Holy Home Theatre Batman!

I saw this Batman Batcave home theatre while browsing the web today...I really want it. Maybe we can turn our house into a miniature Batcave just in time for The Dark Knight. Bonus: Check out this awesome Star Trek home theatre...I'm such a nerd.

New tricks!

So, Parker is full of new tricks lately.  He's learned to army crawl, which keeps us on our toes.  He's into everything! And with it being Christmas, there's a lot more to get into.  We have to keep all decorations out of reach and no presents under the tree this year. Not until Santa comes!  He's become very opinionated too.  He definately knows what he wants and doesn't want.  He'll let you know by throwing little tantrums, kicking his legs uncontrollably and screaming.  He's also been known to arch his back and squeal when he wants down to get into something he's not supposed too.  We found him eating a Christmas ornament last night and seemed to really enjoy it.  It was a cinnamon, cookie kind but definately not edible.  Jeremy got to dig all the pieces out of his mouth, which neither one of them enjoyed.  Trying to feed him can be a chore as well.  He loves the food, but just can't seem to stop moving!  His hands are all over the spoon, trying to help Mom and Dad get it in his mouth.  In the mean time he's trying to look behind himself and suck on any straps that he can find that aren't around him.  Overall, he's growing into a real boy.  Much different from Sam.  But, he's the best boy we could ask for!

 

 Here's our little army man, doing his thing.



 Getting into the tree again!  His favorite is pulling on the lights.



What a messy eater.  This is what happens when he's constantly MOVING! (excuse the somewhat girly bib!)

Chehalis Trip

Jeremy and I in our Mormon Helping Hands T-Shirts.

As us Washingtonians know, we encountered some major flooding in some parts of the state.  With the snow and then the rain a couple weeks ago, there was some out of control rivers.  The hardest hit was the area of Chehalis, WA.  Our ward and stake were contacted recently about going to help these victims and of course Jeremy and I willingly went.  We took the 1 1/2 hr drive out west to clean out mud, take out drywall and flooring and do whatever was needed to clean up the mess and help those in need.  It was a great experience and we are so happy that we were able to go.  We met some wonderful people who have lost so much, if not almost everything they own due to this.  They were so positive though, and realized all they had and the many blessing they have received, despite all the tragedy.  Here's some pictures of our trip.

 

This is one of the houses we helped clean.  The inside was bare, only studs.  They had to rip out everything!  You can see how high the water got by looking at the paint about a third of the way down on the house, which is darker.



This is the mud that the river brought into this front yard. 



Wendy, Me, and Heidi working hard in the garage to get out mud.  You can see on the brick behind us how high the water was there too.



The Chehalis River got so high it was covering this bridge and brought branches and logs with it that hasn't been cleaned off yet.

 

This is where a bridge is supposed to be.  Again, the river was so high, it covered the bridge and with this one, tore it down.



Here's the bridge from the previous picture.  It's laying in the river.

Our little Ballerina

So, it was Sam's first experience in a ballet class.  She loves to dance at home and be a ballerina, so I've finally talked Jeremy into letting her try it out.  She loved it!  Luckily, I have wonderful parents who are going to support her financially for her first session.  Thanks Mom and Dad! 



Sam, testing out her ballet skills.  Her cousin, Taylee is in the class too!  How fun!



 They twirled ribbons, which Samantha loved, as you can see.



Hanging out, taking a break with Taylee and her friend from church, Jillian.

Fun Saturday cont.

So, there's more to the day...As we were leaving North Bend it suddenly became a blizzard outside!  On a normal day it would take us about 20 minutes to get home, but that night it took 1 1/2 hours!  We were moving like turtles on the freeway.  It didn't help that there was an accident in the middle of all that, but we eventually made it home.  We came home to even more snow then when we left and that made for some fun outside for Sam.  Jeremy took her out and played for a bit.  They then came in for dinner and we decorated our Christmas tree.  It was a busy day.  In fact we didn't even do all that we had planned to do.  It was fun though. A good way to start the Christmas season!



Our snowy front yard.



Samantha making snow angels at our neighbor's house.



 Samantha was really into decorating the tree this year.  She wanted to put every ornament on herself.

 

Sam working so hard at getting one on the tree.

Fun Saturday

We started December off with a bang! We woke up and went to cut down our Christmas tree (which didn't really happen, as you can see on the earlier post) then came home and got ready to go on the Santa Train. Thanks to our good friends, Jason and Wendy, who couldn't go, we got to go for them! We debated a little on going (actually it was just me. Jer was all for it!) due to the weather conditions. For those of you not living around here, we got the rare occurance of SNOW! We woke up to white, which was so pretty. It stopped for most the morning, but of course, right before it was time to leave it started up again. We ended up going, and headed out to North Bend to catch the train. We bundled up the kids and ourselves and hoped for the best! We safely made it and waited for about a half hour to board. The kids, waiting to board the train. There was no heat on the train, which made it for a somewhat long, cold ride. It was so pretty though, seeing all the white fields and icy river. The snow continued to come down the whole trip, there and back. During our layover in Snoqualmie, we took a little walk to a cafe across from the train station to warm up and grab some hot chocolate. The train station provided some snacks and hot cocoa, but it was very busy and still pretty chilly, even indoors. We enjoyed the warmth and let Parker out to stretch. We ventured back to the train station and hung out in the gift shop, where we bought Sam a toothbrush with a water filled handle and train in it, so it moved back and forth. She really wanted it! On our way back to North Bend Santa made an appearance and the kids got to talk with him and get candy canes. Over all it was a great family outing. I love the snow, but that day I kinda wished it hadn't come. It was freezing! It made it a little bit harder, but still loads of fun! Jeremy and Samantha enjoying the view. Inside the train station they had an area for the kids to play with a Thomas the Train set. Outside in front of a train. Parker is hiding under that blanket! Parker and Mom having a little fun on the way home from Snoqualmie on the train.

Tree cutting...kinda!

Well, we were all ready to go to a tree farm in Issaquah to cut down a tree when we realized how pricey it is! To get a good looking Christmas tree, it was at least $70. We've never cut down our own, so this was a surprise to us! And, unfortunately, we aren't made of money. Knowing that we had a fake on sitting in our shed at home ( it's a small one, but in good shape) we had a hard time spending that kind of money. So, instead we decided to still make it fun and let Sam ride the little train they had for the kids. We ran into the Jarman's which was fun too! We got to sit by the warm fire while Samantha, Elisabeth and the boys played on a big old fire truck they had there to climb and sit in. It turned out to be a fun outing, even without the tree! Samantha and Boyd playing in the fire truck Jeremy took Samantha on the little train they had. She loved it!

Girls Night!

On Friday night my dear friend, Kristie invited me to a Seattle Sonics basketball game, along with our friends Kristin and Loretta. We had a blast! We started the night off battling the Seattle traffic then stopped in the Seattle Center Pavillion where there is a large food court to get some dinner. We then headed off to the game, just around the corner at the Key Arena. Kristie's family has season tickets, so the seats were great! We even had the privilage of striking a pose with Squatch! Luckily the Sonics won, in a very close game. Only there 3rd win of the season, so far. What a night! Thanks Kristie for a great evening! The girls... Me, Loretta, and Kristin! Squatch was very entertaining! What a guy...or girl!? That was the question of the night. What a cute picture of Me and Kristie!