Gingerbread Houses with Nana!

Nana is here! We're having so much fun! Here are pictures of the girls making 'gingerbread' (we used graham crackers) houses with Nana. Kennedy had more fun eating candy and spreading frosting on her 'house'. Cadence worked very hard on hers, and was devastated when she pushed too hard on a candy and it all fell apart. Kennedy has been trying to snipe candies off of it since it was completed. We may end up making some more next week - it was so much fun!

Hard at work

Mrfph, mrrrph, muph, fuff!

Mmmmmm! I loves me some candy! Really, this works better if you just put it directly in your mouth...

Nana: You got that? Cadence: Uh, yeaaahhhhh...

See, you just make the frosting go right here, like this...

Right there! That's a good spot for that one!

Hard at work!

Snow Day!

Since the snows have come to the mountains we have been sledding twice. The first time we were able to hit up a sledding spot we've been going to for a couple of years now, but the snow was heavy and wet and it was raining, so we didn't stay out too long. Also, there is a lot of work being done on a nearby bridge, and because our sledding spot has a large open area, a lot of the large machinery being used for the bridge construction is being parked there. Our second trip out there wasn't any snow at our sledding spot, but they had parked the largest machine right at the bottom of the sled path, so that spot may be out this year. Fortunately, we found a small spot for sledding on White Pass. It's not really sanctioned by White Pass Ski area, but they do groom it and tolerate a few brave souls. The girls absolutely LOVE sledding, Kennedy even more than Cadence, and I'm sure we'll be out on the mountain again in no time. We got a really good dump of snow earlier this week and spent some time every day out playing in it. It was perfect sledding snow, so I hauled the girls around the yard while the dogs chased us (okay, so, just Samson was actually chasing us, and at one point tried to get in the sled too, but Ange was amused watching me pull the girls, not so amused with Samson). As the week has progressed the temperature has gone up and today we have mostly heavy wet slush in the backyard, but I'm sure we'll have more opportunity for snow days in the near future. For now, though, these are the pictures I took just after we finished sledding at White Pass. The girls are such hams. :)

I love to eat snow!

Just put your face down in a pile of snow like this...

Mmmmmm!! So good!

Ya, I think my sister is crazy...

CHEEEEEEESE!

Close-up CHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESE!

Night-night, sleep tight...

HAHAHAHA!!! Just kidding!!! Gotcha!

Mmmmwuh!

Once there was a snowman...

See?!

Ahem...

"Cheeeese!" "Hey Dad - are you smiling?" "Heh, heh...are you gonna take the picture already?"

"Okay, seriously" "Sheeeeze!" "Hee Hee! We're having Fun!"

Kisses!

Mmmmmmmmwah!

Last shot - AAAAAAAND...we're done!

Thanksgiving!!

Boy did we have a lot to be thankful for this year! Jeremy's got a GREAT job, we have a beautiful new house, as we've needed we have received; we are SO BLESSED!!!

Jeremy made a beautiful Thanksgiving dinner for us, even though he was on call and spent most of his weekend in surgery. He started our meal in the morning, got called in, came home around noon in order to finish cooking, and the moment he finished his last mouthful he was called in again. We didn't see him the rest of the day. But the lunch was DELICIOUS and the girls and I had a good time making ornaments and veggie trees and watching UP with Grammy.

Putting together a veggie tree!

Kennedy's favorite was getting pickles out of the jar. She tried almost every vegetable she put on her tree, but would not put the pickles near her mouth.

Princess Cadence's finished tree (yes, she is still wearing her pajamas; it took us several hours to convince her to put on other clothes)

Gluing popsicle ornaments...

Is this glue even coming out?

What shape am I going to make?

I think THIS bead is the one I want...the one way down at the bottom...

Now to glue...

And just one more something from this bowl...

Making ornaments takes a lot of concentration

Ha Ha! I got a bead stuck on my glue stick!

Helping Daddy get dinner ready...

I'm cracking eggs, see?

We hope EVERYONE had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and had much to give thanks for. We are very grateful for everything we have, and especially for all of our friends and family who love us and who we love so dearly as well. Hugs all around! May the blessings and Thanksgiving continue through the season, and on into the New Year!

Visit with Santa!

Once a month we go to a story time activity put on by a program that reads stories, does crafts, provides yummy snacks, gives away books, and almost always has a special surprise. This month's special surprise was a visit from SANTA!! He came with a sack full of little gifts for all the boys and girls, and he read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. Cadence was thrilled that he was there, but didn't want to go see him until Kennedy had been up to see him first, just to make sure everything was on the up-and-up.

Listening to Santa read his story

Shoving Kennedy up to meet Santa first (Kennedy really didn't want to go, but Cadence didn't leave her much choice)

Getting gifts from Santa

Cadence decided it would be okay to actually stand next to Santa and have her picture taken, even though she wouldn't sit on his lap

Kennedy didn't want anything to do with Santa, and gave the loudest chorus of 'Bye! Bye! BYE!!!' wlhen he left. She wold have kicked him out much sooner if it had been up to her. :) Santa had little stuffed animals for each child (and we just got rid of a bunch of stuffed animals nobody plays with!). Kennedy got a pony and Cadence got a dog. When Santa gave Cadence her gift she said, "Well, I wanted a mermaid" like he had forgotten, or not gotten her note on that. She has since decided that the dog's name will be Christmas Tree and will be her mermaid's pet, whenever she gets a mermaid. Guess I better get on that mermaid thing...
The girls also got 'Santa Stop Here' signs and made reindeer snacks that Cadence hung on the sliding glass door. It was a really informal experience with no waiting in line, which was nice, even though I didn't have them all dressed up in their finest.

New Family Member!

He's big and goofy, and just the sweetest little boy...well, okay, he's not really that little. Jeremy went and picked up Samson (a harlequin/blue merle Great Dane) from a family in Oregon who could not keep him any longer due to the fact that they were gone most hours of the day and travel frequently (hmmm...sounds just like the story we got when we ended up with Ange... :)) They loved him very much and did a lot of work with him. He is very well behaved in the house, and knows several commands. He was not allowed in the kitchen at his previous home, so keeping him out of our kitchen hasn't been too difficult. Although he's a little shorter than Ange in length, he's already taller than she is, and has no problem resting his chin on the kitchen counters (and he's only 1 & 1/2, so we may see some more growth yet!). He loves to play ball, and prefers to drink directly out of the bathroom sink rather than from a dish. We're working on that... He's a bundle of energy, just full of 'puppy', and is so good with the girls. I had Kennedy laughing laughing last night and Samson came over to check her out, make sure everything was okay. Ange is not too impressed, but is tolerant. She makes sure to go outside when he's not out there, and although she's not sure if he's a good addition yet, she seems to be okay with his sticking around. He's only been here two days, but we've fallen in love with him. He's lots of fun and just a sweetheart who wants so very badly to please. Although, we are going to have to work on getting him used to sleeping in his own bed, and to learn that he is not a lap dog... :)

Stay tuned for some video later this week! We're hoping it snows tonight so we'll try to get some action shots in the white stuff. The girls just love him (Cadence loves the fact that she can talk to him and he responds) and they get such a kick out of giving him treats. He's so gentle with them and is careful not to rush past them so they don't get knocked down. I think Ange is happy to have a companion, but would have preferred a pal with a little less puppy, although we like him just the way he is. We get the best of both worlds - bringing up a puppy, but a puppy who is already house broken and has been taught some manners!

Cadence on Deoderant

The other day Cadence was watching Jeremy put on his deoderant. Cadence: what are you doing? Jeremy: what does it look like I'm doing? Cadence: Are you putting on your armpit glue? Jeremy: yes, yes, that's exactly what I'm doing. I'm putting on my armpit glue so that my arms won't fall off. Cadence: OOOooohhhhh. Kennedy, Daddy's just putting on his armpit glue.

VIDEOS!! and some random pics...

I finally got these videos off my phone. Some are long, some are short, and they've all been taken in the last 6 months or so. ENJOY!!

This picture goes along with the video. The toy she's got herself entangled in is an inflatable hydroplane hat I got at Seafair the second summer we were here.

Here the kids show off their genius - Jeremy was trying to get the cat to chase a laser pointer, but the girls kept the cat out of the game...

While we were at the fair, Kennedy really took to the tractors. The next two videos are her on two different tractors - she had a blast!

Here's Cadence on the carousel at the fair - Kennedy was too tiny to ride this year, and she was super sad about that, but then she liked watching for Cadence to come around again and again... Cadence practiced several different princess waves the whole time. It was great. ;)

While we were at Pam's for Lily's arrival, we found this little boat for FREE. So, we snatched it up and drove it home to Yakima for a sandbox! The girls loved it. A few weeks after we brought it home Cadence and I were looking at some things that started with the letter "b" - bat, ball, boy, boat. She got them all right until I pointed at the boat and without missing a beat said 'sandbox'. I love that kid. :)

Goofy Kids

So I tell the girls to go wash their hands after snack while I clean up in the kitchen. I can hear them giggling and carrying on and having quite a good time in the bathroom. Thinking they are surely soaked up to their armpits by now, I come around the corner to find this:


Fortunately they did not turn the water on while they were climbing all over the sink. Unfortunately, they were so busy moving around trying to get a good look at themselves in the mirror that a lot of the pictures are fuzzy. Silly girls.