A fun Christmas!

We had a fun Christmas with both the Recklings and the Folkmans. We spent the night at my parents house, so Emma could have some quiet time on Christmas morning. Heather and her kids are still with us, and we wanted to give them some quiet time of their own at our place. Emma had so much fun on Christmas eve and could hardly sleep. She tried to sneak out a couple of times, while Shane and I were busily putting together her kitchen set. It was our first time we had something to actually put together. Emma almost saw it, but thanks to Grandpa, was swept up and put in bed before she got a good view.






Here are some pictures of Christmas Day with the Recklings.

Emma's Drawing & Letters

We were drawing the other day, and Emma asked me to draw a Christmas tree, which she then colored over.



Then she went and drew her own! I know that this is about the time that kids start doing it, but it is still so fun to see Emma do this type of thing on her own. I'm amazed by her everyday.



She's also started to learn a few letters...Here is her "H" and her "E".




I know that all kids start to do this, but it's so fun to get so excited when she accomplishes something for the first time. It's so fun!

Birthday on Broadway!

My parents gave me tickets to see Seven Brides for Seven Brothers for my birthday. I loved this movie when I was younger, and loved to watch it. My brothers always teased me about it, and said I watched it millions of times, while it was really only a few. Anyway, it was so much fun! My mom went with me, and we had a great time. I saw Les Mis about 10 years ago with Tom when we were both students, but that's the only other broadway show I've seen. This was so fun! I need to remember how fun they are to go to, and save up our movie money to do a show in Seattle instead. I still have never seen Phantom, but Wicked, The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast are all on my list of shows I "want to see".

Thanks Mom & Dad, it was so fun! :)

Friend online

So I just found this online today as I was preparing the Sharing time for our class today. Did you all know that the friend has interactive online activities? Emma loves playing at PBSkids.org, and this is going to be a great Sunday alternative. You can color gospel pictures, and play other gospel games. So cool! I don't know how long it's been there, but it's just great. :)

Here's the link...

A very cold weekend in Leavenworth

We got to spend the weekend with most of my family in Leavenworth. It was so fun, but very cold. It hovered between 1-9 degrees the whole time we were there. We tried to have fun outside, but basically ran from building to building the whole time. The place we go is called the Sleeping Lady, and it has a bunch of little cabins, some lodges to hang out in, and then the most delicious food imaginable. We went last year with Luke and Lindsay, and talked more people into coming this year. It's so fun to go and be away with family and enjoy the snow.

Here are some shots from our little cabin. Emma was obsessed with the ladder to the loft and climbed up there as many chances as she had (under adult supervision). Then Shane started to tell her that there were bugs up there, so she'd be a little more hesitant to climb up. Jake & AJ roomed with us, and it was so fun. They were very patient with our little miss attitude. :) Emma is reading Shane's "Dracula" book here. For the most part, she slept really well and even ate pretty well. She's such a picky eater, I was relieved she enjoyed the food.





We took Emma's little sled and went and found a mini-hill on the resort's property, where she got to sled. She did a great job, and pulled/pushed the sled back up the hill all by herself. She had fun being dragged around in her "snow stroller". It was so COLD! I spent most of the weekend looking like this! Not the most fashion conscious, but it kept me warm!






Tom & Jamie, and Pete & Becca couldn't make it, but everybody else was there!





We then spent some time in downtown Leavenworth. It's this cute little town in the middle of the mountains, that looks like a Bavarian village. There's a little sledding hill for the kids, and then a million shops and yummy restaurants where you can eat all kinds of German food. At lunch we had everything from burgers, to schnitzel and bratwursts. Yum-O!







The rest of the time was spent eating yummy food, relaxing, playing in the snow, and enjoying each others company. Overall a fantastic weekend! We almost got stuck there due to a storm, which honestly, I wouldn't have minded too much. I feel relaxed and ready for Christmas to come!

Finally, a REAL snow day!

The storm came a little late, but wow it came! We had so much fun playing in the snow. And, great news, we ended up getting out of school early for winter break by 3 days. I guess I won't see my students until after Christmas. Oh, well...I'm really not too sad. :)

Shane didn't have to go to work today either, so we decided to test out the 4x4 in the Tahoe, and went exploring. We went over to Shane's parents for a while and played in the snow, and made another gingerbread house with Grandma. It was amazing to see how much snow fell. Here in Issaquah, we had maybe an inch when we left, but in Redmond, they had almost 8 inches! It was beautiful!





We got to the Folkman grandparents, and they have little hills, so Emma got to try out her sled for the first time this year. She had fun, but it was cold so we didn't last outside too long.







Then we went inside, and Grandma Folkman warmed us up with some yummy homemade hot cocoa. Delish...Now we're off to Leavenworth for the weekend with the family, so I'll post lots of pictures of that adventure on Monday when we get back! Less that a week until Christmas! I hope you are all having fun with the preparations where ever you are! Merry Christmas! :) It feels so much more like Christmas with the real snow today. Driving home from Redmond, all the lights under the snow looked magical. All in all, today was a wonderful day!