Yummy Traditions

Of course, we had to make gingerbread men and gingerbread houses. :-)

Watch out, Snowman Peep! He's going to eat you!

Trimming Our Tree

We didn't know where we'd be spending Christmas until a week and a half before it was upon us, so we decided to keep our tree "modest" this year. Jeremy ended up catching the necessary upriver trip which enabled us to get to Montana for the holidays (for the first time ever with kids!!!). Despite our best efforts, the timing of everything meant tweaking traditions this year. The kids and I swing into a tree lot just off the main road and picked up a little "Charlie Brown tree" for ourselves. No cutting was required and it easily fit behind the back seat. :-) We took the tree home and while Ascha was napping (are you noticing a theme to our timing for assembling things?), the boys decorated the tree with soft, non-breakable ornaments.

Aric placed the star.


Both boys were proud of their handiwork.


When Ascha woke up, she was again surprised and thrilled. She spent many hours removing and replacing ornaments on the tree and it was the perfect size. We didn't have to worry about it tipping over on her and she played with it to her heart's content.


Merry Washington Christmastime!

Ascha Steals the Show

Taylor received a marble track for his birthday. All the "boys" had a lot of fun setting it up for the first time while Ascha napped.



When she awoke, she was in awe of the new contraption.


Her awe swiftly turned to excitement and she decided she really loved it, too.

(How can you NOT keep snapping pictures of that sweet face? :-)

Taylor's 7th Birthday

Taylor wanted a pirate birthday. We had a pinata and party favors and treasure chest decorations...all we needed to complete the theme was a cake.

Unfortunately, the pirate ship SANK. The layers kept separating and I finally had to give up all hope after sinking two cake mixes and at least 3 full tubs of frosting into the ship. It walked the plank...right off the counter...as it collapsed one final time. I dashed to the store and picked up a sheet cake that looked like an island, hoping to salvage the theme. Then I rushed off to piano lessons with Taylor. Thanks to Jeremy and Aric's creative skills, the new cake was a big hit, and at the end of the day, isn't that what really matters? (NOT Mommy's culinary ego? :-)

Taylor invited friends from school and the neighborhood and all the boys had a great time. Jeremy took them outside for a treasure hunt. They followed clues and discovered treasure chests in which to deposit their pinata loot. Then, they came inside and decorated their treasure chests in pirate fashion.

We ate cake, Taylor opened his presents and played with his friends, and the party was a great success. We can still hardly believe that Taylor is SEVEN. Where is the time going?

Other highlights of the day:

He started out with a special pancake breakfast:

Between classes, he donned his pirate outfit and opened cards from the extended family.

At the end of the day, he got his big gift: a classic Schwinn Predator BMX bike

(thanks for saving it, Grandma and Grandpa! :-)