It's the holiday season

A couple of weeks ago we were lucky enough to have Grandma Chris come and visit. Before she left we thought we would start off the holiday season with a trip to Swanson's gardens where we saw a camel, a donkey, and 4 of Santa's reindeer. Santa himself was also there visiting, but the kids weren't ready to say hello just yet.
This past week we once again joined the Boudreau's for a vegetarian thanksgiving feast which was amazing. Thanks again for hosting us orphans.
Yesterday I enjoyed my 3rd Black Friday at Anthropologie where I nearly sent myself to the emergency room from an incident with a cheese knife. After all the craziness I couldn't wait another second for our Christmas tree. We loaded up the kids today in search of the most perfect tree (which we found), and the 4 of us will be having a tree trimming party tonight complete with Jayson's famous pizza. Stay tuned for the results.


I know we all look a little crazy in this photo, but its the only one we took of our beauty before plucking her out of the ground.



I fully anticipate having one of these photos of Jayson every year.



We miss everyone and hope a small miracle might bring us home for the holidays. No not a "Christmas Miracle" in case you were wondering Trudy!

We ended the summer with a camping trip to Fort Warden with some friends. We had so much fun hanging out around the campfire,eating the first and last tin foil dinners of the season, running around the old navy barracks, and laying on the beach soaking up some of the last vitamin D we will be receiving until next July. Once October rolled around we couldn't have been more welcoming of the hot cocoa, fires in our fire place (love!) and anything pumpkin. Of course we had to set out to find the perfect Mr. Jack-o-lantern. We picked the perfect weekend and actually went back to back...double the fun...why not. The weather was beautiful and the kids had a ball watching the pumpkin cannon, doing the maze, slides, and munching on fresh picked apples. We also experienced our first apple cider slushie. This will be a must in the years to follow.






As we said good bye to Mr. Sunshine and the leaves on the trees we also said good bye to Gibson's locks. Kicking and screaming I must add. Once again, Gibson took it upon himself to make sure he could see...go figure. Ellie was fortunate to dodge the bullet this go around (for the most part). Thank goodness because Mommy couldn't have handled another she-mullet.

For Halloween we got to hang out with Boudreaus again this year. We took the kids to the "Junction" in West Seattle where you walk 8 blocks collecting candy from all the merchants. The kids had the trick-or-treating thing down, but about halfway through had to stop for a rest and a "snack". Later that night the dads took the kids on more adventures while the moms chilled out at home eating pizza, handing out candy, and watching Halloween worthy television.



P.S. Here's a photo of Gib's new do for your viewing pleasure. It's growing on us.

Vegas

I've missed so much so I figured I would start from this past weekend and go back when I had time so keep checking back to see what you missed.
I just got back from the most amazing girls weekend with my mom's side of the family. We spent 4 days in sunny Las Vegas and did some much needed swimming, shopping, dining, and chatting. I miss you all already. Here are some highlight photos from the trip.

Mickie, Mom, and Trudy after the second round of the "Big Shot". If you are ever tempted by the Stratosphere remember this is the only ride worth riding. The other two are not as cool, and only make you want to vomit.


This is us getting sugared up and ready for a night out on the town. I'm pretty sure it was already morning at this point, but we couldn't pry ourselves away from the mall at a decent hour.
Tawsha, Me, Mickie, Mom, Trudy, & Dee.
Me, Grandma Lee, & Trudy.
Mom, Trudy, and Me.
I also couldn't put down the PEOPLE crossword puzzle book. I love those things, and enjoyed every second of magazine indulgence.
Sisters.
Me and my hot mama...she was the life of the party. Thanks so much for getting us together. Love you!

Happy Graduation & Father's Day!

Jayson's time at UW is officially over. They handed him a MBA diploma and sent him out into the real world to see what he could do. We were lucky enough to have Jayson's family with us for the weekend to share in all of the excitement and to enjoy some beautiful Seattle weather. We are all so proud of this huge accomplishment, and excited to begin our next adventure.
Jeri & Jayson after the commencement ceremony.
Gibson
Jaxon
Ellie


My parents got Jayson a Harley rental for the day of graduation. It was so much fun, and we can't wait to have a motorcycle of our own again someday....maybe when our kids are a little older and we can sneak off without them.

Today was father's day and the kids had fun giving Jayson all sorts of gifts they had made here at home and at school.
Of course ,we also took Jayson to Top Pots, then did a little shopping and playing at the park.

So for anyone who hasn't heard Jayson accepted a great job across the lake in Kirkland so it looks like we will be here for a bit longer. We've got lots of things hapening in the weeks to come. A new house, new daycare, a new car, a new commute, and lots of fun. We'll keep you posted.

Summer is upon us.

On Thursday Gibson's school had their graduation and year end party. Gibson and his friend Emma got to sing in the program even though they are not graduating. It was so cute!

Friday night was Jayson's last MBA party. I can't believe he only has 3 days of school left. The 2009 MBA band gave one heck of a final performance. Here's the best picture I could get of Jayson being a rock star.

Yesterday was the perfect day at the beach. It started out with snacks at Alki Bakery. Next, we spent the afternoon laying in the sun on the beach with all of our favorite people while the kids babysat each other. As soon as the heat really started to kick in (it may have hit 80 degrees) we moved the party to Dawn & Jon's house for cold drinks on the patio, and a round of Slip and Slide. We all had a blast, and came home with way too much sun. When we got home Jayson headed out to the Sounder's game and the rest of us fell right to sleep. After a good nap, Ellie and I woke up and gave ourselves pedicures while eating grapes and watching Sponge Bob, and Gibson was actually out for the night!

Emma & Ellie
Gibson
Suzanne and Elizabeth
Shay & Leo
Eric & Susan
Jude & Gibson
Dawn & Jon
Marlen & Todd
Me & Jayson
The kids playing slip and slide...remember how fun those were???....still fun!
Jon & Jayson cruising around West Seattle looking for rental homes. They are desperate to get us over there.
Me and Ellie's beautiful toes.

What we do!

Last week we decided to document our typical weekend here in Seattle since we don't know how many we have left and we don't want to forget all of the fun things we get to do.
We love us some Top Pots donuts.
Gibson does the eyes closed indulge....
Ellie gets every last bite of pink frosting off of the top before handing her donut off to Gibson...
Jayson and I prefer to dip.
Next we like to find a new spot to let the kids run wild...usually a beach...this is SeaHurst beach. We had it all to ourselves. Our road trip always ends at a different mexican restaurant. The kids split quesadillas, Jayson opts for fish tacos...and some how I can never decide even though it's all the same ingredients just in different packages.
The drive home with a full belly usually sends me and the kids into a lovely slumber, and if we're lucky the kids are out for the night.

This weekend also marked Memorial Day, and we all had the day off so we decided to do some city kid camping. We set the tent up on our patio and even roasted marshmallows on the BBQ grill. The kids thought it was so fun that they just couldn't go to sleep so after hours of trying we finally put them up in their beds and Jayson and I slept in the tent. That is until the birds started chirping at 4am. I opted for my own bed as well with my window closed to the outside world.

A visit from Grandma, Grandpa, and Grandma Great

A few weeks ago we were lucky to have some family in town. They have already seen the busy city so we decided to take on the road.

Grandma Great, Jeri, Ellie, & Grandma Pete Mom & Dad Pete
Ellie
Gibson

We drove the beautiful scenic route to Bellingham one day and enjoyed some pizza, shopping ( we did what we could...the men folk were not so patient), and ice cream. The next day we decided to check out a different side of Mt. Rainier. It was such a beautiful day. What a view! We ended that day watching the sun set at Alki Beach. What a perfect weekend. Please come back soon!!! Ellie & Grandpa
The fam
The whole gang
The Snowy Mountain
Gib & El w/ Grandma & Grandpa @ Alki
Gib & Grandma

Playing on the beach @ sunset