And Yet Another Trip to Canada!

With my dad's help, we made it safe and sound to Canada despite Kai only sleeping for 1 of the 8 hours of driving.  My oh my.  All I can say is that I'm glad my dad was there to drive so that I could attempt to keep the little guy happy in the back seat - "attempt" being the operative word in that sentence! 

Anyways, once we got to Canada we had a wonderful week and then Bryon took the train out to Everett the following Sunday to assist us on the drive back.

More birthday presents to be opened!

Kai loved "Lulu" the bunny, maybe a bit too much!  He also thought it was a dog, and kept "woofing" at it!

The hottub was another big hit.

And, the fridge magnets.  So, now I've been inspired to attempt to make some fridge magnets for Kai as a Christmas gift.

Cheering Kaden on at his volleyball tournament.  Can you tell that he's not too into being held these days?!

But, riding on grandpa's shoulders is pretty fun.

I love that Kai's hair is so blonde that it disappears into the white sky!

Meeting Santa for the first time!

Our lovely nieces.

Kai became obsessed with kicking his soccer ball while he was playing with his cousins one night.  However, since he couldn't walk well yet, he would drag himself along with his left hand and foot, hold onto his right foot with his right hand and swing his foot towards the ball - hard to explain but hilarious to watch!  Amazingly enough, he could get the ball up and down the hallway by doing this very awkward movement!

All smiles, even first thing in the morning.

Kai loved all of grandma's music boxes.

Family breakfast to celebrate the first day of advent.

Grandma made a treasure hunt for all of the grandkids, starting with putting a puzzle together to get our first clue.

Aunty Jenn and cousin Emma.

Abby.

Us girls put together a puzzle one night.  Guess who the 5 year old girl in the picture is??

Wrestling with Kaden.

We got to stop and see Scot in Seattle on our way back home.

And, thankfully we'd stopped at REI to get Kai a new snowsuit, 'cause Snoqualmie pass was covered in snow!  Here we are stopped for a little exercise break!

What a fun trip!  Despite the hassle of traveling with a carseat-loathing baby, I'd definitely do it again!

A Visit from Grandpa

A couple of weeks ago my dad took the train out here to babysit/work on our house/drive back with me and Kai to Canada.  Kai loved having his grandpa here to play with him, and Bryon and I really enjoyed having an in-house repairman/babysitter :)

A trip to Schweitzer to enjoy the first snowfall of the season and try out our "new" sled (which we bought from our neighbour's garage sale).

Kai absolutely loved his first sled ride, and completely surprised me by staying in the sled! 

Apparently this sled veers sharply to the right, and Kai crashed into some rocks as my dad ran over to catch him!

Attempt #2.

And then he needed to try sliding down the hill on his belly.

Can you tell that this boy's mother is Canadian, and his father is a wannabe ski bum?  What can I say, but that we  are thrilled to have another snow lover in our family. :)

Bryon organized a fundraiser for the Sandpoint Rock Gym (where he is on the board as their accountant), and brought in Matchstick Production's 2010 ski film, "The Way I See It" to show at our local theater.  The whole event went over really well, and because my dad was here to babysit, I was able to go to it as well!

One of the raffle items.

The Climbing Gym crew.



Fall is Here

Okay, I'm not going to lie...as I write this, fall is long gone and winter is here with a vengeance.  BUT, I still have a few fall pictures left to post so here is fall, with its flurry of leaves (which means much raking), chilly mornings (and days and nights for that matter), the return of tea and hot chocolate and hoodies and warm cozy duvets.  I'm sad to see summer go, but fall really is lovely

My boys, on their way to the last Sandpoint Bulldogs football game of the season.

Ohh, the joys of home ownership!

There is a family here in Sandpoint who will make apple juice for you if you bring them your apples.  So, I took a bag of apples from the tree in our backyard and...

...Voila!

Taking a little hike up Gold Hill.

We took about 10 pictures and Kai wasn't smiling in any of them, so we decided to match our expressions to his instead :)



Missoula

Now that I don't have my weekly deadline to attempt to meet, I have been forgetting to blog.  But, the blowing snow and freezing temperatures have inspired me to sit down at the computer and post a few pictures of our lives recently. 

A couple of weeks ago Bryon had to go to Missoula for an accounting course.  Kai and I were just going to stay here, but at the last minute we got a fantastic deal on a nice hotel and decided to tag along with Bryon.  Sadly, Kai and I were both sick for the two days we were there, but we managed to have fun and explore a bit of Missoula.

I bought a "spillproof" snack cup for Kai to use on the trip, but he used it with such gusto that it didn't turn out to be too spillproof :) 

While Bryon was in class we explored the river trail into downtown Missoula.

And, after daddy got out of class, we went on a picnic to this beautiful park.

Favorite spot to play in our hotel room - the drawer.

And, while we were wasting our last hour before Bryon finished his class and we headed home, we stumbled upon the Elk Foundation and went in to visit all of the stuffed elk and other wildlife.  Kai loved it! (not that you can tell from this photo!)

Hands on the head = "Wow!"