Christmas Tree Hunting

We decided that as a family we would go find our own Christmas tree in the forest near Salmon La Sac. We bought permits and headed to the forest before dinner on Thanksgiving! There was no snow in the Roslyn but as we headed toward Salmon La Sac there was a lot of snow. We looked around then we got a little stuck in the snow in the hills, an hour before dark. Not so fun but it was only temporary and we went home treeless!

Next day, Friday, we headed up again but this time we went with Steven and his monster truck and winch. Again, we got a late start but knew we were not getting stuck! We probably would have done fine and got our 2 trees but had to stop and help the Chevy out of the snow. A guy had got his Suburban with bald trees and snowmobile trailer stuck --even with 4 guys trying to dig him out he was not going anywhere fast. Steven hooked him up and winched him out! Then Steven had to back down the road and across the bridge--about a 1/2 mile down the narrow icy road. Once the guy loaded up and was out of the way we were able to go up we wemt up the hill until we could only see snowmobile tracks but we were stuck now! Tied off to a tree Steven had to winch us out! On the way down, we searched the dark forest and found a tree! One down and one to go! We were on our way home! Tomorrow, we would get the other tree!

Thanksgiving at Preschool

Patrick had a classroom feast on Tuesday before Thanksgiving. They made their own food and shared it family style! They are so cute at 5 years old! Patrick has been so excited for Thanksgiving this year. We planned to have our Thanksgiving feast and spend the weekend with our family in Roslyn this year!

He was very excited to be dressed as a Pilgrim/Indian!

Disney On Ice--What a Surprise!

Well, I don't really keep up on the events coming to town but I saw a commercial on TV for Disney On Ice! It peaked my interested so I decided to check out Ticketmaster and see how much ticket were! Of course there were no tickets to be had. So what do should you do? Head to craigslist, of course! I love browsing Craiglist!
So there slim pickings on Craiglist but there was a brand new post for 3 tickets--second row on the ice! It was a miracle! And at face value. Emailed the seller and arranged pickup the next day!
We were not sure how Ciara would do because she is our runner--always on the go! But it was wonderful and she did great!

I had been to Disney On Ice 10 years ago with Kailey and most of it was the same but I had never seen CARS! It was wonderfully entertaining! Love it all!

Well, the tickets, though not cheap, were the cheapest part of the night! $12 for a sno-cone in a Disney collector cup! $7 for a little box of popcorn and who knows how much the other little treats that Pat bought were! It was definitely worth it! We escaped buying the $20 light up toys.

It was hard to get pictures but I got a few good ones! I should have charged the battery, it was a low and the pictures tend not to be as good when the battery is not fully charged.

Thank you, Daddy for taking us to the show, can we go to the really Disneyland?(Patches)

Well, kiddos, we are thinking of going to Disneyland for Christmas next year! I think it would be fun to go during Christmas. Thinking back as a child, I cannot remember what I got for Christmas at 6 or 7 years old but I can remember events. I want to create memories for my children not just buy them gifts!

Special Birthday Guests for Patches!

Patrick's 5th Birthday was on Halloween! His cousins Rose & Steph wanted to surprise for his birthday and come to visit from NJ. Patrick has been asking for the past couple years why Ciara always gets special guests on her birthday. There is no real answer for that but for the past 3 years, since Ciara was born, Pat's family has come to visit! The first year Pop-Pop came to visit a month after Ciara was born, the next year Pop-pop,(the girls-as Patches says) Steph and Rose came out, then this year Aunt Lori, Rose, and Steph came out to visit for a week! We usually spend the week of Ciara's birthday site seeing and traveling the Oregon Coast and Crater Lake! So I can see why Patches feels a little left out because of the timing.

Well, the girls pulled it off! They arrived on Friday, October 30 and rented a car so that they could arrive at our house as a total surprise! Patches was absolutely in heaven! Although, it was a short visit, with Rose and Steph leaving Sunday morning at 4am, it was very special and meaningful to Patches! It was his "best Birthday ever", he claims! Thanks you Rose and Steph for coming to visit! We love you! I hope you will come see us soon and stay longer! We love having you visit!

South 47 Farm --Corn Maze

Sunday morning we headed out to meet Patrick's friend from school, Jackson and his family at the corn maze. We were a little worried that it would be muddy due to Saturday's rain but it wasn't to bad, just a little slippery in spots. Ciara fell a few times when she was running to catch uop with the bigger kids! When we left our house with all three kids across the backseat, Kailey, Ciara, and Patrick, there was not a peep all the way there! This is an amazing feat, usually there is total choas. Of course, I forgot Patrick's boots so he had to wear his Crocs but did fine. The corn maze is $7 per person which I think is a little high!

They give you a "map" of the corn maze but it is not really a useful map. There are eight questions throughout the maze, if you answer the question right the maze is about a mile if you answer incorrectly it can be 2 miles. We never found #5 but got the rest of them. Halfway through the maze Patrick said " Can we go home? This place is too "corny"!" The things that these kids say crack me up! But there are so many option after answering the question that I think we walked a lot farther! Ciara would not walk most of the way so Pat and I took turns carrying her--definately not stroller friendly but maybe a wagon would work! There are a lot of photo opportunitys throughoput the farm which is all free! There is a hay ride which would have been fun but we did not have enough time and Ciara was ready to crash--she was so tired!

It is worth checking out if you have not been there! We will be going back in October for a preschool fieldtrip. But I am very happy that we were able to spend some time with Jackson and his family before Samantha goes on her book tour in October!

So far behind!

I am so far behind on blogging that I don't even know where to start! It has been a long time but Kim got on me a couple weeks ago so I have decided that I have to do something. Well, then the problems started. First, I had forgot my password to blogger. I guess it has been a long time. I got frustrated because it won't send me email to reset the password. Then my beloved camera had to go in for repairs because I could not get the USB to connect so I am now almost two weeks without my camera. I have an old camera but it just isn't the same.

Leavenworth for Grandma's Birthday

Saturday morning, we headed to Leavenworth for Grandma's birthday (my mom). It was a pretty drive, the leaves are just starting to change and once we got out of Sultan the rain stopped! It was raining buckets when we left home!

The kids had a great time at the Meadowbrook Farms, just past Leavenworth! That is were we started our day! There were a lot of photo opportunities and fun things for the kids to do! They have swings, even little bees for the little ones. There is a "trike" park with little roads and signs set up for the kids. They have hay rides and cow tractor rides! The cows rides were a big hit! Patrick and Kailey went 3 times!

We took a family photo! And several photos with the kids on the tractor, old car, and at the petting zoo! We spent a long time checking out the store they have some much in there which you would not expect to see in a little fruit stand! The kids loved feeding the animals. Ciara and Patrick did very well holding there hands out flat to feed the goats, llamas, ducks, cow, and many other animals. After three "cow" rides we were ready to hit the town!

We went walked through town checking out all the tourist shops! Got some great fudge and cookies at the gingerbread house! Had an early prime rib dinner at the Soup Celler. Then it was time to get back on the road and head back to the rain. It was a fun day and minimal fighting among the siblings. Happy Birthday, Mom!

Easter Egg Dye

Easter egg dyeing is always fun with little hands! Ciara was after the dye cups but managed not to spill any!! Patrick had Grandma write names on all the eggs so that everyone would have their own egg. Patrick's egg is pink, of course. He is a really big helper!

Easter Cookies

Today was the day to decorate our Easter cut out cookies! This year at 4, Patrick is really into celebrating the holidays! Which for him means cookies. He has been talking about these cookies all week! So it was supposed to rain today so today was the day! We had to be at Pump It Up by 11:15 AM to meet with his Preschool class. Even though they are on Spring break this week--we could not have asked for better weather! Hopefully, it we can stay rain free Saturday and Sunday for the Easter egg hunts! We are heading to Roslyn for the day on Saturday to celebrate Easter at Suncadia. They have an Easter egg hunt, carnival, and breakfast with the Easter Bunny! Willy Wonka Waffles, who could pass that up! Well, here are Patches Famous Cookies!

Easter Bunny ot Torture!

I decided I would take the two younger kiddos to see Mr. Easter Bunny on Wednesday! Ciara was fine with the Easter bunny until it was time to sit on his lap then it was total meltdown time! It was more like torture! It was the same way with Kailey at this age!

Cake Walk -- Cupcake Pops!

Patrick's preschool is having there annual carnival today! I had volunteered to make treats for the cake walk. I was wondering what I could make that would be a mess by the time I delievered it to school. I always am disappointed when the frosting gets all over--gross. I searched the internet for "creative cupcakes" and came across the most amazing lady, "Bakerella". She make incredible "cake pops". Thank you, Bakerella! Anyway, I kind took the easy way, I made mini cupcakes and then dipped them in the chocolate melts! This made packaging easy and best of all no frosting mess! I think that they turned out really cute! I package them in packages of six like we where instructed to do. I wrapped each individual one and put the 6 in a take-out container with a little shredded paper! My kids loved them. Now, will they do well at the cake walk. They were fun to make!

Ciara Trip to the ER

Ciara jumped off her little dolly bed and landed face first on the hardwood floor. She never tried to catch her fall. I actually thought it was a lot worse because there was blood everywhere. I decided to take her to the ER not knowing if they would stitch her lip or not. She had put three teeth through her bottom lip. Dr. decided not to stitch the lip because she would probably chew the stitches out before we got home. Not to mention it sounded horrible. They would have to put her in a pillow case and tie her tight. I am so happy that she did not have to get stitches! Poor baby girl!
*****4 days later: her lip is healing great! Much faster than I expect! Not that it slowed her down any****

Patrick & Ciara Go to the Dentist!

Patrick and Ciara got to go see Dr. Wendy for a dental check up. Patrick was that a star patient. They were able to find all the sugar bugs that were finding! Ciara wanted no part of this visit! They each received a SpongeBob tooth brush, toy from the treasure box and best of all a dinner certificate for Red Robin! Patrick passed the test--no cavities! Ciara would not open her mouth other except when I turned her upside down. Dr. Wendy got a quick look, maybe next time she will get a look! We will be back in 6 months!

Ciara's First Hair Cut!

Well, I had put it off long enough. It was time for Ciara's first hair cut. January 30th we went to see Jackie! Patrick kept saying that Ciara has "old man hair". When asked why, he said, he touches her ears and is funny in the front. Poor Ciara! It is true, her hair was over her ears and she has long hair in the front--kind of like a comb over!
With both kids in tow, Pat, and my mother we went to see Jackie. Ciara was fine in the salon and had just been there 2 weeks prior to watch Patrick get his hair cut. Patrick used to go to Earl's barbershop until he had a bad experience with one of the barbers. He had always sat on my huband's lap but this barber refused to let him do that and he freaked out. So ever since, he will only let Jackie cut his hair at the salon that my mom goes to!

Pat was nominated to hold Ciara for her first haircut. He was actually excited because he had held Patrick for his first haircut. Right away, Ciara knew something was up, she started to squirm and squeak! Binky to the rescue--no not this time. Pat held her tight while my mom held her arms down. Screaming as Jackie quickly snipped away! Well, it is not what I wanted but the old man hair over her ears is gone and her bangs are straight cut. It is kind of a boy cut. Maybe next time! At least it is even and straight! My poor kids have the hardest time growing hair! Ciara actually has more hair then Kailey did at this age. I hope Ciara is not scared for life!