New Year update

January 2015 in a nutshell!  We are preparing to move next weekend, so it's been a crazy topsy turvy 2015 so far...Packing, packing, packing.  A quick update on life as we know it at this very {fleeting} moment:

LUCCA:

Loves..Palace Pets

American Girl

FASHION!!!  Loves to change her clothes and put outfits together.

Dance & Gymnastics

Writing in "cursive" and doodling in notebooks

Reading

Loves setting the table for dinner and making it fancy

Such a caretaker, especially if someone is sick/sad. Very nurturing. Would make a perfect nurse.

Lost her 1st tooth!

JACKSON:

PLANES...still!  All.The.Planes.

Hot Wheels, especially "loopty loops"

Watching My Big, Big Friend on AppleTV

..and "Egg Videos" on YouTube

Anything tech - especially my iPhone

His imagination has taken off and it's so incredible to watch him play.

Adores Lucca.

Keeps having bad dreams about Aliens and Pirate Ships

Asks to have sushi for every meal.

KELSEY:

Very much ready to be set-up in the new house.

Over winter. Ready for summer!

In love with every moment I spend with my family.

Riding my awesome turquoise bike.

Doing T25 workouts, which means I can't walk every other day.

RUSTIN:

Already working on his 2nd freelance project of the new year.

Dominating the market.

Brings me a Peet's coffee every morning.

Runs for fun.  #crazy

Just turned 39!  We celebrated at Hopmonk.

We are healthy, happy, loving each other and loving life.  If Rustin and I could freeze time with the kids being 5 and 3, we would.  We love to tell Lucca she can't turn 6 - but, she's fine with skipping 6 altogether and moving on to 7. Or 8.  This 1st month of the year has been a whirlwind and we are surrounded by boxes everywhere we look, but a fresh start is on the horizon and we can't wait!  

My 2015 is officially starting in February.  And it's gonna be amazing.

December Daily 15

Christmas cookies!!!

Yesterday we made the sugar cookie dough, cut them out and baked them, and today was the fun (messy/crazy/insane) part...decorating!   Sugar cookies are a lot of work.  And extra credit for making them dairy free.  But they were worth it, the kids loved every part.

And this cute girl is OVER THE MOON excited to be a Flower Girl in March!!

Oh, and it's stillllll raining here. The end of our three year drought is upon us. The backyard is a small pond, our fountain is overflowing, and we need a boat in our master bedroom. We are the new Seattle. 

December Daily 1

December Daily: A photo a day in December to capture bits and pieces of Christmas magic.  My favorite season! And this year (minus sitting & losing in traffic court today) is off to a good start!  My husband hung the lights on the house!  FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER!  Amazing.  Happy wife, happy life.

And Coco? She's happy too and even makes signs about it.  After creating this I Love December sign, she went and invited the neighbors to come look at our beautiful lights.  And they did.  The excitement is in the air!!

Disneyland

Our first baby, Lucca Elizabeth, turned FIVE!!!!!  5!  Can you believe it?  Neither can we. 

We decided to celebrate the big birthday with a trip to Disneyland.  Daddy has a way of making things very special around here.  We had the very best time and already want to go back.  

We came home with a pile of memories.  Highlights include Lucca's first time on Splash Mountain and Jackson's first roller coaster, which Daddy made an awesome video of.  Lucca rides an emotional roller coaster every time she goes on any ride, and it goes like this:  smiling, nervous, scared, crying, laughing, loving it & then begging to ride it again.  ON ALMOST EVERY RIDE.  Exhausting!  I think she had tears AND smiles on all but maybe 3 rides.  Our girl.  We are so, so proud of our girl.  The last five years with this angel have been a dream.

Car Conversation

"If I had a dog, I would name her Elizabeth. Or Jewel. And she would be white & fluffy."  --Lucca, 4

"My dog would be SuperWhy and I would paint red stripes on it."  --Jackson, 2

My love for these two (and their car conversations) is endless. 

Tahoe has my heart.

We went on a spontaneous trip to Tahoe this past weekend and loved every minute of this little family adventure.  The weather was GORGEOUS, even though Lucca was hoping for snow the entire time and wouldn't take off her beanie.  We swam at the (heated) hotel pool, ate at our favorite spots, walked down memory lane and showed the kids where we got married, and even took a walk on the Rainbow Trail at Taylor Creek to watch the salmon spawn.   Educational trip!  Parent points!

Staying in a hotel was the kids favorite part.  Being in the fresh mountain air was mine.

 

Taylor Creek

Coco looking adorable and loving nature

The spawning salmon.  Unbelievable!  

They come back to Taylor Creek (where they were born) to lay their eggs and die.  Then the young salmon swim out to Lake Tahoe in spring, return to Taylor Creek in the fall and repeat the cycle.   Watching them do their thing up close and personal was a-mazing.  

(and Jackson only threw one rock at them, so that was a win?)

 

On our way back down the mountain, we met up with Grammie & Pops at Apple Hill to eat some apple donuts and drink fresh apple cider.   And to give Lucca the chance to ask Daddy for her very own horse someday...

I'm already ready to go back!  Having kids of good traveling ages is a dream we've been waiting for.  We are having fun imagining all the places we want to take our little adventurers.  They loved being away, seeing new sights and exploring.  And now that they can be well-behaved at nice restaurants, sleep in strange beds, and entertain themselves for hours in the car, we will be doing many more weekend trips.  I'm so excited!

Gig Harbor

Washington in the summer is a beautiful place.

Allllmost beautiful enough to fool ya about the weather during the rest of the year ;) har, har.

I don't even know what to say other than we had the.best.time hanging with our Gig Harbor crew.  Getting these cousins together is pure magic I tell ya.  Lila is the sister Lucca is (more than likely) not gonna have.  And Lincoln and Jackson are just the perfect ying to those crazy girls yang.  Raising babies with my sister can't be beat.  I love every minute of getting our families together, I just wish it could happen every day.  Too much to ask?

Also, how great is it that the San Francisco people go all the way to Gig Harbor to give our kids their first trolley car ride?

Photo by Lila.  See her in my sunnies? :)

Bikes, trolleys, tidepools, parks, bunnies, bbqs, concerts...the good stuff summer is made of. 

LOVE TO THE SWISHERS.