Hale sleds solo

We got to do some sledding on Christmas day in Minnesota. Hale even took a few runs by himself!






Hale at the bottom of the hill.

Racing down the hill.

Gaard

Dad tried a head-first run...but the snow was a little too soft and he filled his coat.

Minnesota Christmas Highlights

We were so excited to be able to see our Minnesota relatives this year over Christmas. We almost thought we weren't going to make it because of all the Seattle snow!

Gaard's first gift was a new pair of scissors which he tried to use to open all the rest of his gifts.

Great grandpa and grandma were up from Iowa. It was so great to see them!

Mom: the Swedish chef.

and her Swedish table...

And Swedish decorations...

We got to visit with some relatives from my mom's side. The boys had a great time with their fun-loving uncles!

Kaleb.

G & G with their three great grandsons.

We visited Cabela's, of course.

I got to see two of my Minnesota girlfriends - Brie and Trisha!

Photoshoot with Gaard

It is definitely a challenge to get photos of a 2 1/2 year old. When we asked Gaard about posing for some pictures - we got a worried look and a soft "Ah-doh-wahn-too". Uncle Landon helped distract him a little bit - so we got a few quick shots.

It helped a little bit to let Gaard suggest some ideas for pictures. He really got into the idea of taking pictures on the stairs. This one below is so serious and modelesque it makes me laugh.

This was another idea from Gaard.

This is Gaard's "cheeeeese" smile.

Now playing on the floor with Uncle Landon....

Washington Christmas Highlights

We kicked off the family celebrations with a girls' Christmas tea to celebrate Emmy and Vi's birthdays. It was great fun!

Christmas with the Van Dyk side at Mim and Poppa's house:

Hale tempted by Mim's pretty tree.

Christmas with Landon's immediate family:

Our stockings.

The kids by the tree in their casual wear.

Michelle helping with wardrobe.

Rocklyn planting a Christmas kiss.

The kids scouting out the presents under the tree before we began.

Opening their build-a-bears - custom designs by Kohl and Michelle!

Hale and puppy.

Rocklyn sharing her extreme joy over her bear with a hug for her mom.

Rocklyn and new baby.

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Yay - we got snow! This is the time of year when I actually don't mind it because it makes everything look even more Christmasy.

Fortunately, the roads were clear enough for us to make it to Janna's house for a Christmas coffee this morning. Here are a few pictures of our visit/play time.

These three are all due 3 weeks apart. Cutest baby bumps ever - you girls look great!

So, every year I face the dilemma of whether to decorate the tree with a theme or to throw up all our random family ornaments. I am totally impressed that Janna was able to do both a beautifully coordinated and also a very personalized tree. I am assuming the guitar ornaments are for Butch - I, of course, very much appreciated them.

Christmas Party

We had the small group over for a Christmas celebration on Sunday night. It's always fun to get together as a group, and it was especially fun to watch the kids play. Hale's big card board box "house" (or "shop" as Landon prefers to call it) was a big hit.




Eli looking a bit suspicious of the camera.



Presley


Brandon and Kari

Carole and Eli

The Christmas Tree hunt

Sunday we drove up to the Mount Baker National Forest the Landon's parents to find a Christmas tree. I really enjoy this annual tradition. It's quite a challenge to find the perfect tree - especially in the wild. It was pretty warm, even at the highest elevation, and Landon was disappointed that there wasn't more snow. I was glad that Hale and I didn't have to freeze. We did eventually find two beautiful trees and it was a fun coincidence that they were close neighbors - within about three feet of each other. Landon's parents will be able to keep most of the height of their tree - it will look great in their front room! Unfortunately, we will have to trim ours to fit in the house.

Here we've spotted the trees and Bud hiked down to check them out.

Bud is standing next to his tree and Landon is pointing out the one that we eventually cut.

Starting to cut...

We wanted to take a picture in front of our tree before we cut it. Of course, Hale is distracted by the branches.



The view of Mount Baker from our trees.

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