Empty, Quiet House...

Sigh... Very early this morning, they left the house. Regina took Edy, Matt, Paige, Katelyn, Matthew and MacKenzie to the airport and they flew back to their home in Virginia. I know they're probably happy to be back in their own home, sleeping in their own beds, but I really liked having them here. Oh well. It was so much fun, while it lasted. I'm thrilled they were able to spend Christmas with us.

By the time I woke up, they were gone, but I did get a treat when I looked outside!

Family Pics

Today we got up and headed for Mt. St. Helens. Even though it was raining. It was one of the last days to go there before Edy, Matt and the kids had to leave. We went to two of the visitor centers, watched the video, enjoyed the exhibits and spent money in their gift shops. But, we did NOT see the volcano! It was a complete white-out. Oh well, better luck next time. On our way back, we stopped off at the Southcenter Mall where we ate at Rainforest Cafe and were able to eat their version of a volcano for dessert! In the slide show, it's the picture with the sparkler in it. That's how they bring it to your table.

The Baby of the Family, Sweet Miss MacKenzie

Lucy and Max waiting for food to drop,
because they are CERTAIN it will!
Although we are pretty quick to pick it up before they get it!
Sorry, pooches!

MacKenzie and her Hokie Aunt Regina

Merry Christmas 2010

Our Christmas tree with stockings beneath it, filled by Santa.

Matthew and Paige hanging out among the aftermath of opening presents.

Aunt Regina with baby MacKenzie on Christmas morning.
Notice the pearl necklace Santa brought for Regina!

Katie's Grandma Karone and Grandpa Denny (my Dad) gave her two of these life-size toy dogs for her birthday and two of them for Christmas (Rotweiller, Hound, Dalmation and Husky). Her Aunt Sue and Uncle Bob gave her the Pug. She loves them all!

Katie loves her cousin Katelyn!

MacKenzie seems pleased with one of the gifts Santa left for her.

MacKenzie about to get into something, but I caught her!

MacKenzie wearing her Levi outfit that we gave her while Matthew, Paige and Katie work on putting together a complicated Lego kit.

Updating the calendar? Or messing it up? Not sure which...

Sleepy Katie at the end of a busy Christmas Day, snuggling with Mom, wrapped up in the comfy blanket she got from Aunt Peggy, Uncle Kenny (my brother), and cousins Justin and Josh. Oh, and notice she also has her "sleep dog" which was given to her right after she was born. She never sleeps without it.

Happy 7th Birthday Katie!

Not only is it Katie's birthday today, but it's also her Uncle Matt's birthday, too.
So, they sat together on the "birthday couch" where they opened their presents.

We made chocolate cakes for both Katie and Matt. And blanketed each with white frosting that is our all-time-favorite, super-bad-for-you frosting made out of crisco, powdered sugar, milk and some vanilla extract. Katie decorated with some Sponge Bob candies and it was done!

She's so happy her cousins are here to help celebrate!
They arrived about a week ago from Virginia.

After we sang Happy Birthday, she blew out her "number 7" candle
and took it off the cake so we could dig in!

Katie and Momma

Katie and Mom Gina

Garden d'Lights 2010

Just as we did last year, we visited the Garden d'Lights at the Bellevue Botanical Gardens. It's such a beautifully impressive display of skill and creativity, as well as a celebration of the season.

This year we were joined by Regina's sister Edy, her husband Matt, and their kids Paige, Katelyn, Matthew and MacKenzie. They arrived a few days ago and we're thrilled they're spending Christmas with us!

Matthew, Katie, Paige, Katelyn on the bench and baby MacKenzie in the stroller.

Regina, Katie, Suzie

Trick-or-Treating 2010

Katie and her good buddy, both of them super heroes this year (unplanned coincidence!), had an awesome time visiting all of our neighbors and came home with a ton of candy!

Getting Ready for Halloween 2010

Katie's going as Bat Girl this year!
Today she wore this to school for their Halloween Party.

Mom (Regina) did the carving, with a little help from Katie and Katie did the jeweled pumpkin, with a little help from Momma (Suzie).

Another carved creation by Regina.

I saw this wonderful idea in a magazine and just had to try it.
So, here's my pumpkin kitty cat! I love it!!

Our Japanese Maple in the front yard is on FIRE! So gorgeous!

Skate Date at Skate King

On this rainy Seattle afternoon, I invited Katie to go skating at Skate King in Bellevue. It was "Family Afternoon" so there were lots of kids there and 2 or 3 birthday parties in progress. I liked it, though, because they left the lighting on most of the time. I know I'm not a young chick anymore when a simple thing like dimming the lights and turning on those (irritating) disco balls totally throws me off. I guess the dim part is okay, it's the rotating reflections on the floor created by the disco balls that mess me up when I'm skating over them. I'm only a mediocre skater, so I guess that, combined with fading youth totally work against me when they fire up the disco balls. But, I didn't give up. I kept skating, anyway, being careful to stay out of the way of the expert skaters while also dodging the little ones and other beginners whose feet fall out from underneath them at a moment's notice, making them nothing but a dangerous speed bump in my path I had to avoid quickly! Whew. I'm happy to report though, both Katie and I remained upright the whole time and had fun.

Something up our leaves!

Issaquah's 41st Salmon Days Festival promised they had "something up our leaves", so Katie and I went down there today to check it out. This is an annual festival held to celebrate the salmon returning to Issaquah's waterways to spawn. Katie and I stood on the bridge over the creek that runs through Issaquah (I have no idea what it's called - you'd think I would know by now...) and we watched, along with lots of other folks as huge salmon struggle to swim in very shallow water, against the current, up stream to their destination, where they were born. I had a hard time talking Katie into even walking over there to look, (she was certain it would be BORING - with an attitude) but she enjoyed it once she realized she could actually see the fish and they were very active.

There were several things that Katie was interested in checking out. Of course, if there are inflatable bounce houses there, she always wants some bounce time. So, she did that for a few minutes.


There was something called Human Hamster Balls where you climb inside a giant inflatable ball and roll yourself around like a hamster. Katie was totally into that, but so was everyone else and the line was unimaginably long! We decided not to waste time standing in such a long line. Oh well, it looked like fun, anyway.


There was also something called Puget Sound DockDogs. In the Ohfishal Program, it says, "Watch as dogs of all shapes and sizes daringly dash down the dock to dive into a tremendous tank of water, creating a tidal wave of fun for all." We watched it for a while and Katie loved it. She was especially curious about one of the dogs who had canine cancer who was given an extra turn, but just wasn't performing well due to her illness. That sparked a conversation with Katie about cancer, which she'd never heard of before, and she was so sad that the dog was going to die from the disease.

Another attraction for the kids was a train ride. That was the first thing we did. One of the cars was designed to look like a car that carries circus animals. So, of course we had to ride in that one.




But, Katie's favorite activity of the whole day was the playground, which is there all the time, not just for the festival! She's a sucker for a good playground, for sure.





They had a full schedule of shows to entertain the kids and the last one today was the Reptile Guy. Katie and I sat in on it and she really enjoyed it. She was right up there in the front row, getting up close and personal with all the reptiles. It doesn't seem to bother her.