Merry Christmas 2013

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Our Christmas celebration was shared with Grammy and Grampa (a.k.a. Dat Mimi and Mimi Bob). Simon loved every minute of Christmas except for the minute on Santa's lap. Give him another few years and he'll be as nonplussed as Vivi was. If only they realized what that guy goes through every year.

Our Christmas kicked off with a pageant for the first time. Veronica's Giraffe class took center stage at the Concordia Lutheran Christmas Pageant. And she's not just a one-dimensional singing sensation, check out the choreography to go with it. It was a beautiful celebration and really kicked off the Christmas season... that and all the cookies afterward.

Santa's elves were hard at work Christmas Eve... no, I'm sorry, that's Mama and Auntie Julie hard at work decorating cookies.

Veronica once again won't the "Defying Physics with Icing". There might be more clever designs and more elegant execution, but no cookie is iced and sprinkled better than this beauty.

And then there was Christmas morning. Through the generosity of Grammy, Grampa, Mimi, Aunties, and even a few elves, the living room floor was completely covered. It was incredible. Unlike marathons of years past, Veronica set a solid pace for Simon to follow and they got through all of this in just under 2 hours (Last year we needed two breaks for meals).

It took them a while to get their bearings before diving in.

And most adorably, before opening her own presents, Veronica wanted to give the presents she bought at school to Mama, Papa, and Simon.

Lining up the new cars before all of them are even out of the packaging.

How much did he love his toys from Aunt Mary and Uncle Bill? He couldn't wait for them to be put together.

Halloween 2013

Halloween happened and it was a blur. Veronica was Dorothy Gale from Kansas (apparently it was our turn). Simon was the cowardly lion. Turns out the wizard didn't give the lion anything he didn't already have either. Once Simon figured out all the strangers with the spooky decorations handed out candy, he wasn't cowardly anymore. The kids raced around Sammamish collecting more candy than they could ever possibly eat. 

We didn't even have time for a good picture. I should have thought of that before the night ended.

Veronica's 5th Birthday

Five? Already? Turning 5 means a lot of different things. It means you get to decorate your own cake. Grammy and Daddy may have helped with some edge work, but Veronica knew how many sprinkles a birthday cake needs; more.

Turning 5 also means a Shining Star day in Miss Pam's Giraffe class. Veronica shared all about her family, her favorite place to go (the beach), her favorite place to visit (Boston), what she wants to be when she grows up (a haircutter) and her favorite food (after years of 'goat cheese', the answer is now 'spaghetti')

 Veronica also got her first big bike. The training wheels are still one of (the many) accessories on the bike.

The party was at Pump it Up and featured all her friends from Rosita's (perhaps for the last time). It was a great run with a really sweet group of kids. And if anyone thinks her Daddy is the reason Veronica is such a silly-pants, that's because they haven't met Ryan. Those two spent a lot of silly days together.

The all important birthday meal was a fun meal (what else?). Chicken nuggets, chocolate shake, and fries. With two kinds of cupcakes for birthday cake. Who wouldn't want to turn 5? I just need to convince her to do it again next year.

Do the Puyallup!

"The Puyallup" is now known as the Washington State Fair, but there are no restrictions against doing it at a hop or a gallop. We made a late breaking decision on a rather dreary Sunday afternoon to head south to the Washington State Fair for some fair food, some fair rides, and a fairly good chance of seeing the fair food again. It took us a while to find the kids' rides and traumatized Veronica on the Tilt-A-Whirl first. It started out fun and exciting, but by the end was too fast to be fun.

We did eventually find a few rides more Veronica's speed. She drove this sleek green roadster around a track. And just as the weather was about the take a turn for the worse, we spotted the real-live pony ride. Luckily, the ponies strolled around a covered enclosure and Veronica was able to enjoy a nice long and rain free pony ride.

Poor Simon wasn't big enough for any of the rides and had to settle for an excessive amount of carbs. At the end of the day we sneaked Simon onto the carousel so he wouldn't be entirely neglected.

Rattlesnake Ridge

Daddy promised Veronica that she could climb a mountain this summer and the summer almost got away from us. We went to the foothills of the Cascades and Veronica climbed all the way up her first mountain. The two mile hike had a lot of switchbacks to conquer. Veronica needed a lot of Skittles to entice her up the mountain, but she stuck with it and we enjoyed a picnic at the top. Rattlesnake Ridge is a beautiful spot that attracts a lot of visitors every day, but none of them were younger than Veronica.

First Day of School

Veronica graduated from pre-school in June, but she misses the cut-off for kindergarten by 30 days. Enter Concordia Lutheran and their "Fives Program". Veronica joined a small select group of not yet 5 year olds in Miss Pam's class with one foot in pre-school and one foot in kindergarten. Veronica was filled with nervous excitement on her first day, but just excitement by pickup time.

Veronica will attend a half day on Monday and go all day on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. She'll be learning German and attending church weekly and still getting plenty of play and art time in. It's a sweet little school and a loving class. We think it's going to be a really good year.

Summer's long, but I guess it ain't very sweet around here anymore

So we headed east one more time, but not quite so far east this time. We joined the Heaters for a final weekend of summer heat in Roslyn, WA. Roslyn is a 19th century mining town that played the setting of rural Alaska in Northern Exposure and... well, that's about all there is too say about Roslyn. Perfect.

Roslyn is the kind of town that has a lumberjack festival. As is the case with any unfamiliar sport, they seemed to be doing the same thing over and over. And frankly, the chainsaw seemed to be doing most of the work. The series of inflatable slides, bouncy houses, and inflatable obstacle course were more familiar terrain for our set.

The neighboring town or Cle Elum is the kind of place that has a butcher that cuts your meat to order. And after securing your meats, you have to walk across the street to the bakery. And while you don't have to, it's worth the 3 block walk to pick up some sausage and smoked meats. Food and Wine might not be stopping by to do a profile anytime soon, but it is an awfully nice way to do your shopping.

The kids did some creature adventuring and hours of swimming. Veronica tried her hand at ping pong for the first time. And there was even some late night beer pong. We got our final fill of summer cookouts and star gazing. I think we're ready for school...