More Seattle Fun

We stayed in a hotel with a pool this weekend and captured a few moments for posterity. The last picture was taken at the Pacific Science Center. Weatherman Joshua is reading the teleprompter and letting us know that we can expect more rain in the days ahead.

Pacific Science Center

We spent the weekend in Seattle and had lots of fun visiting the Pacific Science Center on Sunday afternoon. We cracked up at the oversized table and chairs and the boys had a good time playing a huge game of checkers.

Angel Alert

Joshua played the role of Harpo in this years Christmas musical production at church. He did a fabulous job! The director just let us know the show is on DVD now so I will get copies to the family.

Christmas Moments

It was so great to have Mom and Dad visit us for a week this month. We shopped, visited, played games, took lots of Baskin Robbins breaks and had a wonderful time together.

O Christmas Tree

This is the first year EVER that we didn't buy a real tree. I wasn't too sure that I would like having an artificial tree, but it didn't take me long to appreciate it. It came with lights already attached, so the setup was quick and easy. No more sweeping up millions of fallen needles and no more wading through presents to water the tree. It was also great having the tree still look nice on Christmas day.

My Guys

Christmas Photo Shoot

Patrick took us to a wooded area of our neighborhood and took some great pictures of us all a couple of weeks before Christmas.

Matthew's Performance

Matthew was asked to share the true meaning of Christmas at the Women's Christmas Dessert at our church last night. He worked hard to memorize his lines and did a great job!

Yellow Belts

Both boys passed their first tae kwon do testing last Wednesday evening, and are now yellow belts. It was so much fun to watch them test and to see the ceremony where they were presented with their new belts.

Joshua cracked me up because he was always embarrassed about being a lowly white belt...how mortifying! Matthew, on the other hand, had great respect for his tae kwon do outfit from the beginning, white belt and all. One day when Patrick was bringing him home from class, he told Matthew to change his clothes before playing at the park across the street with his neighbor buddies. Matthew solemnly agreed, saying, "People would be worried if I wore my outfit to the park because they might think I would beat them up!"

Ninja Halloween

The boys picked a ninja theme this Halloween. Joshua was a "real" ninja and Matthew was a Ninja Turtle. They trick or treated at Microsoft and then came home and joined up with their neighborhood pals. They ended up with too much candy of course, so my back door neighbor introduced me to the Switch Witch. She is a kindly witch who is a cousin to the Tooth Fairy, and she comes at night and trades all the candy for a toy. In Matthew and Joshua's case, she left Pokemon cards and organizer pages so they can arrange their cards in a notebook. Good deal!

High Desert Museum

These pictures were taken in August when we visited the High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon. Joshua bought the Oregon Ducks cap while we were there and is now constantly being asked if he's a Ducks fan (which is not a good thing to be here in Washington). He looks aggrieved when people ask him and says, "No! I just like the cap!" LOL!

Reptile Party

For her twin sons' birthday, my friend Jennifer hired the Reptile Man to come to her house and teach the boys. He brought around 15 reptiles. The boys enjoyed this experience very much, and Joshua even wore the boa constrictor!

Fall Beach Trip

We spent the weekend in Moclips which is 20 miles north of Ocean Shores. Saturday was a beautiful, sunny day, and we spent it playing beach football (Joshua and I took on Patrick and Matthew. Fun!), throwing frisbees, writing in the sand, roasting weiners and marshmallows, and Patrick even flew our kite and gathered a collection of seashells. We also had a nice indoor pool and hot tub available. It made for a fun get-away weekend. We were very pleased to have such good weather because it has been rainy and stormy here for the past few weeks.

Halloween Cupcakes

Mom sent us some fun cupcake stencils, so the boys and I tried them out today. We made up a plate for Matthew's little buddy Andrew who spent the morning with us while his mom had an appointment. He proudly showed the plate to his mom when she came to pick him up. We all had a fun time. Thanks for the stencils, Mom! :)

Science Experiments

While the boys are at piano lessons on Friday mornings, I gather all the materials needed for our science experiments. When they arrive home, they have a great time experimenting...


Joshua is learning about magnetism and was really impressed to see the paper clip suspended in air as it was pulled upward by the magnet. Can you tell in the picture that the paper clip isn't touching the magnet?


Last week, Matthew put some beans in a glass with a paper towel and some water and observed how the beans sprouted roots. Today he planted them and will chart how fast they grow.

Tae Kwon Do

The boys are really enjoying their tae kwon do classes. You should hear Matthew shout, "Yes sir!" in response to his teacher. You can see how he stands ramrod straight at attention! They are both learning lots of great stuff at their classes. I'm delighted that it's right here in the neighborhood. This year, we aren't having to leave Snoqualmie for any of their extra-curricular activities. Hooray for me!!