When the weather outside is frightful...

...go swimming! No, no there weren't any polar bear plunges going on around here! I thought I would take advantage of Annika not having school today and head out to the local rec center that has an indoor pool. I didn't realize we would wake up to a nice little blanket of snow. Since I had told them about the idea yesterday, I couldn't go back on my promise. So it was off to the pool. I thought there would be a few other kids there. Nope. We were the only ones-other than a Seniors Water Aerobic class. I think the next time (?) I get pregnant I will join one of those classes. I thought it would be fun. BUT, anyway, let's focus on the kids I do have. NO! I am not pregnant. Just thinking as I am writing. Which is a dangerous thing to do. Who knows what I will write!

What we woke up to.

The kiddos getting used to the pool.

Landon really wasn't too sure about the whole thing.

Taryn was about the same color as her swimsuit. Yes I do feed her and yes she does eat! Even though the lack of meat on her bones would argue otherwise.

Annika...my little fish!

All toweled off. Time for lunch and naptime!

umm, yeah, I know there aren't any pictures of me. No one needs to see me in a swimsuit in January!

Bread baking

Can I use the fact that I have been baking bread as an excuse for my lack of blog posting? ;)

Check out my attempts at Challah and Ciabatta over here.

Laundry day is such a sad day

Remember when I had to do some surgery on Landon's little friend Monkey? Despite the shorter tail, no love was lost between Landon and, who we now we refer to as, "Bunkey." As you can see Landon doesn't like to part with his friend...

Landon's buddy gets a bath from Rebekah Eekhoff on Vimeo.

Thawing out

It seems as though our computer problems are gone and the snow is soon to follow. We have had some "warmer" temps this past week so we are starting to see asphalt and grass again. Annika got a little choked up when she saw the fort her Grandpa had built was no longer the fortress it once was.

We had quite a busy Christmas so to get you all caught up here is a recap and some pictures...once I get these posted then I feel like I can go back to our plain life.

We spent Christmas with Dan's brother, Mike, and his wife, Malissa who live up in Washington State. We had a great time and all the cousins played so well together which was good because we were nice and cozy in their house.

While with Mike and Mal, we made a trip down to Multnomah Falls in Oregon. Oregon?! Yes, Dan's goal is to visit all 50 states in this fine Union so we take every chance we get to cross some borders. We drove up to the Vista House that has incredible views of the Columbia River Gorge. Unfortunately, we got a great view of the fog (the Vista House was also closed, oh well).

Dan getting a closer look at the fog

Despite the fog and cold weather, Multnomah Falls was really pretty and definitely worth the drive. Plus, when I walked up to see the falls, I vaguely remember being there in my childhood. I think we went here on one of our many road trips from SoCal to Washington State. Perhaps, my brother Mark would remember.

Anyway, the kids all had fun together even though it had been close to 2 years since they had last seen each other.

After spending time with Dan's side we spent some time with my sister, Rachel, and my aunt and uncle and my youngest cousins (M just turned 5 and W just turned 2). We were also able to have a special afternoon with some of my dad's brothers and sisters. My dear aunts and uncles drove up to 2 1/2 hours to spend time with my family and me. Unfortunately, I only have some great mental pictures as my camera never made it out of the diaper bag. Bummer.

With my aunt and uncle (my mom's youngest brother), we got to see the kid friendly side of Seattle by going to the zoo, the Science Center and the Seattle Center. Rachel and I were able to spend a nice afternoon mosing around Ballard.

Warning: Photo Dump Ahead!

M and Annika feeling small on a big chair.

W and Landon feeling small in a big footprint.

It was a great little trip! We hope all of you had the Merriest of Christmases and are already enjoying the New Year! Bring on 2010!

Snowed in with computer problems

Hey friends!

Well, we have been experiencing a white out...computer problems and a whole lot of snow (not sure which is worse). My mom has been in town since New Year's day and we have been logging record low temps-today the HIGH is supposed to be zero. So we have been reading a lot of books, spending time in front of the fire, playing some Scrabble Jr., making bread, being put on hold with Dell (see computer problems), and painting random walls. The basement is a disaster and I am ready for Annika to go back to school. She has been back one day since Dec. 18. Other than that we are trying to hang in there as best we can! Once we get our computer totally up and running again I will post some (a.k.a photo dump) about our AWESOME time in Washington State for Christmas. In the meantime, you can get a little idea of our time spent with Dan's brother over here.