A Hunting Will We Go

Today we drove up the mountain with the Golbeks and another family to go find the perfect Christmas tree. It was definitely a Griswold experience from start to finish.

The start of the trip started off nicely enough. Maggie was excited to ride in her "boat", and despite the temperature (about 23 degrees), it was a beautiful day.

As the morning progressed, Maggie and Mommy were not so excited to be trudging through the snow. Maggie, who really doesn't weigh enough for the sled, kept falling off. And Mommy, well, let's just say she was done in about 10 minutes.

However, we finally found two trees that were in the running for our perfect tree. Maggie was happy to get out of her sled and help Daddy shake the snow off the trees.

Here's Mark, the Master Tree Hunter, cutting down our little ol' tree.

Of course, we have the smallest vehicle there, and the biggest tree. The guys couldn't stop laughing as they attempted to tie the tree to the top of our van.

Here, the finished product. We definitely received some stares driving back down the highway into town.

Maggie was a little tired, it was already an hour past her nap time. This picture was taken at 2:08 pm.

This picture was taken at 2:16 pm. She was so tired, I guess that's what good fresh air will do to you!

Back at home, Mark untied the tree and got out the measuring tape. Our little ol' tree measured over 15 and half feet tall!! We knew it was big, but didn't think it was quite that big. Our ceilings are 11 and half feet tall, so we had to cut over 5 feet off of the tree. We got busy putting lights on it, so that Maggie will have a beautiful Christmas tree to wake up to tomorrow.

Here is the final product, sans ornaments.

First Sled Ride!

After church on Sunday, we went with some friends to Scott and Jesse's house to do some sledding. Now, for our California readers, our sledding may be a bit different than what you would think. Here in Yakima, we do things a bit different.

Check out Maggie's first sled ride!

Maggie loved it!! She got so upset any time we would stop the "tractor" and she would have to get off of her "boat."

Maggie and Avarie had a great time sledding together!!

After sledding for a awhile in the very cold snow, we would go inside Scott's shop for a bit to get warmed up by the wood stove.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great Thanksgiving dinner with our friends, Scott and Jesse and their kids, Regan and Cade. Scott smoked the turkey, which I have to say, was probably the BEST turkey I have ever tasted!! After dinner, we went to their neighbor's house to take some pictures of our family in front of a beautiful waterfall. Because of the shadows, we will probably do them again for our Christmas cards. It was definitely a beautiful day! It didn't get warmer than 34 degrees outside, but it was sure pretty out!

How'd she do that?

Sometimes, the house gets very quiet, and all of a sudden we wonder, "Where did Maggie go?" Well, this would be where. Maggie's special corner. How she got there is still a mystery. I think it's time to clear out some toys, though!

Super Charger!

My mom and dad brought this really cute Charger outfit for Maggie over the summer. She wore it one Sunday to church...I know, sweats to church...not the greatest thing she could've worn. But!! The Chargers beat the Colts that night!!! Hmmm....coincidence? I think not.

Maggie's 2nd Birthday

Well, it's hard to believe, but Maggie turned 2 on November 3rd. We had a little impromtu birthday party for her with some friends. We had a great time, and were happy to share her birthday with our friends. Here are the kiddos enjoying their "octopus" hot dogs.

If you are a parent and don't know about the AquaDoodle, you are definitely missing out! This has got to be the best invention, EVER! This paper reacts to the "magic" pen, which is filled with water. Maggie loves being able to draw over and over on the paper. Once the "ink" is dry, she gets to start all over again! What a great birthday gift!

Weekend Away

We spent this past weekend at Matt, Tara & Camden's house. We had a great time. It is a lot of fun to see the two kiddos play together. It took a little bit to warm up to each other, but once they realized that neither one was going to harm the other (at least intentionally...) they had a great time chasing each other around, jumping on pillows and yelling for each other from opposite sides of the house.

Balloons AND Chuck E Cheese!!!

Tara and I took some time for ourselves and spent the morning at the mall by their house. On our way out, we picked up some balloons for the kids. They were VERY excited! Unfortunately, they didn't last too well through the night. It didn't slow Camden down from having a great time with them. Best $2.00 I've spent by far!

We also thought, that since the kids were having such a good time with each other, that we should take them to Chuck E Cheese. Maggie, who has never been there before and doesn't know anything about it, was very excited and kept asking for it when we were't getting there fast enough!

Here's Maggie whacking a buzzer-type thing that tests how strong you are. She was so strong, she earned TEN TICKETS!! (...and only had a little help from mom.) :)

Maggie really liked this "ride" that took her up in the air, and around the clock.

Maggie and Camden had a great time eating dinner at the little picnic table. Maggie especially did, because there just happened to be a plate of more chicken nuggets sitting across from her when she was finished with hers.

Grandma and Grandad Came To Visit!!

My mom and dad came to visit us from San Diego. We all went to Seattle for the weekend. My mom had never been before, and my dad had not been there since the World's Fair years ago. My mom's only request was to "see the people throwing fish." So that's what we did. We had a great lunch at Ivar's on the pier and then walked up to the (very crowded) Pike's Place Market to see the infamous fish throwers. We also wanted to go see the Space Needle and tried to get on the Monorail that would take us there. However, the Monorail line was very long, so after thinking it over, we decided the Space Needle would be there for a long time and nixed that plan.

We headed for the hotel where we ordered pizza, watched tv and tried to get Maggie to fall asleep in a strange place. SOME people in our family had trouble with Maggie having to cry herself to sleep, so I got to lay with her in the bed until she crashed. (This seems to be a pattern lately. The next day we came home through Mt. Rainier. The drive was beautiful. I'm sure the mountain was, but unfortunately, there was too much fog and we couldn't see it.

I was very glad that Maggie got a chance to visit with her Grandma and Grandad. She was a little apprehensive at first, but warmed up pretty quickly. Hopefully, we'll get to see them again soon!

Whidbey Island

We took a vacation with Matt, Tara and Camden this year to Whidbey Island, WA. We shared a house with them at Fort Casey.

The first day there, Mark took Maggie down to the beach to play in the sand. I was very tired and took a nap and missed out on the fun, but got to see the pictures later.

Maggie Loves Her Boots!! (And Camden's, Too!)

The first morning there, Maggie was up bright and early. To avoid waking everyone up in the house (no small feat), we put on our jackets and went outside to watch the deer. And to play on the steps. Over and over again. Anyways, once we were back inside, Maggie found Camden's boots and put them on. We think the kids like their boots so much because they are able to put them on themselves. And take them off. And put them on and take them off. And put them on and...well, I'm sure you get the picture.

There was also a pool where we were, so Mark and Matt took the kids for a swim. Maggie looked too cute in this giddup, and we just had to take a picture. As you can tell from both pictures, Maggie absolutely hates having her picture taken. :)

A Mother's Wish

Some mothers wish for their daughters to do well in school, make good choices in life, marry someone nice...etc, etc. My wish for my daughter is that she will never, ever, ever be able to fit into my shoes. Okay, maybe some of the other things, too, but definitely the shoe thing. Definitely.

Camping With Maggie

We decided to go camping for Mark's birthday this year. We went with our good friends, Tim and Tyffany and their kids, TJ and Avarie. Some other friends came up on Saturday and spent the day with us, but our two families were the only ones brave (or silly) enough to stay the night with our kids.

After spending most of the afternoon screaming, Maggie finally passed out in our tent. The other times she needed to sleep, Mark and I had to lay down with her and pretend to sleep, just to get her to do the same. How exhausting!! There went any hope of staying up with our friends to play games....oh well. Maybe next year, but then again...maybe we'll just get a sitter.

This is a picture of all of us that went to Lake Tipsu (?) just outside of Mt. Rainier. It was a beautiful day for a hike and the older kids got to play in the snow (yes, snow in July!!).

Time Goes So Fast!

Mark and I were just talking about how much Maggie has changed over the last year. It's hard to imagine that the little girl in both of these pictures are one and the same! The top picture was taken a year ago on Mark's birthday, and the bottom was taken just this week. I can't imagine how different she will be next year!

Happy Fourth of July!

Today we went to our friends, Terry and Arlys' house for a July 4th BBQ. We didn't get there until about 3:30 and it still had not hit the high of 100 degrees, yet. It was very warm, but we had a great time.

Maggie loves the water. She reminds me a lot of our nephew, Cameron, when he was this age. Maggie has absolutely NO FEAR when it comes to water.

Spying on Sleeping Beauty

Lately, Mark and I have been spying on Maggie as she falls asleep. We keep her door cracked just a little bit to see how she falls asleep. As you can see from the pictures, there is a lot of "stuff" in her crib. That "stuff" is not there by accident. Maggie has hand-chosen all of the items that get to share her space. As she tries to settle down, she moves each item into a special spot, then nestles down. Not comfy, she starts all over again until each item is perfectly placed. As you can see in the first picture, she sometimes like to sleep with one leg slightly raised.

In the second picture, you can see that she has opted for the all-out sprawl, using Winnie the Pooh as a pillow. Mark and I have tried, on many occasions, to weed out some of the treasures in her crib. Obviously, we lost that battle.

Family Reunion

In June, some of Mark's relatives gathered here in Yakima for a family reunion. Maggie had a good time wandering around, checking out all the people. Mark and I picked up a cool little machine that blows 10,000 bubbles per minute. The little kids enjoyed that a lot! Below is a picture of, well, Maggie's cousin? This is Tracen. Tracen is Mark's cousin's daughter's son. Got it? We'll just say he is Maggie's cousin. He REALLY liked the bubble machine and was sad when we ran out of bubbles.

Trip To Cousin Camden's House

A couple of weekends ago, we went to Matt and Tara's house to visit. This was one of the first times that our nephew, Camden, warmed up to us right away! We were all very excited, especially Maggie, who got to play the fun game of "Thank You" with her cousin. For those of you who don't know what that means, that means that everytime you pick up a toy, you get to give it to Camden, who says (very politely, I might add), "Thank

You."

Ready to Hit the Trails

Maggie and I went to the Golbek's this week for dinner with our small-group friends. Maggie discovered the joys of riding the bouncy horse. I think she might need one of these!!

Maggie and Regan sharing a hug.

"New" Boots

Maggie loves her "new" boots that we bought from Regan at their yard sale. She's making quite the fashion statement, don't you think?

Black Bean Fun

Not having a sandbox yet, we have broken out a bag of black beans for Maggie to play with. She has played with these for hours. Nice (and cheap!) indoor fun!