Winter Wonderland

Seattle is super fun in the winter and we have been taking full advantage of it. It has snowed here in the city twice, if you can believe it. Once on Christmas Day! The kids got out and played in it a bit, but each of them hated it on different occasions.

The day after Thanksgiving we ventured downtown to see the Macy's Parade. We bundled up nicely, having lived in Michigan we now have proper gear to survive cold days. We took the bus downtown and braved the crowds. It was fun as we got front row seats and Liz, the oldest girl the I nannied for was the Snow Queen and the highlight of the parade by far. They make it snow paper in the streets after the parade and the wind form the bus tunnle made is a surreal experience for the kids, running around in the streets chasing the "snowflakes".

My brother visited and we had a great time. We took a trip to the mountains to sled and found a snow hike to a waterfall. We went ice skating a visited The Garden of Lights, a display of 800,000 lights in the shape of different plants, very cool.

Other highlights have included visiting reindeer and watching marching toy soldiers perform. I never would have said this before I had kids, but I love winter.

Snow in Seattle, an annual experience

Enjoying the Downtown lights and watching toy soldiers

Hiking in the mountains

Playing in the "snow" after the parade

"I'll deliver the presents!"

Fall, a Bit Delayed...

No, we really have not dropped of the face of the earth. We have just had a really amazing Fall and Winter full of joys and crises.

The Fall was really beautiful here. I really think that I enjoy things so much more now that I have children. To look through the eyes of complete innocence, in wonder of seeing things for the first time is life-changing. Some would think I would never have rolled around in falling leaves or picked an apple off of a tree, listening to my excitement of visiting a park filled with leaves or heading to the farm for fresh Fall fruits and vegetables. God and all of His glory really does seems much more real and present when looked upon with childlike eyes.

So some of our many events included visiting several u-pick farms, taking hay rides, picking pumpkins, and apple picking to make apple pie. I was even filmed teaching kids for a local TV show on organic farms. We visited Leavenworth with Grandma, it is a small German style town in the mountains. Halloween was great as Isabel and Josiah dressed as a lion and a lamb, very Biblical. Our other Grandma and Grandpa visited and we took a ferry ride to have a picnic on the islands. The kids and I have been doing a home school preschool and doing fun things like setting up an apple stand, growing grass, and visiting many museums. They also attended art school, which was great for me because glitter did not end up on my floor.

Jason and I finished up our marriage group, helping newlyweds get through the first year of marriage. It is a program set up by our church and we learned much more than we were able to teach. It is such a gift to our marriage.

Here are some pictures of our Fall...

Isabel and Josiah playing in the leaves

The lion and the lamb

Down on the farm

In Leavenworth, Bratwurst anyone?