26 December 2007
This Christmas we ventured up to White Pass to share the holiday with Jason and the mountain. The condo was right across the street so it made for easy travel to get to the slopes once we were there. We had a bit of all kinds of conditions, starting with rain the first day, but then getting snow.
This picture of the car was only after the first snow fall. There was at least as much snow that fell the second night.
Jason and Julia hit it off, and Jason found a reason to call it a day after a few hours. The girls enjoyed Jason’s company as well as sledding over to the lodge and watching the snowboarders and skiers. There was an attempt at snowman building but the snow was not co-operating.
Julia enjoyed her new lawn mower. We opened the rest of the presents when we got home. Thank you everybody for all the Christmas fun. Kayla really got into tearing open the gifts whereas Julia was still trying to figure out what was going on.
Kayla had so much fun baking cookies first with her daddy and then later with Jason, that she immediately put on one of her new christmas gifts and went about baking cookies while singing. Thanks auntie Susie.
One last photo to share. Jason’s “artsy” photo of us with the reflection of the mountain showing in the window. All in all I believe everyone had a good time.
12 December 2007
Well, we survived the trip to Florida. Don’t get me wrong, the flights weren’t exactly enjoyable, but better than I could have hoped for. I will admit that I am completely wiped out, but it was totally worth the trip.
We were taken to the local nature preserve where we observed an alligator, boar tracks and much Floridian fauna. I got to see many turkey vultures soaring high above wherever we went. Those are amazing soaring birds.
Kayla really loved the beach. She played non stop, building sand castles, going into the water to fill up her bucket, getting muck to make muck pies, and on. I haven’t seen her play this well and focused before. Julia wasn’t as sure of the whole deal and certainly didn’t want to be on the sand. She was cute though and enjoyed the rake and having her feet dunked into the water.
Kayla was also treated by her Oma to her first actual ice cream cone. She has called ice cream an ice cream cone for a long time, but now she knows the difference. She was so focused on eating she forgot to even smile.
We went to the pool everyday and Kayla really liked that. She especially liked her Opa flying her like an airplane. She also progressed from sitting only in the floatation ring to jumping (used loosely) off the wall into her Opa’s arms.
Julia lucked out in terms of her Oma having a musical snowman. She loved the music and she danced to this snowman several times. It was sort of a swaying dance, and that is what she is doing in this photo.
We also went out on the boat one day, saw the lighted boat parade, and explored several playgrounds. The experience certainly is different with kids, but their perspective of fun can be fun for all.
1 December 2007
What else does one do in Seattle when it snows 1 inch? Why go sledding of course! We had a great time sledding at our little local park, and really loved not having to travel over an hour to get to snow. Julia had her first time on the sled, and in the snow, and fared pretty well even after tipping over to do a cold face plant. (Oops, sorry honey). Kayla braved going down by herself after a few Tim led runs, and Julia enjoyed riding with her mommy who let out a hoot and holler or two. The rain washed the snow away later that night, but at least we had a few hours of fun.