Seattle

Josh and I went on our first trip without the kids at the beginning of December. Josh had some business in Seattle, and I had a free flight, so I decided to join him. He only had part of one day filled, so we had one full day and two half days to explore the city...what a beautiful city it is! I always thought it was freezing, but it's not at all...it's very temperate, and it was tolerable to walk around without a coat one of the days, and comfortable with a coat the rest.

The first day we went to Pike's Place Public Market...you know, the place where they throw the fish? I loved that place, and we went back every day we were there. Oh. Another thing you should know about Seattle...the food is AMAZING. Clam chowder and seafood are awesome...they are also known for chocolate...um, yes please! Saturday we felt like there was still a lot to do, and it was our last full day there, so we went on a tour. Due to the time of the year, we ended up being the only people on the tour, so it was very worth it- our own private tour of Seattle! Here are a few things that we saw: here is the Fremont troll. We took one look at it and said "Liam would be terrified".

Here's a pic of the "fish throwing place". I only saw them throw a fish a couple of times, and my camera wasn't ready. The whole market was so much fun and full of good food and nice gifts.

Here is a view of the city and Mt. Rainier from Kerry Park. It was pretty early, so it was hard to get a good pic.

The market, as it was opening.

Josh and I in front of an indoor waterfall...it's just a little indoor park in the middle of Pioneer Square. Do I look tired here? One thing that I learned is that my body does not operate on pacific time. I could go to bed at 11 pacific (1:00 central) and wake up for good at 4 a.m. pacific, because it's 6 a.m. central, and well, that's what time my day usually starts!

Overall, it was a great trip. The kids stayed with my parents, and had a blast. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be to be away from them, but it was a pretty short time, and I was definately ready to get back to them on Sunday.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Josh had two days off for Thanksgiving...the day of and the day after. He had to go back to work on Saturday, but it was so nice to have him home two days in a row...it was his first time to have two in a row off since he started in June! His mom, dad, and Grandma came up for Thanksgiving. I got to prepare the entire meal...turkey, dressing, dumplings, rolls, sweet potatoes...the whole shebang. I really wanted to do it by myself, since i had never done a whole Thanksgiving. It was fun, and everything turned out really well.
I also got to go Black Friday shopping. It wasn't my intention to get up at 4 a.m., but Liam was having plenty of nightmares that night, and I was up with him for the 3rd time at 4, so I just put my shoes and coat on and went to the mall. I didn't go crazy, but I did get some fun deals. Here are some pics:
Lonon on her First Thanksgiving...she likes this holiday, can you tell?

4 Generations of Josh's Family...his mom is in the Orange and Blue, and that's her mom in the pink holding London.

London playing with a soda bottle. She thinks this is great fun.

Liam showing us two things: His boots, which got cut out of the pic, and how big his belly got on Thanksgiving. He got to have chocolate pie for the first time, and he LOVED it.

Cake Pops

Okay, okay. I fell behind in updating again. I'll do better. It's a resolution of mine you know (yes, I plan my resolutions in advance). These are from November...I went to a dessert exchange party for Medical Partners. These yummy guys are cake pops. Never heard of them? I suggest you go to www.bakerella.com and check hers out. Wait. Don't. Then you'll know how much cuter these COULD be! They were pretty tasty too...the inside is cake and icing...all mashed up together, rolled into balls, and dipped in chocolate. mmmm. One of my other resolutions is to quit eating so much junk :)

Trick-or-Treat!

There is a long standing tradition in my family of making your own Halloween costumes. When I was a kid, my mom and I spent hours on a Hi-C Boppin' Berry drink box costume that I wore (and many people borrowed year after year!), and I made my brother into an adorable little Kit-Kat bar when he was in preschool. I have bought Liam's costume the last two years, but I thought this year would be a good time to start the tradtion around here.

I asked him what he wanted to be while we were watching a movie and eating popcorn, so naturally, he wanted to be popcorn. Here's what we came up with...and his tiny movie-ticket sister too :)

This photo was taken at a Medical Partners Halloween party. We also went trick-or-treating, which Liam loved. Every time someone would give him candy, he jumped up and down and yelled "I did it! More!!". We drove to a friend's neighborhood where the houses were all particpating and close together- the best neighborhood in the area for trick-or-terating, if you want my opinion. We didn't make it very far around (only about an hour total), but his bucket was full and he wanted to get in the car so he could eat it!

We all had a great time, but here is a tip- do NOT make a box costume for a two year old. We had to take it off between every house so he would walk to the next one. We had to wait for him to get up the stairs and put it back on again before he rang the doorbells. He didn't mind putting it on over and over though, since there was candy involved!

The best part was that Josh was post-call on the party day and off early for trick-or-treating, so he got to particpate in both! Yeah!

London's 6 month photos

Here are London's 6 month photos. She's getting so big! Liam wasn't supposed to be photographed, but he really wanted in the pics, and I'm glad he got in, because this first one is my favorite pic of them together...you can just see how much she loves him!

Two new pics

Some new pics of the kids after church one day. They are both growing like crazy!

Wedding

I recently went home for just a short weekend trip with both kids for my cousin Amber's wedding. Congrats Amber and Axel! It was a great weekend! Here is a picture of Amber and my uncle walking down the Isle:
And one of my mom and Dad with the kids- Liam danced his heart out at the reception and had so much fun!

The day before the wedding I got to go to a Cardinal game with my dad and brother...I sure miss St. Louis sometimes!

Here's a random pic of London swinging in the swing at their house. She's such a happy baby!

Go Fly a Kite!

The weather has been beautiful this week, and Josh has had an unusual stretch of time off- well, sort of. He had a day off on Thursday and then worked 13 hours Friday followed by short Saturdays and Sundays ("short" meaning he only worked 7 hours each day), and then off again on Monday. Liam saw Special Agent Oso- his new favorite cartoon character- fly a kite on one episode, and I just happened to have one in the closet that I found for $.067 on clearance at Target. I had a lot to get done, so Josh took Liam to try out the kite. He had so much fun! Here is the picture I was sent: We've been to this park twice since that day, and both times Liam has mentioned flying kites.

Apple Orchard!

We have been to the apple orchard twice now. Once with medical partners, a group that I am in for all of the spouses of residents, and once with Josh on a day off. It's a great little orchard with a tractor that takes you out to the far away trees (through a creek, which Liam LOVED!), and REALLY good apple turnovers. You can also try the varieties that are ripe inside the barn, so that you know what you're getting before you pick. Here are some photos of our time with Medical Partners- we were too busy having fun with Daddy when Josh was with us!

London after her trip to the orchard

Liam sampling the wares and carrying the bucket. The apple he was eating was given to him- he's not eating before we paid for the ones we picked!

Liam and his friend Jack on the tractor. Jack is only about two weeks older than Liam.

What Happens when you play Duck Duck Goose with a bunch of 2 year olds

Liam started soccer this week. I use the term soccer loosely. It's kind of an excuse to kick a ball around with a bunch of other kids- exactly what I was expecting, but i thought it would be good to get him involved since he always talks about playing sports. Here is a picture of him kicking the ball, and a video of the end of practice- when the instructor decided to play duck duck goose :) He loves it and asked to go back today. You might want to turn the sound off for the video- it was a really windy day.

Hey Look! It's Josh!

Josh has had a few days off this month- he has the scheduled 4 per month that are standard, but his senior surprised him with the day off that we went to the zoo in St. Louis, and then he got out really early on Labor Day, and has been getting off before noon on weekend. We've been trying to take advantage of the weather as much as possible- it's been GEORGEOUS here! Here are a few photos of a hike around Coralville Lake. The kids had such a good time, and Liam walked the whole way by himself, with the exception of 1 hill at the very end that he just couldn't muster the energy to climb! We hiked over 3 miles total, so I thought he did great! Throwing Rocks in the water from the bridge- this has to be one of his favorite things to do- with or without a bridge.

Liam leading the way

London LOVES the backpack! WIsh I could have gotten her smile here too!