Olympic National Park - Day One

Monday morning we headed across to the Washington peninsula. This included a ride on a ferry! How fun!! This was our first of several ferry rides for the week. It was a very cool and windy day so Aiden and I spent most of our time inside.He thought it was cool to watch the water go by.On our quest to hit all the National Parks, we visited Olympic National Park. The Visitor Center in Port Angeles was one of the best we'd been to. It had lots of displays and even a kids' play room. We had planned to visit Hurricane Ridge, but on the day we visited you had to have snow chains on your tires. There were drifts of snow up to 10 feet in some places! So we enjoyed a beautiful drive around Lake Crescent. Amazingly still water with majestic mountains in the background. God sure did create some amazing places!Outside of the park, we drove to Cape Flattery, the northwestern most point of the continental USA. The trail was about 3/4 mile long and looked nice and roomy at the trailhead. We had a jogging stroller for Aiden, so off we went. About halfway down the jogging stroller was no longer an option as the path narrowed. So, we ditched it and Aiden walked the rest of the way. Such a trooper! The view was breathtaking!
We headed to Forks, WA (home of the Twilight series) to spend the night. From there we toured the rest of the peninsula.

Downtown

Our second day in Seattle we went downtown after Sunday morning worship. We ate lunch at Chipotle (yum!). And of course we had to do one of the most "touristy" things in Seattle - the Space Needle. It's one of those things you just have to do. Kinda like going up in the Washington Monument in D.C. or going to the top of the Arch in St. Louis. If you're in Seattle, you have to experience it. So we did.The view from the top was gorgeous, of course. I hear it's even better on the rare day there is no cloud cover and you can see the mountains.Inside the observatory deck there is a camera that you can pan around and see the city. Aiden had a little too much fun with that.By the time we headed back to Andy's it was 4:00 and in a matter of seconds, Aiden went from this ....to this!

On to Seattle

The trip to Seattle was wonderful! Aiden traveled like a champ and even tolerated waking up at 6 to leave for the airport. The flights were not full, so we were able to bring Aiden's carseat on the plane. He loved sitting by the window and looking out. I brought lots of new stuff for him to play with so he was entertained (without technology!) the entire time. During our layover in Las Vegas we let him run off his energy so he was ready for a nap during the second flight. We told him it was time for a nap and he turned his head in his seat and went straight to sleep! The first morning he woke up at 4 with a messy diaper and then went back to sleep until 6 (which was 8 our time). By the end of the week he was sleeping until about 9!! It was great! These pics are at Kerry Park. We took them on our way to Andy's house from the airport. Great view of the city! More about our trip coming soon!

Some Stories

Here are some of the fun things Aiden's been saying lately:

*** A couple weeks ago I picked him up from school and asked him what he had done that day.
A: Time out.
Me: Why did you have to go to time out?
A: Table climbing. (Not surprising!)

Fast forward a couple weeks and we are with my parents. My dad asked Aiden why he got in time out at school. Aiden gave him the most serious look and I know he was thinking, "How do you know about that?". But he answered and said, "Climbing tables." Kid has a serious memory.

*** He tells me all about what he does at school on Thursdays. On the way to school he names his teachers and nearly everyone in his class.

*** If we go in the Post Office to mail something he knows the lady will give him a sticker.

*** We went to my brother's wedding in Seattle last week. Wednesday of the week we ate dinner at his finance's parents' house. They had some old kid toys and some stuffed animals that Aiden enjoyed playing with. We went back over there on Saturday night and remembered almost every toy that he had played with. He asked for each one by name!

*** When he gets out of the bath he says, "Wrap a burrito!". (He wants to be wrapped in a towel like a burrito.)

*** He can sing some of the words to several songs. His current favorites are Itsy Bitsy Spider, My God is So Big, ABCs, The Wise Man Built His House Upon the Rock, Jesus Loves the Little Children, and Jesus Loves Me. He can say the alphabet A-G and then will fill in letters when I say it with him. He knows most of his colors (still confuses brown, black, and white) and can identify the majority of shapes.

*** We bought him a train whistle while we were on vacation. For a few minutes he couldn't quite get the hang of blowing it hard enough to make noise. Right after he made it whistle the first time he looked at all of us and said (with a big grin), "Take a picture!".

*** He saw cake at Andy and Lisa's wedding and said, "Happy da birthday!".

*** I woke him up at 8:15 this morning to get ready for school. I asked him if he was ready to eat breakfast and go see Mrs. Kim. He rolled back under the covers and said, "No. I take a nap." Kid loves his sleep!

He has really developed quite the vocabulary in the past few months!

The Big Snow

February 9, 2011

The snow came in fast and furious and at times was falling a rate of 3 inches an hour. It was beautiful! The flakes were HUGE! I could honestly sit and stare at falling snow for hours. Alas, with a toddler, this is not possible. This pic was taken at about 9:00 am. The table had been clear the night before!!The day before we could actually see the driveway. Where had it gone?!

The snow continued to fall throughout the morning.After lunch we decided to bundle up and venture out. Who knew that the $3 snowsuit I bought Aiden at a garage sale in the spring would get so much use in one year?! He wasn't quite sure what to think at first. This was mainly due to the fact that he could barely even walk (between the bulky snowsuit and the snow that came up to his thighs!). Once we cleared a path in the driveway, he was more eager to go explore.

He attempted (in vain) to use the big snow shovel!Monty and Aiden testing the depth of the snow.The piles on the side of the driveway were two feet deep! Insane. Seriously, I have never seen this much snow in all my life!Shoveling was much easier with the dustpan. Note to self: get Aiden's buckets and shovels before the toybox gets buried in the backyard.By the afternoon the snow had stopped and the sun was shining. The driveway and our street were clear so Monty was able to go get some goodies from McDonalds. It was a good day!

So We Got Some Snow

We have had some "great" winter weather the past couple weeks! I love the snow and am not complaining one bit. It was cold, but it was beautiful. Monty got to work from home a few days and Aiden and I had fun just sticking around the house and playing.

Tuesday, February 1 it snowed about 6-8 inches, depending on where you were. The counties directly above us in MO were under a blizzard warning, so we were pretty thankful to get as little as we did. The snow followed about 1/2" of sleet and ice. The roads were a mess for a couple days. The side roads never really got cleared at all. Fast forward three days and the weather man was calling for a dusting on Friday, February 4. Yeah, we ended up with about 4 more inches of the the fluffy stuff. The main roads that were once clear are now covered again and the side roads just got worse. We live on a main road so we did okay with being able to get out and about.

The next Tuesday the 10:00 forecast projected we'd get about 5" more snow. By this time the small rural schools had been out for 6 days because the plows had yet to clear all the back roads. Wednesday morning Monty got up to check on the snowfall totals. In my sleepy state (from under my warm covers) I asked if it was snowing. He said, "Yes. Quite a bit." This was at 6:30. By the time Aiden and I got up around 9:00 there was probably about a foot on the ground. And yes, it was still coming. All said, we got around twenty inches. That's almost two feet!! Crazy! However, since there was no ice, Monty was able to shovel the driveway that day. The plow came and cleared the road and we were able to get out that night.

It is still amazing to me just how much snow there was. A week later and it's in the 70s outside and the snow is gone. Aiden enjoyed the snow so much. Every time we went outside he wanted to wear his boots and walk in the snow. He loved walking across parking lots and stomping in the slushy mess. Such a boy! We are so thankful God gave us His beauty to enjoy.

He's a Mess

So, a jar of sprinkles fell off the pantry door today and the bottom of the jar busted. When Aiden picked up the jar, sprinkles went everywhere! So, why not have a little fun?! Mmmmmm ...... they are so good!

It's these moments that make me so happy to be home all day with him. Love this kid!

Let It Snow

Last Thursday we had our second "big" snow for the year. We had a snow day the week before, but it wasn't quite as much. Let me tell you, I love snow. I am a Florida girl at heart and was raised in a land where it hardly ever got below freezing, but I have always loved the white stuff. It's so clean and pretty and I can't get enough of it - especially when I can stay home.
Nothing starts a snow day better than cinnamon rolls - ahhhh, comfort food! Aiden enjoyed the icing! Then we bundled up and headed out to play. That just meant that we put our snow clothes on over our flannel pjs. A good snow day requires being in comfy clothes all day long.Ready to roll! It was BRIGHT out by lunchtime and had quit snowing.

It is hard to get back up once you've fallen. Poor kid!Must taste some! Love his mittens covered in snow! He has two pairs on each hand. His thick pair he got for Christmas were still a little big, so we just doubled up on the thin ones.He may be getting a little tired.
And what's a snow day without snow cream?!

My teacher friends may curse me for saying this, but I hope we get a few more of these wonderful white days this winter. This snow was not good snowman snow and we didn't get the chance to go sledding. :)