A visit to Seattle....

Yesterday we went to the Pacific Science Center in Seattle. There is always a lot to look at and do. Our favorite thing to do is to go into the butterfly house. The butterflys are so pretty and graceful as they fly around. We also saw a 3-D movie about Sea Monsters and fossils. The girls like to invite a friend or two to come along with us....this time Samantha invited her friend, Ashley.

Christmas Day Fun

We went to our friend's house on Christmas Day for dinner and games. The Hoovers have been friends of ours since we moved here (16 years ago) and our girls have grown up with their kids. It was nice to relax and enjoy each others company while the kids hung out and played games (and sometimes the adults joined in, too).

Our Gingerbread House

Amanda and Samantha had a fun time putting their gingerbread house together today. As with most kids (and teens, alike), I don't where more candy was put....in their mouths or on the house. I loved listening to them singing Christmas songs and laughing about Christmas memories while decorating their house.

Must be Santa.....

This is the first time the girls have gone to see Santa in quite a long time. At first they protested, but he was giving out free Skittles gum, so they decided it was worth the risk of someone from school seeing them. In the end, though, they had fun.

Our Christmas Tree Hunting Adventure

When it comes time to get our Christmas Tree every year, we usually go to a U-Cut tree farm. This year, however, we decided to go up in the mountains to get our tree. We decided to go to Mt. Rainier and headed off. As you can tell from the pictures, we saw lots and lots of snow. At first the girls loved it, as this is our first snow "sighting" for this winter. As it got to be later in the afternoon and early evening, the "fun" wore off. One of the jeeps in our group broke down and it took the men almost 3 hours to fix it! All-in-all, though, we had a great time! It was fun to spend some family time out in the hills, walking around and looking at the beautiful scenery.