COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS - DAY 6 OF 30

Hanging a fresh Christmas wreath on the front door.

COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS - DAY 5 OF 30

Spread some cheer.For family night, we decided to do a random act of kindness. We bought balloons, latex free of course, and headed down to the hospital.

When we got there, we picked a floor and got in the elevator. We found a nurse and asked her if she had any patients that could use a random balloon delivery. She told us to head up to the next floor and gave us a room number.

As we were waiting for the elevator, a man came up to us and said, "Wow, someone is going to get a lot of love!" I thought he was a doctor but he ended up being one of the chaplains. We asked him if he knew of anyone who could use a balloon delivery because we had three more rooms to find. He asked us where we were headed. We told him the room number and he said, "that was the room I was going to tell you to go!"

The nurses on that floor told us other rooms that they thought could use a balloon delivery. One of my favorite deliveries was the last room we went to. The man was asleep, so I tied the balloons to his bed tray. He woke up as we were leaving and was so confused why we were there. He finally said, "Who do you think I am?" I told him, "I have no idea." The confusion was replaced with a smile and a choked up thank you.

It was such a fun and special evening. Definitely one of my favorite family nights.

I COMMISSIONED ARTWORK FROM MY SISTER

and am so excited! Three of the five are done. I won't post the other two until after Christmas because my older boys check this bloggity blog.Landon loves all things Luigi.
Lach wanted to be Superman with laser eyes.
And of course, our cute pup with her heart shaped nose. I'm so excited to get them framed for Christmas.

If you want some original art work for a present, especially for the people on your list who have everything, you should contact my sister and have her create something wonderful.

COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS - DAY 4 OF 30

Bring out our inner Griswold.Right now it's tame, but we still have plenty of time to go overboard. Muah-ha-ha.

COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS - DAY 3 OF 30

Find the perfect Christmas tree.
Usually the cutting down tradition is that the boys start and daddy finishes, but this year Laird had the final saw.
When we got the tree home, we decorated it. But then, we had a Christmas tree stand malfunction and the tree tipped over. Luckily, not much harm was done to the tree and ornaments.

We finished the tree off with a train around the base, much to the wee ones delight. I'm still deciding how much I'm really liking that part. It was great the first five minutes though....

COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS - DAY 2 OF 30

Christmas pajamas!And, we have our own Elf On The Shelf.

COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS - DAY 1 OF 30

Black Friday shopping. A combination of hitting stores by myself, with Sarah and Steph, Steve, Dad. I would have seen Mike also, but the store he was in was just to crazy.

Worst store of the Black Friday experience is hands down, Walmart. Best experience, Target and lots of fun at stores in between.

Black Friday = People watching galore

PS - I know the photo is blurry but it's the only one with us as a group.

NINE ADULTS, TWO TEENAGERS, FOUR WEE ONES, TWO PUPPIES,

lots of food, chitty-chat, laughter and fun, makes for one awesome Thanksgiving.Grandma Joan had a fun activity for the kids. They made their own ice cream in baggies and were able to ate it with their pumpkin pie - super fun.
The pups ran around in circles, we lounged, the boys played and we all left with the fullest of bellies. But isn't that what's supposed to happen on Thanksgiving?

PS - I tried fake meat for the first time, courtesy of my mother-in-law. It was yummy.

HAVE A HAPPY THANKSGIVING

I am thankful and grateful for so many things. In good times and in times of adversity, I know my life is blessed.

One of my favorite quotes -

"Gratitude is deeper than thanks. Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may merely consist of words. Gratitude is shown in acts."

- David O. McKay

My wish is that you have a wonderful day with your family and friends. Chew slowly, count your blessings and enjoy your day.

NO SHAVE NOVEMBER ONLY

has eight more days.Not that I'm counting or anything.

PS - Someone might be really grey.

I HAD A CRAFTING DATE WITH MY WEE ONES

this afternoon.We made turkeys for a snack and they were gobbled right up.

A FAMILY BIRTHDAY PARTY

with a lemon cake, vanilla ice cream, blowers, balloons and presents for our sixteen year old.His grandparents bought him a shiny yellow car for his birthday! It might be a matchbox car, but hey, it's a car, right?

WE HAVE A 16 YEAR OLD!

Larry J is an awesome son, a great older brother and I can't believe he is sixteen. Wow, time flies. He is kind, loving and funny. He loves typical teenager things, like, cars, music, movies and computer games. I love his sense of humor. I love that he admires his father. I love his smile and I love the man he is becoming.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LARRY J!

WE LOVE YOU!!!

I'VE FOUND ANOTHER WISHLIST ITEM AND IT IS SO COOL!

Have you seen the Jetlev Flyer?Larry and I were watching Tech Toys 360 and when we saw this, we couldn't help but say humina, humina, humina. Doesn't it look like so much fun!?

IT'S A WONDERFUL DAY TO

celebrate Erica's birthday.Erica is beautiful, fun, loving, spiritual, caring and kind, intelligent, thoughtful, interesting and interested, uber talented, sweet and has a great laugh.
There are many people I want to be when I grow up and Erica is one of them.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERICA!
WE LOVE YOU!!

WHOEVER INVENTED THE CLAW

is a genius.We winterized our yard this weekend and I borrowed the claw from our neighbor. Best invention ever for the garden. We tackled our weeds at warp speed and my flower beds have nice loose soil. It is officially on my Christmas wish list.

LARRY GOT THE REWARD FOR THE FUNNIEST FIND

this weekend.I thought it was hilarious!

BEFORE WE SAID GOOD-BYE TO STEVE, WE STOPPED

for lunch at the Shire Cafe in Arlington.It is a very interesting place. It is an 110 year old Methodist church that had been abandoned and neglected. Now is used for a yummy cafe, tattoo and piercing studio, hair salon, gaming, music and live events. Only 5 minutes off the freeway, it was a great way to end the weekend.

EATING IN ANACORTES

was a delicious adventure. I thought I would have problems finding morsels for myself, but it was no problem whatsoever.The first night we ate at Hong Kong Gardens and the chef was kind enough to make me a vegan entree.
Our second night we ate at Adrift. This was hands down, our favorite restaurant of the weekend. They use local food and have a killer menu. Once again, I was able to get a vegan creation for dinner and it was amazing. Cinnamon black beans, mango salsa, salad combo - unbelievably delicious. Larry loved his dinner too and will be recreating his Skagit Burger for our man clan.

We didn't know we needed a reservation, so we ate at the bar and watched the chefs cook. For me, that was one of the best things about our evening.
When you plan a trip to Anacortes, definitely put Adrift on your list. Your taste buds will thank you.

ANACORTES

I've found another place I'd love to live - Anacortes, Washington. It is a beautiful, small, friendly town and we had the perfect weekend; crisp fall air and lots of sunshine.
Saturday, Larry and I had a whale watching date with Stephanie and Island Adventures. It was an amazing experience and we saw so many Orcas. They showed off for us and it was incredible. From the captain to the boat to the whales, it was an A+ outing.At first we thought maybe we wouldn't see whales, but ten minutes before the captain was going to turn the boat around, we ran into all three pods of the Southern Resident Orca Killer Whales. I've never experienced anything like it.

PS - We may have seen an amorous whale.

PPS - Most of the photos were taken by Larry. I may have gotten sea sick in the middle of the expedition.

YAYA

We had the yummiest dinner at Yayas. We always do, lucky us.Happy bellies, smiles and aching cheeks from laughter, what an awesome way to spend an evening.