New Years Questionnaire

I thought I’d take Tammy’s idea of asking everyone in the house a list of questions as we approach the end of 2008 (Beckett was exempt).  The concept of ‘a year’ is pretty hard to grasp when you just turned 4, but it led to an interesting conversation and a great look back at the year and all we’ve done.  Here are questions:

1.  What was your favorite memory of 2008?

2.  What was your favorite place/vacation in 2008?

3.  What was the best thing you learned in 2008?

4.  What was your favorite movie in 2008?

5.  What are your new years resolutions?

6.  What are your predictions for 2009?

Here are our answers?

1.  Turning 4 years old. 2.  Going to Target all those times.  (yep, we sure did go alot) 3.  learning my letters 4.  Ninja Turtle movie 5.  Skippy Jon Jones and the Big Bones 6.  I’m going to do more homework this year 7.  I think Maddie and Will will come visit us again in 2009  (I hope so to buddy)

1.  Seeing Maddie and Will two times this year – at their house this summer and at our house at Thanksgiving. 2.  going to Great Wolf lodge and the waterpark 3.  I learned to say ‘Thank you’ to people who do nice things for me and to say it before my mom tells me to say it. 4.  Beauty and the Beast.  Actually not the movie, but the play at Village Theater.  It was so cool. 5.  June B Jones – Toothless Wonder 6.  I will go to bed earllier, exercise by riding my bike all the way to Snoqualmie town center without getting tired.

1.  When Beckett was born. 2.  Great Wolf Lodge and Vancouver 3.  Learning that Obama would be the next president! 4.  The Dark Knight 5.  Hot, Flat and Crowded 6.  I will properly moisturize my feet and drink less Coke  (??!) 7.  Beckett will say his first words; Campbelle will swim in the ocean in Norway; and Christian will bike without training wheels… all in 2009.

 

1.  Beckett being born and seeing Campbelle and Christian as such great older brother and sister. 2.  Our drive back to SD and MN was alot of fun. 3. How to get 3 kids feed, dressed, and out the door and be on time in the mornings!  (well, mostly on time) 4.  The Dark Knight 5.  Unaccustomed Earth 6.  Get into shape! 7.  In 2009, Beckett will walk; Christian will eat a meal SEATED the entire time; and Campbelle will read independently.

Happy New Year everyone.  Hope 2009 brings you much happiness, good health and lots of fun and laughter!

My kids

I need to express some major gratitude I have for my two older kids.  They get along so well.  It makes my heart so happy when I see them  so kind and compassionate with each other.

If one of them gets a bit afraid during a movie – they will hold each others’ hands and comfort them. 

They get so excited for each other when they receive gifts – you’d swear it was their own birthday;

and they praise each other when they do something great, and really are each other’s biggest fans.

And just when I think that Campbelle’s being a bit too bossy and controlling of what they play (her choice would be to play dolls and Christian is such a good sport and usually steps in to be the dad or brother, or sometimes post man ??) I find them building a train track, playing ninja turtles or something more to Christian’s liking (and he doesn’t seem to mind if Leonardo turtle has a barbie pink skirt on at times).

Being that they are so close in age 18 1/2 months apart to be exact – I’ve often worried about how they will get along.  A few years ago I talked to one of Leif’s aunts about what she thinks is the trick to having kids that get along so well.  She has three, very close-knit kids (2 girls and a boy).  And when I first met them they were teenagers and, even at that age, was so apparent that got along amazingly.  Her advice to me was simple.  She said ‘We just never gave them the option to NOT get along.’   Simple, but makes sense. 

I really am so proud of the love they show for each other.  I hope and pray that it continues …. forever.

Christmas

We had a really nice Christmas – in fact, since we’ve been in the house, in pjs and playing games for the past several days – it still feels like Christmas.

We are snowed in yet another day…. good thing we’ve got great art projects, some new books, new movies and new toys to keep us all entertained.  I feel so fortunate for so many things this holiday season… and given our weather the past week, I’m grateful for a warm house, being together (with no travel plans) and Gina close by, and having a really great family that I love love love being snowed in with!  Hope you all enjoy the rest of these final days of 2008.

Seriously

Could someone make it stop already?  Please, please make it stop!

My skin has gotten so fragile and delicate for this harsh kind of winter.

The making of a Gingerbread house

Making a gingerbread house has been a tradition of Leif and mine since we were married seven year ago.  Each year our designs got a bit more complex, each year we learned a new trick or technique, and each year we always impressed ourselves in the end.  (Oh, and each year we got into an argument about something; each year someone can burning hot sugar dripped on their fingers; and each year someone cursed – alot ---- but to really think of those things really sucks out the Christmas spirit of the tradition). 

Here’s a look at gingerbread houses of the past.  (We didn’t build one last year since we were in Florida for Christmas).

This was our first one.  It was simple, yet for our first – probably our biggest challenge.  The snow you see along the top, that’s there for purposes of cover about a 2 inch gap in our roof.

We did this little ski chalet in Norway.  A very aggressive move for a second year.  Do you have any idea how hard it is so roll a nice, thin sheet of gingerbread in one piece to accommodate those big, long pieces!

We were quite proud of this farmhouse design.  The picture doesn’t give the wrap -around porch its due justice. 

This was a house modeled after an SOS Children’s Village International house.  Its an organization that provides loving homes to orphaned and abandoned children in over 500 villages in 132 countries.  The design looks fairly simple, but with 5 sides, it makes for a very tricky roof.  Campbelle helped decorate this house.  (Oh and all our houses have God Jul written on the back side of them.  It is Norwegian for Merry Christmas – and to be frank, much shorter and easier to write out with frosting).

We got really fancy this year.  Glass windows – with actual lights inside.  Rice krispie trees.   A dusting of powered sugar that looked like real snow.  This house, however, had some structural deficiencies – sadly it collapsed after a few days.

This year, after having taken the previous year of house making off, we knew we had to do something big, something remarkable.  We’ve made a great effort to become a more ‘green’ family this past year, and so we thought our house should represent that as well.  So I unveil before you our 2008 Gingerbread house…. based (rather loosely) on the Smart House exhibit at the Museum and Science and Industry in Chicago, an LED certified, fully sustainable, complete with solar panels, green, living roof, drought resistant plants, an open–air atrium, 2500 square feet, contemporary setting  ………drum roll please…..

The Gingerbread Solarium 

And yes, that’s a hybrid car parked in the garage.

Insanity approaching….

Seriously, this weather has made me a bit crazy.  Seriously crazy.  On Monday (after 6 days on being housebound) the kids and made up our own, new friends.

I spread lots of crumbled up burnt Christmas cookies in the backyard and then the kids and I would wait by the sliding glass door and watch the birds come.  And boy did they come.  We would make up stories about all the birds as they approached.  One little bird was an orphan and out finding food to take home to his brothers and sisters; another was a big fat bully and picked on all the other birds – but we knew deep down he just had self-esteem issues for being so extra large; one was a very brave and valiant bird – we called him Despereaux.  There was a set of twins – fun and flighty; and an old scrooge of a bird.

And this when on for about 2 hours.

Then Leif made me take a shower.  Get dressed in real clothes.  Do my hair and make-up.   And took me to Target. 

Snapped back from the brink of insanity.

Thanks

Snow storm

We’ve had such a crazy few days of bad, very un-Seattle like weather.  Several inches of snow and 75 mile per hour winds make for blizzard conditions that this area knows not much of.  And after being out here for 6 winters now, I am not at all used to driving and dealing with this kind of weather as well.  So much that I too, have become like everyone else out here and haven’t left the house since Tuesday afternoon!!  (with the exception of a quick trip to the grocery store to stock up on food rations).  Can you say cabin-fever!

Last night we lost power for about 12 hours during the night.  The kids slept through the whole thing and luckily we were given fair warning for possible outages.  We cranked the heat up to 76 degrees that afternoon/early evening in anticipation.  Good thing too…. because when the power came back on around 7:00 this morning, the house was 51 degrees!! 

The kids greeted the morning with much anticipation to get outside and play in all this new snow.  Leif, upon inspecting the huge drift in front of our house, was a little less thrilled about it.

He’s wishing that he either had a snow blower…. or that we lived on the other side of the street.

The kids played for hours in the snow, building tunnels, sledding and skiing down slopes.  It always amazes me that they stay outside as long as they do.  Maybe the Norwegian-Dakota blood flowing through their veins keeps them warm.

I’d like to think that tomorrow I may leave the house.  But with the forecast of more snow and then freezing rain – I may just start reading another book.

Fun game

- go ahead, I know you want to play along.

Go to your Pictures folder on you computer.  Open the 6th folder listed and then open the 6th photo within.  Post and tell us all about it.

Here’s mine:

We were at our friends Tanya and Sommana’s house for this fabulous Indian meal.  5 dishes that took hours to make!  We were all starving by the time we sat down to eat at 10:30pm and no sooner had we sat down then their beautiful glass table shattered into pieces.  Food and glass was everywhere.  We had only begin to dish up food, and the only thing left that wasn’t completely destroyed was a spoon full of goat stew that Leif was serving himself.  The first words out of anyone of our shocked and stunned mouths came from starving Leif how said pointing at the spoon of ‘safe stew’ - “Mind if I eat this?'”  What a crazy night!

Happy Baby

I love a happy baby first thing in the morning!  You can’t help but have a great start to the day when you are first greeted with this sweet, rosy-cheeked face (especially when this rosy-cheeked face sleeps soundly until 8:30am!!)

50 Things

Just because I haven’t done one of these in a while and Tia told me too..  :-)  and because, there’s just so much I know you want to know about me!! 

1.Do you like cheese? Love cheese
2.Have you ever smoked? yes, dumb college days
3. Do you own a gun? No
4. Do you like listening to Christmas music? Yes
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? maybe slightly
6. What do you think of hot dogs? I try not to think too much about hot dogs.
7. Favorite Christmas song for all time? Holy Night and Holly Jolly Christmas, especially when Christian sings it
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? coffee
9. Can you do push ups? I don’t think so
10. Who is your favorite Grey's Anatomy Character? I bagged that show two season’s ago. 
11. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? My wedding ring and my mom’s anniversary band
12. Favorite hobby? Reading
14. Do you have A.D.D.? No
15. What one trait do you hate about yourself? I’m a bit of a control freak – but I’m working on it.
16. Middle Name? Renae
17. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment? I should really go to bed; I can’t believe how loud the TV is with Leif playing HALO, where are our flashlights?
18. Name 3 things you bought yesterday? Not a thing – I’ve been house-bound for 3 days
19. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? Water, coffee and crystal light lemondae
20. Current worry right now? 75 mile an hour gale force winds expected tomorrow and how I hope my new camillia and magnolia trees will be ok.
21. Current hate? I don’t really have anything I HATE at the moment… just basking in some holiday cheer
22. Favorite place to be? Cannon Beach OR
23. How will you bring in the New Year? Not sure yet, maybe getting together with some neighbors.
24. Where would you like to go? India, Asia, bed
25. Name three people who will complete this? ?????
26. Do you own flip flops? Yes
27. What shirt are you wearing? my ‘a place in the woods’ sweatshirt, Tammy knows – she’s got the same one and probably wearing hers tonight too. After all these years, it just keeps getting cozier
28. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? absolutely not – feels a little 80’s sleazy to me
29. Can you whistle? yes
30. Favorite color? blue
31. Would you be a pirate? Err matey, with Christian in the house, we play pirates nearly every day
32. What songs do you sing in the shower? Don’t sing in the shower usually.
33. Favorite girl's name? Of course I like Campbelle, but since we are done having kids I feel like I can share our list: Macy, McCall, Piper, Scout and Harper – had Beckett been a girl he would have had one of those names.
34. Favorite boy's name? Beckett was almost named Karsten. 
35. What's in your pocket right now? Not a thing
36. Last thing that made you laugh? Holiday party at my neighbors with some really funny ladies
37. Bed sheets as a child? nothing special, just flowers or stripes or something
38. Worst injury you've ever had? 2 broken arms  (ok it was really just sprained wrists, but sounds worse)
39. Do you love where you live? yes, I’m so very happy right here
40. How many TV's do you have in your house? 3 (living room, bedroom, loft)
41. Who is your loudest friend? Kelly and Kristi – but in a really fun, energetic laughing sort of way
42. How many dogs do you have? yeah right
43. Does someone have a crush on you? Hopefully my husband
44. Do you get embarrassed easily? yes
45. What is your favorite book? I have several, but of all time – To Kill a Mockingbird
46. What is your favorite candy? Candy is not so much the problem :-)
47. Do you know all the words to the Fresh Prince theme song? yes
48. What song do you want played at your funeral? amazing grace
49. What were you doing at 12 AM last night? watching The Dark Knight in bed
50. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? Snow day… again

Christmas Past

We took the kids to Santa Clause a few weeks ago.  We’ve gone to the Santa in Bellevue Square since moving here six years ago right before Campbelle’s 1st Christmas.  We usually get the same Santa and it’s been really fun to see the kids ‘grow’ while everything else around them stays the same (except of course the year when Santa’s got all new digs). 

Some years were better than others!  But, as Christian was quick to point out, “Nobody cried this year!'

Now THIS is a snow day….

(at least out here in the pacific northwest)

Extreme Winter Weather Alert!!

No school today in just about the entire Seattle area due to extreme winter weather.

Looks darn near frightful and treacherous out, doesn’t it? 

 

We’ve got more snowflakes on the inside then there are outside.

4 months old

Beckett was 4 months old last week. How quickly he is changing and growing. He is now a rolly-polly guy and is never in same place as I set him. The other day he in fact rolled himself under the Christmas tree. (Good thing our tree has been more stable than the Gallaghers!!)

Campbelle and Christian at 4 months old

Christian’s 4th Birthday

Today we celebrated Christian’s 4th birthday and had a great time with family.  We started off the day with a trip to Build a Bear workshop where Uncle Tor treated Christian to a very special ‘stuffy’.  Christian chose a turtle and dressed him like a karate guy.  (closest thing he could find to a ninja outfit).  Then he chose what he wanted for his birthday dinner.  “Hot dogs, mac and cheese and to drink….beer,” is what he said.  Most of what he wished for came true in regards to his ultimate birthday meal.  :-)

It was a Teenage Mutant Ninja themed birthday, and he got lots of fun toys and things – sure to keep him entertained for hours.

Family Fun

We’ve had such a great time this previous week with all our family.  We feel so grateful to have such fun when we are all together; and we have so very much to be thankful for.

Here’s just some random photos of our Thanksgiving holiday:

 

It was such a great week – we look forward to the next time we are all together again.