Fun trip to the Mountain!

We went to Government on January 31st with our friends the Martins and their kids Gavin and Grant and then Dave and James (from Rocking Horse) came as well.  We all met up at Government Camp at around 10:30 and then hit a nearby hill.  The kids loved playing in the snow and it was piled high on the sides of the road almost 7-8 feet.  It had snowed the night before so there was fresh powder every where and it was about 30 degrees so it wasn't too cold.  Both kids had a blast sledding again.  Olivia loved it and kept asking to go fast and laughed the whole way down.  Brandon was kind of crazy and went in circles and backwards.  The kids had a lot of fun together too and played well together.  At around 12:15 PM, the kids were getting cold and hungry so we left our hill and went into town some ways to the Mt. Hood Brewery where we had some yummy food and some yummy brews made locally.  It was a really fun way to end a fun day!  Sean and I commented that we will have to go to the mountain next year for sure overnight since it was such a hit with the kids.

Sledding with her pal Grant

Brandon on top of the large snow drifts

Olivia and Grant

Big snow drifts

Brandon up high on the snow drifts

Watch out mom I have a snow ball!

Walking up to go sledding

Having fun

Olivia and Daddy

Walking up the hill and ready to sled

So much snow!

My sweet boy-snow monkey!

Liv and Mom selfie on the sled, I could not get her to smile

Horsing around!

The boys found a ice cave and began eating snow

Igloo!  The best picture I could get with both of them looking at me

Yum-eating some lunch!

Yummy beer sampler!  I liked the IPA the best and Sean liked the Amber ale

Keeping busy during some rainy dreary weather in January!

Olivia started gymnastics on Saturday mornings in December and Brandon started swim lessons at the Sherwood YMCA in January on Saturday mornings.  This is good exercise for Brandon and hopefully will teach him to swim since he is at a really good age to learn at this point.  Both kids really enjoy their physical activities.  Olivia's gymnastics class is for 2.5-3 year olds and is a parent/child participation class.  However, unlike Gymboree, it is more structured (less open play) and actually incorporates various components of gymnastics (like they do balance beams one day and the bars the next) and they always have a fun obstacles course that is made up of several gymnastics components.  Olivia at first was apprehensive about it but has gotten used to it now and really likes her teacher and is quite comfortable.  When she turns 3 in the fall she can do her own gymnastics class by herself.

Gymnastics foam pit!

Vaulting over the mat

Hopping!

Bath time fun, beating on Sean's back!

The Seahawks made the playoffs and had a real nail biter wild card game that they ended up barely winning largely because the opposing team they were playing (the Minnesota Vikings) missed a field goal at the end that would have won the game for them.  The Seahawks played the Carolina Panthers in the Division round and were being blown out in the first half 31-0 when the Seahawks rallied and came back to lose 24 to 31.  They simply ran out of time at the end and couldn't convert on an onside kick.  It was a good season for the Seahawks and I believe they will be back next season strong as they are young. 

Already for the Seahawks playoff game

Richard Sherman's greatest fan

Playground break during half time

It was a very rainy January and Brandon developed into quite a Lego builder.  He loves building Legos with Daddy with his recent creation a Ninjagado.  Olivia loves her Legos Junior set as well and is quite good with it despite the legos being quite small and quite difficult to build.  We converted Olivia's crib to a toddler bed as she had been climbing out consistently for a few months and we did not want her to fall.  She did the transition pretty well.  Olivia also going potty consistently in the toilet towards the end of January.  She went to school and all of it sudden it clicked with her how to go potty and she has been doing it ever since.  She has even gone poop in the potty!  Yay for our household finally not having to have any diapers!

Brandon and Daddy's lego creation

Mommy and Olivia's headband that we share

Big girl bed now!

We went to Trevin and Mikayla's second birthday party at Unplugged and had a lot of fun playing in the bean pit and seeing friends.  Both Brandon and Olivia had a lot of fun and it was nice because it is so close to our house.

Playing in the beans!

My parents came and stayed the night on a Sunday towards the end of January so they could go to Brandon's Grandparents Day at his school.  They took Brandon and Olivia with them to it.  Both kids had a lot of fun and I am sad to say that I didn't get to go since I had to work but the school took some really cute pictures of them together.  It is so nice that the kids' grandparents live so close by so they can go to fun functions like these!  It is really special watching their relationship grow with my parents.

Reading books together

Baba reading Brandon a book

Breakfast time at Horzon-yum!

Quiet New Year's Eve and Duck Bowl Game and then snow hit Portland on January 3rd!

We were going to have our annual New Year's Eve party at our house but unfortunately I brought home my Dad's stomach flu with me and came down with it Sunday night (New Year's Eve was on Thursday) and then it spread to the kids on Tuesday and Sean on Wednesday.  Sean got it the least worse and I seemed to have gotten it the worst.  I had a fever and the chills and the worst body aches ever so I could not sleep for an entire day.  Luckily when I was at my worst, the kids hadn't caught it yet so I could send them off to daycare.  Sean was in the midst of inventory at his work so it was a very long week for him. 

On New Year's Eve, we were all feeling quite better and I ended up picking the kids up from daycare and then going to the Dollar Store where we bought balloons for the kids and then proceeded to have a fun dance party.  We made cupcakes and decorated them together which was fun.  The dance party was very fun (we danced a lot to Michael Jackson) and then we watched the Ball drop on Time Square at midnight in New Year (which is 9:00 PM our time on the Pacific coast).  After the kids went to bed, Sean and I enjoyed some yummy Argyle Champagne and then we both went to bed before midnight.

New Year's Eve cupcake making

Yummy New Year's champagne

Cheers to another healthy and good year!

We had Rosie, Thomas, their twins Mikayla and Trevin and Beth and her daughter Tyne over to watch the Ducks in the Holiday Bowl play TCU.  It was very fun to catch up with my girl friends and eat some yummy food and watch the game.  The Ducks steam rolled TCU in the first house and then their quarterback got a concussion and TCU came back and ended up winning in Overtime.  It was a bummer way to end the game but at least it was just the Holiday Bowl.  I was also excited at the Seahawks chances in the playoffs. 

Olivia and I selfie during the Ducks bowl game

We were planning on going all the way to Government Camp to go sledding the day after the Ducks game on Sunday with our friend Kim, Chris, and Dave and their kids Gavin and Grant (who are Olivia and Brandon's age and who went to Rocking Horse with them) and Dave's child James who also goes to Rocking Horse.  We woke up though to big flaky snow flakes and the roads and our yard quickly became covered.  We decided to stay nearby and go sledding near Kim and Chris' house at a local school.  I was surprised at how much Olivia loved sledding.  I thought she would have been scared and maybe would not have liked the cold, but she loved it.  Brandon of course loved it as well.  He loved hanging out with his buddy Gavin. 

The snow we woke up to!

Its starting to fall a bit more!

Fun playing on the sled

Olivia enjoyed the snow

Hanging out with her buddy James

The snow turned to ice quickly and Sean's parents actually got stuck at our house overnight on their way back from Seattle.  Brandon's school was closed the next day due to the ice and the fact that they follow the same schedule as the Tigard/Tualatin school district since they are in a high school.  Olivia had school so at least I was able to take her and then managed to get some work done while Brandon kept himself occupied at home with me.  Brandon had two more days of late starts at school (due to some lingering ice and having to be on the school district's schedule) which was kind of annoying and then it was all gone!