Christmas in Spokane part 1

We spent this past Christmas up in Spokane and had a really great time. We picked Sareny up from school on Friday the 18th and just drove straight through to Spokane, arriving around 2:30 pm the next day. I was completely surprised by how good the kids did, and we were fortunate to have clear roads the whole way.
We had run out of time before leaving Phoenix, and the kids hadn't sat on Santa's lap yet, so we made a trip to the mall in Washington to see the big man himself.

Okay, I wasn't really that impressed with this particular Santa, but at least we got a cute picture. I thought it was pretty cool to have their cousins Katlin and Tyler in the picture with them.
Later on, the kids got to help grandma feed the alpacas and goats.

They were cold, but loved it.

We were so glad that Grandma Nancy got all this cold weather gear at second hand stores for us. She found snow pants, snow boots, and coats for Sareny, Isaac, and Finley. It made playing outside so much more enjoyable.
I love this picture of Finley and her grandma!

I think the only caption for this picture is, "Finley lay there like a slug. It was her only defense." Do you know the movie that came from?

The kids on the farm.

Sadly for us, it didn't really snow the whole time we were there. I had really been hoping to see some nice snow falls, especially for the kids to experience it. But even without snow, we still got a lot of use out of the snow clothes and had a great time.

Sculptures

Sareny's class did a science section where they studied different types of wood and paper. To finish off the section, they invited parents to come help their child create something out of scraps of wood and paper that we had sent in.

Sareny's dad got to visit her in the classroom and help her construct a beautiful pink butterfly. I think they both had a fun time.

We're so glad her school encourages parents to be so involved!

Gingerbread houses

We like to make little gingerbread houses every year at Christmas time, and this year we were able to invite some new friends over for the event. Sareny's best friend is a little girl named Lisa from her class, and luckily, Lisa's family lives a few streets away from us. That's pretty fortunate when you consider that it takes me about 20 minutes to drive to her school. This year, Daddy helped Isaac make a house, and I helped Sareny. Finley wasn't too concerned that she wasn't making a house, she just wanted to eat much candy as she possibly could.

All of the kids together with their finished projects.
Lisa, Mia, and Brianna.

Isaac, Princess Finney, and Sareny.

We had a great time with Lisa's family and are so glad that Sareny has made such a great friend at school.

Decorate the tree, hang some ornaments, come help me!

We put our Christmas tree up just after Thanksgiving. I love Christmas ornaments, and it seems I have passed that love on to my children. They each have their own box that holds their own special ornaments, and they are so excited each year to bring them out.

One of our favorite traditions is that everybody gets a new ornament at the top of their stocking Christmas morning. It is common knowledge that I put the ornaments there after Santa has already come. This year the girls got sparkling tiara's that represented their princess Halloween costumes. I tried to find a knight for Isaac, but couldn't, so he got an abominable snowmonster instead. (In case you're wondering, I got a tiara too, and Keith got a large diamond-y thing. Okay, both of them were really for me.)

Our tree was pretty loaded up with ornaments on the top, and completely bare on the bottom. Those of you with kids will know exactly why.

Photo Shoot at Valley of Fire

A trip to Valley of Fire always turns into a phot shoot, and our Thanksgiving visit was no different.

Josh, Charlie, and the family Keel.

The kids all love their grandparents so much!

Little Charlie is so cute and happy.

I really tried to get a good picture of Isaac and Fin, but that proved impossible. I had to settle for one where Finley was at least looking at the camera.

Sareny enjoyed hiking with her daddy.

Isaac didn't really enjoy hiking with his daddy. Apparently he is a little scared of heights.

I thought this was a cute picture of Joshie and his mommy.

Finley loves her belly-button. Not sure what to do about that.

Not great lighting, but a shot of most of our group. Just missing the men.

Despite our 11 year age difference, Lexi and I have always gotten along great!

Saturday night after Valley of Fire and some delicious Orange Chicken made by yours truly, both my dad and Jake participated in an alumni basketball game. It was a lot of fun to watch. It was fun to see our good friend Ashley there. Lexi used to babysit her and her sister, and their family is a lot of fun.

Sareny got to sit on the bench with the coach for a few minutes during the game.

Thanksgiving Part 2

On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, we went to the lake to feed the fish. I remember doing this as a kid and I always loved it. The huge, nasty carp are so facinating to watch.

Finley started out the activity sleeping.

Once she woke up though, she quickly figured things out.

Finley, Josh, Charlie, Isaac and Sareny. Such cute cousins!

While at the lake, we saw two separate herds of bighorn sheep come to drink. Despite growing up in the desert, I've almost never seen a bighorn sheep in the wild, so this was pretty cool.

Joshie and his mama.

Finney and her Grammy.

We took the chance to take a few photos. I love this one!

Sareny with her favorite person in the whole world.

Jake Jeffrey and Joshua Jake.

This is one of my favorites too. So sweet!

A rare picture of me...

Cute little Charlie.

Tia Lexi is so good with all of the kids.

Finley learning the ever popular 1, 2, 3, jump trick that kids love so much.

Thanksgiving part 1

We spent Thanksgiving in Overton. The kids always have so much fun with Grammy Jo and Bampa and their cousin Joshie. Finley loves her Grammy, and it was kind of nice for me to have her being clingy to someone else for a change! No pictures of actual turkey day, but we did, of course, have a nice feast.

Grammy pulled out their marble run game one evening, and the kids thought it was the coolest thing ever!

Fin sporting her usual "suspicious" face she gets when someone other than me holds her.

I think Bampa's Ranger is their all-time favorite thing to do there. Bampa always takes them on long rides, and they totally love it.