(Part 2)

***I had to look up the correct plural of octopuses. Apparently, octopi is accepted but nor actually correct. And, there is a big debate over it. Who knew?***

Friday was rainy most the day, but that didn’t stop us. We’re used to it by now. As we were getting ready, a seagull landed on the balcony. The kids grabbed some cereal and started to feed it, causing it to squawk for its friends. Luckily, no more showed up.

We got ready to go see Hatley Castle. This is the castle of the mutants in X-Men. So we told Jameson we were going to see where Wolverine lived. He was excited. We got there, got lost on the campus, and then found out that since school is in session, they don’t offer tours. What? Their website didn’t say anything about that. The website offers tours. So we went in the lobby and looked around.

Check out the radiators…

The picture with Jameson is looking out the front door to the building across. The one with Kevin is the front of the castle.

We walked around the back for some more inspection. I’m sure the vines are awesome in the summer, but they look a little creepy right now. Keep in mind it was raining on us the entire time.

The opposite view…

The back of the castle.

It looked pretty awesome. Wish we could have seen the inside more, but oh well. We headed back to down town, and stopped by the parliament buildings. We didn’t do any tours… don’t think the kids would really enjoy that, but the kids loved running around the grounds.

How cute is she…really? I even think a few other people took pictures while she stood on the steps yelling, “Cheese!”

Here is my belly shot at 25 weeks and 4 days.

A better view…

Even Kevin enjoyed playing on the front lawn.

After running around the parliament building, we went to the Undersea Gardens. You basically go aboard a boat, and then go down 15 meters under water to see the fish.

We thought there was a touch pool, but then another guy came walking up and read the sign which said something about not touching the animals. Oops. But seriously, one side of the sign implied that you can touch the animals, but the other side said don’t. Totally confusing.

At the end, there was a little theater area for a show. There were 2 scuba divers that held up different animals in the tank. The favorites were the crabs and the octopus. Octopi really, there were 2 of them.

Later that night, Jameson and I checked out the view from the top floor. Pictures didn’t turn out so well, but it was pretty.

Once we checked everything out, we went to the front to get a movie. Natalie, the desk clerk, loved Jameson. He picked out a movie, and then proceeded to talk to her for like 45 minutes. She loved it. She even had him sign the slip to check out a movie. It was pretty funny. Of course, he didn’t sign on the line, but he did get all the letters of his name on the paper. So we headed back up to watch our movie and go to bed.

(Part 1)

For Kevin’s birthday coming up, I had booked a stay for the weekend in Seaside, Oregon. At least, that’s what I thought I did. The day before we were going to leave, I pulled out the reservation information, only to find it was for a different resort in Redmond, Oregon. Crap! Not sure what happened there. So, we started discussing what we wanted to do. All other resorts on the coast between Oregon and Washington were booked. Kevin mentioned staying home, and exploring areas around us. That’s sounds great, except, I needed out. I don’t want to see the floor I need to vacuum, the bathrooms I need to clean, the fridge that needs to be filled and cleaned… you get it. I may have had a break down, and we decided to go to Victoria, Canada instead. They had openings there for the weekend, and we have all documentation needed to travel to Canada, so we quickly changed our reservations. Thursday morning, we got going and headed out to catch the ferry to Bainbridge.

It was freezing out and we left the coats in the car, so we didn’t last long outside. Once across the water, we headed out to the next ferry. It was a little less than 2 hours to Port Angeles, where we took the ferry to Victoria. We grabbed some lunch first, and then got in line. Traveling takes much longer when you have to wait on ferries.

Weird thing. They didn’t even check for paperwork until after we got off the ferry in Victoria. Once you’re in the country, what would they do if you didn’t have correct papers? Not quite sure, and glad we don’t have an answer to that. It was about a 90 minute ferry ride, which means that Kevin had to take Dramamine. He was out pretty much the entire ride, along with Ella. We finally got there around 3:30 pm.

The condo we were staying in was a quick drive from the port. If I had a better camera, we could probably see it in the picture above. We headed straight over and checked-in with no problems (always a bonus). Once we got settled, we looked for something to do, and ended up at the Bug Museum.

Things started out small, but then we got to some of the largest insects in the world. Just gross. Jameson loved looking at them. He touched a few, but wasn’t about to hold any. Kevin loved every minute of it, and held all of them. Ella got close but I’m not sure she touched any. I held one. That was enough.

They had the largest ant display in the world? maybe, or at least the country. It was incredible. The queen was not to be seen, but the workers were sure busy. Did you know when an ant dies, another ant has to take it to the graveyard, but then is not allowed to return? Because the ants know that it could now be contaminated with whatever killed the other ant. Great way to take one for the team.

I can not do cockroaches, especially ones that hiss!

So this is the heaviest insect in the world, or something like that. I actually did hold this one, but that picture is on Kevin’s phone.

Like I said, I think Kevin loved it the most.

I know I have you all squirming right now. I guess the larger the scorpion the less poisonous they are. They have bigger pincers to get their food, so they don’t have to be as poisonous as the smaller ones. Either way, I was not getting close.

After the bug museum, we walked around down town a little. This Presbyterian church was around the corner.

Kevin didn’t know how fond of architecture I was. I loved looking at the building here. I could have walked around lots more except, the kids were tired, and I was getting sore. We did find a toy store… sorry Jameson looks terrible.

After the toy store, we stopped for some fudge. I thought it was funny that they placed figurines on the gelato. We didn’t try any, but it looked like frozen jelly.

After a long day, bedtime could not come fast enough. The best part? The kids had their own room.

Saturday was beautiful. So we headed to a small zoo nearby. We thought it was a bit overpriced for what they had, but the kids loved it. We even got a AAA discount. We bought some apples they had to  feed the animals, which was the highlight.

Ella loved talking to the different parrots. They were making lots of noises and talking back.

Then we got to an open area where the birds had their wings clipped. One of the trainers was standing there, so she started holding them, and talking with them. They were playing peek-a-boo, and the kids were laughing.

The only animals that really ate from your hand were the Alpacas. Jameson didn’t hesitate to put his hand out, while the little girls around him were scared. Even Ella stuck her hand out with apple slices for them with no fear.

It was a nice little zoo, that didn’t take too long to walk through. We had lots of fun, and the weather couldn’t have been better for February here.

Last Saturday, January 28th, we decided to take a family hike. We emailed a few friends, and 3 other families joined us. We hiked a small trail on Cougar Mountain that was about 1.5 miles in. I think it was anyway. The trail head started in the cul-de-sac of a neighborhood. We unloaded our kids and started out. We had 2 babies in packs, 2 jogging strollers, and lots of kids walking.

Dad told Jameson that people in the back are the first to get eaten, so he was sure to stay in the front. Wish Dad wouldn’t have told him that. He wouldn’t stop talking about it the entire hike.

Near the turn around point, the boys found this cave? Rocks? Not sure what to call it. They loved this rock, though.

We kind of missed the waterfalls we were originally hiking for. Oops. Oh well. It was a pretty good hike. Jameson walked with me on the way back, which was nice. We had some fun talks. Jameson loved this log near the trail end. Covered in moss and mushrooms.

As we exited the trail, the family that lived in the house we were parked by came out. They said we were the best group to ever come off the trail. They were laughing saying they lost track of how many kids we had with us. We laughed and told them we had 10 kids, 7 adults, and one was a pregnant lady. They loved it. We’re up for more hikes, but next time, maybe not as far. It was ok, but not sure I will be able to do that long much longer. Especially with the fact that I’m no hiker.

Saturday, Dad finally had time to play in the snow with the kids. The only problem was that it rained Thursday and Friday, so a lot of the snow had melted. The decided to build a snow cave in the back yard.

Ella woke up from her nap, and wanted to play, too.

She preferred to jump on the tramp while the boys built the fort.

The finished fort. The loved climbing on it way more than climbing in it.

We had a small break in the storm until Tuesday afternoon. The snow continued through Wednesday, and the kids were so excited to play.

Kevin had been out of town on a business trip, and I was getting nervous he wouldn’t be able to fly in. The airport was closed Wednesday morning from 6 am till noon. His flight was supposed to come in at 3 pm. I was checking his flight status, and he was calling saying they were boarding. Wednesday into Thursday was supposed to be the worst of the storm. There were power outages starting, and I didn’t want to be alone, with 2 kids, pregnant, in a dark cold house. That would really stink. Luckily, he called when his flight landed. If I had to, I was going to pick him up, but he actually made it home in his car.

I was so glad when he pulled up. I think the airport even closed back down that night after his plane came in. Even my home teacher called to check on me, knowing Kevin wasn’t home. Our power stayed on, though, and we didn’t have any problems. Kevin even went into work Thursday and Friday. Which meant, I was stuck at home with no car. That’s ok, though. We were just glad Kevin made it home.

Santa arrived at our house! Sunday morning, guess what we woke to? You would think it would be our kids excited about their new toys that were delivered. Nope. First, at 7:30 am, my sister called to ask something about what she was cooking. At least, I think that’s what it was. After I got off the phone, I rolled over and went back to sleep. Then, a little after 8 am, my Mom called. They were done opening presents, and she called to say, “Thanks.” She was a little confused that she woke me up. Umm, yes. My kids are still asleep, why would I get up. I know what they got from Santa. Merry Christmas to us, we got to sleep in, except for the phone calls. After her call, we debated about waking the kids up, an instead, Kevin got my stocking for me. Who else get firearms in their stocking from Santa? Anyone?

He did a pretty good job tying the bow, though. We’ll see how it shoots soon. About 9 am, we heard Ella, and went into their room. Kevin woke Jameson up. At first, he wasn’t very successful, until he told him Santa came. Then, half awake, Jameson jumped out of bed. They went to the living room to find their presents.

Ella received a little stove my grandpa made (we picked it up while in Salt Lake), along with accessories. Jameson received a bow and arrow, along with a cross bow and more arrows. I figured Kevin would need one to fight back with.

Jameson was so excited. He started right away at the box to get them out.

Ella went straight for her new collection of plates and cups.

My mom thought I was mean for making my kids wait till after church to open presents. But really, they only got up at 9 and church was at 10. I had told Jameson all week we would open presents after church so he knew what to look forward to. Church was only an hour long, but every 10 minutes, Jameson asked if we were done. That was also partly because there were lots of musical numbers, and he started asking after the second song if we were done.

I was a mean mom, in the fact that I made them take a picture once we got home, before opening presents. When I sent out Christmas cards, I realized we don’t have many family pictures from this year. They pretty much only went to family, so don’t feel like I ignored you if you didn’t get one. The picture was not the greatest either, but we made do. So, if it had been taken sooner than Christmas day, this could have been the picture on the card.

(I’m realizing my camera may have been dropped too many times. All my pictures are just slightly blurry.)

And this is what we looked like while trying to take this picture.

Lovely.

After, we played till everyone was changed, and then we started into the presents.

Jameson was the official present passer outer. He recognizes our names, so he got almost everyone the right presents.

Jameson was very proud of his tree this year, and I’m not sure I ever got a picture of it. I sent him to take a picture of it. His tree was full of my old ornaments.

After naps, friends started showing up. Our family while we are away from family. We made a prime rib and rolls, along with some banana orange slush. They showed up with all the other goodies. We had a great dinner, and then gave the kids their presents. I think this year our goal must have been to give the most annoying gifts possible. I found some knock-off dolls that look like strawberry shortcake characters. Bad part, they had battery packs. Only one had batteries, which, after purchase, proved to sing her songs in spanish. It was hilarious. So, once the dolls were opened, Kevin started putting batteries in all of them. I told him it was a bad idea since the dolls were being given at our house. We didn’t have to put up with the chaos from the dolls long. But I do feel bad for sending them home to other houses with batteries. The funny part was, all the other dolls sang songs in english. They are confused dolls though. They sing like 5 songs, and each time they announce a different name. Pretty funny. By bedtime, the kids were exhausted. We had a wonderful Christmas, with lots of love sent to us. Merry Christmas to all!

Christmas Eve, I told the kids they could open one present. Of course I had them marked, which ones to open on Christmas Eve that is. We always opened pajamas Christmas Eve, so that’s what I had wrapped for them. Kevin is as bad as the kids, and wanted to open one, too. Actually, this year, we both messed up. He ordered my present online, and I was the one who received the package. The box was labeled with what it was. Then, I waited all week for his to be delivered, and Friday, I left the house for about 2 hours. Guess what came while I was gone. His box was also labeled with what was inside. So, we both knew a few presents. Oops.

This is our tree, Christmas Eve, with all the packages from family stacked behind it. The mail is always so much fun in December. It also takes about half the presents out from under our tree, because we have to ship our family presents. In the past years, our tree was overflowing, just because we had so many presents for family and friends.

Jameson dug right into his presents…

Kevin had to help Ella at first, but she figured it out.

Ella got some reindeer polk-a-dot pajamas while Jamo received some lego Star Wars pajamas. He was so excited, since he and Kevin play it like every night. Since I had been taking pictures, Jameson wanted to take some. He turned to me and said, “Say cheese.”

Then it was Dad’s turn for a picture. He pulled his “cool” pose.

Then, Dad told Jameson to look as cool as he can. Like a superhero.

What am I to do with this boy? We got settled down, and put the kids to bed. Once we were sure they were asleep, Santa made a visit.

This December got a little busy and we did not make it to Snowflake Lane until Friday night (December 30th). Never again will we go that late in the month. It was crazy. Trying to make it down the sidewalk was beyond ridiculous. We finally made it to an open space just in time for the music to start.

Snowflake Lane is a sidewalk celebration in downtown Bellevue. The drummers play along with the music while people dressed up in costumes walk the sidewalk passing out peppermint suckers. At the end, they have a “snowfall” of bubbles and paper mache’.

The drummers came out, and got on their posts. The kids enjoyed it. Both wanted to be on Kevin’s shoulders at one point or another.

The drummers even come down the sidewalk. At one point, both kids wanted to be with Kevin. Worked out well for me to not have to hold a kid.

After the drum line left, and the show was over, Jameson had his own fun on the stand.

We needed to wait for the crowds to disperse before trying to get back to our car. So we headed into a store to get one more quick present for myself. By the time we got out, we had less foot traffic to get through. We made it home, and put the kids to bed. Glad we went, but next year it will be much earlier in the month.

December 9th, our friends threw an Ugly Sweater party. I bought these sweaters for our family party, but then never did put them on. Let me just say there were some ugly sweaters there, so I was impressed that I won 3rd. I guess this sweater served it’s purpose. For me anyway.

We’re pretty sexy, huh?