Christmas in Bend 2011

This Christmas was great. We spent two weeks together, we were visited by our folks, and we played in the snow. The kids received many wonderful gifts, but best of all they spent loads of time with their Tutu's and Papa's.

Christmas in Bend 2011

It was so great to see our cousins for Christmas. This photo was taken right after they all survived hours and hours in the car. Evelyn wrote and directed a Christmas play with the kids. It was awesome and the kids loved it.

We had a great Christmas with our folks.

The kids made paper lanterns and spread reindeer food in the yard to help Santa find us in Bend.

Christmas in Bend 2011

We had very low expectations of going into our first ice skating experience. However, the kids did great. Gray and I fell a lot until I figured out I could hold him under the belly like a rag doll and let him run on the ice. Kalia and Sean however, could skate backwards by the end.

OUCH!!!

Christmas in Bend 2011

At the house, we love to relax. Disconnected from the outside world, no TV (we do watch movies), no computers, horrible cell coverage, it's perfect! We spend our days outside and our evenings cooking, eating, playing games, reading, and chatting.

We love spending time with our friends and family! We invite you all to come anytime. Let's vacation together in Bend!
Your eyes do not deceive you, I am actually making homemade cinnamon rolls with Sissy. My two moms are going to teach me how to cook if it's the last thing they do. P.S. the rolls turned out perfectly delicious!

Thanks Moms!!
I asked the Papas to play UNO with the kids. It was a hilarious scene.

Papa S: How do you play this game again?

Kalia: Mom, I'll explain it to them.

HAHAHAHAH

I think Gray ended up winning!

Kids Clue, we played this game with our friend Bryan who spent the holidays with us. He's in the clue training program. (:O))

This photo does not accurately show the joy that Sean is feeling, He killed the three of us at this new game my folks brought, Stone Age. It was embarrassing. My family loves games, and they get together often to play. We enjoyed spending time with my folks over the holidays very much.

Christmas in Bend 2011

Our Christmas Tree adventure

We made all our own Christmas ornaments this year. Kalia made a paper chain, Sean strung popcorn strings, Grandma Spencer and Grady hung pine cone ornaments. And we had lots and lots of lights.


Kalia is always thinking "Safety First."

"Wasn't the truck closer than this??"

The snow was deeper than we had expected in our target christmas tree search area. Grady could barely walk and he fell a lot. We are not sure if it was the snow depth or because he was laughing so much...

Christmas in Bend 2011

Snowball fight at Mt. Bachelor.

Grady vs. everyone else

Bend 2011

Our first family skiing experience.

We had two days of blue bird skiing at Mt. Bachelor ski resort. The kids had an awesome time. Kalia particularly took to skiing with ease. It's so interesting to watch the kids experience new things. Some things just click while others seem impossible. Kalia definitely had the right combination of positive attitude, skills, and determination to improve lightning quick on the slopes.

Sean pulled the kids up the slope.
Yard Sale!
Grady understood the idea of the wedge, he just preferred the ski straight as fast as possible until I run into something or someone method. With a big smile on his face the entire time.
We took a photo like this while we were still dating. MEMORIES like the corner of my mind.... misty watercolor.......... sappy I know

This may be their thing. In twenty years, I imagine myself going through old photos and this photo in particular will touch my heart.

It was like watching two birds flying in perfect formation, seeing Kalia follow Sean like a figure eight down the mountain. Beautiful.

I saw a rainbow and I remember in Hawaiian culture a rainbow is extremely special a gift from above for good luck. It was perfect.

Blastball 2011

Blastball is a 3/4 yr. old adaptation of a baseball game. The teams are made up of six or so kids and they take turns batting, running the bases and fielding the ball. The fielding is particularly fun as once the ball is hit off the tee, all the kids in the field run to the ball, dive, sometimes wrestle, then ultimately one kid throws it to a coach. It's fantastic to watch. Once an entire team has a chance to bat and the final kid hits a grand slam to clear the bases and the teams switch. The game lasts 45 mins. and everyone gets a snack at the end. We were paired with a fun group of kids and parents and the Purple Bats had a great first season together.

The blastball bases squeak when the boys jump on them.
Grady and Dad in the ready position.

Grady was so excited to receive his first trophy. PRICELESS!!!

FOUR!!!

Grady turned 4 on Dec. 18, 2011 and we had a fantastic rocket ship birthday party. I love house parties!
Grady insisted we invite his favorite buddies. Tyler 8 Eric 13
Balloon guy, worth every penny, he was a huge hit. The hardest part was waiting your turn. He made a dinosaur, a puppy dog, a ladybug, and a sword outfit including a helmet, belt and sword. He also made rocket ships!
Last summer, we attended a local carnival as a family. A scout group had a booth where the kids built rockets with construction paper and sponges. Kalia and Grady loved the activity and even got the firemen involved. They shot their rockets 200 ft into air and got them stuck in the surrounding trees. The firemen used their fire fighting tools to help get them out of the trees. Grady decided it would be awesome to have a rocket birthday party. Sean built the launcher and the week before Grady's birthday party and we spent every evening outside in front of the house shooting rockets into the dark sky. (note to self - glow in the dark stickers!)
Grady was very specific about the theme of the birthday party. And a rocket ship birthday cake was a must. Sean and I had a great time making and decorating our first "theme" cake and Grady loved it.