First Snow of the Year

Yesterday was the first snow of the year. The kids and I decided to stay put and not venture out which proved to be the right decision because it took Josh 4 hours to get home from work (a commute which is about 20 miles!) The kids had a great time watching the snow fall all day and we had fun playing in it, but only for a short time since the high temperature today is 25 degrees....Brrrrrr!

My little man all bundled up!

Abi (aka the 'Ice Pirate') spent her time outside searching for pieces of ice treasure.

Even Sadie had fun in the snow.

Helping Dad shovel the driveway

As you can see from all the snow on Brady's hat/forehead, he had a few face plants. Poor guy was a bit top heavy and kept falling over!

Next stop: Hot chocolate by the fire :)

King of the Throne

Disney On Ice

This year Jami and I took the girls (Abi, Regen and Claire) to Disney On Ice. The girls had a good time - they dressed up in costume so we were accompanied to the show by 2 princesses and a fairy. We had great seats so we got to see all the characters up close and the girls had fun watching their favorite princesses. Since the show, Abi has been perfecting her skills by ice skating on our hardwood floors with her socks.

The best picture I could get of the girls...at least they are all looking in the same direction! :)

Since Abi dressed up as Alice, this was one of her favorite parts of the show.

Another favorite: Tiana from Princess and the Frog

Fall Fun

Before winter arrives and all the anticipated snow begins to fall, I figured I better take advantage and spend some time outdoors with the kids while the weather is decent and I still have the chance. So, last week we spent a day at the zoo, a day at the park and Brady even took a gymnastics class.

-Woodland Park Zoo-

Abi begged me to take a picture of her every time we saw a statue or something that she could climb on!

-Farrell McWhirter Park-

Hello Mr. Cow!

-Gymnastics Class-

Can you tell he has an older sister who is obsessed with princesses? He was pretty excited when he discovered Snow White on the princess tent.

Trampoline Time - Brady had a great time running back and forth on the trampoline!

Happy Halloween!

We had a fun Halloween weekend filled with pumpkin carving and trick-or-treating. Surprisingly, the rain held off and we had great weather for trick-or-treating (which doesn't happen often in Seattle!)

Pumpkin Carving

The kids helped us clean out the pumpkins but then Josh and I got down to business and started carving. In keeping with tradition, Josh worked on Abi's pumpkin and I worked on Brady's.

Josh carved the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland for Abi

...and B got Curious George!

Miss Alice and I

Daddy and the little monkey

Our monkey got a bit tired so it was a good thing we had some candy to keep him occupied for the last few trick-or-treating stops!

My favorite picture!

Preschool Halloween Parties

As in past years, we celebrated Halloween at Abi's preschool with a Halloween party and pumpkin carving night. All the kids looked adorable in their costumes and it got everyone excited for Halloween night!

Alice in Wonderland

Excited for her Halloween class party

Making ghost necklaces

Pumpkin Carving Night

Pondering all the carving possibilities

This was my viewpoint for most of the evening - chasing Brady through the halls of the preschool.


The pumpkin carving unveiling!

Iceland!

To celebrate our 9 year wedding anniversary, Josh and I took a trip to Iceland.

The first thing that everyone asked once they heard we were going to Iceland is "Why?". Well, ever since I have known Josh, he has wanted to go to Iceland (mainly to take pictures). And for those of you who know me well and know how much I love reality TV, can understand my excitement when I discovered a 4-day "Bachelorette" package to Iceland. The package (which contained a lot of activities we wanted to do) coupled with a non-stop flight convinced us that this was the perfect trip.

We had a great time exploring the country and being true tourists for a few days. Although we thoroughly enjoyed our little break away, I was excited to head home and see my kiddos - they were definitely missed!

A huge thank you to Ferryboat Grandma for watching the kids and dog while we were gone - definitely the best anniversary gift ever!!

-Day One-
After a 7 hour flight, we landed in Iceland at 6:30 a.m. Unfortunately, neither Josh or I was able to sleep on the plane so once we got checked into our hotel, we took a quick nap and then headed out to check out the town of Reykjavik.

The Church of Hallgrímur
This Lutheran church is 244 feet tall and took 38 years to build. Definitely a sight to see!

Views of Reykjavik from the observation deck at the top of the church

Voted as the 'Best Hot Dog in Europe'

Josh and I didn't necessarily agree. The hot dogs tasted a bit odd and were served on a bun with french fried onions, raw onions, a sweet ketchup, brown mustard and mayonnaise - very interesting!

We were surprised by the amount of graffiti we saw on buildings throughout the town.

Our package included dinner at this awesome restaurant.

We had pan fried lobster tails and scallop with chorizo, butternut and orange hollandaise - it was delicious! This was the same restaurant and meal that Ali and one of the boys had during their visit to Iceland :)