Leavenworth Lights

Todd and I have both wanted to take the boys to Leavenworth to see the Christmas Lighting there for the past few years. We were planning on going last year and then it snowed so much in Seattle that we couldn't make it. Todd had never been and the last time I was there I was 7 or 8 and have bad memories because my mom made me wear a Scandinavian-style dress my Grandma made that was too small for me! We were very last minute with this trip, booking our hotel only 2 days before leaving! We left Seattle on Saturday morning after taking Bryson into the pediatrician because he needed more medicine for his nebulizer (and they ended up giving him a prescription for an inhaler and tube).
Here are the boys in the village with Father Christmas.

Todd in front of the pretzel tree.
The boys loved watching the birds nibble on the pretzels.
J, B and I in Leavenworth village with the beautiful mountains behind.
After looking around the village for awhile we went back and relaxed in our hotel room. Our hotel (Enzian Inn) offered many amenities perfect for families: indoor and outdoor pools and hot tubs, raquetball/basketball court, ping pong tables, free rental of cross country skis, and a free buffet breakfast. The kids enjoyed looking around the hotel and were excited to go swimming later.
Bryson wanted a rock star look (i.e. fauxhawk) but his hair was so long for one!
On our walk back to town to see the Christmas Lighting Ceremony.
Todd and Bryson warming themselves by a fire pit in the middle of the street. Leavenworth closes the streets for this festival and there are many of these pits along the street to warm you up.
Jaden excited to see the lighting festival.
It was extremely crowded but we managed to get a spot where the boys could see the stage (while on our shoulders). These pictures don't do it justice of course how beautiful this Bavarian village looks when lit.

Here we are outside of the shops on our way to get dinner after the lighting ceremony.
Todd and Jaden waiting to be seated at a German restaurant in the village.
Todd ordered the BIG beer mug, and got to keep the mug!
Bryson and I at dinner, the food was so good!
After dinner we walked over to a sledding hill to watch the kids sled (we left our sled at the hotel). We admired the lights some more and then walked back to our hotel to take the kids in the pool.

After going in the indoor pool and the indoor and outdoor hot tubs, I gave the boys something that I usually only give them on Christmas Eve every year. Christmas jammies! The boys were so excited about them, they were so happy that they got slippers too! Here is Jaden pretending that he is a candy cane because of his red striped pajamas.
Bryson's the green and white candy cane!
My Christmas candy cane boys.
I bought Todd and I matching Christmas pajamas this year too:)
Before bedtime we snuggled in bed and watched The Night Before Christmas on DVD.
Jaden at breakfast the next morning, we let them go in their jammies.
I was very impressed by the delicious selection of food that they offer and the view from the top floor is beautiful (although it was foggy this morning).
Here is the owner and builder of the Enzian Inn blowing the alphorn which he does twice every morning. He climbed up and stood on the railing of the balcony and I have to admit that I was a bit nervous that he would fall!
A video of the alphorn, Bryson was reassuring himself that he wasn't going to fall. . . Jaden was really nervous that the guy would fall off too!


(also what video would be complete without J touching B causing him to scream at the end;)
A cute picture of Jaden in the lobby right before we left.

A cute thing that Bryson started saying on this trip was calling out hotel a "show 'n tell". He continues to say how much he loved staying in the show 'n tell with the pool and hot tubs.

Santa Claus

On Sunday the 13th we were invited to a wonderful Santa brunch at the Boyer's. The kids had fun playing and eating delicious food and the adults got a chance to chat, which is always nice. Bryson and Aiden
The children were so excited to see Santa arrive!
Jaden told Santa what he wanted for Christmas (Toy Story Mania for the Wii).
Bryson wants "the same video game player as Jaden" (i.e. a Leapster)

Amy, Jackson and Brody with Santa
Bryson opening up his gift bag from Santa.
All of the kids with Santa.
Jaden and Laurel
Bryson and Evan
fish face!
A few days later I took the boys downtown in the morning to see Santa (took Jaden out of school). It was the smallest line I had seen at Nordstrom's since we started doing Santa pics there. Much better than last years wait! Jaden passed the 20 minutes of wait time by playing video games on my phone.
Mighty is really into the fish face for the camera!
This is the first year that Todd didn't join us, as he couldn't skip work. We will plan ahead for next year because the weekday mornings are the time to go for sure!
Old St. Nick!
The boys requested the same toys from this Santa too:)




Afterward we walked over to the Sheraton to see the Gingerbread houses (a tradition that began last year for us). This year the theme was Christmas movies. Here Jaden is standing in front of It's a Wonderful Life.
Another view
A Charlie Brown Christmas
The Grinch that Stole Christmas
My favorite by far The Christmas Story was incredible with all the amazing details!

The back side
Jaden and Bryson loved The Polar Express the best. The entire inside of the mountain was decorated as well.
The back of the Muppets Christmas Carol.
Fozzie Bear and Kermit the frog in jelly beans.
The front of the Muppets.

We walked over to do the carousel but the line was extremely long so we went to Macy's to work the window trains. This is one of my favorite holiday memories growing up, I loved to operate these trains where they used to reside at Frederick & Nelson's where we got our Santa pictures every year.
The boys had a blast operating them as well.

Jaden turns 6!

On Friday the 11th I went to Jaden's class for his birthday circle. Here he is carefully carrying the candle to the middle of the circle.
Then he chose a globe.
Here he is going around the sun, 6 times! I made a poster with pictures from each year of his life and talked about my amazing little boy.
Here he is with Mrs. Clark his teacher for the last 3 years about to sing Happy Birthday.
Jaden wanted me to make green frosted cupcakes since that is his favorite color. I also picked him up a Happy Meal from McDonald's for his birthday lunch.
The morning of his actual birthday and birthday party this year!
He had a Lego advent calendar this year which fit right into his birthday theme: LEGO
All decorated and ready for 8 of his buddies to come and celebrate with him.

Lego cakes
I borrowed some buckets of Legos from after school care so that the kids could build some creations.
Treat boxes included a small box of Legos, Lego stickers, and Lego candy.
Party time! Braden, Jaden and Lewis
Laurel and Kailee
The kids gathering around for the scavenger hunt.
I bought a Lego Mosaic kit and put different pieces in 7 bags with hints as to where to find the next bag. The kids had to put the pieces on before finding the next pieces.


Taking turns to put on the pieces.
Here is the finished product a helicopter.
Make a wish baby.
Bryson enjoyed the sweets of course! I found a great idea to put scoops of ice cream in muffin cups ahead of time so that when it was cake time we could quickly pass out the ice cream. It worked great!

The silly birthday boy!
The brave girls at the party:)
Present time


After present time we took the kids out back to play and then the party was over. We had a family party planned for the evening though. Bryson especially enjoyed this pin print that Jaden got.
I helped Jaden put together some new Lego ships.

Opening more presents from family.
Jaden loved this car from his Uncle Aaron.
Happy birthday sweet boy. I hope all your wishes come true!

Happy 6th Birthday Claire

We are a little late in mailing a present to you, but wanted to give you a gift of an old-school video of you and Jaden dancing in your diapers:)

Hope you have a very Happy 6th Birthday Claire!

Griswold's Emery's Christmas Vacation Tree

We went off in search of our Christmas tree the first Saturday in December. Like last year we bought a $10 permit from the Forest Service and went to cut down our tree the old fashioned way. Unlike last year it was not raining and there was a ton of snow (much better conditions than the rain and mud from last year). We even drove a little higher up the mountain to find the perfect tree. The boys were excited to play in the snow and find our tree.

Todd brought a chain saw this year!



We walked through the snow (which was perfect because it was well compacted and we all stayed on top of it-instead of sinking into it) up and down hills in search of our "perfect" tree. There were some areas that had a small river exposed where we had to jump over. It was incredibly beautiful up there!

J had a blast running and sliding in the snow!
After about 45 minutes we finally agreed on a tree that we all liked, so Todd used his man-saw to cut it down.
I took this picture of where we found our tree versus where we left our sled. Can you see the little red dot in the distance?
How about now? I zoomed up on it in this picture.
Bryson is really into closing his eyes in pictures now!
Todd and our tree.


Family picture which doubled as our Christmas card this year.
Bryson watching J sled.

The long walk back, Todd carried our 12+ foot tree. . .
I pulled the boys in the sled.
Only for a little while until Jaden decided he wanted to pull Bryson.



Until next year. . .

A Whistler Thanksgiving part 2

The Friday after Thanksgiving was our big skiing day. We had to have Jaden at the Whistler ski school by 8:30 so we got up pretty early. My brother Aaron snowboarded while Jon, Todd and I skiied. Here's the first picture of the day, Todd and I on a lift going up Blackcomb.

I always marvel at how absolutely gorgeous it is to ski at Whistler. The views are so incredible and the terrain is immense! I stopped often to take pictures. Todd and Aaron Jon I love this picture! It looks as if they are on a cliff! We found that Blackcomb seemed a little icy so we decided to head over to Whistler using the Peak2Peak gondola. This gondola opened just a couple weeks after we were in Whistler last Thanksgiving. We waited 5 minutes so we could ride in one that has a glass bottom. This gondola is insane with the amazing cable span between Blackcomb and Whistler! The view through the glass bottom. This picture doesn't really do it justice how scary and amazing the ride is! Another Peak2Peak gondola out the window. We found the snow conditions to be much nicer on Whistler. Todd and Jon getting ready to hit the slopes. Me As I was skiing past this I thought this "little lake" looked so serene and pretty with the sun shining down on it. Later that evening after showing the pictures to Erin she asked if it had a wire fence around it, to which I replied yes. Then she informed me it was a sewage pond! Whoops! It still looks serene though;) Later in the day, Todd, Jon and I went on a search to find Jaden and Laurel at their ski lessons (Aaron had stopped boarding earlier). We found the place but couldn't see them. So we were taking off our skis to go get a closer look when Todd's ski started going downhill FAST! He finally caught up to it, and Jon decided to ski down to Todd instead of having Todd walk all the way back up. So I decided to stay and try to find the kiddos on my own. When I found Jaden he said he had to go to the bathroom so bad, apparently he didn't want to ask his teacher:( So I took him in to use the washroom (as they say in Canada). Then he showed me his skiing skills. I saw Laurel too (who was in a different class right next to Jaden). Goofball! I managed to capture a picture with Jaden and Laurel. Notice the red bands around their legs, those are GPS devices so they can keep track of the kids and parent's are also able to go online and type in your child's number to see where they skiied that day. Aaron and Jaden after a long day of skiing/boarding. After we got out I decided to take Bryson out behind the house to play in the snow since he hadn't been outside yet that day. He is sitting on the bank behind our town house in these pictures. He was so happy to be able to get out and play in the snow! We played around on this icy walkway for awhile, he loved slipping and sliding around. Such a poser:) Running and exploring on the golf course. I forgot I had my goggles on from skiing still! We went over by the lake and Bryson was very interested in the beaver cuts in the trees. Too bad we didn't find the dam. Bryson by the lake. On our way back from the lake, Todd took this of us from the back porch. That evening, Erin read to the kids from the Polar Express (just 2 weeks earlier we had all gone to see the movie at the Aquarium for a special showing). My dad relaxed by the fire. On Saturday morning we awoke to the snow softly falling. We all decided to just hang around the house most of the day and let the kids play outside. Jaden and Laurel added to their snowfort. Showing off their muscles. Ninja Todd also went outside to play. He showed off some crazy ninja moves! The kids hiding from a ninja snowball. Except for Evan who wasn't afraid of Ninja Todd! Ninja Todd, Jon and I took the kids down to the golf course for some more fun in the snow. Erin and her baby bump:) Erin and her mini-me Laurel. Erin and Jon That evening we took the kids into the village to explore. The piles of snow throughout the village were huge in comparison to last year. Nana, the boys and Grandpa Albert Had to get a picture of the boys in their matching outfits before hot tub time. All the kids in jammies on our last night in Whistler. I got a lot of these types of pictures as it wasn't easy to get them to stay still and smile! Then it was Bryson's bedtime. Mommy and Daddy gave him some extra snuggles and captured some goofy pictures. Todd took this picture of the boys and I on Sunday right before we headed back home. Another fun trip to Whistler, I hope it's a Thanksgiving tradition we continue for awhile.

Here are a couple videos of Jaden skiing and a snowball fight.

A Whistler Thanksgiving part 1

We left town early Wednesday morning to head up north of the border to Whistler, BC.
The boys were entertained with DVD's
and Leapsters so the drive went relatively quickly.
We arrived at our rental house by early afternoon and the kids had a blast running throughout. My parents, brother and our neighbors joined us this year in Whistler. It is becoming a new Thanksgiving tradition of ours to go there for the long weekend. Here's Bryson and Evan playing with toys in the living room.
Todd and Jon apparently wanted to match, lol!
Erin and I were downstairs chatting and soon realized that all of the men had escaped somewhere. . . we found them upstairs on the deck enjoying beers in the hot tub!
The next day (Thanksgiving) we drove into the village to look around and make sure Jaden was properly signed up for his ski lessons for Friday. They had record-breaking snowfall this November so there was snow all the way down to the village (it wasn't like that last year). The kids had fun playing on the icy snow.




Jaden loved climbing the tall snow mounds in the village as well.
My handsome boy:)
My little handsome boy:)

Bryson wondering how Jaden was going to get down! Bryson is definitely more cautious than Jaden is.
After we got back to the house and put Bryson down for a nap, I got Jaden all bundled up so that he could play in the backyard with Laurel. Our back deck had a small yard, but beyond that and below a small bank there was a huge area that is a golf course in the summer which also surrounds a beautiful lake. The view was absolutely breathtaking!
Laurel and Jaden
They built a small snowfort and then had a rowdy snowball fight with Todd and Jon.

Todd and Jaden
Jaden and I

Todd and I took Jaden down to the golf course to explore.


Todd and Jaden with the townhouse behind them.
The gorgeous mountain view from the golf course.
Jaden with the lake behind him.

We saw a lot of beaver damage to the trees by the lake, but never found a beaver dam.
Todd and J running back to the town house.
Bryson and I on Thanksgiving (with his Husky that he loves so much).
Dinner time! We enjoyed a delicious array of Thanksgiving food: a turkey, stuffing and gravy made by the Piegari's, my dad made mashed potatoes, my mom made a fruit salad, I contributed green bean casserole, cranberry and apple pies, and my brother made a lemon broccoli dish. Yum!



The whole gang (except for me).
After dinner the kids listened to stories read to them by the fire watched my brother play games on his iphone, just like the olden days;)
My dad was in a post-turkey coma.
Until Bryson came and woke him up. They had fun snuggling together.

Part 2 coming next.