Christmas Trip to Washington

We arrived home safely on the 30th after spending a week in Washington with my family. The 12 hour drive each way went much better than either of us could have imagined (of course we were imagining a worst case scenario); Claire handled all the time in the car like a champ, though I'm sure it helped that we left at 4 AM so she would sleep for a few extra hours!

We enjoyed a great week with gorgeous, clear weather that allowed us to take in the views of the Puget Sound, the Cascades, the Olympics, Mount Baker, and even Mount Rainer. Through several long walks we were able to enjoy the scenery even more. My parents willingly babysat whenever asked, so Nate and I got to have several dates, including an epic meal at Adrift, our favorite Anacortes eatery.

Claire loved the time with cousins, especially her first trip to the movie theater with Grandma and Grandpa and cousin Elly to see The Princess and the Frog. I was able to spend some girl time with my sisters, and we had a great Sunday visit with our friends the Kloosterhofs. What a memorable week to end 2009!

Christmas Eve day walk along Padilla Flats.
Christmas morning...the third Christmas for Claire!
Grandpa and Grandma made an amazing doll house for Claire; she'll be enjoying it for years to come.
Christmas Day dinner at the kids table surrounded by cousins.
A short walk at the beach near my parents' house with the Kloosterhofs.
The two princesses before the trip to the movie theater.
A hike to work off some of the decadence of holiday eating and drinking.

Wonderful Week with Nema

We've been into the full swing of things around here, enjoying a festive week with Nate's mom, "Nema," visiting from Massachusetts. Claire loved every minute and all the spoiling. While I was at school each morning she had one-on-one time with Nema that included trips to museums in Bozeman, reading lots of books, and singing Christmas songs. We also took a weekend trip to West Yellowstone which included some cross-country skiing, a visit to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center, a night out "on the town" for Nate and I (meaning choosing between one of two open bars in town), and a trip to the Imax Theater for Nate and Nema. Thanks for coming out and ALL the spoiling Nema!

Here's our group shot on early Christmas.
Claire showing off her beautiful Christmas dress, a gift from a family friend, Dot O'Connor.
It didn't take long for Claire to get into the spirit of ripping open the presents. Here she's in awe of her new princess castle.
Susan gave Claire her own tent; one of the things we love about her is that she really gets down to Claire's level to play. Of course Claire darted out of this picture right before I snapped it!
Claire skied with us the first day, but on the second day she was pretty frazzled. Nema kindly stayed with her while Nate and I skied again. For Nate, that meant being free of 30+ pounds on his back.
Claire watching some of the wolves at the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center. These are all animals that would have to be euthanized without this sanctuary, and they will never be reintroduced to the wild. Notice the wolf checking out the raven in the background. It's quite amazing to watch the wolves as the run, play, dig, and eat.

Getting into the Christmas Spirit

With cold, wintry weather around here (it's supposed to be a HIGH of zero degrees on Monday), it's been easy to get into the Christmas spirit. We've done some baking, are listening to Christmas CDs, doing our advent calendar, made a countdown chain and ornaments, wrapped most of our gifts, put up the tree, and even visited Santa yesterday at the Three Forks Christmas Stroll. I'm hoping this means we can enjoy some quality time with Nema (Nate's mom--who arrives Monday for a week-long visit) as well as focus on creating some memories with baking, books, music, and movies instead of frantically shopping and wrapping in the next few weeks.

Claire likes to wear the bows more than putting them on the gifts.
The end result of Claire's decorating means many ornaments on one or two bottom branches. Unfortunately, she seems to notice if I try to rearrange any.
A visit with Santa, first one ever actually, we "suggested" some things she might tell him she wants for Christmas which just happen to correspond exactly to what we got her. I'll be curious if she figures that one out on Christmas morning.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ever since I was at Calvin College in Michigan, Thanksgiving has been a difficult holiday for me because 9 times out of 10 I haven't lived close enough to family to celebrate with them. Therefore, knowing my parents would be here with us this Thanksgiving thrilled me. I've been particularly reflective this year on how much I appreciate the food, traditions, and genuineness of this holiday as compared to the commercialization of so many others. I enjoyed finding and preparing some new recipes as well as making the meal together as a family.

We've had a great long weekend with lots of down time around the house for reading, taking walks, playing games, doing crafts, eating, hunting (for Nate), and letting Claire be the center of attention (a place she loves to inhabit!). Thanks for making the trip Mom and Dad, loved spending the holiday together!
Some snuggle time with Grandpa

Thanksgiving Day hike at Headwaters State Park (Nate, Claire, my Mom)

Claire amusing herself and us with hide and seek

Craft time--making an Advent Calendar for Claire

Snuggles with Grandma after church

That's a Wrap

Nate spent five days this past week in Eastern Montana hunting for deer with a friend. He did shoot a decent buck.

He's been wanting to do his own processing of game meat for years (instead of bringing it somewhere else to have it done), and this year he decided to make the investment in a grinder and other equipment.
Here's about 1/2 the deer finished. He's been at it about five hours and still isn't done. Despite some strong hints about it being a "great family project," I'm staying well clear of this one.

Snow Fun

We had our first big snowstorm of the winter this week with enough snow to actually make a snowman. Our house is actually located in a zone of the valley referred to as "the banana belt," so while other areas get a lot of snow, we often only have an inch or so. Rarely do we have enough for playing in the yard. Claire loved stomping around in the snow, making snow angels, brushing snow off the trees, and now checking on her snowman several times a day through the window. (Hem was longing to eat the carrot nose, so I'm waiting for that to disappear.)

Closer to the real deal...

Thanks to a special package in the mail from her older cousin Jessica, Claire now has two new princess outfits (just in time to go with the paper plate wings and tinfoil crown--see previous post).