First Comes Love...

Happy Holidays - I hope yours were filled with all your favorite people and traditions!

...ain't always easy, but we had a fantastic holiday anyway 😉 Per usual, we joined my family in Leavenworth for an extended holiday weekend and Kevin's parents joined us, too.

Last Friday while we were in Leavenworth celebrating Kevin's birthday, Mamie, Papa, Lucy, George and I floated the river during nap time!

We had a white Christmas in Issaquah this year! Celebrations began Christmas Eve.  We had Kevin's parents and Uncle Mike and Uncle Kent over for dinner and a sleepover.  It was so much fun settling in with family, watching the snow come down as we relaxed by the fire with cocktails and good company.  The kids were especially excited that everyone would be spending the night and as it worked out, it was best this way with all the snow. The kids loved their gifts (Abigail's karaoke machine being an all around favorite!) and we topped off a great meal and dessert with a snowy walk around the neighborhood.  Even Mabel got in on the fun, pulling the kids on a wooden sled built by Kirk years ago. It was hands down my favorite Christmas Eve in recent memory; a perfectly magical celebration! Ben's smile... ha!  

We had a very relaxing Thanksgiving in Leavenworth this year.  Mamie and Papa decided to join Anne and Ian for their first year in Jersey, so it was just us, Victor, Catherine, and my parents. We spent the holiday weekend eating, drinking, and setting up for Christmas (George is REALLY into Christmas this year and was thrilled with the idea of setting up Gma and Gpa's tree the day after Thanksgiving). Here are some pictures from the weekend:

My baby brother is married - can you believe it?!? I suppose you should because I'm 37 and he's only 4 years younger than me, but gosh, it was so fun watching my little Vico tie the knot. Victor and Catherine were married on September 9th in Leavenworth, and just as promised, it was a laid back affair.  My parents hosted the rehearsal dinner at the house and the next day Victor and Catherine were married at Red Tail Canyon Farm (a place whose owners were good friends with my Grandpa - that sweet Leavenworth connection) . George and Abigail were both in the wedding as Flower Girl and Ring Bearer and were so excited about their roles. Here are some pictures from the big day: Checkin' for booze

I suppose early February is as good of time as any to get started on our Christmas post  😉 We had a wonderful Christmas celebration this year! While most of Kevin's family wasn't around to celebrate with us, we had Mamie and Papa over on Christmas Eve and they spent the night, enjoying Christmas morning with us as well.  As always, Mamie came stocked with Christmas cookies for the kids to decorate, and we enjoyed lots of delicious food and festivities.

The kids really enjoyed celebrating Thanksgiving this year! It started with Thanksgiving Feasts at school on Tuesday; they were each allowed to bring their favorite food to share.  George brought strawberries and hot chocolate (ever the random eater!) while Abigail went with a classic: mac and cheese. After school that day, we ventured to Leavenworth with Gma to spend the rest of the week, and holiday weekend, at the cabin with family. It was a nice, relaxing week.  We got a snow dusting Wednesday morning, enjoyed a relaxed Thanksgiving day, some time in the hot tub, bonfires, a trip to town to see Santa on Friday night, and a HUGE log fire on Saturday (that was still burning when left on Sunday, and probably kept embers through the early part of the week!) Here are some pictures from this year's celebrations Wednesday morning snow!

The title says it all - I'm over the 30's hill  :/ Again this year, the kids and I took off time from summer camp to spend the week in Leavenworth hanging out and enjoying the sunshine.  And to make it even better, Kevin came up for the night! The week was getting a bit difficult with the kids, so I text him the night before my birthday, asking if he would come for dinner the following evening. (Unbeknownst to me, a surprise arrival had been the plan all along!) I spent the early afternoon at Sleeping Lady's spa for a facial and a couple cocktails, took a joy ride in the Cobra later in the day, then ended the evening with oysters, Rose, and a freshly made meal from The Market, cooked by my very own resident chef / husband (bone in ribeye, the most amazing caprese salad with heirloom tomatoes, and a delicious cheesecake sampling) It was great. Baby boy and I hanging out that morning I asked her not to touch this about a million times.  Even on my b...

We celebrated Father's Day in Leavenworth this year with the kids and my parents. Initially Kevin planned to relax and smoke a brisket on Saturday, then golf on Sunday but as luck would have it, he only got one of the above... Brisket! Since he didn't want to golf alone (I am many things, but good golf partner ain't one of them) , he took a rain check and we spent the weekend with the kids playing in the rain, smoking a delicious brisket, and lounging around. Here are some pictures: Brisket time First ever attempt with a sling shot  ;) Grandpa's gift! Breaking in the new ping pong table 8 hours later, The Masterpiece! Dads and Babes Kevin,  Your dedication to family and unwavering strength (especially when we're ALL melting down) amazes me every day.  You are such a kind, fun Dad and you love our babies so much. I couldn't have asked for a better leader of the pack, and I love you so very much! XXO Me, Bits...

Our time in Leavenworth this past weekend was driven specifically for one cause: to celebrate my Dad's 70th birthday! Kevin, the kids, and I came over on Thursday afternoon / evening (the big kids came by train !), and Victor, Catherine, and Uncle Bob joined us on Friday. It's always so nice spending time at the cabin with the entire family, and this past weekend was no exception.  We celebrated over two big meals (a halibut feast on Friday, and a burger bar on Saturday) and spent lots of quality time together. For the first time, the kids really enjoyed playing by themselves for hours on end, so I found myself able to relax more than I usually do.  We played badminton, made bonfires, took walks, sat on the patio to take in the lovely weather, and just enjoyed time as a family. Here are some pictures. Opening gifts on Friday morning! Kevin and Victor golf while Mom weeds  :) Strawberry rhubarb pie time! A Gpa / Ben moment George blowing o...

Having kids out of school for spring break was something new to us this year, and I'm not sure we will be ones to regularly take off to do something, but this year we decided it would be nice to spend the week in Leavenworth. Kevin worked in town the first few days, then took off Thursday and Friday to spend an extended weekend playing with us. We spent an afternoon in Wenatchee at Pybus Market, went on daily walks down the lane to see the horses and train, rode the ATV, and did all the other usual things (dinner in town, campfires, tons of outdoor time). Here are pictures from our week! Pybus Market Living room turned toy room, once Gma and Gpa left for the week  ;) Morning smoothies He slept like crap ALL WEEK.  But in our bed he slept best (relatively speaking) We put these (toy) guns away within minutes (after both A and G pointed them at each other, us, and in their eyes and mouths).  It w...