all about us.

sunshine in a bowl

Get to the store and grab some mandarins.  They are juicy and soo perfect right now. Run. Go.

 

 

relief

in the dead of winter, green buds and daffodil shoots are somewhat of a relief to see....signs that spring really isn't as far off as it seems (though, it will still be a couple months!).  i love having 4 seasons...but am glad they aren't as extreme as some places in the US.  Yes, the bare branches and grey skies can get old in these months, but I'm happy not to be under feet of snow :)

yay for green :)

lilac bush (can't wait for the lilacs to be back in full bloom!)

 
 

daffodil shoots :)

 

i have tons of photos to go through. When Mikayla was here, we went to a nearby forest trail on Fox Island..the sun was out and it was gorgeous! lots to share from that.

here are a few randoms from the month!

diary of a wimpy kid...benjamin started this and couldn't put it down. he read all evening and into the night, slept, woke up and finished the last 40 pgs or so.  it's a 200+ page book! so cute.

i love this friendship bracelet tied around her ankle.  It's been there for a couple months and was made by one of her Bff's ;) They write hilarious and cute notes back and forth as well.  i totally remember this age where friends become such a huge part of your life. 
 
ashlyn drew the owl, and it snowballed into her making a "habitat" for it :) I told her she needs to keep it in case they have a similar assignment at school! ;)

 

mikayla was dying for it to snow while she was here since she's never actually seen snow falling from the sky. she saw it snowing, but it all happened in the dark! it accumulated 4 inches by the time we went to bed, but by morning, the temps had gone up and the rain had started, so there was only .5 left.  Such a bummer since it is SO beautiful when everything is covered.  i wanted her to see.
 

view from the harbor pier ..love that red boat. 

new gorgeous stack of fabric :)

 

mess from showing mikayla how to sew...we made pj pants! (not pictured...i can't believe i didn't get an action shot!) She said they we the most comfortable pants ever :)

 

ok, fine. just a few from our walk in the woods on Fox Island.  There are so many i want to share in another post

   

 

it's a far cry from San diego scenery ;) 
 
 

ok, i need to stop before i post 100 more. haha. i love nature.
 

these two... ashlyn adores mikayla.

 

we set the camera up on the hood of the car so we could get a group shot :). It's crooked, but it worked! Don't mind Ben. He was totally in an anti-photo/anti-camera/anti-smile mood.

 

:)

**1.1.11 ** Happy New Year and a Christmas re-cap!

 Happy New year, everyone!  i'm hoping that i'll pick up my real camera more this year...instead of just being satisfied with whipping out my iphone and snapping a quick photo.  i'm also hoping to blog more often.  There is so much I forget if it isn't recorded somewhere. 

Christmas was low key around here.  The morning was spent with just the 4 of us...something that rarely happens!  Adam and i took the "less is more" approach this year.  We got them only a handful of gifts, but gifts that were really wanted by them.  No needless filler! The kids were happy as clams, too. bean bag chairs, nintendo DS for each, DS games, ipod shuffles, scooter and a fun shirt for ben, and  shearling boots, a mood necklace and fleece pants (to match a sweatshirt she got from my mom) for ashlyn.  

adam bought me a 6 qt dutch oven (yay!!), pjs, sweatpants (lounge clothes are always a hit with me), and a super cute wine stopper---i've been wanting one for so long!

i bought adam a CD he's wanted, a book on how they built the second Narrows bridge,  some water containers he's also been wanting, a pair of Converse, and a new electric razor.

Christmas Eve night

 

Christmas morning...i woke up to see Ben out in the living room looking and waiting :)

 
 

ben read the Christmas story to us before we opened presents

 
 

these were from their great grand dad . Pillow pets! Incredibly, these were on their Christmas lists...a total coincidence! 

This shirt? made for benjamin. i HAD to get it.
 

jar of rocks!! :)  adam had been telling the kids for weeks that all they were getting was dirt and rocks for Christmas.  so, of course he had to live up to his word somehow! they thought it was hilarious.

 
 

DS!

 

and this is what my kids permanently look like now.
 

 
key to get adam to read: buy book that has to do with building, and it has to have pictures ;)

a couple iphone pics (of course!)

 

Scott and Chloe came over around noon, and Scott made us all homemade andouille mac n' cheese in my dutch oven.  soooo good!  i ate the leftovers for a couple days after that :)

 

last night was also low-key. The 4 of us just stayed home.  adam has been working insane hours the last couple weeks (coming home anywhere between 10:30pm and midnight!), and it caught up to him.  He woke up sick and the smallest activity wears him out.  we just watched the tube, and the kids watched movies.  Ashlyn made these signs for the mantle :)

 
i took down all the decorations yesterday, and my living room looks so empty!  i'm definitely itching to get a new rug (one with color!), paint these darn walls, and get new window coverings for those corner windows--mini blinds are so ugly.  i'm so tired of all this white, brown and tan! ugh. so, i will spare you the ugliness.  i made the photo black and white. lol

 
anyway, i made some good ole' comfort food for my sick man.  Chicken Enchilada Casserole made with rotisserie chicken.  sooooo yummy.  especially topped with a bunch of avocado and tomato (avocado and  black olives for adam). i made it in my new dutch oven, of course.  lots of leftovers for today!

 

i was at the window and saw this reflection in my coffee cup. i love glancing down and seeing stuff like that!

 

 
winter is here....it's always strange to me for some reason at the first of the year...christmas is over, the decorations are down, and all i want to do is fill the house with brightness and color.  It's always a depressing thought that winter has only JUST started.  i'm ready for Spring, for goodness sake!! :)  There is a certain beauty to it, though.  The stark trees, the frosty mornings, the patches of leftover/stubborn snow, the bright blue skies.  Bundling up, hunkering down...it's like a small time out.  When spring does come, it is such a thrill.  you can't get a thrill like that if you don't have winter.

Moments ago, adam came upstairs to put his new work chair together.  Benjamin immediately put down his DS, got up and came close to watch and help where he could.  It struck me that something like this was more important than his precious DS.  i liked it.  it inspires me to find more moments of opportunity for both the kids to help us.  They are old enough and crave to learn and help.  It will require a shift in the way i think and do things around here.  it's so easy for me to just do it myself.  but i know i can't raise productive adults if i keep that mindset.  Here's to a new year and hopefully, a very good year.

 

Happy 2011!