Building a house

For the past several years, Sandy has decorated gingerbread houses with her grandkids every December.  Trey has always been too young, (well, actually, we thought about going last year but there was some kind of weather hindrance) but this year we were all in.  Julie and the boys decided to go too, so Sandy and my dad had all of their grandkids there for the first time.

Looked in my rearview mirror on the way down and saw this.

Melted me, of course.

Trey and I drove down on Saturday, met Ardis and Dan for lunch in Woodburn, and then spent some time with Sarah Long and her kids on Saturday afternoon before going out to my dad's.  It was a great day and nice for me and Trey to spend some quality time together.  Saturday night, all of Sandy's kids (aka my cousins) were there, and we stayed up late talking.  Super fun.  Julie and the boys came out on Sunday to decorate houses.

Helping Heidi get everything ready 

This is Trey's smile when I ask him to smile.

Makes. Me. Crazy.   

All of the houses and supplies are ready. 

Someone was ready to get started.

Grandpa, Sanny, and the nine grandkids 

This is pretty much what it looked like from the moment we finished

 until all of the good parts were gone.

Thanksgiving in Port Townsend

This year we headed north for Thanksgiving because Randy's parents retired and moved into their brand new, just built, house in Port Townsend.  We were so excited to see the finished product and spend some time with the Clark family.

We decided to leave on Thursday morning so we wouldn't have to deal with traffic on the way up and because, frankly, we weren't organized enough to leave right after work on Wednesday.  Randy's work schedule has been very very busy, and my work day plus two hours in the car plus working from home at night doesn't leave a lot of room to pack and get out of the door in a timely manner.

Wednesday night we went to ABV, one of our favorite restaurants in the 'burbs for dinner and some beers.  It was so nice to know we didn't have to go back to work until Monday.

We were out of the door by 8am on Thanksgiving, and after a stop for coffee and donuts were on the road north.

The drive was beautiful.

As soon as we arrived and got the tour, Trey and Grandpa Doug were on the floor playing.  This is one of my favorite things about Grandpa Doug.

Later in the afternoon the relatives started arriving, and we were so happy to see Grandma Alice, Uncle Duane, Aunt Nancy, Uncle Dave, Aunt Toni, Uncle Karl, Aunt Bobbi, Cousin Arthur, and Cousins Albert and Heidi with their kids Javan and Micah.  We haven't seen most of them since Grandma Alice's 90th birthday party at the beginning of May.

Doug, Alice, and Randy 

(father, grandma, son)

A Clark get-together really isn't a get-together without frisbee. 

Playing on the floor before dinner 

PS I have no idea who the guy in the top left corner is.  

I didn't know then, and I don't know now.  

Trey watching Grandpa carve the turkey

Albert, Micah, Javan, Trey, and Randy eating cheesy popcorn after dinner 

On Friday, the girls went shopping in Port Townsend and the boys took a trip to Home Depot which Randy might describe as Hell.  Doug needed to get wood and supplies for a few different sheds as well as materials for a cabinet project, and they all headed into Sequim to load up.  I think they were there for several hours, and I'm not exaggerating.  I can't believe the boys made it through (the little ones) and I was happy to see their starving tired faces when they got home.

Arthur reading some stories that he found...

who knew that Home Depot had books?

Friday was Micah's third birthday, so we celebrated that night with a delicious cake that Heidi brought from home.  She is pregnant with their third, and we can't wait to meet the newest Ordelheide.

Saturday we were surprised with some snow when we woke.  Trey was relaxing and bed and didn't want to get up, but when I told him there was snow he was up in about a millasecond looking out our window.  The kids had a lot of fun outside and luckily the snow didn't keep us from making our way home on Saturday afternoon.

The view from our window.

I think this is only the second or third time Trey has seen snow, 

so he was in heaven (opposite, of course, of their experience at Home Depot the day before). 

The view from Doug and Carmen's deck

Mt. Baker on the left and Discovery Bay on the right.

Trey didn't eat much at Grandma and Grandpa's 

except for macaroni and cheese. 

Grandpa reading to Trey and Javan before we left.

Grandma, Trey and Grandpa,

three people who love each other very much.

It was wonderful to spend the holiday with Randy's side of the family, and it was so good to finally see Doug and Carmen's new house.  We plan on spending a lot of time up there and we love having them closer.  It was nice to come home on Saturday so we had the whole day at home on Sunday before getting back to work.  

Blue sky, mountains, and butterflies

Okay, you guys, you know when there is so much shit going on that all you want to do is hug your kid and give him everything he wants?   That's how the last few weeks have been.  I'm sitting here on a sunny, albeit cold, Sunday looking out my window with my boy sitting in his "thinking chair" (thanks Blue's Clues) using the iPad, and gazing at the bright blue sky and Mt. Hood in the distance. 

What you can't tell from this picture is how blue the sky is or the mountain in the distance...it's right between that break in trees.  This stained glass is from my mom's friend Kaye and is in memory of her.  It's one of my most cherished possessions.  

We have Christmas music on the tv and I'm extra happy thanks to the spiked cider I am drinking.  I really need to go to the grocery store, but all I want to do is cuddle with my boy, enjoy the solitude, and relish the moment.  

I came home last week to this.  My boy all dressed up for winter not to mention his Doc McStuffins stethoscope and his Elmo backpack...and his furry hat that he picked out at REI.  It looks funny, but it's cute as hell.

Here's a moment where I held on to my boy and never wanted to let go.  Why, you ask?  These past few weeks have reminded me of how precious life is and how one needs to let go of the little things and cherish the big ones.  My best friend, Nyree, has learned that her ten year old daughter, Madi, has two brain tumors and will start undergoing treatment this next week.  You can follow her journey here if you want.  I'm still in shock and it just doesn't feel real.  The prognosis is good and the doctors have said this is the best kind of brain tumor to get if you get a brain tumor.  I suppose that is all good news, but it doesn't change the fact that Madi has cancer.  I have missed my mom so much these past few weeks and wished that she was here to support Nyree (and me) through this difficult time.

Trey used to love Yo Gabba Gabba, so when Groupon had tickets on sale, I picked up a few for the two of us to go see Yo Gabba Live.  We had a fun night out downtown, but the show was pretty disappointing compared to last time.  Of course, from my four year old's perspective, it was "awesome" but I'm here to tell you that it was terrible.

Nighttime in the Park Blocks 

Dinner at Elephants' 

Mommy and Trey time at the Schnitz 

Yo Gabba Live!

Trey on his "stage" during intermission

Zander had his birthday party at a trampoline place, and I wasn't sure how adventurous Trey would be.  Needless to say, his brave spirit amazed me, and I was so proud of him.  Not only did he have fun on the trampolines, but he LOVED the foam pit.  I think he spent the entire time jumping into and climbing out of the foam pits.  It was awesome.

Those are his feet, if you can't tell.

Celebrating Zander

10 years old 

Sunday, November 23rd, would have been my mom's 70th birthday.  I have been formulating a post about my mom and her birthday, but I don't have it in me right now.  We had a family breakfast at our house with my dad and Sandy, and then Julie, Sandy, and I went wine tasting.  It was a good day, and I'll keep thinking about that post about my mom.  She deserves it.

 And wrapping up with a picture of the dog...

I could do without Bailey, but he sure loves his father.  And loves attention.  I guess I should cherish that when I have it.