First Day of Winter Break

We are so excited to have no school for two weeks. We are excited to do something fun every day during our vacation time. We didn't let a little rain (more like a lot of rain) or a little wind (more like a lot of wind) stop us from going to the zoo with friends today.















I tried in vain to get a picture of a walrus swimming by.
We didn't go to the zoo lights. It was an additional admission fee to our zoo pass, and we were wet, cold and tired after the Santa train. We just took a picture by the sign and imagined it.
The rain and clouds let up enough toward evening that we caught a glimpse of Mt. Rainier.
We enjoyed our $1.00 rides on the old logging train that runs through Point Defiance Park.
We picked up Santa along the way.
Santa asked if Erin Joy wanted her two front teeth for Christmas. She got mad at him. She is tired of that joke. I thought it was funny though:)

Cleaning Up

I feel terrible for so many people who are faced with a big clean up after the flood. One of the families interviewed in this news video belong to our church. Many of my neighbors are faced with major clean up. I feel guilty, but very happy that our clean up took about 30 minutes. The water only covered about half of our garage. It didn't even reach my raft I had put down and filled with a few toys to see if it would float.

My children wanted to clean and earn money so I just took pictures while they cleaned up. They are wearing their pajamas because it was pajama day at school. Nothing like cleaning up a little mud in pajamas! Their rubber boots are too small so Rachel borrowed mine and Erin Joy just wore her tennis shoes. Time to buy my children boots....we need them around here.

Anybody Want Waterfront Property?

I was given a box of chocolate at church today. I told Erin Joy the best thing for flooding rivers and stress was chocolate. I had previously eaten a few pieces, but Erin Joy finished off the entire box! A house near the bridge we cross to get home...
The road to our house...
Across the street from our house...
Corner of my house...
My backyard...
My neighbors just put up the white picket fence after the 2006 flood.
Hard time delivering mail to my neighbor's mailbox...
I feel very sad about the houses a little down-river from us because they were built before all the codes required houses be built high. My house is 6 feet high. My house has never flooded...just the garage.
The front of my house. The water got a little higher and into the garage, but not bad at all. We really lucked out this year.
It was very stinky water...
This is the fire hydrant I used to judge the height of the water. The water eventually covered it.
People coming to stare...
The white thing by the sign is my neighbor's fence. Not sure where all the tires came from. Some really big trees floated through too...
Evacuating...

My cute neighbor girl wanted me to take her picture because I was taking too many pictures of the water:)



The flooding wasn't even close to as bad as it was in 2006. Here is a memory of 2006:

Secrets for Santa

"I want a boy Barbie named Ken because I have too many girl Barbies. Thank-you Santa."

Craft Night at School

With a little glitter...
And a little paint...

Plus a little ribbon...

You get a bag full of projects...

Budding Violinist

Rachel has wanted violin lessons for quite some time. I told her she had to take piano lessons first. She is now taking violin lessons. I think she plays great for only a few weeks of lessons!

Lessons from a Broken Ornament

Erin Joy had been quietly playing with the nativity scene, ornaments, and Christmas cards for over an hour. I then hear a big CRASH followed by tears and quiet sobbing.

"Oh Mommy, do you still love me?" she mutters through her tears.

I see one of my favorite ornaments...a panda, from China, shattered on the ground.

"Oh, yes Erin Joy. Of course, I still love you. I love you more than an ornament. I can't keep the ornament forever, but I can keep you forever."

I cried with my daughter as I embraced her and held her in my arms. Yes, Erin Joy...I certainly love you more than an ornament! Ornaments will come and go, but families are forever.

Rachel's Piano Recital

Notice her blue fingernails from her manicure yesterday...she chose a dress to match her nails:)

Doesn't she play so well?? She was disappointed because she made a couple of mistakes, but I think she did very well especially because she was so nervous I saw her little fingers shaking.

Happy Birthday Rachel!

Rachel was so excited about her birthday. She kept waking up during the night. I finally let her get out of bed at 6:00 and open her presents.

After school, Rachel, Erin Joy, and a friend of Rachel's went to "Bella's Nail Spa" for a pedicure and manicure. Rachel wanted to go to Bella's because her cat is named "Bella." I took so many cute pictures of kids with their toes in colored water, cute fingers painted beautifully, and cute toes with snowflakes, but something is really wrong with my computer. I can see the thumbnails, but they never uploaded completed. Since I already deleted them from my camera, they are gone forever. I am VERY sad about this. I had cute video of Erin Joy giggling every time they touched her feet because she is so ticklish. Darn. I think this is what happened to the two songs Rachel sang that I am unable to access. I can see the thumbnail, but the video really doesn't exist. I am so frustrated with my computer. From now on, I will NEVER delete the pictures from my camera until I am positive they uploaded correctly.

Anyway, after a successfully fun mani/pedi, the girls had fun playing and eating at Burger King. I have about half of the pictures I took from Burger King. My favorite picture is of the three girls in their birthday crowns posing by a birthday mural. I can see the thumbnail, but I can't get it to upload. Shucks.

I am glad I took a picture of their cute toes on the railing at Burger King. That is the only evidence I have that my girls had a pedicure for Rachel's birthday. (I have a snowman on my toes and I took pictures of our four toes together, but now you will never see my snowmen because that picture didn't work.)

Our yearly tradition is to put the tree up after Rachel's birthday. Here is our tree...blocking most of the living room. My house is full of boxes (preparing to move, preparing for a flood so I can't put things in the garage) and adding the tree makes for a very full house. I feel like I'm living in a storage unit. It really is bad. I really didn't even want to put the tree up, but my children insisted. Of course we need a tree...how will Santa leave presents if we don't have a tree?

Rachel's Third Grade Concert

I think it's a great music teacher who can get a bunch of squirrely third graders to sing harmony. I am frustrated that I was too far away to get good video so it is blurry and jumps around when my hand was tired of holding the camera. I am also VERY frustrated that I am having computer difficulties and I can only get three of the five songs to upload correctly. The kids sang "Little Drummer Boy" and "Deck the Halls" too, but I can't get those two files to upload so I'm giving up. Here are three of the songs they sang so beautifully:

Eight Years Ago

Dear Rachel,

I love you so much. When I held you on December 1, 2002, all the years of waiting, hoping, and yearning to be a mother finally came to an end. You are so precious to me. Watching you grow into a talented, sweet, beautiful young lady has been so rewarding and fulfilling. I am definitely "swept away" in your love! I hope you know how much I love you and care about you. I hope you know that you are never alone. I love you more than chips and salsa my sweet Rachel Bug!!