Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve this year was very low-key and relaxing. The kids and I prepared our traditional sugar cookies for Santa. Which they had lots of fun frosting (and eating).

That evening we met up with Justin’s family for dinner at Ivar’s and to walk around the “Clam Lights.” I didn’t take any pictures of the kids so I’ll have to rely on Justin’s sister for any photo memories. The kids love spending time with their cousins and had a great time. Ivar’s is right along Lake Washington and they have lights along the shoreline as well as on the walkways on the water. As we were heading back to our cars I realized Jason was missing. I knew the likelihood of him falling in the water or getting snatched up by some freakazoid was pretty slim, but it was dark and we quickly became worried. We called out his name and retraced our steps, even other spectators were helping us in our search. Several minutes passed and I saw a small figure running along the pier out on the lake. I don’t understand why he didn’t answer our calls or why he even ran past his Grandpa. It’s the longest we’ve ever misplaced a child before and in one of the scariest circumstances. Thankfully all was well and we’ve learned we need to talk with our kids more about what to do if they ever get lost again.

Once back home we took turns reading the story of Christ’s birth from Luke.

Afterwhich the kids begged and pleaded to open “just one” gift before heading to bed. I couldn’t resist. I grew up opening one gift on Christmas Eve – though it was usually some bizarre gift from my Grandma like a bar of soap. The girls each opened new pajamas and Jason a t-shirt. I know many families open new pajamas on Christmas Eve so I think from here on out I’ll be better prepared with new jammies for each of the kids to open.

The cookies were placed on the counter for Santa along with the notes the kids had written.

Abigail’s reads, “Dear Santa, if you are okay with it, I really want a new ds game for our ds. Maybe even a case to put it in. I know there are many things that I would want that I just can’t think of. Once you think of one I would still like you to give it to me tonight. I hope you like the cookies because I frosted them my self. P.S. Can I have a wii for my whole family? It would be lots of fun :) Write back quickly (with your signature)! Please!”

Jason’s reads, “ Dear Santa, I want a train that circles around the tree.”

Carly’s reads, “Dear Santa, I hope you know what I want Santa. If you are okay then I would want a cotton candy maker. But if you can’t I would love to have lots of candy! You probably know that but I was just making sure.”

Our tree was a little sparse on the decorations this year (even more than usual). Justin set it up and decorated it with the kids. I didn’t have do any fluffing of the tree this year for which I am very grateful. He only took out one box of decorations and I never got motivated enough to do anymore myself, but I still love it and think it is beautiful.

This year I finally purchased hangers for our stockings. I’ve debated in years past about buying a set and was really close to purchasing a set that spelled out PEACE, but I’m glad I held off and bought something more simple and that works for our growing family.

We told the kids we were having another baby at the beginning of December by hanging seven stockings from the mantel. When they came downstairs they were baffled why there was an extra stocking. Inside the stocking was an ultrasound picture. They were all so excited, though it took Jason a while to understand that it wasn’t a picture of his “baby” sister Katie. And in case you’re wondering Grandma Fletcher made our stockings and hasn’t made one for Katie yet - by next Christmas she has two stockings to finish for our family.

Merry Christmas!

Today was pretty incredible. Once again I find myself completely overwhelmed by the blessings in my life. Mostly because of these four:

They bring PEACE and clarity into my life. Because of them I know what LOVE is and how it feels to be loved. They are my JOY, JOY, JOY!!

We had a wonderful Christmas and hope you did too. There is much to be written and pictures to share, but it will have to wait for another day. I’m (happily) exhausted!

As I mentioned I wasn’t the most thrilled with the picture we used for our card, but it was the best we could put together this year. In case you haven’t heard we’re expecting another little one in June so getting any sort of Christmas card put together was a great accomplishment for me.

Holiday Festivities

Last Tuesday we kept with tradition and visited the Bellevue Botanical Gardens.

The dragon was new this year and has 6,750 lights and it took 200 hours to make.

After the gardens we concluded the evening with our annual visit to Snowflake Lane.

The kids had lots of fun giving high fives to the various characters walking around. Katie was entranced with everything and couldn’t take her eyes off the action even when I asked her to give me a smile.

Saturday was our ward Christmas breakfast where after filling up on pancakes the kids each took a turn sitting on Santa’s lap. Abigail asked for a Wii, though I’m sure she knows she’ll end up with something much more modest. Carly asked Santa for Squinkies which are apparently tiny little figurines that come in little balls (?)

We really don’t talk much about Santa at our house so I think Jason and Katie were ill prepared for their visit with Santa. Jason didn’t have a clue what he wanted for Christmas, but after a little prodding from Santa he told Santa he wanted a train under the Christmas tree. We’ve spent the last two Christmas’ in Utah at my Moms (which is basically any Christmas Jason could remember). She has a really cool train set that goes around her big, beautifully decorated tree and Jason loved watching it go around and around.

Katie was completely indifferent to sitting with Santa. Really I think she would have comfortably sat there holding her candy cane all morning.

Sunday evening was Abigail and Carly’s piano recital. The girls were really excited that Grandpa Fletcher came; an hour and a half of children playing the piano isn’t really his sort of thing. We were able to catch my Mom in Hong Kong on Skype that afternoon and we promised we’d post videos of their performance since she can’t be here to hear them play herself.

Each of the girls played a duet with their teacher as well as a solo arrangement. I was so nervous that my hands were shaking while I tried to videotape Abigail’s performance. She had the most difficult piece of all the students and did an amazing job. It’s hard to believe she’s only started taking lessons last year.

Carly was the only student that had her song memorized – her teacher told her not to even take her piano music with her. I was so proud of my girls.

Today is the last day of school for the girls and we are looking forward to spending more time together as a family during the next two weeks.

Tidbits

Blogging isn’t the only thing I've been slacking on lately – please tell me, I’m not the only person that hasn’t purchased a single Christmas present. I honestly don’t even have a clue what the kids want.

We received our first Christmas card in the mail this week. I LOVE getting Christmas cards, especially ones that include a picture and some sort of family update.

Speaking of Christmas cards. I spent hours last week trying to piece together outfits for our family so we could get an updated family picture. The harsh reality is that my children have very few pieces of decent clothing. Carly didn’t have any long sleeved shirts that weren’t worn, raggedy hand-me-downs. Jason only has one long-sleeved top that didn’t have a large picture donning the entire front. I could go on and on – it was hopeless. Sunday afternoon the kids put on the best I could find – Abigail in a Valentines top she’s outgrown, Jason and Carly in short sleeves and we heading into the freezing cold to get some sort of picture for our holiday cards. Katie was so cold her teeth were chattering so getting her to smile was impossible, but it will have to do.

A few weeks ago we had parent-teacher conferences. I LOVE parent-teacher conferences! It’s like mother’s day except the difference is other people are telling you what a great mother you are. Okay, so maybe they are telling me how awesome my kids are, but I can’t help but take some credit, right? My girls make me look good.

Katie’s hair is getting long enough to do two tiny ponytails in the back. My first attempt (below) was pitiful – I’ve since gotten the hang of pulling back the top and sides as well. But I thought I’d share her cute smile. She is such a happy little girl!

Last night we attended Abigail’s fourth grade musical program. It was short and sweet – only about 30 minutes. Abigail was chosen to be one of the students playing an African drum during one of the songs. The fourth graders also demonstrated their recorder skills. Can you imagine 100 students playing the recorder at the same time?

Miss Katie had her first time out today when she was found scribbling in a library book with a pen.

Am I terrible for being overjoyed that my children choose to stay home on Saturday night and watch a movie instead of attending our local tree lighting celebration? I’m really not meaning to be so bah-humbug-ish. I promise we’ll do something festive soon, maybe even this weekend.

We love wood floors – always have, and likely always will. But we haven’t always had the best luck. Do you remember the floor drama of 2008? (refresher here, here, and here) With our second dishwasher leak (and floor repair) in our new home we are now experiencing the floor drama of 2011.

Thankfully, everything is still under warranty and we hope to be as good as new (again) by the end of the week.

In the last 2 weeks Justin has been allowed (and followed through) with hanging two pictures and our first curtain rod. It’s all about making baby steps…

I leave you with a video clip of Miss Katie dancing a little holiday jig.

Abigail Soccer Wrap-Up

We knew when we moved that one of the hardest things for the girls would be leaving their soccer teams. I know it sounds silly – they are young girls, but we had found awesome coaches for both girls in Auburn. Abigail had played two fall seasons and a spring season with the same coach as well as a basketball season. I doubt we will EVER find another coach as incredible as he was. The girls Abigail played with learned so much that they were undefeated. They played so well together that the games were really enjoyable to watch – they could read each other moves and worked together beautifully. Carly only played one season with her coach, but he had just the right combination of patience and high expectations for his team that Carly improved so much in that one year and had a blast. When we moved we asked around and found teams for the girls to play on. Both worked with wonderful coaches this season, but we greatly missed the level of competition from years past.

Abigail’s soccer season ended just 2 weeks ago. We’d already seen the first snowfall of the year so those last few games were freezing cold. She had a great season and was easily the best player on her team. It was fun to stand on the sidelines and hear other parents compliment your child (not knowing her mother was standing right there), but it was also a hard season to watch. It’s no secret that we are a competitive family so when a 9 or 10 year old scores a goal against her own team and laughs it off – I’m not too forgiving. It’s a weakness, I know. Abigail played her best and shared the ball even when she was better off keeping it to herself. She’s a much better sport than I. Her team actually had a great season and won nearly every game.

Abigail is a strategic player and thinks quickly.

She’s also really fast

Hello where are the other players?

I really did a terrible job taking pictures of Abigail’s games this year. I didn’t even manage to get a decent team picture. Thankfully I was able to pull these last two pictures off the internet.

Way to go Abigail – it was a fun season!

California (Day 7-9 – Friends, Old Town, Mormon Battalion)

We stayed in San Diego a few extra days so we could spend some time with our friends the Gibbs. Years ago they lived on the same block with us in Auburn and have since moved around the world. Thankfully they have visited Washington periodically over the years (Justin and I stayed with them in New Jersey when we visited New York a few years back). They remain great friends and we couldn’t pass up the chance to reconnect.

It was fun to watch these two become fast friends.

There was lots of yummy food (including our fourth trip to Chick-fil-a), Jen even had the girls doing little craft projects, and of course there was game playing including lots of Wii for the kids – Jason and Aubrey were hilarious to watch. They were leaping and bouncing around the room trying to hit the tennis balls. Crazy how big these kids are getting.

On our last day we had a little time in the morning to go to the Mormon Battalion before heading to the airport. Carly wasn’t feeling well and Katie needed a nap so it was just Justin, Abigail, and Jason that ventured out while the rest of us stayed back at the hotel and napped.

Whew, we made it to the end – it was a wonderful, busy vacation, but we had a fabulous time. Lots of fun memories and time with cousins you just can’t get any other way. Thank you Grandma & Grandpa Fletcher for another incredible trip!

California (Day 6 – San Diego Zoo)

I’ve mentioned before about Katie’s reaction to animals – she loves them and gets excited anytime she sees some sort of critter or animal. We knew she’d love the zoo and we were right. The San Diego Zoo is amazing. There is so much to see and the exhibits are great. My one complaint would be all the hills we had to walk to navigate our way through everything. It was an exhausting day – the other half of the family left shortly after lunch while we stayed along with Grandpa to tough it out. It was worth it. The kids had a great time and we were even able to squeeze in a short show after making our way back to the main entrance at the end of the day.

California (Day 5 – SeaWorld)

I was really excited for the kids to experience SeaWorld for the first time. I don’t think there is any way of imagining the things they would see there. Again we lucked out with very little crowds which is great except it also meant that they only did the big shows once or twice a day which made it tough to make sure we were in the right place at the right time.

We saw a funny sea lion show

There was dancing

and jumping involved

The dolphin show was also really neat

and the big act was the Shamu show

There were several really neat exhibits, including the polar bears

and my personal favorite, the beluga whales – I think they are beautiful

There were also several fun rides throughout the park. By far the kids favorite was getting soaked on the Atlantis ride.

California (Day 4 – California Sunshine-ish)

Wednesday was our park free day. After eating breakfast at our motel in Anaheim the kids decided that they wanted to take advantage of the outdoor swimming pool. Keep in mind it’s around 9am and only in the low 60’s (if that), but apparently the cool temperatures won’t keep these kids from Washington from enjoying an opportunity to play in a pool.

After all the kids were cleaned up we loaded up the cars and drove back to San Diego to spend the remainder of our vacation. We spent a few hours at the house we’d rented then decided to head to the beach for the rest of the afternoon.

I thought it was chilly and I didn’t even get in the water, but the kids didn’t seem to notice

Jason and Hannah spent most of their time playing on the beach – in fact I don’t think Jason even got his swimsuit wet

Katie spent most of the afternoon bundled up in a towel on Grandma’s lap

Abigail and Carly were having such a great time playing in the waves that they stayed in the ocean til the sunset and it was time to head back to the house

California (Day 2 & 3 – Disneyland)

It seems we're on the three year schedule with visiting Disneyland.

The Fletcher’s first visited in 2005 with only four grandchildren

In 2008 we had six grandchildren

And now in 2011 we had Miss Katie joining the family

In each of these trips I’ve worried how my then one-year old would handle the long days at Disneyland and each time I’ve been pleasantly surprised with how awesome they each have done. We love Disneyland!

Hallie, Carly, and Abigail in their cute matching shirts

The big change this year is that instead of a four or five day passes we only had two days to cram everything in. That’s tough to do. There wasn’t as much time to return and do some of our favorite rides and we had to forgo seeing many shows or waiting in character lines. We also happened to be visiting on the few days this month that the park was only open from 10am-8pm. We took full advantage of the time we had though.

We spent most of our first day in California Adventure. Carly wasn’t tall enough (and Abigail wasn’t brave enough) in 2005 to ride the Screamer so it was one of the first rides they went on this year. They both ended up loving it and went several times.

Toy Story Mania is my favorite ride (and yes, I skunked everyone). It was the longest line we waited in for both days and was only about 25 minutes – we lucked out with low crowds on both days. So sad that I never made it back to that ride for a second go.

As soon as Jason saw the huge Mickey Mouse Ferris Wheel he knew it was a ride he HAD to go on.

Justin, Carly, Katie, and Jason are sliding around in the blue one (third from the bottom)

Other rides in California Adventure:

I love the look on Jason’s face as he bumps into his cousin Hallie.

Jason was excited to get his picture taken with Mater and Lightening McQueen.

We spent the last few hours of our first Disney day in Tomorrowland in Disneyland.

I was determined on our second day to provide the kids more opportunities to meet characters. We arrived early that day and immediately jumped in line to meet Donald Duck. We waited about 10 minutes and were only 2 people away when it was time for Donald to move on. The only picture we got with him was as he gave Carly a pat on the head as he walked away.

Just as we were about to give up and head to the rides, up walked Goofy. Jason was insistent that we stay back and let the rest of our group go on without us.

Lots of fun rides in Disneyland. The kids went on every ride they were tall enough to go on – which is everything for the girls and Jason was only restricted from Indiana Jones and the Screamer. Jason was super brave and we were so proud of him for being willing to try each and every ride. The kids went on Thunder Mountain Railroad over and over since there was little if any line.

You probably can’t tell, but Carly, Justin, Abigail, Jason, Hallie, Grandma, and Hayden are all on this train

While in Toontown we visited Mickey’s house. Katie gave us her cheesy smile as she lounged on Pluto’s bed.

Katie loved going on all the rides she could. My favorite Disneyland moment with her was watching her on the Dumbo ride. I was riding a few Dumbos behind her and Justin and had the perfect view of her thoroughly enjoying herself. Then she’d turn around a give me a huge smile and wave her little hand. I would have loved to get a picture of that moment to remember forever. Disneyland is magical.

She also enjoyed the classic merry-go-round.

On our first night in Disneyland we watched a great light/water show at California Adventure and the second night Justin, Grandpa, and I took the three youngest kids to the parade while the big kids went on a few final rides.

We were lucky on our way out of the park to catch a quick picture with Minnie.

I love Disneyland! I think it’s one of the most magical places. I’m so grateful my kids could spend a few days there with their cousins and grandparents. We had a great time and are looking forward to returning in 2014 ;)