Festival of Lights

Went to Vancouver, WA this weekend and we sure kept busy.  Saturday morning we were up early to see a movie and Santa at a nearby theatre hosted by the Knights of Columbus which my Uncle Ted is a part of.   We got to see Santa and saw the movie Alvin and the Chipmunks Chipwrecked.   We enjoyed the cute movie though Seth and I spend a lot of the time walking the lobby and halls.   That evening we ventured into Portland, OR to the Festival of Lights held at the Grotto.  The lights were so beautiful.  We loved that they had the story of Jesus's birth playing as your walked through the lights.  The even had a beautiful Nativity displayed.  We also went into the chapel to here some beautiful singing.  There was even a petting zoo with some aggressive goats!   Poor Seth was up most of the night with what we later found out was a double ear infection.  Since Seth did not sleep much he and Daddy slept in on Sunday.  The rest of us headed out to church and then breakfast and Santa after the service again hosted by the Knights of Columbus.   We headed home in the afternoon.  

Our family at the Festival of Lights

My Aunt Rosemarie and Uncle Ted at the Festival of Lights

Happy Birthday Baron!

Happy Birthday Baron.  We had a quite birthday party planned for him one day early since the two big boys had Cub Scouts the night of his birthday.   Our family gift to him was a one year membership to Ancestry.com so he could research his family history.  Baron also received a neat Marine pocket knife from his parents and the three big boys picked out a gift for him from each of them.   I made a cake for him with his requested ingredients.  The cake was one layer vanilla ice cream, one layer yellow cake and coconut pecan frosting.   It was a great birthday for him shared with the family!

cool knife given by his parents

Joshua got him some paper back books

his favorite candy given by Noah

Avatar movie given by Andrew

Ginger Bread Houses

A first for our family.  I decided to pick up Gingerbread house kits for the three older boys this year to make.   It seemed like it would be a fun family activity.   This proved to be more difficult than I expected.  The icing did not set up a quickly as we thought so our houses kept falling apart.   We finally moved this outside even though it was cold.  We hoped the cold would help the icing harden, which it did a bit.   The boys did get them decorated.   We were still having trouble with the roof's staying on so once I got some pictures we let them start eating the houses.   After making this Joshua requested that we make Gingerbread boys ( and other shapes) for Santa's cookies.   It still was a fun activity with lots of laughing but I am not sure we will be doing this again.  

Granny and Pappy Visit

Granny and Pappy come to visit for a week around Thanksgiving.  They arrived the Monday before the holiday.  That Tuesday we went to the mall while the two older boys and Baron were busy with school and work.   Wednesday provided some excitement when Pappy was overcome with illness and we had to call 911 to transport him for a check up at the ER.  All was fine after a few hours.  Noah made it to his preschool Thanksgiving performance that he did such a great job in.   That evening after all the kids were in bed Baron and I got out to a movie.    Thursday was Thanksgiving and we had a wonderful meal made mostly by Baron.  Thankful that he is such a good cook because the meal was wonderful and delicious!   Friday Granny and I were up early to head out for some Black Friday shopping that proved very fruitful for me.  Friday afternoon was spent getting all the Christmas decorations up.  It was so fun to have Ganny and Pappy here to help with this.   Saturday Baron got some one on one time with his parents in Downtown Port Orchard looking at the neat shops and having a yummy lunch.  I took the boys for some much need outside time of bike riding at the school despite the rain.   Sunday Baron, Granny, Pappy, Andrew, and Joshua were up early to catch the ferry over to Seattle to see the Seahawks game.  Baron was part of the open ceremony with the Marines.   We had a great time with Granny and Pappy here visiting and a wonderful Thanksgiving even though Pappy was not feeling his best.   We are so thankful to have them!  

Soccer

Andrew and Joshua played soccer this fall.  They both had a great time and really learned a lot about playing soccer. They both had really great coaches.   The rest of the family really enjoyed going to the games and cheering them on.  We are all so proud of them.  Way to go Andrew and Joshua!

Joshua kicking the ball

Joshua chasing the ball

Andrew getting ready to kick the ball

Andrew got a certificate for the Most Technical Skills from his coach at the end of the season.  Way to go Andrew!

Joshua and his Coach after getting his trophy!  Awesome season Joshua!

2011 USMC Ball

It is that time of year again.  Time to celebrate the Marine Corps Birthday with a Birthday Ball.  This is a special time for Baron and I since we met at the Birthday Ball in 2000.   We had a lovely evening at the event.  We were so thankful to our friend that came and babysat for us so we could go.  Happy Birthday Marines.

Happy Halloween

Time for Trick or Treating!  This year we have Andrew and Joshua as Harry Potter, Noah was Darth Varder minus the mask, and Seth was a little lion.   The three big boys and Dad went out trick or treating while Seth and I stayed home to hand out the candy.  Then they boys get to pick out a few pieces of candy to eat and save.  We leave the rest of the candy out for the "Great Pumpkin" to take and then leave the boys a special toy.  This year the "Great Pumpkin" brought special books for them to work in.