New skates from grandma.
And the melting snowman!
silver linings and quilt tops
5 years ago
Theo Fair Trade Organic Chocolate Factory Tour
Will was pretty excited to go on the chocolate factory tour although I had to laugh because at the end he asked me, "When do we get to see the chocolate?" It wasn't exactly Willy Wonka with rivers of chocolate ganache but we sampled a LOT of chocolate and heard quite a bit about the process of making chocolate from bean to bar and even before the bean in countries like Africa, Central America, and South America. From now on, this is my favorite chocolate and it is going to be my gifting phenomenon for awhile!
Most of the photos are not turning out because of our camera issue but here is Will in his hairnet-- however ethereal looking with the broken flash!
PNB Nutcracker
Will and I attended the Nutcracker matinee for the first time. It was quite a busy event with a lot of people...whew! I had to laugh though when about midway through the first half of the performance Will announced to me in a very loud voice, "Mama, I'm hot. I'm very hungry. I have to go to the bathroom." Once we got off some clothes, snuck out for the toilet, and fed him a cookie at intermission he did fine but I kind of doubt he understood how fortunate he was to tour backstage and see it all in action behind the scenes. To me, this was just such a treat!
Our camera has been acting up so it will be a little while until we get some decent photos up again. The flash seems to make the whites turn too white and wash out the rest of the photo. If the pictures have an ethereal quality, this is why.
One of the coolest costumes-- I think. Very Maurice Sendak.
Gideon and Will in front of the Nutcracker.
Checking out the costumes backstage.
Here is Gideon, Will and Soren behind the stage!
Our camera has been acting up so it will be a little while until we get some decent photos up again. The flash seems to make the whites turn too white and wash out the rest of the photo. If the pictures have an ethereal quality, this is why.
One of the coolest costumes-- I think. Very Maurice Sendak.
Gideon and Will in front of the Nutcracker.
Checking out the costumes backstage.
Here is Gideon, Will and Soren behind the stage!
Christmas Eve
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Paul and Will spent several hours sledding today as they enjoyed this very rare white Christmas.
Blizzard
Apparently we had a blizzard this weekend-- but probably not by Minnesota standards. In Minnesota the plows would have cleared away our foot or so of snow on the roads and been back to business. In Seattle, this means that the city is virtually shut down and all roads outside of the main freeways are still pretty well covered in snow several days later.
We are pretty grateful for our little hamlet though because we are close to the necessities-- library, bakery, grocery store, local stores for last minute gifting, post office, etc. and with playdates, zoo trips, sledding, shovelling, and snowman building we've had fun!
Making a snow angel
This was just the first accumulation-- you should see it now!
We are pretty grateful for our little hamlet though because we are close to the necessities-- library, bakery, grocery store, local stores for last minute gifting, post office, etc. and with playdates, zoo trips, sledding, shovelling, and snowman building we've had fun!
Making a snow angel
This was just the first accumulation-- you should see it now!
List for Santa
Will has been getting an allowance since he turned four years old. We give him four dollars a week and he gets to spend it how he would like. We do have the fancy bank where he needs to put aside some for SAVING, some for GIVING, and some for SPENDING but at this point he is just so thrilled to have money that we let him use it how he would like. I suspect that next year we can start up with the bank and he can learn to put some aside.
It has been hysterical though to see the things he saves up for and the things he purchases. Here is Will's "List for Santa" as we know it:
1. Small wrench from the hardware store (this was one of his first purchases)
2. Small blue caulk gun (he bought this in anticipation of the caulking that they will need to do downstairs)
3. Yellow !Caution! !Cuidado! Tape (he loves this purchase and sets up caution blocks all over the house for us)
4. Bolt Cutters (this is something he is saving for so he can have his own next year at the pumpkin patch)
5. Microwave (he has been asking for this but we really don't have room for him to have his own)
6. Oven (again, there is a space issue here)
7. Tights (he really wants rainbow tights like his friend Lane)
8. Snow Globe (he loves these!)
9. Scotch Tape with a dispenser
10. Tiara like Fancy Nancy (Jane Connor books)
11. Fire extinguisher (there is a tiny plastic one for dress up that he has his eye on)
12. Pirate Hook (another dress up item that he has seen at the toystore)
This is not to say that he hasn't wanted and purchased toys too. Here are some of the toys he has purchased:
1. Bruder Logging Truck
2. Small Firetruck
3. Art Supply (HUGE bead set)
It has been hysterical though to see the things he saves up for and the things he purchases. Here is Will's "List for Santa" as we know it:
1. Small wrench from the hardware store (this was one of his first purchases)
2. Small blue caulk gun (he bought this in anticipation of the caulking that they will need to do downstairs)
3. Yellow !Caution! !Cuidado! Tape (he loves this purchase and sets up caution blocks all over the house for us)
4. Bolt Cutters (this is something he is saving for so he can have his own next year at the pumpkin patch)
5. Microwave (he has been asking for this but we really don't have room for him to have his own)
6. Oven (again, there is a space issue here)
7. Tights (he really wants rainbow tights like his friend Lane)
8. Snow Globe (he loves these!)
9. Scotch Tape with a dispenser
10. Tiara like Fancy Nancy (Jane Connor books)
11. Fire extinguisher (there is a tiny plastic one for dress up that he has his eye on)
12. Pirate Hook (another dress up item that he has seen at the toystore)
This is not to say that he hasn't wanted and purchased toys too. Here are some of the toys he has purchased:
1. Bruder Logging Truck
2. Small Firetruck
3. Art Supply (HUGE bead set)
Do it Yourself Birthday Party
Will celebrated Jasmine's fourth birthday today with a decorate your own cupcake, goodie bag and tree decoration.
Here is the birthday girl in action:
Here is the birthday girl in action:
Chicken Pox!
Here is the first day:
We were told by our pediatrician that she was POSITIVE that Will had a classic case of chicken pox, however mild, when he was around one years old. So I really wasn't expecting to see a pock on his neck the other day, nor was I expecting him to mention to me a couple hours later that he was "feeling itchy".
Varicella is amazing! He had about 10-20 pox and then it seemed like everytime I looked at him there were more and more appearing. While descriptions claim between 4-500 pox, I would say that Will had a little over 100 pox in all. They were all scabbed over within a few days and truly, this was not a big deal. The past week has actually been quite a fun time for Mr Will because of all the friends coming over for disease transmission.
We were told by our pediatrician that she was POSITIVE that Will had a classic case of chicken pox, however mild, when he was around one years old. So I really wasn't expecting to see a pock on his neck the other day, nor was I expecting him to mention to me a couple hours later that he was "feeling itchy".
Varicella is amazing! He had about 10-20 pox and then it seemed like everytime I looked at him there were more and more appearing. While descriptions claim between 4-500 pox, I would say that Will had a little over 100 pox in all. They were all scabbed over within a few days and truly, this was not a big deal. The past week has actually been quite a fun time for Mr Will because of all the friends coming over for disease transmission.
First Ice Skate
Today we took Will for his first time on the ice. We were so grateful for the little metal trainers that they provided at the rink. It didn't take long for Will to feel confident holding onto the rails of his trainer and he was just zipping around with his friend Lane.
Happy Thanksgiving!
We tried to get some photos of Will and Mandarin this holiday but as you can see, Mandarin tries to be as far away from him as possible so this was the best we could do.
Are we done yet?
Looking for Chum
We've been keeping our eye out for spawning salmon but thus far there haven't been many seen. We stopped by this weekend and only saw a carcass and then last week Paul said that they saw a couple making their way.
Shaping Up
Paul has been working furiously on the "tubes" for the bathroom with Will. So far everything seems to be running smoothly...
Finn's Pirate Party
Will celebrated his friend's birthday party in true Seattle style...kayaking, steering a tugboat, moving containers onto trucks, working on a fishing boat, and admiring some of the largest fish caught in PNW waters! What a great party!
These fish on the wall were just amazingly large. There is something about big fish that just makes me hyperventilate... on the far right is an 11 1/2 foot sturgeon caught in the Columbia River. On the far left is a salmon, then a king crab and then a halibut... all far too large for me to imagine swimming beside!
These fish on the wall were just amazingly large. There is something about big fish that just makes me hyperventilate... on the far right is an 11 1/2 foot sturgeon caught in the Columbia River. On the far left is a salmon, then a king crab and then a halibut... all far too large for me to imagine swimming beside!
