As I slowly upload...

Christmas Eve
Our kind neighbor Vera brought over the stuff to make a gingerbread house with Moon.
We used a bamboo skewer to keep the house upright, but Moon thought they were decorative and added a few more.
You can see that the gingerbread family suffered something very terrible inside their house.
More when I put pics from the good camera onto the computer!

On day 100, we decided to carry on with our holiday plans.

Papa went to California and the kids and I headed to Washington.
Patrick missed his flight into Cali and I think we should have taken it as a sign that we didn't have an easy road ahead of us this holiday season.

On the road...

A stop in Chehalis to see Papa Mike and clean off a layer of filth from my windshield.

We had a stop in Tacoma to meet up with Sarah and Emma for lunch and a run through Freighthouse Square. The girls were classic in their disasters, including Moon refusing to wear one of her shoes because her foot was hot. So we had to end that fun and hit the road ;)

We checked in to the hotel and spent some time with these people.
And the next day with this guy

And this lady (and the unpictured Papou)

And this lady, who Moon crafted up a storm with.

This guy was around, but pretty cranky. He did check out the spinning machine though.
The snow was so heavy that Patrick wasn't able to fly home on Sunday and we certainly weren't able to drive home. So our adventure continued!

We spent a fair amount of time trying to find these places to keep Mama happy and managing.

Papou's sister let all of us crash at her place. Moon was happy to have Nanny's Alice dog around.
Thanks Bill and Elaine!

On a serious note, we really did have such a great time in Tacoma. It was so nice to spend some real time with our family and a bit of time with friends. Getting snowed in has its advantages. I wish I had taken more pictures of things other than the snow!

But here we are, on the way home. Thanks Nan, for coming back with us!

Merry Christmas!

The Snow Chronicles

Day 1, a dusting. Something to be excited about.

Day 2, special under gear in place.

enough snow to be interesting

Moon's first (and only) snow angel

A bit of OCD behavior

Note the snow level of the car

Most of our involvement with the snow was really like this:

More terribly exciting pictures of snow to follow in later posts. Aren't you excited?

What we were doing before it got really cold.

Walking to Starbucks. We did go on Wednesday, but it wasn't good.
Here are a couple pictures from happier times.

Moon is always a picture of fashion while Lan always looks just like a baby whose Mama dresses him funny.

PINK. Pink has been going on for a long while now, but this picture really personifies Moon and her pinkness.

A close up of the slippers

Plenty of trips to the Swap Shop. We just really love this place. It's a membership based community playspace where toys are brought in by members and can be traded out at anytime. There is also a room for swapping clothing and other stuff. There are so many other wonderful things about the Swapper, I could go on forever.
Lan loves that he can really play with the big kids here. It is so safe and fun for both kids.

Lan cruising on the bike

An impromptu musical jam. Good times!

Finally, Lan in the kitchen.
He has taken over Moon's spot at the cupboard and oven. I will have to post some pictures of Moon in the same spots. So cute.

In other missed exciting news...

A little Henny Penny came flying into my house after being scared half to death by NANNY'S Wild Dog ;-)
She quickly went from table to the top of the shelf. Poor Henny. I think she has recovered now.

Wildly behind...

Just a few snippets from a couple weeks ago.

Moon was having a rough day and we were struggling to pass the time. She suggested a music jam. We put (bag over my head) the High School Musical 3 soundtrack on and had a great time.
Sorry the pictures are dark; I didn't bother to edit them.

We also took many trips to the park
Here is Moon giving Lanny a ride down the slide with little pal Kai-Mana. Still can't believe he is only 6 days older than Lan!

Cute guy watching the show go by.

Big sister enjoying the pavement at the park.

Working. Adjusting.Pacing myself.

Back in the blogging business soon, my friends.

Happy Thanksgiving Y'all!

Terribly off topic of the day, but here are some pics at our fav coffee place, the Bipartisan Cafe.

Moon with an allergy approved peanut butter brownie. I don't think she actually eats this, as much as picks out the chunks to eat. I have no idea where she gets that ;-)

Some of the babies playing, along with Korin, under the supervision of our Main Man.

A final sweet pick of the gorgeous Kai-Mana.

Unfortunately, after the great iPhoto incident, things haven't been working very well in the photo upload department. I need an expert! Taking recommendations/advice...

More Stuff

Gluing shapes and stickers from Grandma Lynn

Cute Suit

Moon created this little "piano"

Birdwatching. So far we have seen Crows, Seagulls and Swallows.

What's Been Going on Lately

Well, thanks to my New Camera (thank-you again Auntie Ann), I have been doing lots of hassling my little world to cooperate for pictures or running and grabbing the camera to get those cute moments before they pass. I have also just been taking pictures because it's fun to look at the world in a different light. To feel thankful for the small things.

Here I am attempting fancy pictures of cooking, since my "time away from the kids" is often "time in the kitchen" or "time in Freddie's", but that's not remotely inspiring.
This is a spinach, beet, and mint on chevre dish.

Is it too obvious how many cups of tea I had that afternoon?

Cooking a lentil dish. I looked down and thought it was funny that I had tea and an iPod right next to my station at the stove. It is a peaceful way to spend time.

Here is a typical scene around the house. I never catch these because I am (obviously) busy, but I really wanted to see if the new camera could do a reasonable job fitting Moon in. I think so!
2 nursing mama's. Moon is nursing her "baby monkey". I am nursing my baby monkey as well.

Here is a nice series titled : How the Lanny EATS.
One sweet potato

Another sweet potato

And egg yolk. and pear too, I think.
Growling at Moon. He was so irritated that there wasn't anymore breakfast for him.
Finally, here is a crappy picture of Moon doing art. Somehow this is the most reasonable of all the ones I took of her. Moving target.

That's it! Only 1000 more to download and sort through ;-)

Beach Trip

Thanks to Mama A for being an excellent beach hook-up. That morning the kids came over to play with dreamy Nanny Kathryn while the mama's packed up. You can see we got some new cars at Red White and Blue; $5 each.

You might also notice Moon has a stow-away in her trunk.

At the beach, after a pretty mellow trip out.

Two tired kids, back at the hotel. Those phones are a huge hit. As maybe that gleaming television in the room was as well.

Here's Lan having a snack in his extreme bib

An early morning shot from the kitchen area. I love this reality scene.

Such a special trip that we got to have. The kids were wild, moody animals but we are trying to make memories here, folks. So we play along and try to enjoy ourselves. At least the air was amazing, friends are wonderful, and the hotel beds were comfy.