No dog for Christmas

Apparently Santa couldn't find the "perfect" chocolate or yellow lab to put under our Christmas tree. A lot of things didn't turn out as planned this holiday season and I blame the snow. Tadj estimated the depth of the snow to be 16 inches but all I know is that it was a lot more than we are used to. One boring snow day we decided to take the kids sledding down the big hill by our house.

The next picture shows the hill. Our street is about 2/3 of the way up so when we leave to go anywhere it is either up or down. This made venturing out very difficult since neither of our cars are four wheel drive. And I'm not even sure that would have helped on the ice.

Kendall was allowed to steer the sled on her own. Frightening!

Hayden loved the thrill of sledding which worries me a little.

We had to build the traditional snowman although he is a little pathetic looking in the face.

We couldn't make it to the family Gingerbread house-making party/competition so we made them at home. Here are the masterpieces.

Fortunately, we did almost all of our shopping before the snow storm hit. Christmas day will be remembered as the one where Kendall wanted to help everyone open their gifts. Here she is helping Hayden.

And now for the worst gift choice we made this year. Every time we go to Costco she wants to play with the Barbie cash register. I told her she wouldn't be getting it for Christmas which was true at the time. Then I changed my mind. It went on sale and I just had to buy it. I am such a sucker. This gift makes the BIGGEST mess so if you are contemplating buying it: Don't.

Here is Kendall making cupcakes with her new cupcake maker from her cousin, Nicholas. Thanks Nick (and Jill)!


Being stuck in doors you start to do crazy things. Tadj took it upon himself to paint Kendall's fingernails. It may be hard to see but the nail polish is on the left and the wand is in his hand. He was trying to hide it for the picture. But seriously, what a good dad!

Pictures with the "real" Santa

Since we are stuck inside today because of the snow I get the chance to catch up on my blog. This is the last one for today. Yesterday we made the trek to Bellevue to see Santa Claus. We have gone to see the same Santa since Hayden was just a few months old. This year was no exception but getting to the mall was a nightmare and the wait for Santa was over an hour. The kids were actually surprisingly patient and well-behaved during this process.


Right here the kids are smiling but as soon as they get on Santa's lap they look frightened. I don't have any pictures of my own because I was just focusing on getting the kids look toward the professional camera. I hope it turns out!

Snow, snow, and more snow

I am hoping this is just our once-a-year snowstorm and things will be back to rain soon. Church is cancelled for the second week in a row. But while we have snow we will definitely be enjoying it! This picture was taken a few days ago. We have A LOT more snow now.

The Nutcracker

This year my mom, Kendall, and I decided to go to the Pacific Northwest Ballet's Nutcracker. After a month of anticipation the day finally arrived last Saturday. We were excited to have Shirley, Hayley and Katrina join us. We decided to make an entire day of it and started the morning with shopping at Pacific Place and Westlake.

After lunch we rode the monorail to Seattle Center for the ballet.

I thought the ballet was magical. There is no other production of the Nutracker like this one in the world. Here are some pics from before the performance. Below Kendall, Hayley, and Katrina.

Hayley and Kendall showing us their ballet moves.


Mom, Kendall, and me.


It was a great day that ended with a small adventure. When we got to the monorail to head back to the mall it was out of service. No one was wearing shoes for walking back so we had to find a bus that would take us back. After waiting in the cold for what seemed like hours, we managed to find one. It was a relief to make it back to the warm mall for more shopping!