrings!!

Can we get a "WHOOP WHOOP"!! Emma finally got her ears pierced!! Lauren got her ears pierced last March for her birthday and Emma walked in with all intentions to get hers done also, but then a tiny bit of FEAR set in and she said she would wait a bit longer. Every time we walked by Claire's, you could just see the longing in her eyes for a shiny, new pair of earrings, and every time I asked her if she was ready she said NO, with a bit of frustration. It didn't help that her 5 year-old, little sister told anyone that would listen, that Emma didn't get her ears pierced because she was a CHICKEN!! Ummm, Thanks Lauren!! But last Tuesday while we were out getting some last minute gifts, we had a small Christmas miracle. While Emma was in Claire's picking out a bright, new pair of earrings for Lauren, she decided she was ready to get her ears pierced. She hopped in the chair and told everyone she was ready...and she was!! I actually thought it might not happen, as the lady who was piercing them took forever to get everything ready and then talked and talked and talked. I could see Emma getting more and more nervous by the second, but once it was done, she was sooo happy!! We were so proud of Emma for being BRAVE!! in fact, Emma said she was proud of herself for being so BRAVE!!

"WHOOP WHOOP"!!!

Playing on the computer today!! This was Lauren refusing to look up because Emma told her she had her "bad" smile in the picture above with both of them!! These two...I swear!!

A sledding we will go.....

There is still so much snow here in Seattle. It is the most I have ever seen in the 14 years that I have lived here. We have about 12 inches and it just keeps piling up because the temperatures are so low. The girls have enjoyed playing in it. Bart has taken them sledding at the golf course near our house a couple of times...they attempted to make snowmen, but it was impossible since our snow has about a 2 inch layer of ice on it! They have made cookies a few times...but now I am so sick of cookies I could BARF! They have played lots of games and had lots of computer time...bad mommy, but hey, you can only do so much when you are housebound for 10 days straight!!

I am anxious for all of this to melt!! All that know me, know I am a neat freak and like everything in it's place, but I have had to let that go for the time being....see I can have a messy house, just look below...as I walked through the house I realized that my kids think the snow is a free pass to leave all their crap out and move on to their next activity!!

This was all of the sno-come makings left out. Yes, it is 24 degrees out and they feel they need sno-cones... This was all the bead making supplies left out....Emma did make some nice bracelets, though!! They pulled out my SIZZIX machine and made tons of die-cuts. Then they started lots of cards, but never really finished one!! This is our neighbors tall tree..

..our Japanese Maple in the backyard... ..our patio set... ...and down the side of our house!!

Snow, Snow Go Away....

OK.....now it is really snowing!! It is so pretty, everything is covered in a white blanket of snow. However, I would like it all to go away now!! I have had these kids home for the past week and it looks like they won't be going to school tomorrow either. Can you say CABIN FEVER. Now they will have a 3-week Christmas break since that starts next week. I was planning on getting my last minute shopping done this week. I was going to tie up all my Christmas loose ends, clean up the house for our Christmas guests, but instead EVERYONE is home creating mini-messes everywhere they go. Even going out to play in the snow causes a huge mess. All the gloves, hats and shoes get piled up in a heap leaving puddles of water as the snow melts off of them. AAARGGG..OK, enough of my BAH HUMBUG moment...carry on with what you were doing!!!

Snow Days!!

All week the Seattle School District has had a 2hr late start due to snow. Lauren was just about to blow a gasket because Emma has got to go to school, but she has had to stay home. The Kindergarten's had no class. Emma was mad because she had to go to school and Lauren didn't!! Geez....but then today we got out 5:30 AM call from the school district saying there was no school at ALL. What?!?!?! The roads are the clearest they have been and not one drop of snow has fallen!! But, we will take it...we don't get snow days that often!! :)

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It snow!!!

SNOW in Seattle...and Salem and Portland and Vancouver and Centralia and Tacoma....pretty much the whole trip home yesterday!! As I was getting out of the shower yesterday at Ryan's, just about to get ready...the whole house was a buzz!! Hurry Up...we have to go, it is snowing in Portland! Ummmm, OK, let me dry off!! Everyone was running around packing things up so we could head home and hopefully miss most of the BLIZZARD 2008. Well, at least that is what the news was calling it. Whenever it snows in Washington or Oregon, even if it is a light dusting, everyone goes crazy. The news has 24 hour Blizzard watches, the schools close down and people all feel they need to hunker down in their houses!! People in Fargo, North Dakota must be rolling their eyes at us!!

Anyways, after we were all packed, at a rate that felt like an evacuation for a Tsunami, we headed out for our drive. It was clear and even a little sunny as we left Salem, but as soon as we hit Woodburn, we hit a wall. The temperature dropped 12 degrees and we entered a white winter land. The drive was not to bad except for the sheet of ice we drove on through Portland and Tacoma. The rest of the drive was pretty good, snowy, but clear roads. In fact the pictures above were taken as we drove on I-5. Pretty good for taking them out the window going 60 miles an hour!!

Well, I am off to get the kids ready. Emma has a 2 hour late start and Lauren's class has been cancelled!!