Snowboarding and a Happy Birthday!!!

We headed east for winter break with our fingers crossed for plenty of snow!

Last year we bought the girls all new snowboarding gear and there was ZERO snow.

We were hoping for a good few days at the mountain while in Spokane.

And Mother Nature delivered!!!!

There was plenty of snow, so we signed the girls up for a couple days of lessons.

Mark and I were excited, too! 

We hadn't been up to the mountain since before Avery was born!

Gramps came with us, too.

 Ready to go!!!!

 We couldn't wait!!!

The girls had a great first day.
Not a lot of solo time, but we knew we would be back again the next day,
so we took it easy on day 1!
Success!!!
They both loved it!!!

And while the girls were finishing up their lesson,
we met Gramps in the bar. :)

We woke up early on Mark's birthday ready to hit the mountain again!!
Lots more snow overnight!!!

Happy Birthday Honey!!!

Can't wait to hit the mountain again!!!
What a great couple of days!!!

Happy Camper Christmas Party

We had a Happy Camper Christmas party this year!

It was soooo fun!!!!

We had a great dinner and then did PRESENTS!!!

 

Each of the kids drew the name of another kid camper.

They bought a small gift and opened at the party.

(How did I not get ANY pictures????)

It was very sweet!!!

They had a great time!

The grown-ups were each instructed to bring a wrapped gift 

(the fixin's of an adult beverage) 

for a 'big kid' gift exchange!

We sent the kids to the basement and got the dice out.

All of the adults stood around the table with gifts in the center.

When someone rolled a double, they could choose a gift and open it...

or if the gift you wanted was already open, you could steal it!

We had a great time.  There was a lot of laughing and yelling.

So. Much. Fun.

There was still some time for a few 

MINUTE TO WIN IT games.

The best was the snowman game.

In partners, who could make the best snowman in ONE MINUTE???

Chris and Stacy

Camryn and Avery

Annalise and Ella

We had such a fun night!

This will definitely become an ANNUAL event!!!

Love our camping family!!!

Olde Fashioned Christmas

Our weekend was packed!

We had to literally SQUEEZE in the Olde Fashioned Christmas in Ferndale.

The girls were adamant that we could NOT miss it!

So....we did the speed version.

The experience always starts in the school house with a letter to Santa...

Quickly to the Post Office to mail the letter, to the typesetter to make a card, through the Jenny House to bake a cookie, do a craft, and dance upstairs.

So far so good...think we're going to make it through each building!

Next, a stop at the barn to pet the horses, then on to the General Store.

Then....to the Santa stop.

A quick taste of the applesauce before a visit with the big guy.

Annalise asked Santa for a GIANT stuffed horse.

He seemed to know exactly what she was talking about.

He always does.  So magical.

An amazing end to a fast, but always fun Olde Fashioned Christmas!

Rollerskating

It was Skyline's Rollerskating night at the Lynden Skateway!!!

Annalise brought Calli and Avery brought Emma.

It was a great night!!!

We will definitely go back!!!

Thanksgiving

November flew right by....

an orchestra concert, school, weekend play dates and sleepovers.

Before we knew it, Thanksgiving was here!

Charlie was thankful for his new bed.

We've had him for over 3 years and the poor guy has never had a special bed.

The time came....and he's in HEAVEN!!!

Gramps came to visit for Thanksgiving!!!

The night before, the girls helped make the pumpkin pies.

Thanksgiving Day was spent hanging out.

We played HeadBands...

You get a card to put on your forehead for everyone else to see.

Then you ask yes or no questions to figure out what you are.

This was NOT Gramps' favorite game!

And in the game of Life, 

Annalise got fired for taking her cat to work with her.

Dinner was awesome.

We are all so lucky.

Even the girls got their sparkling cider in a fancy glass!

And a while later...we indulged in pumpkin pie.

Yum.  One of the best parts of the Thanksgiving FEAST!

The next day we headed to the tree farm to pick out our Christmas tree!

It's an annual event....

And it was a GORGEOUS day!

Great for taking pictures!

The weekend continued with the decorating of the house for Christmas!

We got the lights on the house, the tree up (and decorated) and the train all set up!

 

The girls even got their Christmas crafts finished!

And lots of time to hang out with Gramps.

Annalise loved reading to him!

We have so much to be thankful for.