Winter Solstice

Happy winter to all! It's the Winter Solstice today. Truth be told, I don't love this day, simply because I don't love winter. But, I don't dislike it either. It's the day before my first born child's birthday! And, it is a reminder that the days will only start to get longer from here forward.

Coincidentally, David and I planned a nice little day for us. 

It started as normal, with Vincent going to school. The difference today was that Vincent put on a dress shirt with a tie. He's been wanting such things since we went to see Nutcracker a couple weeks ago. I found both at Macy's last week and purchased them using a gift card he received for Christmas from his great-aunt, Angel. And, I took him to school instead of David. Vincent passed out Christmas gifts to his teachers, and I set off for home.

David and Tyler picked me up on the street, to my surprise, and we headed to the gym. David is taking 2 extra days off for the holiday so he has a 5-day weekend. Woohoo!

After our workout, we went up to Capitol Hill to find David a new pair of glasses and to have lunch at The Wandering Goose. Side note: it was tasty, but took a very long time to get our food.

Now, the real fun begins after Vincent returned home from school. At about 3pm, we set out for the Space Needle. David had the good idea of valet parking right outside the Needle. Not much spendier (with validation) than parking it somewhere on the street. We had a discount coupon to get up to the top to see the big man himself, Santa Claus! He was only going to be there until 5pm, so we made it for his last shift. And, what a beautiful afternoon it turned out to be!

Here's looking down to the northeast. Bottom left is the Gate Foundation, straight ahead is Lake Union, to the east of the lake is our neighborhood, and beyond, behind the clouds, are the Cascade Mountains.

The boys decorated a rocket cookie each while waiting for Santa, and ate them immediately. Tyler didn't finish his, and complained of a belly ache. Yeah, dude, too much sugar.

One of the "elves" asked the boys what they are going to ask Santa for. Vincent said, "A pedometer and a Power Rangers Mega Bloks set." She asked if he knows what a pedometer does, and he replied, "It counts your steps."

Tyler said he will ask for an airplane and a train.

And, the moment you've been waiting for! Space Santa!

And, this one's not too bad, either.

When we were all done with Santa and the pretty views, we headed down to the "Armory" aka the old Center House for dinner. The boys (David included) were super excited for MOD Pizza. I opted for poutine from Skillet Counter. Theirs was alright, but with all this poutine craze, I wish I had tried it years ago when I was in Montreal with Lucy. It did sound gross back then.

In the Armory, we also looked at the famous model train scene, and Vincent and Tyler got to control one of the trains for the first time.

 

Then, we moved on to look at the Winterfest ice rink they set up at the Seattle Center. Then, the boys ran to the big fountain where there was a giant lit up tree. And, since we'd gone this far, we kept going over to McCall Hall where "Nutcracker" is showing to see the large statues and to show David and Tyler what Vincent and I looked at a couple weeks ago (minus the show). The boys danced and acted out scenes from the ballet on the mini stage and took a picture in front of the tree.

 

When all was done and we were heading home, Tyler kept saying it was the best night. And, they kept asking if it was really late and commenting on how it seemed like a long night. Which brings us back full circle to Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year (hence, the "long" night").

Happy Winter Solstice! 

Vincent's 6th Birthday Party

 

We did Vincent's birthday party a week early at the karate studio he takes lessons. There were about 18 kids, including ours. Mr. Ness had two others to help with the party. They set up the tables and chairs, provided plates, napkins, and untensils, along with bottled water. Vincent seemed to have a great time, and was so happy to see his friends. His cake was a red velvet, which is his favorite. He takes after his parents, as both David and I love red velvet, too. For party favors, we had goodie bags with a ninja head band, a paper ninja star that I folded, a little sweet treat, and a little chubby ninja guy that Tyler calls "Big Fat Poley."

20 Weeks - Little Kicks

I have been feeling flutters in my belly for a few weeks now. This past week, they've been feeling more like little kicks. I love it. Just now, David put his hand on my belly and actually felt a little something, too!

To The Airpot

At the last minute, David and I decided to try getting to the airport by public transportation. It's probably the only time in the last 6 years & the next 2-3 years that we'll be able to accomplish such a thing. If not longer! At least, with kids in tow. And, it saved us about $100 in parking.

So, we did it. We gave ourselves plenty of time, and our packing up and getting ready went really well. Otherwise, if we were too pressed for time, we wouldn't have tried.

At 4:30pm, we headed out the door with the boys. Each kid had a small backpack and small rolling suitcase, as did each adult. We were all outfitted in rain gear, too. The kids were surprised to find out we were walking, and very excited about getting on the bus.

We had to walk to the freeway bus stop in the rain. That was the hardest part. It took us about 15 minutes. Once on the bus, we were under cover the remainder of the way.

The bus ride was easy. Then, getting the kids off the bus, through the rush hour crowd and on the to train was a bit tricky. The 45 minute ride was a bit crowded to start. People seemed annoyed by all our luggage. Oh well.

Once at the airport, we had to walk from the station to the terminal. It was pretty empty there and security was a breeze. We ended up with lots of time to spare. We got some mediocre airport pub fare, then browsed a book store, then waited. Delayed flight. Ugh.

By the time we touched down in LAX it was 11:30pm. Tyler would not fall asleep on the plane until 15 minutes before we landed. Vincent got about an hour of sleep, but woke with slightly wet pants and extremely cranky. They both slept during the car ride to the house. David and I got to bed a little after 1am.

AND, the kids woke at 7:35am today. Seriously?!

Halloween Is Finally Here!

The kids have been talking about Halloween since the first leaf turned yellow this year. It seems like it has been looming ahead of us F-O-R-E-V-E-R. We've had costumes, we've etched out a plan for trick-or-treating, now we just need the day to arrive. AND IT HAS!!

The day started off with taking the boys to school. Tyler had his school party yesterday, so he did not dress up today. Vincent was super excited to get into his costume - Red Power Ranger Samurai!!

 

The first graders and kindergartners did a quick parade through the main building of the school, then headed to recess. After lunch, they had a party in class. I helped with one of the games. School was dismissed 2 hours early today, due to teacher meetings.

We came home, met up with David and Tyler, and rested for the afternoon. At about 4:30pm, I made everyone eat an early dinner so we could head out right at dusk.

Here's the gang! 

 I dressed up as KiKi.

Dinner was this quiche and grilled cheese sandwiches.

We headed straight for "Trick or Treat Street" while it was still light out. Right away, we ran into a friend from Vincent's class. They were excited to go door-to-door together. By 6:30pm, the street was packed. The highlight was the house who converted their garage into the building from Monsters Inc., projected the movie in the background, and gave out handmade, mini stuffed monsters and full-sized candy bars.

We stopped at about 3-4 more houses on the walk back home, but made it back a little after 7pm, my goal. The boys sorted candy when they got home and got to eat about 3 pieces each.

Tyler's Halloween Party

Tyler's school had their Halloween party today, one day early. It must be because Wednesdays are 'Tumble Bus' days.

Ty got dressed in his costume, but was very shy when we got to school.

 

He brought home quite the booty, too!

Swim Class

We signed Vincent and Tyler up for swimming this fall. Vincent was taking it on Sundays, while Ty and I did it together on Mondays. I will be the first to admit that I did not enjoy this. 

First, the water's pretty cold. They have turned up the heat recently, but it's still chilling. 

Secondly, Tyler clings on to my arm for dear life. It's hard to do the stuff with him because he's so much bigger than the other, um, babies, and the class is geared toward the little little ones. His clinging makes it tough to help him move around.

So, for the second fall session, I moved him to Sundays. This new class is for kids his age, and parents do not get in with them. David will take them both. Vincent has a class, then they get a 30 minute break, and then Tyler has a class. And, the best part is that one of our favorite Seattle families, the Beatty's have their two older boys in the same classes, too. Woohoo!