A day in Seattle

We spent the whole day Yesterday at the waterfront in Seattle. It is only about a 40 minute drive from where we are staying, depending on traffic of course (something you never have to say where we live). The snow has now melted or been dissolved by rain and the sun even came out briefly. Here we are exploring Pike Place Market. Gotta play on the famous pig. The kids favorite part of the market were the buskers. We stopped and watched two different ones. One was an interesting looking couple who sang duets and played the guitar, banjo and did clogging. Not the kind of music you hear very often anymore....it was definately foot tapping though. Roman loved it ,and they both got to throw money in the case. Then we were onto the guy who played a homemade guitar , a saw, and a harmonica. When I told the kids he was playing the blues...they replied "We know! we saw it on Veggie Tales"....oh yeah silly songs with Larry. I think Roman found one more thing to add to his list of things he wants to do when he grows up. So far he's planning to be a treasure hunting, surfing , street musician. hmmm....Could happen.

Checking out the Seafood at Pike Place Market.

We spent a couple hours at the Aquarium. They had areas like this where the kids could touch star fish and all sorts of strange things. They absolutely loved it. It engaged their curiousity and got their imaginations going.

After the Aquarium we went to Ivar's for a seafood lunch. I had a fish taco (mmm) and my brave daughter had a grilled cheese sandwich. Roman had fish and chips but also wanted to try oysters. I didn't realize they would come raw! We inadvertantly ordered three raw oysters in the shell on a bowl of ice. Roman ate two of them and I was brave enough to try one too. He said they weren't that good, I would have to agree...they kind of taste like the water they came out of. He did get to keep the shells and can now say he has eaten raw oysters.

A highlight for the kids was going to Ye Old Curiousity Shop a landmark in itself. Full of strange things and souveniers. I let them each pick out a small item. Aili bought a $3 necklace. Roman bought toy handcuffs......and my very mature distinguished husband ran around the store looking for fake dog poop. He even had to ask a store clerk "Wheres the poop?!" Apparently it had childhood significance and memories attached. He left the store with a smile on his face holding his bag of poop( exclaiming "they've improved them since I was a kid. It looks so much more real now!") and to top it off a ....excuse me...fart whistle. I left the store rolling my eyes and shaking my head. The kids had a blast fooling Grandma and Grandpa when we got back though.

We came home exhausted but had a wonderful day making memories.

Christmas pictures

Aili and her Dad playing a new game ""pictureka" . Aili is our game girl.

Roman discovering the joy of "Bionicles" for the first time. A cross between lego and robots....he loves them! Perfect.

This is out of place but I forgot to put it with the last rock climbing photo. This one was cute so I had to throw it in. That look on his face..."see ya!"

It didn't take long for Silas to really get into this present opening business. The next morning he went to the tree asking to open more presents. Fortunately for him his Birthday is coming up next month and he will have a present opening encore. While at my in-laws house I have been scouring through old family photos. If you ever wondered what Nathanael looked like at age two just look at Silas. I could see a lot of his daddy in him but it wasn't until I looked at Nathanaels baby pictures that I knew how much of a little clone he actually is!...even the wispy hair.

Our attempt at a Christmas Eve family picture

After many attempts at getting a family photo this is all we have to offer. Three people behind the camera trying to figure out this new digital thing and three un cooperative kids in front of the camera just confirmed that having a decent family picture might be an unattainable goal. At least I have everyone in one picture now. Needs some cropping but since I am borrowing a computer it will have to wait. I even have my boys in matching shirts. I'm still not sure if thats really dorky or cute. but I found both their sizes so I thought it would be fun to dress them up for the Christmas eve service. We had the privaledge of going to a large church (the one my husbands family goes to) for a beautiful Christmas eve service. The music was wonderful complete with a small orchestra. The kids really enjoyed it. Roman , my budding (wanna be) musician loved the violins. The funny part was some of the teens came out and played a song on glasses full of water. There was about 4 of them all playing in unison. It was great. Roman was amazed and asked "Could we do that at Grandmas house?!" I replied he'd better ask Grandma.

Monkey boy and a Date with Daddy.

Aili has needed some dressy clothes for a while so her and I set out bargain shopping today. The poor economic state of this country made for some desperate retail establishments (a.k.a good sales). We decided it was our patriotic duty to shop. Well, a cheap Canadian buying out the clearance rack isn't exactly a bail out package, but we've done our part ;)

She had to find the "perfect dress". Aili wanted a formal fancy dress to wear on her date with her Daddy. We found Christmas dresses on for 50% off and got a great price for a very nice elegant dress. Oh ,and she got her ears pierced the same day to surprise him too. They both got dressed up fancy and went out for dessert at Red Robin. As you can see they enjoyed a few desserts.

Nathanael told me later that they brought the big chocolate pie to them for free. I whispered to later that night that the people at the restaurant thought she was SO beautiful that they brought her free dessert. She just beamed and said "Really ?!".

After dessert her and Daddy went to the mall and went to a big girls clothes store and she picked out a cute sweater ( reg. $30 on for $5....I just had to brag). She came home absolutely beaming.

I think it was just the attention she needed. She has been expressing more insecurity and has been somewhat self critical lately. You know that age, the teeth get bigger than a face requires and a sort of gangly awkwardness sets in for a while......ok it was a long while for me....I did grow into my teeth though. Every girl needs to feel like a princess sometimes.

I think little dates with Dad help her learn how a beautiful lady needs to be treated and sets the bar pretty high for the future. We are an hour and a half away from a decent restaurant or mall at home so its fun to take advantage of city life while we are on vacation.

Here is my monkey boy in his glory. Roman climbed and climbed and climbed. They let him have a really long turn. When he would get down low enough for the guy to reach him he would scurry back up to the top. It went on and on....fortunately it was only our family and some friends at the wall. It was fun. Its a long way up there past the picture. He did an amazing job at finding the right holds and using his body the right way. Of course his former rock climber Dad ( Nathanael lived for Rock Climbing as a teen...and WA is great for that!) and former wall climbing mom ( loved it in college, but the flat lands aren't so good for real rocks) where analyzing each move from the ground. I wonder if there is a climbing gene ? :) I wasn't brave enough to get up there now though....it has been about 13 years after all. I think I was just afraid I would get beat by my 5 year old son.

This was Silas' turn for fun. I think he questioned the fun part. He was eager to get on but when it started moving he was quite concerned. He was fine as long as he was clutching my neck. The farm boy looks a little dazzled and dazed.

We unexpectedly ran into some close friends while we were at the mall. Some friends that we don't get to see very often because of the miles between us, but they are very dear to us. They are the kind of people who you can not see for a year or even years and pick up just where you left off. I treasure her friendship . We are true "kindred spirits" to quote Ann of Green Gables. I love how she cuts to the heart of things, cares deeply and challenges me in my faith and my role in life. We had been planning on getting together with them later in the week but we were thrilled to meet up with them early by surprise. I have been looking forward to meeting her two newest family members. This year they added two more little ones to their own three boys for a grand total of 5 kids. They are now foster parents to a 2 year old boy and a 6 month old girl. They hope to foster adopt someday but are still unsure if these two will become adoptable in the future.

Lots more stories and pictures to come.....we don't get out very often so when we do we like to have lots of fun. :)

Washington Vacation Pictures

The order of the pictures is a little backwards but here are some of our first couple days of our winter road trip. Nathanael went to a SeaHawks game the day after we arrived. It was a little crazy as all those people you see in the stadium then went to the train (Sounder) to attempt to get home in the snow. He made it home after navigating through an enormous chaotic snowball fight.

Here is some of the gorgeous scenery we drove through on our way to WA. It was beautiful. VERY cold here.

The kids watching a movie. I thank God for portable DVD players, they have revolutionized road trips and have greatly reduced the number of children getting dropped off on the side of the road. *

(*unofficial survey with no accurate data)

Sparwood BC. The "Big Truck". We stop for a picture every time we drive through. I think the last one was when Roman was a baby though. We started the tradition when Aili was 6 weeks old.

My brood is getting too big to all fit in the giant tire though. Silas was a little bewildered and cold. It was -32 c so the photo session was very quick as you can see they are hardly dressed for -32c weather.

Winter Road Trip

Last Friday we packed up the truck ,stuffed our kids in the back seat and headed out. We are spending Christmas with Nathanaels family in Auburn Washington. Which is about 20 hours of driving from the Canadian Prairie. As we drove down the icy highway in the dark with snow blowing all around us we questioned our decision but turned on the 4 wheel drive an settled in. For most of the way (even through areas that don't usually get that cold) the temperatures were between -30 - - 37. VERY VERY cold in case you have never experienced that kind of cold. Its not a burrr I'm chilly kind of cold its a AHHHHK my skin is freezing off! kind of cold. You definately don't want to get a flat tire in that weather. The highways were a bit sketchy but we are used to winter driving, after all we drive in snow 7 months out of the year. We made it to Fernie BC for the first night and gawked and lusted after the ski hills all around us. We stayed in a little motel...but it had a tiny pool (you had to walk out side to get to it though) so the kids were thrilled. We swam off some energy and slept for a few hours.

Silas woke up bright and early about 4.30 BC time and 3.30 WA. time. So we loaded up (thankful that we had brought an extension cord to plug the truck in over night) and hit the road. We kept hearing that a big winter blizzard was supposed to hit the WA. mountain passes by mid afternoon so we were trying to beat the weather to Grandmas house. Coming from Canada we hear "blizzard" and picture violent winds, white out conditions and frigid temperatures. We made it by driving 11 hours with only 2 bathroom/ gas breaks. Thats a lot of sitting for 3 little kids but they did amazing. I think they are a bit used to our road trips. Turns out the "blizzard" in Auburn amounted to some gently falling snow and a "icy artic blast" of 31f...thats a degree below freezing for all you non-americans. To be fair, I hear the wind kicked up a bit in the mountain passes along with the snow so I'm glad we were at our destination.

So after checking the weather at home today (-37c plus a 20km wind) we are enjoying the winter wonderland in Western Washington. The snow actually sticks here....and it is falling straight down instead of sideways! What a novelty.
Snow is actually a novelty here too. Its a pretty rare occurance. Everyone is hunkered down and waiting out the "storm".....boy that would be a long wait in Canada :)

We are going to take the kids and do something fun today. Haven't decided what yet but we might have to phone around and see if anything is even open.....there is snow you know.
Nathanael went to the Seahawks game yesterday while the kids and I hung out and recovered fromt he 2 hour time change and 20 hour drive. So this morning Daddy is present and its mommy's turn for a break. Besides, my Mother in law has highspeed!! Its so fun to look up peoples blogs and actually get to hear their music and see their photos and videos. A person could get used to this. I have some winter road trip pictures to share but since I am using someone elses computer they will have to wait until we are home.

Merry Christmas!!!

Little Angels picture retry

Seriously! The pictures were on here the first time I checked and then gone the second. Argh! As you can see I'm still without highspeed and I seem to be maxing out my snail speed connection. See the below commentary for the full story on my little Angels.