Jason's Tropical Sno!

The best part of the snow storm was we had fresh snow for our favorite treat...shaved ice! It was so delicious...even if we were shivering through every bite!

I'm still dreaming of a White Christmas!

Here are more pictures of us enjoying the wonderful holiday snow!

Here's Jason snowboarding down our street with Madison chasing after him. She got a turn sledding down the street on Jason's snowboard. Looked pretty fun!

Snow Angels!
After lots of searching, I found some more warm clothes for Madison and Warwick! They were a lot happier and warmer!

I'm dreaming of a White Christmas!

Okay, so it isn't Christmas quite yet, but look what we woke up to this morning! Isn't this awesome?! Brody, Madison and Warwick went wild when they saw the snow this morning! They haven't seen anything like this before and were so excited! We definitely weren't prepared with snow gear, so Madison and Warwick didn't last long out in the snow. But, lucky for Brody, we had all the right sizes for him to stay warm and play forever in the snow!

Here is Madison's first grade photo. Isn't she a cutie?

Here is Madison's basketball photo. She had a great time playing basketball this year. It was her first time playing on any type of sports team. She improved so much and was so fun to watch! She was a great little hustler and had a huge permanent smile every game. She just finished up the season and is very proud of her trophy. She polishes it several times a day...does that sound a little like her Daddy??
Here are my two wild boys: Warwick and Brody. They are excited to be wearing PJs from Grandma.
Thanks, Grandma! We love you!

Warwick, Madison and Brody at our church Christmas Party. They were a wild bunch, running all over the place. I wasn't feeling very "merry" at the end of this party!

Happy Birthday Mom & Dad!

PUZZLEKINS

My good friend, Vicki, is an amazing artist and very creative! She came up with these great puzzles that my kids LOVE to play with when they go to her house! On the backside of every puzzle piece is a character or object that you can then play with on the pirate ship. Once all the pieces are out of the puzzle, the inside of the pirate ship is exposed. The kids can play with these puzzles forever! Now they aren't just puzzles that you can play at her house...you can buy them in the store! She has a few different puzzle sets that you can buy at target.com, smallworldtoys.com and pocket full of therapy. They would make a great Christmas present! I am so excited to order one of my own!

I always admire mothers that are able to use their talents and have success, while being great stay-at-home mothers! Vicki is definitely one of those mothers!

Thanks Lindsi and Jamie for being so good to Madison this weekend! She wishes you guys were her big sisters!

Thanksgiving 2008

We drove up to Seattle to spend Thanksgiving with some of my siblings and their families. Included in our gathering was Scott & Keri (their 5 kids), Kelly & Bruce (their 6 kids), Jason & I (our 3 kids) and a family friend of Scott's. It was great to spend the holiday surrounded by family!

We kicked off the day with the boys going to play mud football. Tough looking bunch, I wouldn't mess with them, would you?? All the nice white shorts came back a few shades darker!

Next up was a trip to downtown Seattle. We found a park outside a homeless shelter and handed out warm clothing, hand warmers, food & snacks and some bus passes. It was great to put a few smiles back on faces and help make their day a bit brighter.
Madison and Halli had a great time handing out the clothes and snacks.

Look how happy they look all bundled up in their new coats!

It was fun preparing the meal all together...although, Keri and Kelly get the majority of the credit! Kacie and I helped Scott carve the turkey. Scott is the oldest in my family and I am the youngest. Scott coaches the s varsity basketball team at Woodinville High School. He is awesome! Go Falcons!

Jamie, Lindsi and Kelly(my hot nieces & smokin' hot sister) making rolls. They were delicious!

Kelly made all 4 pies. Berry, apple and 2 pumpkin. My dad would have been so proud! The crust was made to Plush Pippin perfection!

Madison and Halli ready to dive into the Thanksgiving feast!

The whole gang

Little Warren is ready to bounce on all the sleeping boys! We found the boys in similar states of slumber all over the house the entire weekend!

Madison and Halli had so much fun together that she wanted to stay a few extra days to play with Halli. I love how cousins connect.

Cousin bonding over youtube.

Bath-time for the boys. They were bouncing all over the tub. Jumping off the sides and sliding down the the slanted side.

Aren't these boys the cutest?

My first Black Friday experience is one I will NEVER forget! We stayed up until midnight to hit the Nike outlet in Seattle. I have never seen so many people in my life in one store! We waited for hours in the check-out line...hours. We didn't get home until after 4 am. Was it worth it? I haven't decided yet! There were some incredible deals, but I'd say the best part was watching the crazy shoppers go at it.

Later on that day we took the kids to see Santa. Poor Santa must have had one too many visitors because he looked so tired! But, the kids were excited to see him and tell him what they they wanted for Christmas...and they loved the candy cane and cotton candy that Santa gave them. Here is a great photo of Brody's new haircut. Didn't he do a great job? HAHA!

Happy Holidays everyone! Thanks to Scott and Keri for hosting a great Thanksgiving! Dave & Suzi, John & Amelia, Lori & Derek, Mark & Emily and Mom & Dad...we missed you all! It was great to see all the Bushnells for a quick visit (we missed you Tasha & Carlos).

Does this make me a bad parent?

Is it worse that he is too close to the TV OR that he is actually sound asleep on the kitchen counter??

He looks so sweet. You would never guess that the night before he sat in this very spot and chopped his own hair off. Yep, you heard me right. He cut his bangs off. I almost buzzed it all off, but the thought of that almost made me cry. He wouldn't be Brody anymore! Hair grows fast, right?? In the meantime, I guess he has a look that only a mother can love!

Madison's 7th Birthday

Madison turned 7 on November 8th. She was so sick on her birthday, it was sad. It seems like that always happens! We opened presents and had cake, but didn't have any sort of celebration with her friends. At the end of the day, I asked her if she had a good birthday and she said, "Well, I guess so, but it only lasted like 2 minutes!" I laughed at that and reminded her that she was lucky because she got to have 2 birthdays this year. Her "real" birthday and the day of her party.

Here are 2 pictures on her "2 minute" birthday, November 8th

Today we had her party with her friends. We had a big Hawaiian Party. 9 little s + 4 little boys = LOUD CHAOS! The kids had a blast eating pizza and fruit, playing games (musical lays(sp?), pass the parcel, the limbo and going on a scavenger hunt), opening presents and eating cupcakes! Madison loved every minute of it!