Enjoying December

Brooke asked every day for a week if we could put up the Christmas tree.  So, I caved in and did it!

There is no snow down low, but it's coming down the mountains!

I feel blessed every time I walk along Blackbird Island in Leavenworth.  It's right near downtown and is the most beautiful spot.  Little beaches for the kids to play on, mountains, animal tracks, and trails that the kids love to run on and get exercise.

Oliver was a cranky pants that day.  I wore him out on the trails and he THANKFULLY took a nap later that day.  Awe!

He did have a few smiles! 

Brooke had fun balancing on the logs... until she slipped and got both feel up past the ankles wet.  Brr! 

She wasn't sure about walking in those squeaky shoes, so she stood there thinking quite a while.

There is a nice playground for the kids.  It was hard to tear them away from it!

Thanksgiving

We drove up to Kettle Falls for Thanksgiving.  The weather was a little wet, but we really needed some time to relax.  And, relax is exactly what we did.  Awe!

The kids were not to excited about the Thanksgiving meal, maybe next year!

We got to see their new garage (on the left).  It's HUGE and very nice!

You can't go to Gpa and Gma's house without going on an adventure!  What fun!

Photo with Grandma, too bad Gpa was at work!  Still a good photo though!

Bye, bye!  See you soon!

SNOW!

The first snow!  The kids were in and out of their snow clothes three times before 11am!

The layers of boots, mittens, coats, hats, etc. begins!

Our little bird friends were wondering what all this white stuff was.

Happy Oliver on the way up to Mission Ridge Ski Resort for more playing in the snow.

The dogs LOVED it.

Faster Daddy! PUSH!

Sweet girl.  Love her!

Leaf Hunt

"We're going on a leaf hunt, we're going right away.  Let's find colorful leaves, it's a wonderful day!"  We grabbed a bag and headed out on a leaf hunt, just like one of their favorite books.  

It's always good to take a second and examine your leaf closely.

And then you can count them...

You never know what you might find on your walk to the park!

What a wonderful day!

Suzuki Violin Lessons

Brooke started taking Suzuki violin lessons this year.  It's amazing to the tiny steps they take to learn how to play the violin! Her first "instrument" was a macaroni and cheese box with decorative paper and a paint stir stick!  Her bow was a wood stick with a special frog training grip for her right hand.  We had lots of fun learning the new songs and going to weekly lessons.

They have carpet squares that are called their "desert islands".  They practice bowing and counting, "One, two, three" and then SMILE!

They practice moving the bow all around.  Their song was called, "Up Goes the Rocket".

I presented Brooke with her REAL violin!  She was excited!

All the kids play one of their first songs, "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" at the end of the concert.  At the Christmas concert Brooke will be playing along with them on what is called "E String Solo" (the same rhythm as everyone but only on one string).

Brooke's favorite part is the backpack feature!

Catching Up

One of Oliver's favorite things to do is make cookies at Auntie Caitlin's house.  This day they made cake pops.  They had no problem getting messy with that yummy cake!

We were able to run behind our house for the high school pep rally parade.  The whole school walks from the high school to downtown where they have the pep rally.

I let Oliver play with the hose one last time.  I was surprised how good of a shot he became!  Next summer I'd better watch out!

Fall Colors

On a nice October day we went out to see some Fall colors at the Leavenworth Fish Hatchery.

Grandpa John got lots of hugs!

NeeNee got to snuggle with Oliver.

Brooke met a new friend.

I even got a nice photo with Brooke!

Can you see the sleeping lady?