Thanksgiving festivities and more...

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving we drove to Wenatchee for Aaron's dad's 60th birthday dinner!  He didn't ask for much - just pork chops and scalloped potatoes - he's easy to please!

Thanksgiving morning we headed up to Cashmere to my dad and Mel's for a quick visit.  The kids love playing outside at their house - it's like camping in the woods!

Then we headed to my mom and Jack's for our first Thanksgiving feast.  Addi helped my mom and I prepare the food, while AJ played with his cousin, McKade, and Jack.  My Granny and niece, Kelsee, were there too, so it was a good time!

Our next stop was Aaron's parent's house for the second feast!  There we encountered even more family - a lot of Aaron's extended family came over from Sequim to surprise Aaron's dad for his birthday.  The surprise included a party bus the following morning to take all the guys over to the Apple Cup - they had a blast! 

Dessert with the cousins!

Much needed bed time after all that food!



The guys before the road trip to the Apple Cup *note - the baby, Tavin, didn't go :-)



Aaron and Zach boarding the bus to the Apple Cup!


The next morning as the guys loaded the bus to Pullman, I ventured out for the 2nd Annual Smelser shopping trip with my two sisters, sister-in-law and stepmom.  Last year we went to Idaho to visit my sister, but this time we stayed in Wenatchee.  We started off with a yummy lunch at McGlinn's, then lots of shopping, followed by dinner at a brewery.  I wasn't feeling too well by the end of the evening, but we had a great time!  We always laugh and tell some pretty funny stories!  Unfortunately, I didn't take a single picture of the trip :-(.  Sorry ladies!

Saturday we headed back home, but not without going to the park first...

Now we're gearing up for the Christmas season - my favorite!  The deocrations are up, Charlie the elf has made his grand entrance, the kids visited Santa and Addison even played the role of Mother Mary at the St. Joseph's Preschool Christmas Program. 

Where my ladies at??? (inside joke)

Octoberfest = an extreme amount of fun with my old college gals!  We gathered Saturday at Brando's house - the click included myself, Brando, Audrey, Bridget, Janna and Chanda!  We started the day off right with mimosas while lounging on Brandi's amazingly comfortable couches and catching up.  I hadn't seen Janna or Chanda since the last Octoberfest :-(.  Getting ready was the next process, then we headed out to catch the shuttle to Leavenworth.  We ate a great italian dinner at Visconti's and had some funny conversations over wine and beer - too much wine and beer probably, but who's counting, right?  Then we hit the town of Leavenworth, which involved going to various different bars, singing karaoke, catching up even more and sharing fun college stories.  The night wrapped up with us getting back on the shuttle and of course heading you know where... TACO BELL!  It's not a college reunion without heading to Taco Bell at the end of the night :-).  The evening was so much fun and I love these girls - it doesn't matter how much time goes by between visits, we don't skip a beat. Till next year...

Bus ride up to Leavenworth









Striking a pose!



Bundling up!

The whole crew!

A Birthday Not forgotten...

Poor Aaron...
In the midst of AJ's birthday celebrations and Halloween, his poor birthday gets overlooked, but it's definitely not forgotten!  This year on his birthday we got a sitter and went out to a nice dinner and drinks, follwed by a movie.  All of this was done, of course, prior to the Husky game that started at 7 that night!

Aaron also celebrated the weekend before his actual birthday while we were in Wenatchee.  His mom made him one of this favorites for dinner - seafood paella!

Happy 33rd Birthday Aaron - you are a great husband, father and man!  Thank you for working so hard to provide for the family and thank you for the endless games you play with the kids that get them giggling so hard - it's so entertaining to watch and such a sweet sound :-)

We love you!

A Halloween Birthday!

Our little man turned 2 - time is FLYING by!  And I have to admit that I love that his birthday is right before Halloween.  It's a great reason for the kids to wear their costumes numerous times before the actual holiday.  The first Halloween event was a trip to Country Mercantile with the Stirling family - the kids rode rides, visited the petting zoo, ran through the hay maze and then picked out pumpkins.  The weather was perfect and the kids were very excited!

Up next was AJ's birthday party in Wenatchee - friends and family joined us for pizza, games and more costumes!

Jake from Jake and The Neverland Pirates!

Ellie the cat and Addi the mermaid!

The next party was at our house in Richland with LOTS of kids, I mean friends :-)

Craft project!

Lots of presents! 

And last but not least - Halloween Day!  We went trick-or-treating at my work and Aaron's work, then went to the park for a few bouncy houses and a tour of a fire truck, then ended the evening at Round Table for pizza and games!

And now, two weeks later, AJ still begs and begs to eat his candy.  I'm tempted to throw it all away because he's so obsessed with it, but I got a crazy idea the other day that the candy could be used as a bribe for potty training... more to come!

The things she comes up with!

Our little girl has wanted a pet dog for some time now.  When we're on walks and she spots a dog, she always asks the owner if she can pet it.  When she visits my mom's house (they have 4 dogs), she carries them around the house and takes them on walks in the backyard.  I've even taken her to a few places around town that groom pets in a location so the public can watch.  So this request for a dog isn't just a phase - like the horses were.

We have been telling Addi that we can't get a dog because Aaron is allergic to them.  This is a true - he is allergic to some dogs.  We know we can get a hypoallergenic dog, but she doesn't need to know this :-).  The very biggest reason we aren't getting a dog is because we'd like to wait until AJ is older - that'd be like having 2 non-potty trained toddlers running around, making messes!! 

In the end, we should have told her that we wanted to wait, because the "allergy" story led to this hilarious conversation with her:

Addi (to Aaron and I):  I've thought about how we can get a dog.

Us:  How?

Addi:  Dad can move out and buy the house next door.

Us:  Well Addi, wouldn't you miss him?

Addi:  He can visit on Sundays.

Love that little girl!

She made little beds for her stuffed animals!

Nashville!!

My work recently sent me to Nashville for a class and I was lucky enough that my mother-in-law Gwen wanted to come too!  While I was in class during the days, she toured the town, and when I got out, we toured the town together.  Such a fun trip!

Yummy BBQ dinner!

Brad Paisley surprise visit!

Dinner Cruise!

Downtown Nashville

Grand Ole Opry

Short and sweet recap

Here it goes again, another quick recap because I can't seem to find the time to do small, but more lengthy posts more often - sorry!

Seattle trip with the Bessonette's!

Seattle trip with the Bessonette's!

AJ's new big boy bed!

Princess party with her BFF!

Preschooler!

Annual Alta Lake trip with cousins and friends!

Date night!

Aaron being a very good dad :-)

Birthday celebration with friends!

Birthday celebration with my beautiful sisters!

Sneak peak into our family photos - love this little man!

 

Movie Night!