Christmas Tree Adventure

We have had such a great time getting a Christmas Tree pass from the forest service the past few years that we decided to do it again this year. I actually bought 2 passes so we could try to find a smaller tree for the playroom as well. We drove up Snoqualmie Pass to the exit which would take us to the Forest Service road that we have used the past 2 years to find our tree. It was snowing and Todd was very worried that we wouldn't be able to drive on the road, I assured him that it would be fine! We took the exit and got on the road and immediately could tell it was NOT fine. . . the road was covered in snow, and there were many cars and one was even stuck in the ditch. We waited probably 40 minutes while they tried to pull the car out with a truck that just kept sliding on the icy road until finally some 4X4 Jeeps pulled up and wenched themself to a tree and pulled the car out. We immediately got out of there as there was no way that we were going to attempt to drive up those scary forest service roads with that much snow!

We drove back down to North Bend deciding what we should do (I really had my heart set on getting our tree this day). We decided to find a tree farm and found one right next to the forest station so we decided to stop in to see if we could get reimbursed for our Christmas tree tickets, the lady said that there was no refunds but someone in line bought it off of Todd. So now we only had one left, which wasn't bad as they were only $12 each. We drove a 1/4 mile down the road to the tree farm we had found on our phones.

When we got out of the truck the boys immediately found this old truck to climb on.

Then we went on the search for our Christmas tree.


We found a beauty! It looked like a noble fir to me (which is my favorite) so Todd and Jaden cut it down and we carried it off to pay for it. The cool thing is that the teenage guy who looked at it told us that it looked like a cross between a Noble and a Douglas so that we could just pay the cheaper price of $30 for it! Score (the nobles were supposed to be $60)!

This tree farm had hot cider and a fire, so after we paid for our tree we sat down to relax by the fire for awhile.



On our way back home we stopped by the forest service station again and ended up selling our other Christmas tree tag to someone else! We really liked this tree farm and will probably visit again, although I doubt we will end up with the same great deal like we got this time!

Advent Calendar time again! I'm not sure I will continue this type of advent calendar every year for the boys but they really do love it! This year Bryson got the Playmobil Police advent and Jaden got the Lego advent.
The month of December was great for Bryson getting out of bed and dressed quickly (something that he doesn't normally do) just so he could check his advent calendar every day.

Thankful on Thanksgiving

Since we didn't go to Whistler this year we hosted Thanksgiving at our house. Annette went down to visit Rachelle in California so it was just my parents and brother and Todd's grandparents this year. We actually all fit around the dining room table this year without having to pull up a separate table!
Everyone serving themselves with all the wonderful food.
Nana and Jaden
Uncle Aaron and Bryson
Todd helped make the deviled eggs this year since Annette was gone, Bryson loves to lick out the filling!
The boys eating apple pie, Jaden's absolute favorite! Jaden is always my apple pie helper, he loves to peel/core/slice the apples.
This Thanksgiving we are thankful for family and for a new baby boy growing inside of me!

Sledding with Kailee

Day 3 of our snow days, Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, Kailee got to come over and play. The boys were super excited to have her with us! So we all went outside and went sledding again! Jaden and Kailee attempting to pull Bryson up the hill!
Not easy as he is heavy!
Jaden and Kailee sledding down the hill.

Kailee, Bryson and Jaden on Grandpa's bench.
It was so nice to have Kailee come over for the day!

Fun in the snow!!!

Sledding is a MUST in the snow, especially since it doesn't snow very often around Seattle, we must sled when we get the chance. Unless you are 7 1/2 mo. pregnant, then you just watch and photograph and encourage your male offspring! Jaden is finally at the fun age that he loves snow play and sledding (and doesn't whine that he's cold, keeps his mittens/gloves on, etc.). I remember being disappointed when he was younger and didn't really LOVE to play in the snow. Now he does and he loves to sled!
Both boys going down Gramps and Grandma's hill.
Our house, with our Christmas lights and decorations that Todd amazingly put up in early November. The neighbors frozen fountain.
A neighborhood and city view.
Snow days off from school call for some indoor play too! Jaden worked on matching clocks to time and Bryson worked on opposites.
A few snow videos:

First snow of 2010

We were so excited to wake up to see some snow on the Monday morning before Thanksgiving! Especially since we were not going to go to Whistler this year since I was pregnant. It snowed about 2 inches overnight but school wasn't cancelled, so I packed the kids and I up and headed off to school. Then they decided to close the school down at noon as the snow was still coming down fast. I had a physical therapy appointment, but my dad picked the boys up and brought them back to our house.
The boys sliding on our deck in the snow!The view of our backyard (notice the leaves still on the trees):The boys heading down to play in the yard.
I love snow days and playing with the boys in it, snow days were some of my fondest memories as a child!
Jaden going down the slide into the snow!

Pardoned Turkey Assembly

Our school was one of only three schools in the nation to have the Presidential pardoned turkeys come visit. Since we do not have a gym, we all met up at a local community center to have the assembly. During student families the kids made turkey hats, here is Bryson showing off his:
Some of the 4th/5th grade students (my class until baby arrives) sang some songs about turkeys.
We watched a slide-show which got VERY long for the younger kids (and some older ones too, yawn!)

Jaden in his turkey hat.

All of the kids got to walk by the turkeys for a closer look.

The assembly went well and afterwards we staggered groups to catch Metro buses back to school. I helped by watching the kids at the park and Bryson happened to be in the group, so I called him over to me to give me a hug. He started to walk over to me but stopped abruptly and told me that he couldn't leave the woodchips because his teacher said to stay on them! I was about 8 feet away on concrete! I just wish he would listen so well at home:)

Then it was my group's turn to catch the bus, I was with 2 other teachers and about 20 children. The bus came on time and we got on, the front was filled so we started to move towards the back. We were in the articulated part of the bus and I was helping to direct the preschoolers where to sit when the bus took off with a lurch! My big 7 month pregnant body flew back and halfway landed on a seat and a couple kids. I felt so bad to fall on those kids (fortunately they weren't hurt) and also very embarrassed as well! I got up as quickly as I could, but I was in a lot of pain. I had already been having some bad sciatic nerve pain as it was, I didn't need the extra pain of falling on the bus. The articulated area of the bus had no hand rails, so it was an especially bad place to be when the bus took off and in my opinion it shouldn't have left until the preschool children were seated anyway (which would have only taken another minute or so). I got to the school and told my boss, Angela, that I couldn't stay. I went home and called Metro to complain (they never did anything) and also called and made an appointment with a PT.

Jaden's last soccer game and party

The Blue Rockets were undefeated this season (even though we weren't really supposed to keep score, but all the kids and parents did anyway). Jaden had a really good season and definitely enjoys playing soccer. This was the 2nd year this team played together (although Kailee didn't play this year and Luke and Aiden joined the team this year). Here are a few pictures from the last game:



Bryson loves snack time best!
We had a post-season party at Zippy's this year. Here's Jaden with coach Larry.
Jaden showing off his trophy and soccer ball (and August sneaking in with a smile).