A Vacation to Remember

Well -- we survived our first family beach vacation... barely :) Ha ha -- seriously though... this trip was full of highs and lows -- and it will definitely be a trip we will remember! (Snapfish pics here if interested)

It started out with us trying to check into our resort and discovering they were over-booked. UGH!! So -- after much complaining/negotiating (and almost a few tears -- I was pretty tired from the day of travel), they sent us down the road to a different resort (actually a nicer, higher rated resort) for the first few days. They promised us a room upgrade and two free massages when we returned -- that helped to sweeten the deal :)

Here are the kids the next day -- ready to hit the pool!! They had a blast -- the resort had a designated kids area... a shallow kids pool, a kids club, and a big splash park full of sprinkler-like equipment. Very cool!!
Playing in the pool at the first resort: This picture was taken Thursday night before dinner -- at this point, Noah was starting to feel under the weather :(

Well -- he went downhill pretty fast. He spiked a fever that night, was coughing a ton, couldn't fall asleep, and started breathing heavy/wheezing. We decided at around midnight to call the resort doctor.

He diagnosed him with two ear infections, tonsilitis, and fluid in his airways (not quite down in his lungs thankfully) He gave us three different medications and the worst part was he told us to keep Noah away from water for the remainder of the trip. Not only was he worried about water in the ears and Noah swallowing water -- he didn't even want Noah to be breathing the chlorine, or salt-water, or being around the moisture/humidity of the water. UGH!!!!

I felt SO sorry for Noah -- we pretty much had to divide up during the day a lot for the remainder of the trip. Evelyn and I played at the pool while Travis and Noah would walk around, visit the kids club, etc. The kids were able to play together when they wanted to play in the sand, but we kept Evelyn out of the water when Noah was around so that he wouldn't get too sad :( It was all pretty heartbreaking. He is a trooper though -- and had a great time anyway :)

Evelyn seemed to come out of her shell a lot this vacation -- she was approaching little kids left and right and becoming their friend, playing with them in the pool, dancing with them, etc. It was pretty cute :)

Here she is at the pool at our second resort:

So -- regardless of the trials we were put up against, our family came together and had a wonderful vacation together. Was it the picture-perfect vacation I had hoped? No. But the weather was beautiful, the resorts were top-notch, everyone we met was ultra-friendly, and we were all able to get away, relax and have fun together for seven days. A success in my book :)

Starting the Cabo Countdown!!

Really don't have much to write about these days... just trying to get back into a routine now that the madness of the holidays is over with. I love Christmas-time & all the festivities so much --- it is always a tough adjustment for me once January comes. I have been keeping busy though, and trying to spend some extra time in the gym... since we will be in Mexico in 10 days!!!!! Not sure I was thinking clearly when I planned a beach vacation so close to Xmas cookie season!

Thought I would include a couple more pics from around Christmas... here is Evelyn in her new rain jacket:
Noah received the same jacket in red -- here he is with my dad when we took a trip to NW Trek (a wildlife area with elk, bear, moose, etc)Cute jackets are from LLBean -- highly recommend them! A good quality rain coat is very important when you live in the Pacific Northwest! :)

In workout news, I am thinking about registering for a half marathon. I need to decide pretty quick... since I should get on a training plan ASAP (it is March 20th). The down-side: it is on Mercer Island and it is a pretty hilly and tough course. The up-side: it benefits colon cancer prevention/research which means a lot to me and my family.

Happy Birthday Peanut!

Evelyn's birthday was December 26th. We had a small party for her at a Fun Center in town (kinda like a ChuckECheese). Here we are before all the guests arrived:Evelyn with Alexis -- one of her BFFs from school:Right before we sang... the little turkey blew out all the candles before we even started singing... so we had to do a "re-do". Here is the video Yup -- that is Noah's big head in the bottom of the picture :)
On a side note -- I came up with a few resolutions for this year. I thought I would share and hopefully that will help to hold me to my promises :)

1. Stay healthy -- listen to my body -- no over-training
2. Complete another half-marathon, sprint triathlon, and strive for an Olympic distance triathlon
3. Work to improve swimming skills (see #2)
4. Have a date night or a game night with Travis at least once a month (no kids!)
5. Get out for one-on-one time with each kiddo at least once a month
6. Pray more.
   
7. Even if everyone in the house is sleeping by 9:00 on New Year's Eve... it is NOT a good idea to try to be productive and take down Xmas decorations all by myself. Very depressing... lesson learned.
   

Merry Christmas to All... and to All a Good Night!

Christmas day was a lot of fun. We let the kids sleep in a little bit, and then opened presents when they got up. My parents flew in from Michigan, and we picked them up from the airport around noon. Trav's parents, and Chuck, Kim & Lola came over around 4PM to open family presents and have Xmas dinner.
Christmas Morning -- kids taking a picture with Cocoa: Evelyn's big present was a play-house for her Barbies... this picture was taken right after she walked into the spare bedroom (where it was hiding) I love having Xmas dinner at our place -- it works out well since we have the most space for everyone... and I enjoy putting our china and crystal to use!!
Family photo right before we ate dinner:
Evelyn, Lola (cousin) and Noah -- I hope they stay close buddies :)
This picture was actually taken on the 26th or 27th... but it shows Noah's "big" present. He got a big race car track. It is really pretty cool -- Travis, my dad, and I all had a lot of fun with this, too!!

Christmas Party and Run

We were at a Christmas party last night -- Trav's side of the family gets together every year -- usually a weekend or two before Xmas. It is a big potluck event and a gift exchange (I think there were 19 people not counting kids). Here are the kids with their favorite second-cousin, Kaitlyn.Here I am after my 12K's of Xmas run this morning. This photo looks kinda distorted -- Travis took it looking down on me...I switched from my red/white candy cane socks to these socks that were red/pink/green. I am glad I did --- a ton of people had candy cane socks on.... but I didn't see anyone wearing these :)
I am paranoid about getting blisters... so I won't wear any socks except running socks (no cotton at all!!) I had to turn these socks into leg warmers and wear my other socks, too :)

I had a great run this morning --- it was an absolutely beautiful & sunny morning (right around 36 degrees) I could tell that most of my longer runs lately have been only around 6 miles or so.... the last mile (6.5 to 7.5) was brutal!!! It felt great to push myself though -- I haven't worked that hard in a really long time :)

Holiday Spirit

My computer is giving me problems with the blogger website lately --- so I haven't been as motivated to post since I have to use Trav's laptop. These pictures are from a week or so ago...

Family outing to go cut down our tree -- this is the first year that the kids got into it. I can't remember exactly... but I think last year we even took our BOB stroller out into the tree area with us! Notice Noah has a book in his hand... it is his Bob the Builder book... he takes it EVERYWHERE!


This picture is from an event in our town called Clam Lights. It is hosted/sponsored by Ivar's (seafood restaurant chain in Seattle) It is a fun little holiday festival held at a park on Lake Washington. They had caroling, free rides in Santa's wagon (horse and carriage), and of course the big lighting event. They do a spectacular job with the lights --- the entire park is lit up. AND they have dancing clams!!!

I have to be honest... this year I have been a little more affected than usual by the rainy season. I check the 10 day forecast every morning and when it says rain showers for the next 10 days I get a little frustrated. Since I grew up in Michigan, where it was rare to have a Christmas that wasn't white, it required some extra effort to get into the holiday spirit this year. The non-stop Xmas music has helped... and the house totally festive... and the kiddos are getting excited...

I will also be running the 12 K's of Christmas this Sunday. I am tying bells onto my shoes and might even try to put together some festive running attire (think red & white striped knee high socks!)

A Story A Day Til Christmas

Last night was the first night of our Christmas book tradition. Sally (Trav's mom) gets the credit for this one :) She picked up really nice, collectible type Christmas books for us and also a basket to hold the books. We wrap them up the beginning of the month, number them, and then read one every night until Christmas.
We have about half of the books being fun "Santa" type books and the other half being religious, nativity story type books. A few of the books are short (one of them is a golden book) -- and some of them are longer (Polar Express, Nutcracker) -- but it is a nice mix :)
The kids were SO excited last night to see the book they opened. We only have the books out during the month of December, and then we pack them away until the following year -- so they are "new" every year.

I think we are getting our Christmas tree this weekend --- I am seriously like a little kid -- I love the experience of cutting down the tree, decorating the tree, making the house festive, etc I can't wait!!!