Bathroom Remodels

Over winter break, Matt G. & Eben took on a double bathroom remodel. In the lower bath, they took down a partition wall, fixed water-damaged drywall, installed new flooring, a new toilet, new vanity, mirror and light fixture.
I had about 10 minutes to choose a paint color, and ended up being pretty happy with this fresh, spring green. I am excited for some "papaya" orange towels to get here in the mail this week. My favorite things are the new floor and the modern vanity.
The vanity is from Ikea. It has really deep drawers with lots of storage that we hope will be able to handle all the kids' stuff as they grow up. But, it had some tricky plumbing in order to maximize the space and caused quite a headache for Eben on the install.
Our powder room was so ugly before that I actually never took pictures of it. It had a pink laminate counter and a brown sink and toilet. The faucet had a crystal globe on it. I had painted the walls purple to downplay the pink counter, but it never really looked very good.
So imagine how happy I was with how this one turned out. We bought a new toilet, glued down new laminate, and then moved the sink from the lower bath up to this one. Once the walls were painted gray, the room was complete.
I love it and am no longer embarrassed by our guest bathroom!

Our Snow Week

On Monday, the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, Eben & I went skiing with a few friends. It was a great powder day as you can see.
Killing time with Matty B. waiting for everyone else to show up.
It snowed for six days straight - something I have never seen in Seattle. School was closed all week. The kids had a blast staying at home - it was an unexpected "staycation." The view from the window seat was nice - we did a lot of bird watching here as there was constant visitors at our birdfeeder. There are not many plows in Seattle and there are a ton of hills, so getting the roads cleared just doesn't happen in a snowstorm. It is not that we are wimps or don't know how to drive in a snow, but most roads are pretty bad until it melts.
Every morning we'd go sledding. The sledding was excellent at the golf course, but the kids often enjoyed just being towed around. Following the sledding, we'd head inside for a mid-morning snack of crackers and chocolate milk. Yum!


You might not be able to tell, but we got a ton of snow. Notice the snowbanks from shoveling the driveway.You get a little goofy when you're stuck inside all week...
On Saturday we headed over to the outlet mall to pick up some kids clothes for next the size up. The kids enjoyed playing with their cartoon friends - Lowly Worm in the Apple Car & Charlotte's favorite, Barney.

Oh - and the other cool thing about a snowstorm - Charlotte potty-trained herself! She now pees and poops on the potty all by herself! She is really proud of herself and constantly reads the potty training book and sings potty-training songs. This was just an accident - we've been potty training Edison since the summer and have little potties everywhere. She just figured it out on her own!

Bill & Katie's Visit

Newleyweds Bill & Katie are taking the world by storm! We are so happy they came out here for a visit before leaving for their next Coast Guard assignment - attache duty in Malta. We got a couple good days of skiing in up at Stevens Pass.
Bill seems to always bring a "weather event" with him when he visits. His last visit in November 2005(?) corresponded to massive flooding on the Skykomish and Snohomish rivers. This time, it is a rare, multi-day snow system coming through Puget Sound. We towed the kids down to the golf course for some great sledding.
Getting ready for the day - showing off the new snowsuits. Charlotte ends up being like a starfish in hers - just able to toddle back and forth but not able to really move her arms and legs much.

Edison was a little reluctant to sled. But he did enjoy pulling Charlotte around.




The newest member of our family - Frosty!

JANUARY - Welcome Cousin Alton!

Jennie & Pete just welcomed their first child, Alton Roberts, on January 12th. Both mom and baby are doing great, as you can see from this picture. We went to visit them on January 13th, after they'd come home. I am guessing that the reason Alton is smiling is because he knows how awesome his parents are!
This picture is almost enough to make us want to have another baby ourselves.... and Alton so far is a really cool kid - not too fussy, just knows what he needs and super cute. Charlotte kept trying to smack him, though, hence the reason I have her hands tied up. Meanwhile, Edison was upset, saying he didn't need a new baby, he just really likes Charlotte. So he refused to even be in the picture. Too bad though - Alton is Edison & Charlotte's only west coast cousin and we're so happy to have him with us!
Yes, it is a really big fish. In our kitchen. Thanks Matt & Lisa.....
Edison is now very interested at imagination games and Charlotte usually goes along with it and plays the parts he assigns to her. This game was to keep the stuffed animals warm by putting them into the cradle, covering them with all the blankets he could find, and then sitting on them like a bird with her eggs.
Edison has been begging to return to the Lynnwood water park - which we did. It was pretty crowded since it was the weekend, but still really fun. We'll be back again soon.
The kids love the marble race game. Edison calls it a marble castle and Charlotte is content to just stack the connectors on top of each other. But it is fun enough to entertain adults, too. I highly recommend it as a toy for preschoolers.

New Year's Eve

Eben bought a new boat! We are so excited about our new 20' Boston Whaler Outrage - much wider and longer than our previous Whaler. We wish it would hurry up and be summer already so we can take it out for camping trips in the San Juans. He is especially psyched about the two Mercury engines.
We had a family-friendly New Year's Eve celebration. Edison's best pal Gracie was there, which of course got his new year off to a great start.
Everything is better with a theme - but sometimes letting the guys pick the theme can be problematic. They opted for a "redneck" theme.
It was pretty fun, but the appetizers were a little silly - spray cheese, beanie weenies, and jello jigglers rounded out the spread.
The gals got into the theme, too. Note the ferret in Lisa's pocket and the coon hat/fishing waders Robin is sporting.

No redneck party is complete without a raging fire! Wishing you and yours all the best in 2012!