First Snow!

Bellingham had about 2 inches - yep, count 'em - two inches of snow! Saturday proved to be a great day to stay home and enjoy playing outside, drinking hot chocolate, and watching movies!

We have a great sledding hill in the back yard. There is a steep driveway that is awesome for sledding. Maddie and Taylor spent a good hour going up and down...

Taylor actually enjoyed it this year. Last year he wasn't so fond of it, but this year he's learned to climb on the sled, hold on and go down the hill by himself. I have to admit it's pretty funny to watch him go tumbling down when he falls off. Every time he stands up and yells a big "YES! That was AWESOME!" What a good sport.
We are looking forward to a fun winter of lots more sledding and hot chocolate! Hope your Christmas season is getting off to a wonderful start!

What are you thankful for...

As we sat around our table and asked that question of each other, here were the answers:

Rick: Wifey, family, a working back that we didn't have to pay for...

Karyn: Husband, two beautiful kids, nursing school...

Madisyn: Mommy and Daddy and Taylor and Cede (our dog)

Taylor: Bread

Rick: Taylor, are you thankful for anything else?

Taylor: Um... nope. Just bread. Black bread.


Enough said...


Oh, yeah, and we still don't know what he means by black bread.

Happy Veteran's Day

Maddie was in her first school performance this week! Her school did a Veteran's Day tribute. It was SO cute. They sang America the Beautiful (see video), recited the Pledge of Allegiance, and they all had at least one line. Maddie, of course, memorized EVERYONE'S lines. She told them to me on the way to school that day.



Her hat said "Speaker." Her line was, "Please join us for snacks in our classroom." :-) Sarah Bernhardt, look out.

Emma and Maddie

The whole BCS kindergarten class

This is Isaac - better known as Abe Lincoln. He recited part of President Lincoln's speech: "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." (Maddie, of course, just recited that for me...) He was pretty impressive.

Nani and Poppa

Maddie and Taylor got to go to Nani and Poppa's farm last weekend. They had SO much fun...
They got to go see the Bee Movie, go to Sunday School with Miss Jean (one of my old friends), ride their bikes in the driveway, play with Cede (our dog on vacation at the farm), visit Great Grandma Talley, and eat LOTS of treats (that's what Maddie said)!

Do you think their related?

Thank you, Nani and Poppa, for having such a fun weekend with our kids! They are looking forward to the next time...

A Happy Halloween it was...

First let me say this... we don't "celebrate" Halloween. We let the kids dress up and get candy. That's it. I know some people get upset about Christians celebrating a pagan holiday, yada, yada, yada... Everyone has their own ideas. For our family, we let our kids dress up and have fun getting candy at the downtown Bellingham trick or treat. Do I pretend there's a Santa Claus... yes. How about the easter bunny hiding eggs... yes. Call me what you will... I grew up "believing" all those things, too, and I turned out just fine. I love that families have their own traditions. To each their own.
Now... off my soap box and onto the cute kids. Since last year (no joke), Maddie has been planning her costume - a mermaid. She really wanted to be that LAST year, but I couldn't find an outfit for her. So she carried that thought with her the WHOLE year, and of course, stuck with it. She was so beautiful.Taylor, I must say, was a HIT with all the other kids. Everyone would say, hey there's Spiderman. I heard kids across the street yelling to Spiderman. There were even a couple young boys who were so fascinated with Spiderman, they were tripping over their own feet because they were watching him instead of where they were walking. Taylor, of course, didn't want to have anything to do with anyone. One little boy walked up and got right in his face - HI SPIDERMAN!! Taylor was like, this is MY personal space, buddy. It was too funny. We had a wonderful time... not many trick or treaters at our house, though. oh well. More for us! I hope everyone had a wonderful time with their families - no matter what you were doing!

Twenty-first century Mozart

Taylor has always shown an major interest in music, not to mention a natural ability. Today, he showed me just how much:

Ice Skating

Maddie got to experience ice skating for the first time last weekend. She was amazing! Every time she fell down, she got right up and kept trying! She actually wants to go again.

The boys chose air hockey instead of the cold ice! Smart...


Look out Dorothy Hamill.

Pumpkin Time!

I love the fall. It is my favorite time of year. While I do love the summer, the sun, warmth, etc., there is something soothing in cold, sunny days where the fall leaf colors are everywhere, there's a fire in the fireplace, and you get to snuggle with a cozy blanket.

Now, have I gotten to do that AT ALL this fall - no. But I love it nonetheless.

We thought this year it would be fun (and WAY less messy) to make Mr. & Mrs. Pumpkin Heads instead of carving...














I think they did a pretty good job, and the best part: everything (minus the pumpkin) is reusable!

Happy Fall!

Study time or Maddie's Jewel Shop

So this is what Maddie does on a sunny Sunday morning while I am studying...

She steals my gems that I use for my cards, and she sets up her "jewel shop, as she calls it, behind the couch in my office... She methodically separates all the jewels evenly, and then plays for two hours with them! Who knew gems could be so fun!

Don't try this at home...

It turned out to be a lovely Fall day in Washington today. So, the kids both thought it would be a good time to go to the park to practice riding their bikes. Maddie has been doing SO good at riding without her training wheels, so any chance we get to practice, we take it. Today was not such a good day for the "little girl who could."

Being as determined as she is, she was doing incredibly well starting herself peddling. She would get going and not stop:



This video was taken MOMENTS before this happened:

It being Washington, and all, the wood docks around here turn slippery as ice when it rains. We had already witnessed a man's bike slip right out from underneath him 10 minutes before her accident. She was coming around the end of the park where you ride on the dock for about 50 yards, then head back towards the park. I was following her, but as she cleared the first corner, she was hidden behind trees. All I saw was her tires slip out from under her, and suddenly she was sliding face first on the dock. Then I heard the scream.

This picture is nothing from what I saw. By the time I reached her, there was already a small pool of blood on the ground. Sure enough, she had gashed her lip, road rashed her face and chin, and was tangled up in her bike. Poor baby. I picked her up off the ground and headed towards the bathroom. On our way there, she loudly pronounced: "Mom, I am NOT having very much fun!" I don't blame her.

Three otter pops later, and short trip to the doctor, she is on the mend. Her lip didn't need stitches, but she will have the battle scars for awhile.

Her personality is definitely back, as you can tell. Nothing like pestering your little brother after a hard day...