Mt Rainier with Cousins

Our Aunt Janet invited us for a weekend trip of sledding at Mt Rainier. It was a much needed get-away for us. Peter and I enjoyed our time talking and catching up with all the adults, while the boys spent time bonding with their cousins. One of our favorite aspects of this trip is the lack of cell service where we stayed, "forcing" us to be off our phones and visit with one another. The place we stayed at was actually the same place as when Peter and I planned the Nielsen Family Reunion a few years back, but we stayed at the game house this time. It was a good call on Aunt Janet's part, as this house had a pool table, which was a big hit with both the kids and adults. 

Here's how we spent the weekend with family:

We caught up with one another, played board games, lots of rounds of pool, and gorged on scrumptious food.

We took turns holding Aurora (Mike & Sharon's newest little one). She was soooo cute!

Peter gave Gavin a special birthday gift. He printed off a dragon skull and glued red led lights in the eye sockets. Honestly, it was more entertaining watching Michael's excitement for this gift lol.

We went sledding down the hill on the property.

Saturday afternoon we made a trip up to Rainier for some more sledding and to play in the snow

Sadly, Sunday came all too quick and it was time to pack up and head for home. On the bright side, Clifford waited until right before we were leaving to hurt himself sledding.

 Group pic of all the (little kid) cousins as a memory of a FUNtastic weekend!

Party Time

Saturday night Clifford had 5 of his buddies over for a sleepover. We took the group of boys to Elevated Sportz for a couple of hours of jumping. They spent the majority of the time playing dodge ball.

 Once home it was time for "cake" and presents. Last year, for both boys' birthdays, no one ate any of the cake I made. I didn't want a repeat of having a whole cake leftover, so I tried something new this year and made a Candy cake. It was a hit! Some notes on this: either make sure you buy one of each kind for each child OR have an adult divvy up the candy into the goodie bags and let it be up to the kids to trade for what they want. And by the way, candy is expensive! Back in my day.....

 The rest of the evening the boys stayed busy eating pizza, playing video games and having a nerf gun war. 

 The next morning, boys watching a super hero cartoon movie. It was the quietest the boys had been the entire time!

Happy 12th Birthday Clifford!

Happy Birthday!!

 Clifford had to anxiously wait until after school to open his gifts.

 He's rich! It was too thick to put all of it in his wallet.

 He chose a DQ cake with extra fudge filling. Yum! We actually had a slice before dinner, much to his delight. 

 He wanted me to make his favorite meal: sweet 'n sour meatballs

 Later that evening he got a letter in the mail. His cousin Alice sent him a picture.

New (to us) Furniture!

Peter forwarded an email to me this morning saying "Ding Ding Ding, We Have A Winner!". We "won" a new dining room table and kitchen hutch! His co-worker Dave offered this furniture to the first person who responded back with interest. Somehow Peter lucked out being the first one to reply back. The table is insanely huge when it has the two leafs in it (we literally have to move living room furniture out of the way!). The chairs need to be reupholstered, but that will have to wait. The hutch is an upgrade in size to the one we already had. Though I'm really sad to have to return the smaller hutch back to my in-laws (I've always thought it was so cute. I even sanded it and stained it), it's so nice to have the added space for my kitchen items. Our dining room is now a little more cramped for space, but we're enjoying the updated furniture. 

Big difference in size between the two hutches!

Indoor Soccer

Clifford's soccer team signed up for indoor soccer. No practices, just games. It's more just so the boys have fun and keep up practicing their skills. Games are every Sunday until the end of February. Above is Clifford waiting to start his first game. He wouldn't let me take pics so I had to have the camera ready and sneak one in. 

Happy New Years!

Happy New Years Everyone!!! Can't believe 2017 is here already!!

The only plans Peter and I wanted to make for New Years Eve were as follows: 

Stay Home

Wear sweatpants

Eat Pizza

We accomplished the first two, but ended up with Chinese Food instead of pizza. Good Enough. Earlier in the day the boys tagged along with us to the store to help pick up junk food for us to munch on throughout the night. Our friends Mel and James joined us later in the evening after putting their girls to bed (no worries, her mom lives with them and babysat). We played games and sipped on wine. Two minutes before midnight I had the boys pause their video game and come up stairs to watch the New Year ring in. We adults continued to stay up for a few more hours playing another game before finally calling it a night. We all slept in late this morning, and honestly did a whole lot of nothing. Best New Years Day Ever!