A Visit from Claire

Cousin Claire is living in nearby Mt. Vernon, WA while she attends the Parks Law Enforcement Academy. She came to visit us last weekend and inspired us to go rock climbing. It was so awesome. Although Claire knows how to climb, we have little to no experience so we paid a staff member to belay us. Claire, Kyle, Sam, and myself took turns going up. Meanwhile, Elsa got into some bouldering. I think we were all inspired to do more!

Sam asked Claire to belay him!

My forearms were tired!

In the afternoon, we visited the Pacific Science Center and Claire treated the kids to their first taste of astronaut ice cream! Wow. It was so good.

Our favorite pastime at home: reading!

Vegas, Baby

After two nights in Palm Springs, we drove to Las Vegas. The drive took us through the Mohave desert where there was, at times, nothing but sand and cacti. Truly stark and amazing landscape. We passed the time listening to Harry Potter and the Socerer's Stone on audiobook. We had read much of the book at home prior to the trip and Sam was on the edge of his carseat listening to it.

We journeyed to Vegas specifically so I could visit with my long-time friend, Lindsay, and her three children. As life would have it, they were days away from moving to Bend, OR (closer to us, yay!).

Our first day we visited Red Rock Canyon. The weather was unexpectedly (for me at least) windy and cold with a bit of rain so our hike was cut a bit short.

Strong winds!!

Our second day, we went to Mandalay Bay to visit the Aquarium and Shark Reef. It was really a well-done aquarium that kids could truly enjoy. The exhibits were easy to see and the path guided us through the space from start to finish.

Snacks near the sharks.

This diver was a great show for the kids!

 Sam says he could've pet the stingrays "all day long." We had to practically drag him away from the tank!

Henry (2), Lindsay, Doc (4), Addison (6), me, Sam (5), Kyle, Elsa (2)

We stayed a block off the strip, using our SPG points at the Westin. Abba and Teeb also joined us for our three nights in Vegas. We took a turn around the largest observation wheel in the world, walked the strip, and spent a little time at the pool. Kyle and I also had a night to go to a show.

It was a wonderful mid-winter get away!

Palm Springs

As a mid-winter Seattle gloom get-away, we again elected to travel to southern California given Kyle's annual tournament in San Diego. Since Lexi, Corey, and Avery have moved to Michigan, we drove straight to Palm Springs and then spent 3 nights in Las Vegas to visit my best friend of 30+ years.

At the Seattle airport, waiting to board the plane:

Sam and Elsa sat together in a two-seater and I was across the aisle from them. They were very well behaved and independent. I even read quite a few chapters of my book! When the plane took off, they announced, "California, here we come!"

Palm Springs at the Westin Mission Hills Resort. It has four separate pool areas. The one we went to had a small kids pool, a big pool, and a giant water slide that required a mat. Sam and I went down 10 times in a row! Elsa loved the kiddie pool because she could "swim like an alligator" with her hands on the floor or "like an otter," flipping over and over.

Sun drenched!

We drove into Palm Springs proper for dinner to revisit Las Casuelas Terraza. Once again, we enjoyed the food, the margaritas, and the live music. Elsa got up and danced in front of the band with a group of other girls. At the end of the evening, they were all hugging each other goodbye. We loved the ambiance of the place as much of it is open-air patio.

The next morning, we visited Cheeky's, a famous breakfast spot that was totally worth a short wait.

Sun, coffee, vacation!

Both times I've visited Palm Springs, I've thought, "I could spend another day there at least." Of course, the issues with sustaining such an oasis in the desert do not escape me. So, I'm not sure it'll be an annual visit, but I sure did enjoy the visit this year!

New games

Sam's starting to figure this one out on his own. So fun!

The Roof is on!

Our house, on the left. Windows are in and roof is on. Wow, they are moving fast.

Here are some of the other completed homes on the street:

December 2015

Just trying to catch up on some great memories and photos from December.

Sam was ecstatic to receive the on-line advent calendar from Tia and Roger again this year. It's a nice way to pass the darkest afternoons of the winter solstice and Sam's been learning computer skills to-boot! Sam and Elsa had fun decorating trees, playing "break the ornament" game, and watching the scenic videos:

Alexis, Corey, and Avery came for a week-long visit. It was great to have all the cousins together. We made a visit to Pike's Market and the merry-go-round at West Lake. We visited the Museum of History and Industry (MoHI), the Zoo, the Pacific Science center, and had an overnight visit to Great Wolf Lodge, too. Despite the seemingly busy itinerary, there was plenty of time for low-key time at home reading books and playing in the basement.

Watching "Wild Kratts" in the hotel of Great Wolf Lodge

The Weisbrod Clan

Collaborative Play?

Lots of quality reading time!

Swimming!

Lexi and Avery

In matching "Abba" jammies.

Boys and trucks oh my

Two peas in a pod

I was on 24 hour call on Christmas Day so the family came to visit me around dinner time. I was able to give the kids a tour, including a peek into the sterile OR hallway and my call room.

Sam was super excited about his first Star Wars lego from Lula and Remo.

Christmas Day (the 26th in our house) brought some amazing gifts. Elsa is examining my ears with her new doctor set. The kids love giving me shots and telling me it won't hurt at all.

The kids got their first tea set. At school, Sam can "host" tea with any of the other kids in class, so we thought we'd encourage the kids to do the same at home:

Candy Land!