This Week

This week is chuck full of fun things.  Emily's class had a Valentine's party yesterday at school.  The festivities included cookie decorating, coloring and opening valentines from classmates.  I had the opportunity to sneak away from work to take part in the celebration. 

Today marks the 100th day of school.  Now days they make this a big celebration.  Emily is to bring 100 of something...her choice is fish crackers. 
Thursday is family movie night.  The PTA is sponsoring this event and will be showing Despicable Me.  Emily and I will attend with blanket and pillow in hand.
Friday....no school for Emily!

Emily and Taylor

Yesterday Emily and Taylor spent the whole day together.  According to both girls they are BFF's.  They started the day out at Taylor's house playing outside and ended the day at our house making/decorating cookies.

I Heart You

Dear Chris and Emily,

Happy Valentine's Day.  I heart you all the much and beyond.  Much love and hugs,

Jen and Mommy

Cousins but Like Sisters

It makes me smile to see Emily and Kaitlyn play and interact with each other.  Although they are cousins, sometimes the things they do and say seem like they are siblings.  Here's a couple examples:

-Emily telling Kaitlyn "it's o.k. to go on the big girl potty, you can do it Kaitlyn.  I know you can".
-Kaitlyn asking "where is Emily?"  When I told Emily that Kaitlyn was looking for her it was the classic reply from a sibling "Kaitlyn, what do you want?"
-Emily telling Kaitlyn what to do and how to do it.
-Kaitlyn wanting to do everything Emily does.

Oh how I love these girls!

Uncle Ryan

Last night we celebrated Uncle Ryan and his upcoming birthday on February 16th.  Emily was so excited to host a party for him.  It was great, complete with a nacho bar and ice cream sundaes.  Happy birthday Ryan!  Enjoy your special day.

Balloons

Balloons are a classic toy for kids of all ages.  Here we have a bunch of balloons, two screaming girls and a priceless memory.

The Golden One

Today marks Emily’s ‘golden’ birthday.  You know the big one, the grand one, the golden one.  When she turns 7 years old on the 7^th.  I can't believe my baby is 7 years old.  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMILY!  I hope you have a wonderful and special day.

I love you all the much and beyond!
xoxoxo
Mommy

A Party to Remember

Emily celebrated her birthday yesterday with a party at the bouncy house.  It was packed with fun, family and friends.  It was a party to remember.  She is very blessed to have so many great people in her life.  Thank you to all for making Emily's birthday party a wonderful one.

Guess Who?

We had a special visitor last night.  Can you guess who?

Hint:  He is our favorite nephew and the biggest car fan around.  Yes, it was Luke the little dude.  What a great time we had.  He is talking more and my favorite thing was when he sang the ABC song.  Or maybe it was snuggling with him when he was sleeping.

My Friday Date

I had a great Friday evening.  I had a play date with Kaitlyn.  Just her and me.  I could focus 100% on being the fun aunt.  We played, read books, chased around, had yummy pizza and snuggled.  One highlight, her bedtime routine of reading stories with her in her big girl bed.  I love you little peanut.

Random

Some random things and moments from Wednesday.

• Did you know there is a species of bat called the Wrinkle-Faced bat?  They weight about 1 ounce and are about 2 inches tall.  They are not pretty.  Facts compliments of Emily's library book.
• Remember the book The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats?  I was in Emily's classroom volunteering when Mrs. E, her teacher read this story.  It immediately brought back a childhood memory of reading this book.
• It was sunny after school so Emily wanted to ride her skateboard.  It was peaceful for me to sit outside (bundled up), enjoying the rays and watching Emily's excitement.  She is getting quite brave on her board.
• Chris, Emily and I all piled onto her bottom bunk bed last night and read stories.  Even Peaches wanted to join the fun.  She managed to find a spot right on Chris' chest to lay down!

Who Knew?

That a Costco size package of TP could be so entertaining.  And no I'm not talking about TPing the neighbors house.  As you know there are a zillion rolls of TP in a package that size and it was Emily's job to stock each bathroom.  But before that she came up with some great ideas for play that kept her occupied for over an hour!  She counted them, counted them again by twos and sorted them into piles.  She stacked them.  She made a TP fort.  She set them up like bowling pins and bowled down our hallway.  She made an obstacle course that she raced through.  Even Peaches wanted in on the action by chasing the rolls around.  Who knew?  But what I do know is that I love her imagination. 

A Visit from Stella

Christie, Joey and Stella came for dinner last night.  We had a great visit.  Ms. Stella is so cute and barely a peep from her all night.  Emily loves Stella and she was counting down the hours for her visit.

Dancing

Who said white men can't dance.  The little dude Luke is proving them wrong.  Ignore the poor quality of the video...I must have changed a setting but I'm not sure how to fix it!

Happy Birthday Papa Bike!

January 16th marked Papa Bike's birthday.  We celebrated with the family, had dinner and of course cake.  I hope you enjoyed your day Al!

A Princess Breakfast

Introducing Princess Emily and Princess Taylor.  We attended a princess breakfast this morning.  The girls had a great time.  Singing, dancing and a craft completed the party.

Electric Scooter

Santa brought Emily an electric scooter for Christmas.  With the snow and rain she hasn't been able to try it out.  She finally got a chance to take it for a test run.   She loved it.

A Funny Laugh

Nothing like some good ole family fun with the xBox 360.  First check out my sister's blog here.  Then watch the video. 

Fun With the Girls

For over twenty some years my girlfriends (Chrissy, Karla, Jamee, Jen) and I have a tradition of exchanging Christmas ornaments.  This year we made it an after the New Year event.  On Saturday, we met at Indochine in Tacoma for drinks, dinner and great fun. 

Little Grand Moments

I know that's an oxymoron but it's the same principal as 'dynamite comes in small packages'. This week instead of being bummed about working full time again, I tried to focus on the 'little grand moments' that happen in life.  Here are a few that made a big difference in my week:

• Helping a classroom of first graders with a snowman art project
• Krista greeting me with a wonderful coffee treat from her espresso maker when I dropped Emily off Thursday morning
• Emily stopping me on the sidewalk Friday night to tell me 'Momma, look up at all the stars'
• Hearing Kaitlyn's sweet voice on our answering machine

I'm excited to see what little grand moments come my way this week.

Welcome 2011

The holiday break was wonderful.  But I must say it was good to have Emily start back to school and have our household get back into a routine.  This weekend was spent putting away the holiday decorations and de-cluttering our house.  I still need to sort through some of Emily's toys but I did manage to clean out my clothes closet and donate a hefty bag full of stuff.  Like all prior years, January marks me going to work full-time.  This will be my seventh tax season and it's going to be a good one!

Wrapping Up the Year

Well it's December 31st 2010.  The year is coming to an end.  We are celebrating the new year by staying home and having family over.  We are planning a nacho fest, playing xbox and board games...along with drinking some adult beverages!  It's been a great year.  Filled with lots of memories.  Hello 2011.  We are excited for what this new year will bring.

Good Morning Snow

The scene at our house when I woke up this morning!

Games Galore

For Christmas Emily received a couple games as gifts.  So last night I came home from work and she declared it to be game night.  We played the Storybook game, Scrabble Jr. and Monopoly Jr.  Uncle Ryan would be proud of Emily...she had quite the strategy while playing Monopoly.  I love games and even Peaches got into the action.

Thank You

Thanks to Papa Bike and Grandma Sandy for coming out to watch Emily's gymnastics class on Monday evening.  It's a long drive for them and Emily was excited to show off.

Take-out Thai and Friends

We have a tradition of having Thai take-out with our friends the day after Christmas.  They come to our house, we have dinner, the kids play and we can catch-up.  This year proved again to be lots of fun.  Even Chrissy and I played some X-Box....thanks for a great time!

Chris and Edward...car racing buddies.

Emily and Madlyn posing in their holiday PJ's.

A Fun Filled Family Christmas

After we opened our gifts and had breakfast, we headed to the Pederson's house. Here's my funny family and no, we didn't have too much spiked egg nog!

Prime rib and all the yummy fixings for dinner.  It was a great ending to a wonderful holiday season.  Next time you see my Dad, ask him 'where are your glasses Gary?'

Santa's gift to Kaitlyn...her own McMansion.

Emily got the Tangled barbie and the horse.

My two favorite girls..how lucky am I?

The Princess and the Peanut.  They played so well together and at the end of the day had to take a break and cuddle on the couch.

 

Rock Star Santa

On Christmas morning Chris was the first one up, Emily second and I was last. This never happens! Emily was so excited to see that Santa came and that he ate three cookies and drank all the milk.  One of the first things Emily said to me was  "Momma, I didn't hear Santa.  I was sleeping but I had my ears open and I still didn't hear him.  He must be really quiet."  Santa rocked this year.  He brought Emily a microphone, a rock star wig and an electric scooter.  He even remember Peaches, filling her stocking with kitty treats.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

What a true statement.  I'm not sure where to start.  We had such a great holiday with our family.  Here's the first part of our holiday.


Christmas Eve 2010

We headed to Sandy and Al's for our Christmas Eve celebration.  Snacks, relaxing and presents galore!  When we walked into their house it looked by Santa had arrived early.  Emily was so excited and anxious to start opening presents.  After presents we had a great dinner and the best apple pie!  Two of my favorite parts of the evening; Sandy reading 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' and Scott and Chris reminiscing about Christmas as young kids.  Thanks to the Moser clan for a great holiday.

Barbie and Ken...the timeless toy.

Luke is the ultimate truck and car guy.



Time for bed and visions of sugarplums.



Merry Christmas Eve

Happy holiday to all our family and friends.  This morning Emily and I wrapped some last gifts and made cookies for Santa.  We are headed Sandy and Al's today and then off to the Pederson's tomorrow.  Stay tuned for more details and pictures.

A Few of My Favorite Things

What a wonderful weekend we had!  The Moser's and Pederson's packed up Friday afternoon and headed to Leavenworth.  It was a perfect setting and very festive.  In no particular order, here are a few of my favorite things:

• Sledding with Emily and just as we are headed down the hill she said "Momma, I'm going to have happy dreams tonight"
• Chris' excitement opening the blinds on Saturday morning to see the snow falling outside
• The belly laughs from Kaitlyn as Uncle Chris shows her 'flying bears'
• Taking a sleigh ride with the snow falling; it was so calm and peaceful
• The last sled ride down the hill....with my sister and I catching some serious air.  I was laughing so hard I almost peed my pants
• The snow, the lights, the Christmas music playing

After our sleight ride at Eagle Creek Ranch.



Waiting for the lightening festival to begin.





Snowball fights and playing in the snow, oh what fun.





The gang in the lobby of the Balvarian Lodge.



Walking around town enjoying the festivities.

White Christmas

Sunday marked the 6th year of our girls holiday outing with moms, mom-in-laws, sisters and sister-in-laws.  We have a very special and wonderful group of ladies.  It was a great day.  Here's a walk down memory lane of all our past events:

2010 - Lunch at Katie Downs and tickets to the play "White Christmas"
2009 - Lunch at Redhook and shopping at Molbaks
2008 - Lunch at the Harmon and touring the Festival of Trees
2007 - Tickets to the play "King and I" and dinner at the Coho Cafe
2006 - Shopping at Bellevue Square and dinner at PF Changs
2005 - Tree Lighting Festival in Leavenworth

Red Party

Emily's friend Madlyn hosted a 'Red Party' on Saturday.  It was a huge success and a ton of fun for five little girls.  My friend Chrissy (Madlyn's mom) really set the bar on this party!  The girls had lunch, painted salt dough ornaments, played, frosted cookies, played some more, ate cupcakes and decorated foam art snowflakes and wreaths.

45

Forty-five years ago on December 4th Sandy and Al said "I Do".  Along with Scott, Karena and Luke, we took them to lunch to celebrate their anniversary.  Did you know the traditional gift for a 45th wedding anniversary is sapphire?  The gem signifies a honest spirit and a faithful heart.  Here they are...forty-five years later with two great sons, two wonderful daughter-in-laws and two of the cutest, most adorable, smartest, and fun seeking grandkids around.  I'm not bias at all!  

Trains and Santa

This morning we headed to North Bend to meet up with Karena, Scott and Luke to ride the Santa train.  A train ride in an old box car, cookies, hot cocoa and a visit with Santa.  What a treat.  As I write this post, Emily is busy painting her wooden train car she received from Santa at the train depot. 

Oh Christmas Tree

Today we ventured to the Hillside Tree farm to find the perfect Moser Christmas tree.  We have been going to this place about 11 years now.  I would say our tree hunt was a success.

Pringles for a Cat?

I had the pleasure of playing with Kaitlyn yesterday. It was great one-on-one time with her since Emily was at school.  Kaitlyn love Peaches and hence wanted to get her a snack.  So Kaitlyn headed to the pantry, got a little pack of Pringles and set it down next to Peaches.  It was very sweet to watch!