Ben was super brave and took ALL 3 kids to the zoo while I went to my friend Jenni's shower.
Maddie loves to draw and create crafts . I love watching her concentrate and come up with all sort of beautiful creations.
We got an electric jeep off our buy nothing Facebook group, and the kids have been obsessed with it! It took a few times of getting used to the concept of stopping before they crash into the curb, but now they are pretty expert drivers.
We try to get outside every afternoon, which becomes tricky with the time change because it gets so dark early. We usually end up at the little park. Levi has been loving to swing just like his sister. Colter still loves playing some sort of robber/jail story.
I didn't get a lot of pictures of Levi at the pumpkin patch, so we recreated a little fall scene outside. We somehow ended up with tons of pumpkins after all our trips to the pumpkin patch. Can you just stand this little guy??
My sister and I were brave souls and took all the kids to target after school to shop for operation shoebox . The kids were really interested in picking out gifts this year, and it was fun to see their thought processes on what the kids would enjoy. Jessie and I had to do some sneaky put backs because they got a little over excited about picking things out.
A trip to the kids museum.
We decided it was time to visit the Great Wolf Lodge. We booked a room with a separate bunkbed area for the kids, and that was probably their favorite part. It was a little crazy for Ben and I. Everything felt so commercialized and expensive and BUSY! We like to have a little bit more low key vacations, but it was great to try it for one night and for the kids to experience it. We did a little bit of everything- water park, movie night, buffet breakfast, clock tower show, and a pizza dinner. We escaped spending a ton of money, which is easy to do because they have these nifty wristbands that are hooked up to your credit card. One amazing story is that we forgot a stroller and ergo for Levi, which we really needed because there was a lot of walking to and from the water park area. It just so happened that a family we know was going for the same time, and had an ergo they weren't going to use. It was such a blessing!
Zoo trip
We made our annual trip to Swansons nursery to visit Curly the camel and the two reindeer. Swansons had a few new additions this year - a dinosaur made out of a bush, a fancier sleigh photo area, and santa inside a yurt. We finished the night with pizza from MOD.
This girl loves her baths. She normally takes a bath with Levi every night, but this night she went big and filled up our tub with bubbles.
My sister and I took most of the kids downtown to meet up with our guys and tour the trees at the Fairmont Hotel before they were all auctioned off. It was a little nuts, with more chasing our kids rather than viewing the trees, but we still had a good time spending time together. Mark just started working across the street from Ben , so we tried to figure out which office was his by shining a light across the street and holding up a paper. We found each other!
We had a fantastic Thanksgiving. We watched the Macy's parade in it's entirety for the first time ever. The kids loved all the broadway shows, the floats and even the bands. We didn't get in our traditional exercise the morning of, because it was pouring!
The Woodruffs came over from Silverdale, and we all joined up for dinner. Ben wanted to change things up this year, so he suggested a Bavarian Thanksgiving. Everyone was a bit apprehensive to switch things up (myself included), but we went for it and it actually turned out pretty good. Ben cooked a beer pork roast with veggies, and everyone else brought some different dishes. Tamara even rocked a Bavarian outfit.
We went to the Macy's parade the next morning and it was as good as always. We went crazy for frangos and were well rewarded.
That afternoon, Tamara and Woody went out on a date and we wrangled all the kids. We took the motorized jeep to the park and had a blast.
The next morning was a rocky start getting out the door for the tree farm. Colter was having an understandably hard time leaving his cousins, and didn't want to leave. I think we were all on a little overload from all the activity, sugar, and business . It resulted in the perfect storm car ride that involved throwing a snack bar out the window because someone wouldn't stop whining for one... lots of super mature behavior on everyone's behalf. By the time we made it to the tree farm, we were all calmed down and we ended up having a great time. We tried out a new farm this year because last years tree had a massive amount of nasty bugs in it. I think we'll be back to this place again. Even though the cocoa wasn't free, it was absolutely delicious and worth paying for. They had lots of tree selection .. although it was a bit like Clark Griswold trying to find the perfect one.
In a whirlwind, all the ornament boxes were ripped open and paper was everywhere. I love the kids excitement when they find some of their past ornaments. We usually have 2-3 casualties every year because the kids refuse to put some of the ornaments up because they love them so much.. and then they end up being broken because they are carried everywhere. oh well. Levi loved trying to eat the lights.. mmm.. electricity. He also started army crawling and pulling himself up not long after we put the tree up. Must get the lights!
I'm so thankful for Maddie and Harper's relationship. Even though Maddie will never have a sister, having cousins so close is a perfect second. These two love to dress up, be wild and crazy, and do all kinds of stories together.
Levi and legos. I wasn't sure what we were going to do with the legos that are always scattered all over. Fortunately, Levi seems to avoid the small pieces for now, and gravitates towards large things that won't fit in his mouth. He loves to find the boat masts from the pirate ship set, and the huge monster truck wheels.
The kids really wanted to stop at a park to play. I decided to go for it, but it was freezing and I didn't have the right clothes for Levi. I basically grabbed everything I could find and bundled him up like crazy. This boy loves the swings!
I love when the living room is cleaned up and the lights of the Christmas tree are on. Everything feels so calm and quiet.
Gigi and Grandpa came up for a winter visit and they went with Ben and the kids on a trolley ride in Edmonds while I attended an open house for a school we are looking at.
That's a wrap.
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