President's Day in Seattle

We took advantage of the day out of work and school (not to mention some rare gorgeous weather) and drove down to Seattle for the day to hang out with our good friends the Muffolettos.  Despite all of us being "locals" now, we spent the day doing pretty touristy things.  We walked around Pike Market, then rode the ferry over to the Muffoletto's house on Bainbridge Island.  We also rode to the top of the Space Needle and rode some of the carnival rides at the Seattle Center.  It was a great day!

Pike Market

Riding the ferry. (It was really sunny out!)

Oh, yeah... it was also very windy out, too.  That's why I look like a lion (or a bad 80's pop star).

"Diving" at the fountain on the Pier.

Top of the Space Needle at sunset.  

Garreth took this shot of Mt. Rainier- doesn't it look like a postcard?

Sam was very excited about his ticket and held onto it the entire time.

Filipe, Joei, Miranda, and a few other wanna-be-Muffolettos.

We like to clutch our children's blankets in all of our romantic shots.

Sledding at Mt. Baker

Sir Edmund Hillary & his famous Sherpa, Tenzig (Sherpa pictured on left) victoriously crack open a bottle of bubbly at the crest of Base Camp 9.

So Liam is a total frickin nutcase of an adrenaline junkie. This hill was steep and long. I was freaked out when I let him go and saw how fast he was going. He was just laughing nervously the whole time.

Liam, Grace, Dad, Mom, Sam, and one of those chocolate Oompalumpas from Willy Wonka.

Grace's new album cover from her holiday special....."Don't I Have a Fancy-face in Winter?" 

You talkin to me...punk?

Cold and lovin it. Sambolina is always a great sport.

Sam, with a nice view of Mt. Shuksan behind.

Mt. Shuksan, Garreth, and all of our Valentine's chocolate.

Sam, Erin, and a UPS driver (What can brown do for you?)

Declan refused to be photographed here and also refused further comment to the press.  

Happy Valentine's Day!

We sent this picture out with valentines to our families. (Don't worry, we haven't let Sam join a gang, but he still insists on practicing the gang signs with his hands.) 

Liam's school party

The stash

Getting ready for our annual Valentine's dinner.  This year we fed the kids, put them to bed, picked up a babysitter and actually went out to dinner.  (This is big for us)  It was a fun day! 

Valentine Treats

We had a fun night tonight getting ready for Valentine's Day.  The kids and I decided to make suckers to give out with their valentines and they turned out really cute.  Grace and Liam are excited for their class parties tomorrow! 

Bedtime and Books

Every few months, our school has a "Bedtime and Books" night where the kids can come to school for a hour at night, wearing their pajamas.  Different teachers read stories and the janitor ("Magic Jim") even did some magic tricks. (Hence the name!)  Grace had Achievement Days at the church and Garreth took Sam on some other church errands, so Declan, Liam, and I went.  Liam loved going to school in his pj's and laying on blankets, listening to the stories and eating punch and cookies.  There was even a drawing for books, which Liam won!  (He chose a train book, pictured below, with his friend Julius.)  It was a fun night!

Happy Birthday to me!

Here we are at my birthday dinner yesterday at Chihuahua's, our local Mexican restaurant.  It was a great birthday.  The kids and Garreth got me some yummy-smelling soaps, gift cards to Pier One and The Body Shop, and a great KitchenAid mixer.  I can't wait to start baking our own bread, using the handy bread mixer attachment, of course!  

Today a super-nice lady in the ward invited us over for dinner.  She and her kids were awesome, and even made birthday cupcakes and got me a present (a cute stationary set).  It's crazy to think that I'm 32!  But I don't feel 32 and I guess that's what matters!

Swimming at the Aquatic Center

Random January Photos

My boys

I had to post this because this picture just cracks me up.  Here is how Declan looks every morning at 9:00 and every afternoon at 3:30 when we make the journey to the bus stop to pick up Grace and Liam.  Grace calls him the "chocolate chip" and Garreth thinks he looks like he's going to the post office to be mailed somewhere....

Okay, so I hesitated even posting these because the pictures just don't do justice to the hilarity (is that a word?) of the event.  A few weeks ago, Grace had some friends from church over and one of them brought her karaoke machine.  Well, the next two hours were spent singing High School Musical songs OVER and OVER again.  And let me tell you, they got way into it!  I had to leave the room to go laugh a few times.  And the conversations went something like this, "Okay, Jackie, now YOU be Troy and I get to be Gabriella."  Again, maybe you had to be there, but I'm laughing even as I'm typing this.  Maybe it's because it doesn't seem like that long ago when I was making music videos to "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and lip-synching into hairbrushes with my friends....