Pete turns 5

Pete's Birthday was on Monday.  He

didn't have school that day and Ellie

was out of school for a Teacher In Service 

Day.  So we celebrated his birthday 

on the actual day

 First thing tho...Ellie entered a car

in her Cub Scout Pinewood Derby and won
2nd place out of about 50 entries in grades K-5.

Tiny car (blue) but it has to be a certain 

weight and size

Pete chose to go to Mini Golf for his birthday.

Grammy and Gramps came up from San Diego 

to help celebrate

 'Golf' might mean playing in the water with your putter

They did play all 18 holes tho

 Pete had an audience

Great form

 Pete loves to have his picture taken ... NOT

 as you can see

 Candid shots are best

 but he can be a bit wiggly

  The packing material

always seems to be the biggest hit

What a mess

Pete frosted his cupcakes with Ellie's help

 Then he picked the one he wanted

 Another "Smile for the camera" picture 

 Ellie loves her picture taken and will have 

a lot of pictures of her cute face to remember 

in her later years

Pete ... not so much

Happy 5th Birthday Pete!!

Day in the Snow

Everyone in the Puget Sound Area was supposed

to get some snow.  When we woke up on Monday 

morning this is what we had.  Maybe a half inch.

Not what we were expecting.

 We got up on Wednesday morning and decided to

go over to Brooke's.  She got way more snow

 Wednesday morning sunrise

 So I'll document the trip over to Brooke's

This is Gorst, as you can see clear roads not much snow

on the side of the road

 Tacoma and Mt. Rainier no snow in the forground

 Bellevue, getting some pile up on the sides where 

they must have plowed the road, probably Monday

 Off the freeway heading to Brooke's, slush in the

middle of the road

 And more snow going up the hill

 Check how deep on the side of the road

 Brooke's yard in the front

and the back (a ruler sticking out)

 Brooke took the kids over to the Stormwater

Pond to sled.  We could hear the laughter when

we got out of the car.

 We got our snow boots on and headed over to

join in the fun!!

 Oh ya, the pond has no water in it right now but

it does have a hill that isn't too steep so you get 

tired going up and down with the sled

 Pa tried it too!!

 This is how Ellie hitches a ride on Pete's turn

 Or she just slides down on her rear

 The snow was wetter on Monday so they 

built a snowman then.  It was too dry when

we got there

 so we made snow angels.  This is Ellie Angel 

Then inside to warm up and play.  I don't know

how Ellie managed to get breakfast in bed.

Fun Day!   

Brooke got 10 inches of snow on Monday

night and then another couple inches on Wednesday.

Christmas at Hoem

All the kids and grandkids were home for Christmas

The tree before anyone arrived

 Walt's family got together at Trophy Lake

Golf Club the weekend before Christmas

Brooke and Chris were able to come

 Auntie Amy had a hard 12 hour drive in 

from Sacramento.  Pete liked the bench

 Puzzle Time

 Pa and Pete bonding time

 Claire's favorite pass time

' The Grinch Who Stole Christmas' was 

shown one afternoon

 with popcorn

 Cade and Charlie helped with pies

 All the kiddos helped decorate sugar cookies

 Cade's masterpiece

 then the big kids finished them

 Cade read "The Grinch" and "T'was the

Night Before Christmas" to the Littles

 I don't think Claire was listening

 Christmas morning

 Pete's present to Mommy from preschool

 Quit raining long enough for some outdoor time

 A trip to Poulsbo for some yummy donuts

 They were good weren't they Ellie?

 Sugar overload

Wouldn't be Christmas without our trip to Tony's

for Pizza

Good to have everyone together for Christmas!!

I guess I didn't get any pics of the other 4 guests...

Two dogs and 2 kittens

Amy and family left Saturday for their 12 hour drive home

and

Brooke and family left Sunday for their 1.5 hour drive home

Then it was really quiet!!