Jeffrey Turns 7!

Seven years ago I got an early Christmas present....one of the best Christmas presents ever!  Jeffrey was born just a few weeks before Christmas.  His easy going personality and love for laughter keeps life fun and joyous.  He loves to laugh at a good joke, he's quick to play a board game with his sister, and isn't embarrassed to give someone a hug for no reason at all.  So thankful for his life!!

We had a pretty low key birthday for him this year.  He opened some of his presents in the morning (which consisted of Lego's mostly), and then spent several hours putting them together.  We made one of his favorite meals in the evening (mac & cheese with hot dogs),  opened a few more gifts and had ice cream cake.  It was a day just spent enjoying Jeffrey!!  We did!

Here is our favorite 7 year old!  

 What a fun mining truck!  Thanks Grandma & Grandpa! 

 Luke and Lana were quick to help Jeffrey with his Lego's! 

7 is an awesome age!!!  

Oh Christmas Tree....

We decided to drive a little further this year to get our Christmas tree (not that it saved us any money), but it was a beautiful drive!  We went to a tree farm in Carnation - about a hour from Seattle.  This year we got an unique kind of tree.  It is a Norway Spruce (we named our tree Norman for short). The kids actually picked out our tree this year. Usually I'm quite opinionated about what we get.  I was surprisingly laid back about it, and I love what they picked out!  Though, when we got "Norman" home he was taller than our ceiling, so Matt had to do some slight trimming to the top. Our angel does not fit on the top this year, but instead we have a beautiful butterfly (which I personally love).  All in all, I love our tree!! 

This is a picture of the tree farm.  We got there right before dusk, and the sun was setting over the hills with a slight fog in the trees (beautiful).  

 Chopping poor Norman down....

 Everyone is helping to decorate (chaos at its best). 

Merry Christmas!! 

Thanksgiving

It was so fun to have my sister and her family with us again this year for Thanksgiving.  I'm very thankful that, for the most part, everyone was healthy (which isn't always easy with 11 kids)!  We made some fun new memories....like learning a new game called Farkle and going down to Seattle's Pike Place Market.  I'm truly blessed to have such a wonderful family! 

 Asha and Lana helped me decorate the table.  They were great helpers!!  

 The turkey and me (we bonded over spices).  

 Ernst gets the hard job every year.....dissecting the big bird! 

 More helpers....Aubrey and Lana working on the gravy! 

 Everyone is ready to eat!  One side of the table.....

 .......now the other side.  

 Maybe it was the turkey or the excitement of 11 kids running around.....either way the men couldn't resist sneaking in a little nap.  Bet they didn't know I was watching!  Hee hee! 

 We took a few of the girls to Pike's Place Market.....pushing a wagon through the crowds was interestingly exciting.  We stopped to see the long line in front of the Original Starbucks.  Yep....this is where is all began!  

My sister got one of the cool hanging peppers that you see in the background.  So many brilliant colors! 

One of our other stops was Value Village.  My sister and I are thrift store addicts.  Here I was dressing Aunika up in some fun apparel.  

What great memories!!! 

Family Pics 2012

This is our 3rd year to have our friend, Heather, take our family pictures.  It is so fun to have her take them...especially since she knows all us and does a great job!  Here are just a few of my favorites!  Christmas card pictures will be going out to all our friends soon!

Pics by Heather Dickinson
letmecaptureyourmemories.blogspot.com

Halloween

Halloween is always pretty simple at our house.  The kids create their costumes and we enjoy visiting a few of our neighbors in the evening for a little trick or treating. 

 Jeffrey was our rough & tough pirate.  

 Lana was "pink" girl.  Obviously, pink is her FAVORITE color (you should see her room)! I found the pink wig at Value Village for $1.00! 

Here are the girls with two of their friends (Little Red Riding Hood & Goldilocks).

  Asha made her costume in her sewing class.  She is dressed as her main character from the book she is writing.  The character is named Pepper and enters into a unknown world.  What a creative girl! 

(Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of Luke this year.....he was muscle man and too fast to capture.)

Pumpkin Patch & Visit from Grandpa & Grandma

Matt's parents came for a visit right before Halloween.  One of the places we took them was to a pumpkin patch called Bob's Corn in Snohomish.  Unfortunately, the weather didn't really cooperate.  It was pretty rainy!  But, we had our umbrellas and rain boots and made the most of it!

 Lana found her pumpkin!

 Endless pumpkins to choose from!

 Most of us had a nice warm cup of apple cider after we found our pumpkins.  But, a few of the kids got ice cream!  Brrrr! 

On the last night with Grandpa & Grandma they took us out to the Spaghetti Factory.  What fun!  We decided it will be our new tradition when they come for visits! 

What fun new memories!  Thanks Grandpa & Grandma! 

1st Birthday

Last weekend I went down to Portland to celebrate my niece's 1st birthday!  It's hard to believe that one year ago we were all in the hospital watching her be born!  Now she walking everywhere and trying to talk!  Craziness!!!

 Check out that sweet smile!  One of her favorite things to do is....eat!  =)  Here she is fully enjoying her chocolate sucker.  

Opa with Aunika

 Couldn't resist this picture!  Enjoying her birthday dinner....lasagna! Girl after my own heart! 

 They made beautiful cupcakes too.  Wow! 

Here she is walking in her new birthday outfit (thanks to her Auntie who loves to spoil)!

Who could that be?? 

Mt. Baker

One of our favorite places to go as a family is to our friend's small time share near Mt. Baker.  We are so blessed to have friends who share their vacation homes with us!  This place is a little taste of heaven!

We were there for two nights near the end of September (on my birthday).  =)  What a treat!

I took a ton of pictures during this trip....the weather was perfect and the beauty was breathtaking.  Pictures don't even caption it! Enjoy a few of the pics I took.

 Asha enjoying some time by the river- which we could see from the place we stayed. 

 The boys finally had the perfect spot to throw rocks. 

 We drove up to a place called Artist Point to hike and have a picnic.  It has spectacular and breathtaking views of Mt Baker and Mt Shuksan. There was still some snow....but it was a very warm day. 

These are memories I will forever cherish!!