Seeing Christmas Lights in a New Way

Last night Jason and Jadi invited us out on her parent's boat to see the Christmas Lights. Having never done this before we weren't sure what to expect. From boarding the 'boat', which is actually a gorgeous 60-foot yacht, to the views on Lake Union, to all the amazingly decorated boats, to the Argosy Christmas ship with carolers - it was a total blast! And Kaitlyn’s favorite part...honking the horn on the boat! Jadi's Dad and step Mom, Randy and Carmel, were so kind and welcoming. What an amazing experience!

This is from their slip on Lake Union -
pretty amazing view with the skyline and space needle

One of our favorite boats - this picture
does not do it justice

That green tree back there is actually a sail boat 

Look closely at the front of the bow in the water.
Those are all kayaks - crazy, no way would I
be out there in that cold with
SO MANY BIG BOATS

The Argosy Christmas Ship with carolers

KP had a blast

Holiday Fun with Friends

Last Friday we had Lily and Kennedy over for some fun, including making gingerbread houses. I think more frosting and candy went into their tummies versus the actual gingerbread house. Ha!

After that fun, it was a girl scout event helping the Jerry Wood's Christmas Firetruck collect food donations. The girls walked along with Santa collecting donations as they went.

And then last night we got to attend Lily's holiday choir concert. Lots and lots of festive songs to put us in the holiday mood! Loving this time of year!

The houses look just a tad bit bare...
probably because of all the icing and candy they ATE!

Holiday choir concert at TES

The Sounds of Christmas

We had the pleasure of attending Emily's winter band concert and got to hear some great holiday music!

O' Christmas Tree!

We have discovered the BEST Christmas tree farm around - Papas! We got our trees there last year and were so impressed that we went back this year. And they didn't disappoint. Thankfully we had the foresight to go Thanksgiving weekend to tag our trees as by the time we went back to cut them on December 9th, they were all sold out. Evidently we aren't the only ones who love this tree farm!

We got two fun days with the Tauschs out of this approach. Finding and tagging the trees and then heading back a couple weeks later to cut them down. It's definitely looking and smelling like Christmas now!

Kaitlyn found and tagged her tree SUPER quick!

Kaitlyn and Lily being silly

The red tagged tree behind Ryan is ours -
tree cutting day! 

Beautiful tree farm!

KP's tree

The Family Tree (aka Brandi's tree - lol)

Best Santa EVER!

Last Friday we headed to the North Pole with the Mosers...okay, it was really the Puyallup Fair decorated like the North Pole. This is the second or third time we've gone down there and it's always been wonderful. But this year, Santa was THE best! The girls got some good time to chat with him before pictures. He asked what they wanted for Christmas and of course, both said, 'A DOG!'. Santa groaned and then told them that he doesn't deliver dogs...he said, 'just think if a puppy were to fall out of the sleigh going a bazillion miles per hour then we'd have a pound puppy. No good at all!' Santa had us all laughing.

Ornament Memories

Each year Auntie Jen gets Kaitlyn an ornament. BUT not just any ornament. It's always reflective of what KP's been doing, loving, or engaged in that year. This year was no exception - a book! KP is a HUGE reader and this year particularly she has gone through books faster than I can get them.

It was so much fun putting up Kaitlyn's Christmas tree and going through all her ornaments and remembering what her passions were in previous years from Curious George to Dinosaurs to Perry the Platypus to Hogwarts Express Train - like a trip down memory lane! Thanks, Auntie Jen!

Starting 'em young!

We absolutely adore Kaitlyn's teacher this year, Ms. Gothro! We love everything about her except one thing...she's a Coug! Ugh. And she has no problem trying to sway/recruit these young, impressionable minds. Case in point, this last Apple Cup she gave the kids a 'fun' coloring activity for when they'd finished their work. HUGE kudos to Kaitlyn for thinking outside the box on this one and putting the joke on her teacher.

Now the whole 'starting 'em young' thing...well, Ms. Gothro had the kids place bets on the final score. Whoever choose the correct winning team and came closest to the score won a McDonald's lunch. Guess who won?! Yes, Kaitlyn! Bring on the chicken nuggets with sweet and sour sauce.

PJ Tradition!

You don't monkey with tradition! Or at least that's what they say. And my sister is SO good about keeping the Christmas PJ tradition going. Yet another year and she hit it out of the ballpark with this super soft pajamas. Huge hit! Thanks, Auntie Jen!

Celebrating 50 Years

A couple weekends ago Ryan, Kaitlyn, and I, along with Brad, Michele', Ally, and Lindsey all celebrated Jeannine and Harlow. Back in August they hit their 50th wedding anniversary! Although it took a bit to get us all together to celebrate, it was worth it. The Scottsdale Plaza Resort was the perfect place for us to come together. Lots of great memories!

The Last of Fall

A few weekends ago we headed down to Sumner to get Kaitlyn's hair cut. Jamie, her stylist, was back from maternity leave - wahoo!! As we were leaving the salon I had to grab this picture. One, because her hair style was so cutie patutie. And two, I knew fall would soon be behind us and we'd be onto winter. The seasons seem to go faster and faster every year.