A day in the life of our family...

John came down with a virus this weekend and was miserable all day Sunday and today. We finally got him to the doctor (you know guys and doctors!) and found out that he has strep throat. Since Nicole had also been complaining of a sore throat John took her into her doctor and found out that she has it too. The other kids seem to be doing okay with the exception of both of them having colds. John kept Nicole home and occupied while I ferried the other two kids around the town.

Nate had his first orchestra concert tonight! He played the bass guitar with gusto! He enjoyed dressing up, helping to set up the orchestra chairs, and moving people around until HE was satisfied with the arrangement. Sounds like Nate, doesn't it? He was able to really focus on his guitar and play along with his peers which is a great step in the right direction. He even made it out to the van after it was all over with almost no resistance. What a great night!

Does life ever slow down???

This has been such a busy week again! Last weekend the girls tried to have a tea party with a friend at our local tea house, only to find out that it had been booked for a private party (they could have told me when I called!). We ended up taking them out to Olive Garden, which wasn't quite the same but still fun. Nate worked on his Pinewood Derby car while we were out with the girls and then I came home and picked him up to go to the park because it was a gorgeous (very cold!) day.

On Monday, Nate went to a friend's house for a play date, and I took the girls to the beach to meet their best friend. Tuesday was a day for me - I went out to breakfast with my MIL, left the van for an oil change, returned a few things, then returned to pick the van up. Wednesday was a full day too - I went out to lunch with a friend which took up most of the day. Today was my day to go to the dentist (yuck!) and more returns in frigid weather.

Our nightly activities included Speech Therapy, Brownies, Cub Scout Pinewood Derby, tonight is Bingo night, and tomorrow, well who really knows??? It's an exciting life I lead I'll tell you. I don't know how parents who both work actually get anything done!

Wii Family Game Night!

We decided after such a long, intense week that we would eat dinner and then play the Wii as a family. We had so much fun! We pretty much stuck to Mario Kart and all of the variations in the game. The kids kept running into us and laughing so much they had tears in their eyes. We enjoyed just hanging out and encouraging the players on throughout the game. I have pictures of the games but it's difficult to see how much everyone is enjoying themselves.

We currently have Mario Kart, Mario Galaxy, Cars, Kung Fu Panda (not sure about that one as it's really violent), Monster Truck, Wii Play, Wii Sports, and Animal Crossings City Folk. The kids' favorite games so far are Wii Play, Animal Crossings, and Mario Kart. Everyone keeps telling us to rent games but we haven't yet.

This has started out to be an awesome weekend!

Scout Mania...

This month is going to be busy, busy, busy! First, we had the Cub Scout recycling to complete last weekend. We picked up several loads of Christmas trees and delivered them to an elementary school where they were sent through the chipper and used for flower beds at Mukilteo schools. Nate and John had a pow-wow with another dad and his boys to design, cut, and paint their pinewood derby cars last Sunday. They all turned out great! Next weekend they will finetune the design, paint job, and weights in preparation for the Pinewood Derby on January 21, 2009.

In the midst of this busy week, we also started the yearly fundraising for the Girl Scouts. The girls each have to sell 150 boxes, but they are already well on their way! They are having loads of fun! I have to say that their fundraiser is a much easier sell than the Cub Scout popcorn was. Could it be the drastic difference in price, the national reputation for the Girl Scout program, or just how darn cute the girls look? I guess it's probably a combination of all three...

On a sad note, Amanda's best friend just moved away to another school in this area. They were best buddies and had so much in common! They both had long dark hair, big eyes, and a love for horses. They could practically finish each other's sentences. Everyone thought they were sisters when they were together. We're going to try really hard to stay in touch and keep them interacting with each other. They live very close so that makes it easier...

We're singing in the rain now...

The snow has all finally melted, just in time for the rains to begin. It has warmed up to a balmy 50 degrees now and it feels wonderful outside. Now if we could just get the rains and wind to stop it would be perfect! There are rivers, streets, and highways flooding all over the place. The rain is coming down in sheets, causing trees to topple and roofs to cave in. This extreme weather has to stop sometime, right? Wish us luck as we try to navigate through another mess...

Old pictures...

John and I worked on Dad's computer when we were over at his house after Christmas. While I was backing up his computer, I found lots of old pictures of our family on hikes, at Christmas, in Vegas, and in eastern Washington. I'm going to try to share the pics over the next few weeks. This picture is of our family on a hike two years ago to French Creek, our favorite hiking destination for many years. Last year the trail to French Creek was washed out and they closed it for repairs until 2010. We've really missed our annual hikes there.

We're back...

We just got back from eastern Washington yesterday. The kids have been reaquainting themselves with their Wii games and playing with the toys they got for Christmas.

While we were at Dad's house, we took the kids skiing at the Leavenworth Ski Hill. It's an awesome place for them to learn to ski. There are two rope tows, one on a little hill, and another on a bigger hill. The kids spent most of their time on the little hill but they were brave enough to attempt the big hill a few times.

Amanda is in the pink jacket, Nicole passes her (in the gray jacket), and Nate speeds by in the red ski suit at the very end of the video.

They had a wonderful time and are very good at skiing after only a few days!