Remember this post?
Yea, the hair just keeps on entertaining.
She had a serious bout of bedhead one morning last week. And the facial expression just doesn't help the laugh factor at all!
Darin was trying to get her to smile for me.
And then last week I emerge from a shower to find that Darin has wrangled rubber bands into her hair. It had quite the mullet in the back, but was too adorable up front!
Can't wait to see what this kid, and her hair, will do next!
Our Christmas eve dinner tradition is "Merry Margherita Pizza" after church. Darin perfected his dough recipe this year and it was spectacular. Even Daisy got to help!
We even try to have festive red & green drinks to enjoy with our pizza.
Daisy helped me mix up a batch of reindeer food and really enjoyed sprinkling it on the lawn after dinner.
Cookies, milk & a note left for Santa.
My Dad read "The Night Before Christmas" to me every Christmas eve, and it warms my heart so much to see Darin carrying on the tradition with our girls. (Too bad one was already in bed!)
Making sugar cookies! This isn't my favorite Christmas activity, but I love eating the darn things so much that I couldn't resist taking on this project. (Plus, we had to have some fun things to leave out for Santa.)
Daisy helped out with the first batch, which was a lesson in patience for me. Toddlers don't quite understand how to arrange the cookie cutters in order to maximize the rolled-out dough, instead choosing to place the cookie cutter right in the middle and go to town. Lots of re-rolls were necessary.
I decided to make a second batch during naptime, and since Darin got off work early he was able to snap some pictures. Daisy woke up and wanted to help again, and luckily I was almost done this time!
The spread and the girls at camp's Christmas party. We had fun eating good food, chatting with friends, and laughing at the white-elephant gifts. And Daisy chased her new friend Rosie around all night. (Poor Daisy freaked out: 'my fiend, my fiend go!?" when Rosie took a bathroom break.)
I know it's pretty silly to put lights on our house, as very few people will ever see them. But they make me so very happy to drive home to. And my smart hubby hooked them up to our light-sensitive walkway lights, so I don't even have to remember to turn them on!
And our tree looks so lovely there in the window too.
(I freaked Darin out a big when I pulled up from being gone and din't come in right away, but instead took a few moments to enjoy the lights and snap some pictures.)
Darin fashioned a little TJ fence to keep our little guy from nibbling on our tree or on our presents. He's a little troublemaker.
Had a great evening with a bunch of fun ladies: our MOPS steering team. Good fun, gift exchange, presents, and yummy candy cane martinis. Happy Holidays indeed!
We've had some pretty cold days around here lately. And it's killing me to be this cold and not have any snow. In fact, Miss Daisy keeps thinking the frost is snow and trying to get some in her mouth!
Another sweet sister moment. I was doing dishes and Daisy kept bringing in books to "read" to Dani.
Daisy got a lollipop in her advent calendar and wanted me to take a picture of it.
Let the wrapping begin. I do not enjoy this task, and Darin does, so most of the wrapping falls to him.
Daisy and Darin putting up some outdoor lights. God bless 'em.
Our poor chipmunk boy.
And time for Daisy to share some love with our patient. Hopefully he'll be back up for some holiday fun next weekend!
Dani does her best to help cheer up Darin. Poor guy had an awful reaction to his pain meds and had to cut them out. Hopefully he'll be back to normal soon!
Could she be any cuter?
We helped our little buddy MJ celebrate her first birthday. Daisy was very into helping MJ open her presents, so it bodes well for Christmas morning!
Daisy and Darin put the rest of the ornaments on the tree. Back there she's playing with an ornament I got way back when I was a baby. Made me smile on the inside.
Before dinner Daisy was flipping through her Bible book, so I took the opportunity to read her a few pages of the Christmas story. I LOVE these times together.
Daisy was more than a little disappointed at the lack of snow in Leavenworth last weekend. Thankfully she has a great Papa who agreed to stop at the Snoqualmie Summit and let her play outside for a while.
A great Papa who isn't half bad with the camera himself.
A papa who will generously share his gloves with the poor girl who doesn't have any.
A papa who is kind enough to let his dear wife stay in the warmth of the car, and warn her that when he does get back in he plans on blasting the heat for a while.
A papa who loves his three girls to the moon and back,
and he never hesitates to tell us that.
Are you thinking about Christmas yet? I sure am, and have been for a few weeks now. And I think I'm gonna change a few things up this year so I thought I'd share them here with you.
"Gifts" is my language of love, and I absolutely adore the Christmas excuse to find just the right gift for my loved ones. Unfortunately, my budget isn't unlimited and I don't want my kids thinking this holiday is just about getting stuff, so I've gotta find a way to keep track of what I'm doing. I've found some ideas floating around online about setting your gift limit based on a few categories, and I'm totally onboard with that plan, so here's what Darin & I have come up with.
Our 5 categories:
Here's where I am so far in the shopping:
Daisy:
Dani:
(image from 2008)
Growing up, Santa would always bring Darin & his siblings an unwrapped gift. So last year, when we got Daisy the table & chairs it was a perfect way to incorporate this tradition into our family. Now that we're giving the girls a big play kitchen this year, I'm extra glad for the no-wrapping gift from Santa.
I have always treasured the experience of opening my box of Christmas ornaments and remembering each one. As I got older my Mom set aside all my ornaments and so I had a decent collection when I wanted to begin decorating my own tree. Each year Darin & I buy each other ornaments and I love going through them each year, remembering the "wheres" and "whys" of each choice. That's why I wanted to include our girls in on the tradition. They get a special ornament every year from us, and any others they receive along the years will also be added to their collections. And they'll have a nice full box or ornaments to decorate their own tree someday when they decide to leave me.
Of course, the 5 categories does not include stocking stuffers. This is a tradition in my family and one that still baffles my dear husband. He says he would rather receive 1 big present that 5 small ones, but I think he'll catch on one of these days.
As a kid we were always allowed to open our stockings first thing. Each stocking was filled with little trinkets and special things to keep us entertained as we waited for Mom & Dad to get up, the orange rolls to be baked and eaten, and the "real" present opening to begin. I loved the magic of leaving your stocking out with the cookies & milk and coming to the living room in the morning seeing it overflowing.
What are your thoughts about gift giving this year? What are your traditions you can't wait to pass along to your kids?
Anne is one cool chick and we are so happy that she has found J-money (as the boys around camp started calling Justin when he began dating Anne).
We first met Anne in 2005 when she and Darin worked at Fircreek together. She had finished her degree in recreation and was getting away from home (Iowa, I think) to come work in our fair state. One of my favorite things about Anne that summer was her inability to understand the Washington concept of "layering". She was always so cold! We tried to teach her you wear warm clothes in the morning, strip them off mid-day, but save them for the evening when it gets chilly again.
Anne was the activities coordinator that summer and was full of life and creativity and fun. And I loved hanging out with her.
Anne moved home after summer and Darin went back to school. One of his fall courses required him to do some practicum visits so he made an appointment with Crista Camps to come tour Island Lake. During his tour he learned of an opening in their program department and called Anne that afternoon. Anne was soon hired and not-so-much-later given a promotion to Program Director at Island Lake.
Darin was oh-so-jealous, but being still in school was unavailable to apply for the job. He and Anne used to joke that he got her the job and she now owed him big time.
A while later, when Darin was all done with school and on the job hunt for months we signed up to attend the "super sectional" of the Christian Camps and Conference Association. We spent our own money to travel to Coeur d'Alene and register Darin for the conference, hoping it would lead to some great job opportunities.
During the conference Anne pulled Darin aside and asked for his resume. Turns out she had inside knowledge that her counterpart at Miracle Ranch would be leaving soon and she wanted to be sure that Darin's resume was the first one in the hiring committee's hands.
(A couple other serendipitous moments happened during that conference as well. One lunch Darin asked God to help him sit at a table with the "right" people and was frustrated when he ended up lunching with a bunch of maintenance guys. [Nothing against maintenance guys, Darin was just hoping to get a job in program at this conference.] Turns out one of the guys he sat with that day was on the interview team for the Miracle Ranch job. In addition, I left the conference early to go to Spokane and get my haircut and Darin ended up hitching a ride to Spokane with the Crista van. He was later told how much of a positive impression he had left on his soon-to-be-supervisor in that van ride.)
Long story short, Darin was hired and Anne made good on her debt. And Darin and Anne enjoyed working together for many months. I will never forget their program team characters of the Easter European Table Tennis Champions and how they practiced their routine for hours in their office!
Anne's friend set her up on a blind date with Justin and we were excited for her. But one night when she was hanging out with us after doing her camp-hosting gig, she revealed she was a little nervous about this guy. She had asked him their staff-meeting "question of the day" which involved which type of ice cream one would be and Justin had responded vanilla. Anne couldn't figure out what that said about him. Is he too boring? Or is he stable?
We teased her a long time about that.
Turns out vanilla was the right answer.
We are so happy for these two and can't wait to see how God continues to use them in our lives. (Or maybe we'll get a chance to be used in their story this time!)
...go trick or treating.
(Sorry for the blog absence. No excuses. Please don't leave.)
After naps on Halloween we loaded up our kiddos and drove the 45 minutes to my sister's house in Spanaway. Even though I still miss Bellingham, I am thankful to be living closer to my sisters again because of days like this. We invited Darin's sister and her little guy to join us for some fun, and my other sister showed up too! It was a real party.
We had a delicious dinner (thanks again, Jason) and then prepared for the fun of trick-or-treating in Michelle's development neighborhood.
Thank goodness for warm baby costumes!
Dani wasn't so thrilled with the stroller, so I promptly handed off the camera and carried her in the front-pack for a while. Problem? My sister had told me her camera battery was dead, and I didn't get ANY pictures of her kiddos in costume. Maybe we'll have to do a staged photoshoot sometime this month?
Here are a few pictures I think Darin took.
(Hey, it looks like we've got some blurry cousins in these next few shots!)
Maya and Macey did a great job at helping Daisy up the steps to the houses for about the first 20 or so houses. And then the novelty of waiting for a two-year-old wore off. I was proud they lasted as long as they did. So Michelle, Darin & I took turns helping her up to houses and we hit a few more. But by then it was getting really dark, and Daisy was getting freaked out when groups of kids would come running up behind her. She also wasn't such a huge fan of the scary costumes and after a big meltdown we decided to call it a night.
Looks like these two were done as well.
Daisy kept talking about the "scary stuff" as Darin carried her all the way home, but was sure excited to dump out her candy once we arrived! And now she wants Halloween every day.
Darin took a little video of the trick-or-treating action as well. Really cool to contrast with last year.
Check back tomorrow for Halloween Part 2: Molly & Lexie vs. Mike Myers.
This annual fall activity is so not my thing. But Darin loves it and was looking forward to beginning the tradition with the kiddos (or atleast the big one) this year. So earlier this October he busted out the carving tools and got to work.
Daisy helping carve the top.
Time to ditch the dress and check out the innards.
Scraping off the top.
And cleaning out the insides.
And then it was time for me to leave and take a little shopping excursion to Target. I came home just in time to see Darin put the finishing touches on the Mickey Mouse as requested by Miss Daisy.
Later in the week Darin also took some time to carve out three more smaller pumpkins.
His "two-headed" monster, of course.
Something simple. (Daisy drew on this one.)
And a goofy one.
Not a bad looking bunch.
get their pictures taken!
Thanks to Darin, for the shots of the princess, and the ones of the girls together. Thanks to Miss Karen Russell for the amazing photoshop file so I can round my photo edges. (Karen also taught the online photo class I took last year.) Thanks to Gran for the adorable penguin costume. And thanks to JoAnn fabrics, for putting your halloween costumes on sale two weeks before Halloween!
And one behind-the-scenes shot for your enjoyment.
go to a Halloween party.
How wonderful to get to dress up and go play with friends at Round Table! We had a great time at a little mom's group party last Saturday. Daisy has not stopped talking about it since.
It was quite a lot for the penguin to take in, she couldn't quite manage to stay awake the whole time.
Going...
going...
gone!
So gone.
But the Princess sure had fun playing with friends, (does the pregnant nun thing ever get old? I hope not.)
eating pizza (reading the menu aloud to us: "pizza, pizza, pizza, and sum mo pizza")
and getting her face painted.
And we all enjoyed the delicious treats.
What? Your princess doesn't wear lovely green bibs with her pretty princess dress? Well, ours does.
Look for more adventures of the penguin and the princess soon.
This little girl is in love with her Papa.
And I am totally okay with that.
Last week we packed up our beautiful girls and took them to a small family farm in Silverdale. We had a lovely time wandering around the gardens, visiting the animals, and picking out some pumpkins.
Here are some of my favorite shots.
Darin liked this pumpkin and is gonna try to carve a two-headed monster with it.
Daisy had such a hard time picking one out, we finally had to do it for her!
Next up...carving...
On Saturday morning of our vacation day (after a delicious breakfast including Dad's famous Huckleberry Pancakes) we headed into the town of Quincy for their annual Farmer Consumer Awareness Day celebration.
First was the parade with lots of big tractors! (Daisy was not a fan of ANYONE in costume, especially the large french fry that came strolling down the street in front of her.)
Note to self: CHECK THE WHITE BALANCE SETTINGS!
I could probably fix the parade photo in photoshop, but I'm too busy to figure it out so right now you get to enjoy a blue picture.
After the parade we headed over to the field to prepare for the main event. I opted out of playing volleyball this year, and instead got to hang out in the tents with the kiddos and lots of family (including my parents who stuck around for the day).
Cousin Quentin loved poking Dani in the nose. (Ah, isn't the lack of blue nicer?)
A mariachi band came by to serenade us.
It was really hot out that afternoon!
I was too hot to venture away from the shade in order to take volleyball pics. But Darin managed to capture a few of the championship match.
This one's my favorite.
At one point, as play was winding down, Daisy asked us to go for a walk. So Gran with Dani, Daisy with baby China (oh, that is a post in itself), and me with no baby took a walk around the field.
We tagged along with my parents to their "old" church in Ephrata and watched the "pass the baby" game that occured with Miss Dani and her adoring fans during the fellowship time.
We needed a new family photo for the Miracle Ranch page, so I asked Dad to take one outside church. I'm pretty happy how it turned out.
And one of the grandparents too.
After church we ventured to lunch with Mom, Dad, and some friends of theirs where we were all highly entertained.
Daisy & Dani fell asleep on the way back to Crescent bar, which was great because we were able to get back and get our stuff packed up while they were snoozing.
We had to take in one last swimming trip before heading home.
Daisy's been learning to swim by herself using a noodle. It's pretty impressive.
And that's it. Time to head home and back to work.
During the first week of September we had the opportunity to take a little family vacation. We combined it with Darin's family's annual "Rally In the Valley" volleyball tournament in Quincy, and a chance to see my parents one more time before they headed east and then south for the winter. My parents added us to their 1000 trails park membership, so we were able to camp in a great little park in Crescent Bar.
I wasn't quite up for the idea of tent camping yet, so we rented a little "park-model" trailer that was a great place to eat breakfast,
play with toys,
check in with work,
and take pictures of cute babies.
Yeah, and it also had some lovely air conditioning!
We were told the trailer had bunk-beds, but this triple bed was even better! Especially because Daisy "fell out" at least twice while we were there. She thought the bed was pretty cool though.
One morning we enjoyed a walk down to the Crescent Bar resort beach.
(what a difference a few months makes:
Daisy had some goldfish snacks on the grass.
And Gram entertained the little one.
This is the view from my parents' campsite that we enjoyed very much.
Daisy received a set of "color wonder" markers for her birthday, and we set them aside for just a time as this. She enjoyed lots of coloring time on Gram & Gramp's picnic table.
While stopping by Darin's Aunt's house, Daisy got her first taste of trampoline fun. She was really nervous when the two boys were jumping, but when they paused and gave her a chance to go by herself, she LOVED it.
It's really hard to take decent jumping pictures, but Darin tried. At least you get a sense of her joy.
My mom was set to have a birthday in a few days, so we went out to celebrate with some yummy Mexican food. Here's dad holding Miss Dani, who always manages to decide she's hungry right as the food is arriving.
That's enough recap for tonight. Will try to be back tomorrow with some more!
