Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

We played hooky today and played in the snow. We measured the snow this afternoon at five inches, so I'd say we easily got six. I made chicken soup & am happy to have found a use for those little leftover bits on the yummy Costco rotisserie chicken.

Ian loved sledding at the park

Checking out the snow in the back yard

Happy guy

Chuga, chuga, chuga, chuga, chuga, chuga, choo-choo!

We set up an old train set of Chidozie's for Ian to play with. He loved it & Hannah was scared of it.

The story of a tree

For the past three years, we've driven to a tree farm in Kent to choose the Bright Family Christmas Tree. It's always a lot of fun, but this year it wasn't as much.

We headed out when we should have been putting Hannah down for her nap. We should have known better.

I'll start by saying that this is a cash or check establishment, so we got cash on the way. You'd think that $60 would be enough for a nice tree, turns out that with tax, we didn't have enough for anything there except a Douglas Fir, which I hate. So after at least an hour of walking around looking at trees, we get a map, only to find out that we don't have enough cash. So being tired & hungry, we left without a tree deciding to get one at Carpinito Brothers on the way out of Kent. So we stop there, and their tree are only $10 less then the fresh ones. Oh well, it's too late, so I pay for our tree and we head home.

We get home only to find out that the base of the tree is too large for our tree stand. We chip down the edges to make it small enough, only to realize that it's too heavy and it tips over. We're committed at this point to hacking up this tree, so we bust out the clippers and Sawzall& when we were done, there was sawdust and needles everywhere.

This is certainly a day that we'll remember for a long time!

Gobble, gobble

I just wanted to share a few shots of Thanksgiving at the Ho's house.

Grammy

Notice Dem's adorable belly

Cousins

Drawing

I thought I'd share a drawing that Ian did. He has started drawing people, with heads, eyes, and legs, and is gaining confidence. Here is a drawing he did of a boat with people in it and water beneath.

Papa's House

We had a great visit at Papa's house last weekend visiting and cooking.

Shrinky Dink Time

It was lots of fun!

Ian's worm

Hannah's butterfly

Good times!

Sunday Afternoon Stroll

Chidozie & Hannah are in Vancouver for the weekend, so me and Ian had the day to ourselves. Ian decided that he'd like to take a walk around the neighborhood, so here are some shots from along the way.

Big Cup, little cup, Big Cheese

All City Coffee

Chillin'

I just adore this little guy!

Dash Point State Park

We met the Ho's at Dash Point State park for an impromptu lunch which was rained out. Oh well! It was great seeing everyone!

Hannah

Auntie Sue & Abram

Ian still loves rocks

Digging in the dirt. What could be better?

Cousins Ezra, Eli, Miriam, and Abram

Boo!

We had a fun filled day of Halloween festivities. We had a neighborhood party at the City Hall building, followed by trick-or-treating, and ended the evening partying at the Georgetown Castle.Hannah Bee

Neighborhood Party

Notice the Stinger

Hansee

Chi dressed up as a box of wine

Good times with Aunt Dem

We visited Aunt Dem earlier in the week while Scott was out of town. She was nice enough to watch all three kids while I did a couple sales calls, which is great practice for her as she is expecting twins in the Spring.

We did an afternoon trip to the Pumpkin Patch in Hillsboro that had a train ride to the pumpkins and a boat ride back. It was quite a great time for only $4.

Aunt Dem after Mischa took her sucker

Ian "taking a break"

Hannah's an amazing climber & jumper

What a great day!

Goodbye Neighbors

We're so happy to have our fence finished and yard put to bed for the year. Chi worked hard building a fantastic fence and at last it is done. Anyone who has heard about our neighbors understands why the fence had to go up. Next year, we'll strategically place large trees in areas to block them out completely.

Chidozie The Great

Ian not wanting his picture taken

Tearing up the Yard

We spent the entire weekend doing yard work. We rented a sod cutter and tore out about half of our grass, much to Chi's dismay. We created planting beds down the side of the house for my shade loving hydrangeas, and I'm excited to see how they do in their new home. Here are some before, during & after shots.

Visit to Monterey

My Mom, myself, Ian, & Hannah all flew down to Monterey to visit my brother & his family. The visit was so much fun! We went to the beach, the amazing Monterey Aquarium, did a lot of walking around town, and ate yummy food.

We're looking forward to the Hansen Crew's visit to Seattle next year!

My brother Jim

Walk around town

Cousin Katie

The amazing Monterey Bay Aquarium

Nigh-night time

The seals right along the pier

Do the Puyallup

Me & the kids met up with Sara, Elijah, and Imena for a day at the Puyallup Fair. The boys rode the rides, the kids ate a lot of good fair food, and the kids were good and tuckered out by early afternoon.