Braving the ARCTIC BLAST!!!

On an ordinary "snow day", not that this has been ordinary in anyway at all, you would most likely find us snuggled on the living room couch by the the fireplace, sipping hot chocolate, and enjoying the beautiful view out back. You would think that with NINE inches of snow (which is incredible for us out here in the Northwest), we would have stayed in today, however, the Brewer boys and their families are in town and we could not wait to see them! So, we bundled ourselves up, left the house with an extra pair of clothes, threw the chains in the trunk, and braved the Arctic Blast!

Malia and her cousin Leah standing up and sharing toys.

Carmen and Malia spinning around in Grandpa's office chair.

Uncle Mike, Carmen, Auntie Song, (and Ethan), flew all the way from Washington D.C. to spend Christmas with us. We have missed them so much and can't wait to spend the next week with them!

We were looking for new ways to entertain the kiddos, so decided to take them out sledding, (which really wasn't that fun at all). In the end, we all agreed that playing in the snow is way more fun when it is not "snowing"... Malia hated when the snow hit her face and stuck to her eyelashes, and the rest of her cousins agreed. But, this much snow is a once in over 10 years opportunity, so how could we pass it up!

Auntie Song and Cousin Ethan enjoying their sled ride.

Carmen is such a great big cousin!

Just a pretty picture of some of the family and all of the incredible snow!

Uncle Aaron and Carmen sledding down the hill on their bellies!

Malia... showing her "enthusiasm" during our family fun. This little girl is pretty much weaned off her pacifier and really only uses it at bedtime. When we do have to use it in other situations, it is usually because we have a VERY grumpy little girl on our hands.

After having fun with the Brewers in Vancouver, we decided to head home before the freezing rain hit so that we could avoid feeling "stuck" somewhere other than our own home. We returned to find that it had snowed 9inches! This just seems so CRAZY! Snow like this just never happens! Even though this weather has become slightly inconvenient, it is just so beautiful. So, as you will come to find, I just couldn't pass up the photo opportunities.

It is easy to say "It snowed 9inches." But years down the road, how will we "picture" 9 inches, especially if you don't have a ruler? We decided to use an oatmeal box/container.

Now, in this picture, I couldn't push the container down far enough due to an inch of packed snow from the previous snow storm, but it sure does a good job at showing how much snow there is! The news says that even more is on the way! We do have to admit, that we have been feeling quite Arctic Blasted. :)

Arctic Blast 2008!!!

Aaron and I enjoy making fun of the dumb headlines in the news... but, hey, at least they were right about the snow! Living here in Ridgefield tends to give us a skewed perception of what it is like out there in the 'real-world'. It isn't until we hit the main roads that we realize our neighborhood is the only one that got hit with this much snow (compared to Vancouver). Nevertheless, WE LOVE THE SNOW! This is Aaron's favorite time of year, but sadly, he is busy studying for finals, or at least he should be busy studying for finals. :)

Malia and I stole Daddy away to make a Snowman!

Malia helping out with the finishing touches...

Our snowman prefers to dress "classy"? Maybe he should have trimmed his mustache...

Apparently there are more "Arctic Storms" heading our way... maybe we'll be able to make a Snowgirl next!

Our Little Gumbrusher

No teeth yet, but at least she'll have some nice clean gums, and good practice :)

The Photo Opportunites are Endless!

I couldn't help but take pictures of Malia today after church in her cute little dress from cousin Carmen. This is her pre-Christmas dress. We just love the hat!

Thank goodness for the lack of crawling skills. We can tell Malia gets frustrated when she can't "crawl" to get a candy cane, an ornament, or to mess-up the tree skirt. But, as a parent, WE ARE SO HAPPY! (Next year will be a completely different story...)

P.S. It snowed today!!! And boy is it chilly!

Another first... The Stocking!

Baby's First Christmas Ornament

This time of season brings about so many "firsts" and thus, lots of picture taking opportunites! This is Malia's very first Christmas ornament, however, I don't think she liked it near as much as the candy cane. Mommy wasn't doing a very good job paying attention and apparently, she sucked part of the wrapper off and was thoroughly enjoying the fresh minty taste. Oops...

Helping Daddy put the ornament on the tree with one hand, while still managing to suck on her candy cane with the other.

O Christmas Tree!

On the same day that we were getting ready to go camping, we went and picked out our Christmas tree from this cute little tree farm behind our house called Windy Hills Tree Farm. We have now started a tradition of going here each year since Aaron taught a group of kids that work here, last year at the driving school. (Aaron just has fun making them work extra hard by making them cut down the tree with a hand saw.) Last year when we cut off the string that they use to bale the tree, we had needles fly EVERYWHERE, so this year, I thought I would minimize the damage by holding on as Aaron cut. I do have to say, I think it worked pretty well and clean-up was ALOT easier.

Our tree is so tall even Aaron has to stand on a stepping stool to get to the top! (We love having 9ft ceilings.)


I think Malia approves!

Winter camping... It really can be FUN!!!

Last weekend, our neighbors and us packed up, left the hood, and went cabin camping down at Silver Falls. We all were expecting rain, and planned for the worst, but it actually turned out to be one of our most favorite trips of the year! We had beautiful weather (despite the fridgid cold), stayed warm by the fire, played games, shared fun stories, and even went on a beautiful hike. We seriously had so much fun!!! Not too many people can say that some of their bestest friends are their next-door neighbors. We consider ourselves to be VERY lucky.

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Malia looking so cute, ready to head out!

Bundled up by the fire, trying to stay warm.

Malia's first "big girl bite" out of a banana. She was bored, and mommy was trying to occupy her :)

Malia and mom hangin' out by the fire. It was so cold! But... at least it wasn't raining/snowing.

This is just the first of 10 water falls at Silver Falls State Park. The whole loop was 8miles, but since all of us had little ones in baby bjorns, and a baby on the way, we opted for just the one. Aaron and I will probably go back some time next year to hike the whole thing. But then again... you've seen one, you've pretty much seen them all :)

Malia's best friend Ava with her daddy, Adam. For some reason, this is the only picture we have of any neighbors... I am waiting for Jenny to send me what she has... hint hint :)
You might be asking yourself, "how does one go camping, stay warm, and have fun in DECEMBER?!?!" Well... These cabins were amazing! They were fully equipped with furniture, electricity, a fridge and microwave, and best of all... HEAT! It was a pretty sweet set-up.

Please don't mind Malia's horribly clashing outfit... at least we kept her warm :)

A big thanks to Adam and Jenny for making all the plans/reservations for our mini-vacation. We had so much fun and hope to do this again next year!