Happy Birthday Donovan!

We spent our Saturday night helping Donovan celebrate his birthday!

 Peter getting his baby fix in. One of the guests had a newborn and he couldn't resist asking to hold her. I really wish I could have snuggled that cutie, but I was still trying to fight off a cold. 

 Cake Time!

Clifford's a Teenager!

A big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Clifford!! Can't believe he's officially a teenager!

I took a pic of Clifford the night before his birthday, still at 12 years old. 

 Here he is "smiling" for the camera (sigh) lol

 Morning of his birthday. My baby boy is 13! Peter and I took him to the mall for lunch and to buy him a new pair of skater shoes for his gift.

 We had to postpone his party with friends for a few weeks, but we let him invite his best bud Matthew to celebrate the day of his actual birthday. After our trip to the mall we stopped by the store so Clifford could pick out snacks for the night. 

 Ready to celebrate! For his birthday dinner, he chose pizza.

 And for his birthday dessert, he picked a brownie ice cream cake. 

 Clifford and Matthew

 Happy Birthday Clifford!

Opening his gifts

January Hike - Heather Lake

Last year we did not hike/backpack nearly enough as Peter would have liked. Our schedules just seem to keep getting busier and busier, on top of Peter having nerve pain in his shoulders from his shingles outbreak last November. Combine all of that, and it makes it difficult to get out into the woods. So Peter and I made a new goal for this year : (minimum) one day hike a month.

For the month of January, a group of us got together and we hiked Heather Lake in the Granite Falls area. It's one of our favorite hikes, as well as one of the easiest. If felt amazing to get outside.

Mt. Rainier Sledding Trip

Aunt Janet invited us again to join her little family for the second year in a row for a weekend sledding getaway. Unfortunately, there was no snow!!! But none of us let that stop us from having fun. Here are some of the highlights: 

Franie cooked up all the pizzas for Friday's dinner. Most were all cooked up before the power went out in the cabin (due to a crash). Us adults sat in a corner of the kitchen chatting while kiddos ran around the house. Quite the adventure to start off with.

 Luckily, after the power came back on, we had our first (and I think only) minor incident. Kristjan some how hurt his two while running around.

 Some misc pics of everyone throughout the weekend

 Just look at ALL that snow!!!!

 Deer roaming around, not afraid of us humans.

 One of the highlights of the weekend was our chocolate fondue maker we brought along. Both the adults and kids loved it!

 Oh Penny! LOL

 All the kiddos from our weekend getaway!

 Kristjan and Emily before we parted ways.

 Franie getting in her last loves with Clifford.