Goofballs

Dancing is common in our house - especially for Laurel.  She has her own signature moves and is constantly showing them off.  A little video of the two of them demonstrating these moves for me. And no, there is no actual music, just the songs in their heads.

Sun River

At the last minute, the Knowles family decided to take a long weekend and spend some quality time together in Sun River, OR.   It was a much needed weekend of fun family time, kind of a "re-start" after a very long year and a celebration of what we have and what is to come. Unfortunately, the guys couldn't make it and were very much missed, but we do have the Roessler reunion to look forward to.   

Grandma was kind enough to take all 6 kids so we could have a 'Dad and Daughter' ski day.  The weather was gorgeous, there was snow(!) and there were no lines so we got in a full day of skiing. So much fun!

The second day we decided to take all of the kids up to the mountain with us (well, excluding Liam, of course).  We woke that morning with very low expectations on how the day would go... 5 kids, 6 and under who have only skied a few times, there was a great risk of it going very badly. Fortunately, we were completely wrong and it turned out to be an incredibly fun day.  All kids loved it and picked up new ski skills really quickly with little help from the grown ups.  They ended up skiing for hours, much longer than we expected and were all smiles!

 

The rest of the weekend was spending time with each other relaxing around the house, playing games, swimming at the pool and biking around the neighborhood.

The dominoes were a big hit and these two worked so well together to get them all set up.

These three spent many hours playing My Little Ponies, Princesses and Barbies.

Great bike riding paths.

Many, many snuggles.

Thanks for inviting us on such a fun trip, Grandma and Grandpa!  We couldn't have asked for a better weekend.

A short season of skiing

We signed the girls up for ski lessons once again and unfortunately, mother nature did not cooperate this year. The snow levels were so low this year that the season never really took off and Snoqualmie closed entirely mid-February.  Poor Laurel has been waiting for the opportunity to ski for an entire year and is more than disappointed that there is probably not going to be any more trips to the mountain this year.  We did get in 3 weeks worth and here are a couple pictures.  Hopefully next year will be better!

The only one I have of Laurel... her and Callie getting ready to go on the Magic Carpet.

Liam and Maya hanging out while Laurel skis.

Ms Bre, Ella, Maya and Laney.  Spring skiing in January!

A Little Lady

Well, we are a few months into kindergarten and this little lady is thriving.  She is learning so much each and every day.  She is figuring life out and, although a bit cautious, loves to experience new things.  She has figured out that sometimes she just needs a few minutes to observe what is happening before jumping in and is becoming strong enough in herself to voice that.  She has such a big empathetic heart and together we are learning to balance the feelings of joy and worry.  All she wants is for everyone in her life to be happy and she almost always thinks of others before herself.

Maya, we love you with all our hearts and are so very proud of the person you are becoming. Thanks for making us feel like we did something right as parents :-)

Fashionista

Laurel started caring about her clothing much earlier in life than any of the rest of us.  She wants to wear what she wants to wear and there isn't much that will convince her otherwise.  I decided pretty quickly that it wasn't worth the battle and let her make her own choices.  I even gave up trying to make sure they were weather appropriate as the only way she would believe me was to wear the wrong thing and learn for herself that sandals in winter mean really cold feet.

This picture captures a few of her fashion statements: rainboots are a MUST at the slightest sign of a puddle (it is one of the first questions she asks each morning), the 80's style headband is the hair accessory of choice (and she is often wearing more than one) and Maya is wearing the brightly colored knee socks - a trend Laurel started a year ago.

She refuses to wear any shirt that does not have "a picture of something" on it.  I have a whole drawer full of clothes that she simply won't put on because there are no pictures on them.  And this one barely counts because it is more like a pattern than a picture.

Her newest fashion statement is two different shoes:

There was the perfectly planned Christmas eve outfit where she refused leggings or tights (and it was COLD) and tried on 4 different skirts to make sure she could see just the right amount of leg above her boot when she bent over.  I still don't understand exactly what that means or why the first three didn't cut it, but whatever.  At least she found one that worked.

And the ski googles have become a necessary accessory - on hikes, during meals, around the house. You will also notice the pants she is wearing here.  Those are actually long underwear.  I made the rookie mistake of buying long underwear that had something on them and she refuses to wear anything over them because "then everyone can't see the owls and how cute they are."  Even on a hike in 30 degree weather.  Considering snow pants over them will be non-negotiable for skiing I should prepare myself now for the battle.

(she clearly did not want her picture taken)

Despite the frustration Little Miss Particular can bring out, it is fun to watch her spunky little personality show through her clothes.  Maya asks me each morning to make sure her outfit matches... a question I never expect to hear from Laurel.

Cookies!

We once again gathered to bake our obscene amount of Christmas cookies.  It is a blast and each year gets a little bit easier as the kids are getting older.  We have it down to a pretty good routine at this point and we each walk away with plenty of cookies to share with neighbors and friends.

I'm not entirely sure why Maya is wearing bunny ears - I think maybe we ran out of reindeer antlers and Santa hats :-) 

A weekend away

Life has been busy with work, two girls in different schools and all the fun kids activities that come along with that.  We decided we needed a weekend away and headed back to Seabrook.  Our first trip was such a success and it has become a favorite spot for us.  Four days of relaxation with some beautiful weather - couldn't be beat.

We saw Santa's sleigh and the girls got a kick out of the bikes filling in for the reindeer.

We spent a whole lot of time at the beach - playing with the waves, building sandcastles and attempting to fly a kite (there just wasn't enough wind).  We really lucked out with the weather.

Laurel and I took a trip to the park while Rey and Maya stayed behind a built a fire in the fire pit.

We did some crafting, played many games, built Legos and just enjoyed some quiet time away from our own house.

It was a great trip and we will be back!