Christmas 2014

 

 We found a tree farm on Vashon to cut our own tree.  We even had snow on the day we cut our tree which made it feel even more like the Christmas season.

 Making gingerbread cookies and having hot cocoa is the perfect end to decorating the tree.

 

 We went to a local production of the Nutcracker. It was fun to show them the ballet and then share the Nutcracker video I was in in fourth grade.

 I found a use for that 11 pound bar of chocolate, we made lots of truffles and turtles with it and they were amazing!

 Christmas morning chaos.

 I guess it's no secret that I love chocolate!  Scott went a little overboard when he filled my stocking.

 An intense game of chess.  It was a close match but Avery snuck in at the last minute and won.

 Alia is rocking her 80's outfit that Grandma and Grandpa Davis gave her.

 He was having fun with the teeth and face paint we gave him for Christmas.

 He loves this camera and takes a lot of pictures and makes still frame movies.

 We were able to fly stand-by to Wisconsin to see my family.  It was an awesome gift.  Here the kids are enjoying making a gingerbread house with Cassie.  It's a good thing Avery was around to help Cassie figure out the construction.  They also were able to enjoy this gingerbread train as the one they made at home before we left was eaten by Venus.  She waited until no one was around and ate almost the whole house before we caught her.

 Alia loves coloring and had fun coloring with Bama.

 Which one is Papa?

 Papa wearing the coat we all got him and Mom with her Thirty one gifts bag.

 We even managed to get the dogs in the picture!

On the last day there we were able to meet up with friends from grade school.  I love this group and was so happy to see them all!

Thanksgiving and Grandma Davis's Birthday

 Happy Thanksgiving!

 He always picks the turkey leg.

 She always picks bread with lots of butter.

 We had clear blue, beautiful fall days when Grandma and Grandpa were here.  We were able to enjoy some great hikes.  This one is at Robinson Point where the light house is. 

 The kids loved being able to celebrate Grandma's birthday with her.  Avery spent quite a bit of time preparing a surprise for her.  He created a ninja themed scavenger hunt for her to find her birthday gift complete with a map and ninja traps.  Alia created  a dance party for grandma and decorated her gift.

 She found the treasure!

 Happy Birthday!  At one point Avery trained Alia on how to be the best Ninja and keep Grandma out of the room.  She is showing off her ninja skills here.

Grandma picked chocolate cupcakes for her birthday treat.

Dining Room Table

A few years ago I saw a picture of a coffee table that was made with pallets and had stained glass on the top.  I loved the idea and wanted to have a dining room table with a similar concept.  Last year we sold our dining room set and bought a new one when we moved.  The table was originally an outdoor piece with slats.  Scott filled the slats with wood and caulk so the project could begin.

The kids were pretty patient with the whole process considering that they lost their silverware through the slats daily!

 We ordered many pieces of opaque glass.

The cutting process took 3 days.  Once they were cut we kept moving the pieces around until we were happy with the color combinations.  Once we were happy with where we put the pieces we glued them in and then grouted around them.  The last step was covering the table with epoxy.


It's finally done!

Happy Halloween 2014!

 This year we picked pumpkins at a local pumpkin patch on the Island.

Avery's pick.  He always takes a long time picking his pumpkin because he wants the heaviest and roundest pumpkin he can find.  He was disappointed that he couldn't have the display pumpkins.

Alia picked a white pumpkin.  We had never seen one before.  The pumpkin was a little thicker than the orange pumpkins and the seeds were a little bigger. 

This was the self pay station after picking the pumpkin.  The rooster had a tube connected to him and you would put your money in a tennis ball and send it down the tube.

We carved pumpkins in the rain!  You learn to do everything in the rain during the fall/winter here since it rains almost everyday.

 They both drew pictures on their pumpkins ahead of time and then we helped them carve them out.  Avery drew so many pictures on his that the pumpkin barely held together after I carved it out.  His was funny because all of the sides told a story.


 I loved how Alia drew her scary face and then added the circles around the top.

 Alia was a zebra this year.  Her only request for a costume this year was that she had to wear a tutu.  I didn't really want to do the princess thing so I began a search on amazon for fun tutus and came across this one.  Once I found that I found a tail and ears, and zebra jammies.  She was excited to be a zebra!  The door in the background was her idea too.  She insisted we decorate the whole house this year.  She made so many pumpkin pictures and then asked to decorate the door.

 Avery loves being a ninja and wanted to be one for Halloween. Almost everyday before school he teaches Alia ninja moves and how to be strong.  He had her doing sit ups and pushups the other day! Alia was really excited to be able to dress like her stuffed zebra.

Avery showing off his real ninja skills

 We went trick or treating in downtown Vashon.  They close the downtown area down and all of the businesses hand out candy and decorate their stores.  It was a really fun experience and a great way to see your local businesses and neighbors.

 We ended up with 5 pounds of candy.  Many places were handing out full size candy bars.The best part was that one of our neighbors was handing out fair trade organic chocolate. I had to steal that from the kids.

Birthday Weekend

 

 This year Scott made a pile of chocolate filled with creme for my birthday cake!  It looks terrible but was one of the best tasting cakes he has made.  He made good use of the chocolate he bought off of Amazon.  We also made homemade ice cream again which is always a birthday tradition but this year we went a little over board and got a full gallon of cream.  We ended up with 4 gallons of ice cream!  It was great to have a farm nearby this year where we could buy cream fresh from the cow. 

This was the chocolate he ordered off of Amazon.  That's 11 pounds of solid chocolate!

 

 For my birthday we drove to Port Angeles to enjoy the Hurricane Ridge trail in Olympic National Park.  It was a mile and a half paved trail to the top of Hurricane Hill.  It was the perfect first mountain hike for the kids.  There were some steep switch backs that wore us all out. 

 It was 70 degrees at the bottom of the mountain but it got down to 45 degrees at the top.  We drove up 5,000 feet and climbed 1,000 feet.


  An hour and a half later and we made it to the top!

 She was so proud that she made it to the top.  This was the seat she chose to relax and enjoy the view.

 
Avery chose this seat.

 After the hike we went to The Olympic Game Farm.  This farm has a fascinating history tied closely with Walt Disney and numerous nature films.  The farm was used to film nature movies for Disney and the animals that lived on the farm were in those films.  The animals that are currently at the farm are offspring of past Disney stars or retired stars.  We drove through several acres of farmland feeding the animals wheat bread.  We loved this tour and hope to do it again soon.  The llamas were my favorite.  They had so much personality and were very eager to get a piece of bread.  The one in this picture followed us through most of the park.

 This zebra was awesome!

 This Kodiak bear actually waves to you for a piece of bread. 

 The buffalo were huge and very intimidating. 

I loved sitting in the car and looking out at the plains and the mountains and picturing what it must have been like when the buffalo roamed free.