Olivia!!

Here she is!! The long waited (month long) visit from their favorite cousin OLIVIA!! So sad that my sister was sick the night before she flew in...but she made it and we are oh so excited to have them here!! And how much fun is it that we are all in Grandma's house together!!

Christmas trees and Guitar Hero...

Tanya & Andy flew in right before our Thanksgiving feast up at the Gales. We had all of the yummy fixings that you would expect for Thanksgiving, right down to beloved family!

After sufficiently stuffing ourselves, we sat down to peruse the Black Friday ads (determined we weren't shopping for anything) then played some games of manacala, chatted and then dessert, then more sitting around and then home.

The next morning Tanya, Andy, and my parents took off to do the shopping for things that we weren't going to get shopping that always seems to happen :)

I spent the day making gingerbread :)
Saturday we dragged the Christmas tree out to put up. It's always nice to have extra helping hands...my mom once again asked if we had to, and I said yes. Especially since it will be Olivia's first Christmas! And you can't cancel the tree, even with your house overflowing with family!!
Afterwards, we rocked out on Guitar Hero...Andy loved each part you could play, it was memorable with the kids singing...my kids had never been exposed to Rock Band or GH, so they mostly watched their cousins belt out the Beatles and Eye of the Tiger...Even Andy was brave enough to sing...

Here Kyle wants his daddy to stop...he tried putting his hands on the "drums" but that didn't stop my brother from "rocking out"!!

Denial...

Kiera is in denial...I asked her about these new expressions that I am finding in the latest photos we've taken...she said she didn't do anything...I asked her how her eyes could BOTH be looking at her nose without concentrated effort...she said she didn't know....I told her I had some pictures to show her...I will up date with her answer tomorrow...

Great Grandma Chan

Here is a 4 generation pic from our weekend in Seattle.

Tell, me...why is Kiera making that face!!!???

Mr.Linn....

Kaylee is a super hardworking student. She is meticulous about getting her stuff done, and done correctly. She has us double check her work every night. She LOVES Mr. Linn. His word is scripture. (Or more like her interpretation of his words...) I can't even begin to tell you the "discussions" we've had over, "But Mr. Linn said...." I'm glad she enjoys school and I'm glad she loves her teacher. Mr. Linn's goal is to get them ready for middle school...he has high expectations of these kids...he has quite the system down to help his students be responsible and accountable for their work. I do like him, but his word shouldn't be law...

Anyhow, Kaylee made the honor roll, which to me shouldn't be too difficult especially with how the class is set up. She was 1 of 2 students in her class with a "4.0". They had an assembly to recognize the kids and some parents had flowers or balloons to give to their kiddos. I just thought, "is this really such a big deal?" I am pleased that Kaylee works hard and is responsible enough to get her stuff done, and done well. So, perhaps I should be a bit more, "WAHOO!! Way to GO!!" I'll just make sure to give her more hugs and say more often, "Great Job!!"

Happy ...pre...Thanksgiving...

We had a fun creative preschool day :) My nephew Kyle even got to join us :)

SOLD SOLD SOLD!!

We signed the closing documents this morning and now our home is OFFICIALLY SOLD!!

October 22: we got an offer on our house...and after counters back and forth, we finally settled on a price and a date...November 23!! We waited anxiously for inspections to go through, then final loan underwriting, packed our things, readied rooms at my parents' home to move into...and now we are out and I can't seem to say it enough...SOLD!!

After having our home on the market for so long...and having our home supposedly sold for "years" now, it is both sad and happy to have it over.

Good bye home...

Cousin Jacob!!

The girls loved playing with their cousin Jacob. He is so cute and happy!! Each of them wanted to hold him, but most of the time he wanted on the ground or was too wiggly, and he is a bit of a handful when wiggling.

Poor Tom, I think he was a bit overwhelmed with the noise that the girls can create. Although, Sat. morning they all worked out together on the WII fit for 30 min or so. I think my girls are really too into Biggest Loser. If you watch the show, the trainers can be pretty forceful/in your face...well, while Tom was Hula Hooping, Kiera shouted out, "Uncle Tom is working his a** off!!" Which, Tom calmly responded with, "I don't think you should say that." Which then Kassi laughing repeated the offensive sentence. UHHGG!! My girls are so....they were giggling as they belched and cackled--thinking they were oh so funny....popping off...I am raising a bunch of hoodlems...

Big thanks to Pauline for her yummy cooking and cute son!! And THANK YOU for getting the girls breakfast in the morning. Wish we could do it again soon!!

Pacific Science Center

We took a short trip to Seattle this past weekend. The pass wasn't bad, my cousin Pauline and her family hadn't moved to Wash D.C. yet, and the girls had Wed. off. So, off we went. We spent Thursday at the Science Center.
The girls loved the Butterfly Pavilion, well, actually Kaylee and Kiera LOVED it...the younger ones thought it was ok, but both were pretty paranoid that the butterflies would land on them.
We saw an IMAX movie about dolphins. I only felt a bit dizzy a few times, but mostly it was fun to feel like you were swimming with the animals.

They had a fun animation exhibit where we learned all sorts of info about how cartoons were made in the past as well as present day. Found an interesting display showing a cartoon from the early 70s called "Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan." As we were leaving Mikenna exclaimed, "MOM!! It's Tom & Jerry!!" She and Kassi have been watching Tom & Jerry, they LOVE IT!!

There was also an exhibit on digital art by Chris Jordan. It was very interesting. If you look at the photo above, I inserted a pic of a close up of the pic behind the girls. Also, I got in trouble taking pictures because I didn't notice the sign that said, "No photography." It was right there too...I put an arrow above where the sign was. Oops!!

Anyhow, we had a lot of fun.

When we went to leave, the battery on the van didn't work...I think, when we first got to Pauline's, I must have left the headlights on...draining the battery, but was able to get a jump start and it drove fine Wed. evening, and we were able to get to the Seattle Center w/o event, but maybe sitting there in the cold killed it? Luckily, there were a few ladies leaving and they were able to give us another jump. (I'm glad I didn't have to approach any guys, although I'm sure they would have been helpful.)

kid memories...

The other day, the girls were sitting there, eating candy...and remembering...

Kassi: "Remember when we went swimming, and Kaylee said, 'I'll sacrifice and jump in first!."

Kiera: "Yeah, then I said, I'll jump in 2nd!!"

Kassi: "And then I said, I'll jump in 3rd!!"

Mikenna: "And I said, I'll take the stairs!!"

They laughed and laughed, and then said it again! Funny what they remember.

Veteren's Day Assembly

Kaylee has been excited for this special Veteren's Day assembly that the 4th graders put on. She has been practicing the songs for weeks now. She and Kiera sing them together when they are supposed to be going to bed. I know she was happy to see her Great Grandpa Gale there to be recognized for his service. Grandma Gale submitted names of family who have been in the service...I didn't realize there were so many to be remembered.

Hunting...

Mike doesn't have much time for hunting, especially when hunting season begins it's usually sprinkler time. Luckily, Andrew was still excited to go with Mike (and his brothers and his dad.) Since sprinklers were done, Mike has been researching places to go and getting his gear together. The night they left, he was literally pacing the floor waiting for Andrew to show up...which we all heard him pull up front...another plus...Andrew has access to a camper...perfect hunting/camping arrangements...now if only they'll see something that they can shoot at...

Scout Master...

Have I mentioned that Mike is the new Scout Master? Well, he had the deacons come over this past Wed. night and they talked about building fires. I think the boys had too much fun.