So That's Where They Are!

 A couple of times last week, we got to experience this interesting mix of rain and snow.  It was like little snow pebbles falling from the sky.  It usually was followed by rain and sometimes accompanied by sunshine.  We like it--we get to enjoy some winter fun, but don't have to shovel it!

 When we get our snow pebble showers (like we did tonight after supper), Anna gets all dressed up and heads outside.  Then she comes in to grab a container to catch some of the pebbles.  Tonight when I was cleaning up left-overs from supper, I wondered where all my containers had gone.  (Truthfully, I did think maybe there were a few in the refrigerator likely growing science experiments.  I didn't realize Anna was getting a new container every time it snowed.)  When I was helping her fit her latest catch in the freezer, I discovered this...

So that's where they are!

A Special Gift

Last night Anna received a special gift.  A woman from our church who is a wonderful quilter made this beautiful quilt for Anna.  The colors are just perfect for her and the backing fabric of the quilt is butterflies!  We love butterflies!  She even made a doll quilt for Anna's babies.  This was a very thoughtful gift that will be treasured!  Thanks, Colleen!!

Family Adventure Mondays

I know I haven't been blogging many of our Monday adventures lately, but we've still been enjoying them.  On Valentine's Day we decided to go bowling.  Anna has bowled once in her life, but she did it with friends, so this was our first bowling experience together.  We went to a place where you pay by the hour instead of by the game.  (Maybe not a real wise choice in the end when your near-5-year-old's ball takes a good minute to make it down the lane each time!)  We had a blast!

This week's adventure took us to Skagit Valley to see the snow geese.  It was quite a sight!  There were 100's of them. 

 We were also really excited to see 19 bald eagles on our outing!  They are so beautiful and awesome.  We get really excited seeing them and being able to see several in one location was a real treat!

I Guess It's Time

 Before we celebrate the next holiday tomorrow, we thought we should finally get rid of our Christmas tree.  We had set it outside last month, but then just enjoyed it being out on the deck.  Now it's time to get rid of it.

This stuff.....well, I started to put away the Christmas decorations in pretty good time, but never got finished.  It's time for this to head to storage now, too.  Bring on Valentine's Day!

Go Packers!

 Our good friends, the Contants, came to watch the Super Bowl with us a few weeks ago.  Since they are big Packer fans, this was a pretty exciting game!  (Anne and I didn't actually watch much more than 5 minutes of the games or even any of the commercials, but it was still fun.)  We put on a pretty good appetizer spread, so we were munching during the whole game.  Matt put some meat on the smoker, so after the game (which we taped and watched a little later in the afternoon/evening) at about 9:30 pm, we just had to chow down on these ribs!  They were pretty awesome (even if they weren't the best thing to be eating right before bed).

 On Monday morning, we headed to the aquarium.  We love it there and love to take visitors, too.

Star of the Day

Anna got to be the star of the day at school last Friday.  She was pretty excited.  It pretty much just involved her being honored during the day--line leader, reporter of the day, etc.  She came home with a little teddy bear that said "Star Student" on it.  At the end of the year, all the kids will bring their bears back to school for a teddy bear picnic.  (Hope we'll know where it is by then!)

Arizona in January

 At the end of January, we took a little vacation to visit my mom and my brother and his family.  We have had no complaints with our Pacific Northwest weather, but it was really wonderful to enjoy the sunshine and blue skies day after day!  It was in the low 70's during the day then dropped down into the 40's during the evening--pretty great!!  Here are a few highlights of our time in Mesa.  We went to Sedona one day.  It was kind of a long drive, but it was indeed a beautiful one. 

 We visited this church in the rock, then headed into town for lunch and to check out some of the shops in Sedona.

 Anna and Matt making seguaro shadows in the parking lot.

 Two of our favorite things to do at Grandma's house are going swimming EVERYDAY and picking fresh lemons and grapefruit from her trees!

 (The oranges are from a neighbor's tree.)

Even though they had school and work, we were able to spend some good time with my brother, sister-in-law and nephews.  Anna liked their cat, Snowflake, as long as someone else was holding her!

 Erik and Jake loved having Anna around and she LOVED spending time with them.  Toward the end of some of the evenings we were at their house, we'd find the kids curled up together watching TV.  It was so cute that Anna settled right in to being with them.  By the time we left, she was saying that she wished they were her brothers.

 Another day trip we took was to Lake Seguaro for a boat ride.  It was a really beautiful day and a nice little ride.  Anna was invited to meet the captain.

 This seems to be the year of the eagle for us.  This one was sitting up on some rock above the lake.

 Mom put us to work while we were at her house.  She had a painting project for us.  We painted one living room wall, one kitchen wall, and the hallway connecting them.  It turned out pretty nice. 

We had a great visit with family!