New Years Eve Weekend at the Cabin

Fireworks

Fireworks

Ready to play out in the snow

The cabin

Happy 50th Birthday!

Steve and Paul

Steve and Madeline

Three Amigos

Kyla and Papa

Steve and Jesse

Mexican Night

Hanging out

Ready to Party!

Genevieve and Kyla with Louie



We went to the cabin in Petersville for New Years Eve and Steve's Birthday once again this year. We had a lot of new snow and the temeperature was around 30 degrees the entire time, so we were actually able to play outside a lot. Kyla had a great time snowmachining, sledding and making snow angels. Jon got to go on a longer snowmachine ride and test out the snowmachine that he is buying. The night before New Years Eve we let some fireworks off down on the lake and had a good little firework show.

New Years Eve we went over to my parents friends cabin for a Mexican themed dinner and 50th birthday party for my stepdad. Kyla had a lot of fun playing with their grandkids Genevive and Madeline and chasing around a little toy poodle. They played outside jumping off the deck into the snow and making snow forts. Unfortunately Kyla had just come down with a cold and was so unhappy and tired by 9:00 that we could not make it to the fireworks at the lodge that were at 10:00 p.m. Jon and I stayed at the cabin and watched the fireworks from out the window and I was asleep before midnight.

Our Trip to Seattle

Dress up with Rory and Lauren

Snow at Pacific Place Mall

Pretty Girl

Kyla and Mommy waiting to see Santa

Kyla and Graham on the horse carousel

Rory, Kyla and Graham riding the carousel

Mommy and Kyla at the Teddy Bear Suite

Lauren and Grandma enjoying the downtown Christmas festivities

Rory, Griffin, Graham and Kyla in Santa's Sleigh at the Village

Rory, Griffin and Graham playing with Kyla at the playground at the Village

Kyla and Rory having fun on the slide

Kyla had a great time playing with her cousins in these squiting frogs until she got squirted directly in her face

Pretty Girls!

Kyla and Rory in front of Shannon and Brads Tree

Kyla, Rory and Graham

Kyla and Rory by the tree

Playing Legos with Rory, Lauren and Griffin

Kyla with her special crown that Lauren made for her

Snow at the Pacific Place Mall

Kyla and Rory at the Teddy Bear Suite

Kyla and her Cousins at the teddy bear suite

Gingerbread houses

Gingerbread houses

Gingerbread houses

Admiring the gingerbread houses

Lauren, Jacob, Griffin and Graham

Checking Santa's List

Lauren, Rory and Kyla

The kids by the tree at the Fairmont Hotel

Looking at the Nutcracker

They loved the Giant Teddy bear at the Fairmont

The Girls decorating sugar cookies

Yummy Cookies!

Checking out the lights at Candy Cane Lane

Mommy, Daddy and Kyla enjoying Christmas in Seattle

Candy Cane Lane

Kyla and the Grinch

Kyla watching the elves check their list

Toy Shop house on candy cane lane

penguin and seal on candy cane lane

the house and street so nice for Christmas]

We had a really great trip to Seattle and were so happy to celebrate both Christmas and Jon's Birthday while there. We were able to spend a lot of time with all of Jon's family and enjoyed it so much. The first day we were there we spent the day shopping and visiting with Shannon, Rory, Griffin and Graham. The kids were all so excited to see Kyla and they had so much fun playing together. We went to the village to finish up our Christmas shopping. We spent awhile in Pottery Barn kids and Kyla had so much fun playing with everything in the store, I wish I could have bought one of everything in there, they had such adorable stuff. That night we went to a Christmas Ornament Party with Mary and Brian that Mary and her friends have each year. Kyla had a good time playing with all the kids at the party. When we arrived she cried because she did not want to go in and at the end she was crying because she didn't want to leave.

The following day we had a big day. Rory came over to play with Kyla during the day and then in the evening we went downtown with Shannon and Brad and their kids, David and Lisa and their kids, and Grandma and Grandad. Downtown we went to the Gingerbread houses at the Sheraton Hotel, the Teddy Bear Suite at the Fairmonte Hotel, the Carousel, got pictures with Santa and then to watch it snow in the Pacific Place Mall, followed by dinner. It was a really fun day and we were so happy to be in Seattle for all of the Christmas Festivities. Kyla thought that everything was so neat and just had the best time with all of her cousins.

The next day all of the kids came over to Mary and Brian's house and the kids just played all day long. They had fun playing Lego's, coloring, watching movies, decorating Christmas cookies and just playing. In the evening Jon, Kyla and I went over to visit with his best friend and his parents. They are great candy makers and have the original recipe for almond roca and some other great candies, so we all ate a ton of chocolates, truffles and all other kinds of candies as well as got boxes of candy to take home. We had a really good time visiting with them and I think Kyla probably had 10 chocolate candies by the time we left!

Christmas Eve we went over to David and Lisa's house for lunch and for all of the kids to play together. Then in the evening we celebrated Christmas and had a great dinner. Christmas Day was also a great day with family. The day after Christmas we went to Tacoma for another Christmas celebration with Mary's sister and brothers and their families. It was a lot of fun to visit with Jon's family that we do not see as often. Are last full day in Seattle was Jon's birthday and we went to the village to do a little more shopping, exchanging a couple of presents and then in the evening we went to Jon's favorite restaurant Ray's for some great seafood.

Kyla was a very big girl on vacation and did so well with her potty training. She has been rally good about wearing underwear, but has occasional accidents. But, on vacation she never had an accident and only had wet pull ups some mornings when she woke up. We were so proud of her to go potty in all of the new unfamiliar places. She was already doing good, but I think being around all the big kids made her want to be big too and pushed her to the next step in potty training!

We had such a great trip and were so happy that we went to Seattle to celebrate Christmas. Our plan is to go to Seattle every other year for Christmas and on the off years go for Thanksgiving. We really enjoyed spending so much time with family and Kyla had a blast and was so happy to play with her cousins and visit so much with Grandma and Grandad