Christmas and Finn's Baptism

Everyone was in Cashmere for Christmas! 

On Christmas morning, the kids waited patiently for Auntie Caitlin and their grandparents to come over so they could open their presents!

Brooke was proud of the puzzle wreathe ornament that she made in first grade. 

Oliver enjoyed building his new LEGO set.

Kent and Bing used the new meat grinder/sausage stuffer to make the korv.

On Christmas Eve we enjoyed a traditional Danish meal and on Christmas Day we hopped over to Norway! Potatoes, korv sausage, lutefisk (from Rob Swanson, hand delivered from Alaska!), peas, cream sauce and hand picked Alaskan cranberries!

On the Sunday after Christmas, Finn was baptized at Celebration Lutheran Church by Pastor Dave Haven.

Finn was quite verbal as we conducted the service. He spotted the drum set and was saying, "Boom, Boom!". He also noticed the little kids in the front row and said, "Baby!". After he got the holy water on his head he started saying, "No, no, no..." and fake crying. It's a bit more challenging baptizing a one year old than a little baby!

Oliver asked what a "bath-tism" was and his Grandma Carol explained that Finn will become a child of God. Oliver replied, "He already is a child of God!"

Finn entertains Brooke and Oliver with a game of peek-a-boo!

Finn's sponsor is Auntie Caitlin (or "Nee-Nee") whom he LOVES!

This year we decided to stay at home for Christmas. It turned out to be the best decision! We had tons of snow and things to do to keep us in the Christmas spirit.  Grandpa John and Grandma Carol drove all the way up from Southern California to be with us. It was a great time!

We have had drought conditions the last few years, so we welcomed the foot of snow we received so far!

Brooke and I went to the local theater to watch The Nutcracker with a live orchestra for the first time. It was a great show and it was nice to spend time together.

Oliver and Brooke had some new friends over to play. What a fun group!

I got them to stop chasing around the house for a moment so I could snap a photo.

In the past, Brooke and Oliver have had no interest in meeting Santa, so we were surprised when they decided to go sit on his lap at a community pancake breakfast! Finn wasn't too pleased with the idea of sitting on a strangers' lap.

But he had no problem wearing Daddy's old hat and showing us his hip-hop self!

December Update 1

Oliver is in Kindergarten this year. School is going so well for him! We are amazed at his growth from the beginning of the year. He started off with the ability to slooooowly sound out words, but now he is quickly reading beginner books. He strives to be a good student and is proud of his behavior. His teacher mentioned that he listens carefully to the lessons and applies the information to his work. We could not be more proud of our five year old!

Brooke is also having a great year in 1st grade! She is more confident and brave this year and is making huge strides in making friends and being a part of the classroom activities.  She loves school and her teacher Mrs. Bryant. She continues to play violin and has been progressing so much faster than in previous years. We could not be more proud of Miss Brooke!

Finn is growing so fast and changing every day. In early December his new skill was sitting on things. He loved to go over to the stairs and sit on the bottom one. He also found a chair sitting on Maisy!

We took a mini vacation up to our favorite resort spot in Winthrop. It's only about two hours away so it's a perfect location to get some adventure and relaxation... if you call travelling with three young children relaxation!

At each cabin there is a hot tub that overlooks a small river. This makes the all the work preparing and packing SO worth it! There is also a loft area that overlooks the living room. The kids love to run upstairs and downstairs and hide in the various closets.

Oliver discovered chess and picked it up pretty quickly. I think we may need to invest in a chess board one of these days!

We got a family photo during our little shopping trip downtown.

After coffee, a quick look in the sports store and the local bookstore we took a group photo.  From L to R: Caitlin, Matt, Charlene, Val, Josh, Kent, Oliver, Brooke, Finn and Annie

Oliver had a never-ending snowball fight with Matt.

Finn had a great time with the snow. He thought it was hilarious to knock down the piles!

 

Oliver was in tears on the last night. Exhausted and so sad to leave. He sobbed, "Can we come back to this place in a couple days?" Poor boy, sometimes it's hard to head back to real life!  Although... there are some beautiful views on the way back home to enjoy and we look forward to the next time we can head back up to "Win-throw-up", as Oliver would say.

November

My Dad few in from Alaska. He and Mom have been working on getting our home sold up there. Now we wait and see if anyone would like to buy it! He is headed over to Seattle to meet the shipment of belongings with a large loading truck. Half the load will go into storage in Washington and the other half will go down to their home in Southern California. 

Dad has been a big help watching the kids and doing dishes!

I moved Finn's kitchen into our kitchen to keep him occupied while I try and make meals. It seems to have worked for now!

He thought this oven mitt on his hand was hilarious.

15 months old and not crawling yet. What a silly funny boy!

I can do this! 

And this...

And I can multitask with electronics...

I knit Finn a new hat and had a chance to snap a few pictures yesterday. It's sure getting cold out there!

Happy November!

Fall time!

It's hard to believe all the changes going on here!  Kids are growing way too quickly.

Asters are beautiful in the Fall and the bees are buzzing around collecting the last bit of pollen before the winter.

After school, Brooke and Oliver were so excited to see that so many leaves had fallen during the day.

Finn is fourteen months and getting quite a personality! He loves going to the parks and playgrounds and doesn't want leave! He wants to explore, and go where HE wants to go!

Hard to believe Oliver is a Kindergartener. He is really excelling and loving school. He told us tonight, "I can't WAIT for writers workshop!" Would would ever guess that he would be this interested in writing! He has a wonderful class and an absolutely amazing teacher. We are so blessed!

Oliver being... Oliver!

I love his blue-green eyes!