Christmas continues ...

Jody's:

My niece Kial decided she wanted to host Christmas this year!  We had originally planned to get together on Christmas Eve as usual, but due to the amount of snow we had this year, we had to postpone it until the following Sunday.  This is my oldest brother, Dean, and his daughter, Kial, cooking up a storm in the kitchen.  Excellent meal, Kial!
This is me (left) with my nephew, Drew, and his girlfriend Darby.
Here's Riley opening up his new bathrobe, a gift from Grandma.  He needed/wanted a new one so bad, and this one is the softest in the world - he loves it!  Also in the picture is my other brother, Paul, and my SIL Jill.  An awesome Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Early on Christmas morning we were fortunate enough to have our 3-point buck friend come by for a visit.  (Or could it be one of Santa's reindeer that got left behind?)  Here he is enjoying one of two apples we threw out for him to eat. 

Bleu and Rocket just HAD to lay on the wrapping paper after we opening our presents.  

Christmas morning was so JoyFul this year - full of love, good food, great gifts, and snow!  We NEVER have snow on Christmas here in the Seattle area!  What a treat!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!

Jody's:

We got more snow than this year than I can remember ever getting here in the Northwest, except for maybe back in the 60s.  (Yes, I'm old enough to remember the 60s!)  It was perfect snow for sledding and playing in, even for taking late night walks in the silent stillness, with nothing but the sound of an occasional branch snapping from the weight of the snow.  Beautiful!

Jody's:

We got a BUNCH more snow last night.  We didn't quite get the 70 mph winds they were forecasting, nor the 12" of snow, but we got plenty of snow for playing in!  This is our neighbor's house across the street.  Looks like a little winter cabin in the snow!

Bleu Belle just HAD to go out in this strange white stuff.  Usually when she gets out we can't get her back in, but she had no problem coming back in after about 5 minutes.  I'm sure her fur coat kept her nice and warm, but I think her toes got cold.

Jody's:

The sky was so pretty this morning.  I love how the sun shines thru this amber glass.

We got lots more snow last night!  This was taken seconds after the first rays of the morning sun hit the snow on our back deck.

Mmmmmm ... homemade Khalua brewing on the stove!!

Jody's:

We got some snow yesterday!  It looked so pretty at night with the moon shining above it all.  You can see the moon in the background.

Jody's:

There's a bear in our garbage!  No, wait, it's just Rocket, foraging in our recycling container for a scrap of paper to play with.

Jody's:

Our cats, Rocket and Bleu, know that they are wonderful gifts in our lives.  That's why they sit under our tree.  Or, could it be that they're waiting for us to leave the room so they can attack all the ornaments?

Jody's:

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree ...

Jody's:

Some sort of sailboat race in Puget Sound - tons of colorful spinnakers all over the water today.  Gorgeous!

Riley's:

Coolest clouds ever!

The Delight Song of Tsoai-talee

The following poem was on a blog for my cousin's daughter, and I loved it so much I just had to post it here. Hope you all enjoy it as much as I do! (The picture below is not mine, by the way.)

The Delight Song of Tsoai-talee
by N. Scott Momaday

I am a feather on the bright sky
I am the blue horse that runs in the plain
I am the fish that rolls, shining, in the water
I am the shadow that follows a child
I am the evening light, the lustre of meadows
I am an eagle playing with the wind
I am a cluster of bright beads
I am the farthest star
I am the cold of dawn
I am the roaring of the rain
I am the glitter on the crust of the snow
I am the long track of the moon in a lake
I am a flame of four colors
I am a deer standing away in the dusk
I am a field of sumac and the pomme blanche
I am an angle of geese in the winter sky
I am the hunger of a young wolf
I am the whole dream of these things
You see, I am alive, I am alive
I stand in good relation to the earth
I stand in good relation to the gods
I stand in good relation to all that is beautiful
I stand in good relation to the daughter of Tsen-tainte
You see, I am alive, I am alive

Jody's:

Happy Thanksgiving!  Today, I am thankful for MANY things, including this chocolate harvest cake we had for dessert after a wonderful Thanksgiving meal.

Riley's:

Riley took this picture of Rocket as he was going down our stairs (Riley, not Rocket).

Jody's:

Jody's:

Some scenes from our walk down to the beach today. I just love it when the fog rolls in over the water. The sound of the foghorn is so soothing.

Pop!

What do you do with a ton of balloons left over from a birthday party?



You pop them with a BB gun, of course!! We took all the balloons and put them in the back yard, and Riley shot them from the deck. He has excellent aim, too.

Mmmmmmmmm ...

A meal from our favorite place in Gig Harbor, the Thai Hut.

Today our boy turned 14!

At 1:04 a.m. today, my "little" boy turned 14! So grown up, yet such a little boy in so many ways still. I'm so grateful he still loves to snuggle and sit on my lap. Happy Birthday, Riley! You are the light of my life!

Happy Birthday, Riley!

Our boy is turning 14 on November 5th!! We had a few friends come over on the 1st to help him celebrate. Besides helium balloons, which Riley insisted on letting fly free (besides a few he reserved for sucking up the helium, and letting dear little Sian take one home), there were blown up balloons all over the floor. The kids had a great time "bopping" each other with the balloons. Riley wanted chocolate cake, so I made my recipe for "Chocolate Cake to the Max", which I swear weighed about 10 pounds it's so dense! At the end of the day, our Shiny boy gave a big sigh and said, "What a fun-filled day!"

The birthday boy with Sian, Miles and Andrew:





Dylan, Andrew and Riley, with Miles in the background:

Jody's:

LOVE Thai iced tea!

Jody's:

Riley made these spiders when he was about 6 or 7 - I love 'em!

Riley's

Cat tails!



Peek-a-boo!

Woody Woodpecker!

This pileated woodpecker was on the telephone pole near our house - such a beautiful bird!

Dessert!!

Riley picked out some dessert at the store for us today. Riley decided that we each needed our "own" little carton of Ben & Jerry's, so he picked out each of our faves - Half Baked for me, Karamel Sutra for himself, and Cherry Garcia for Ed.

Riley's:

Jody's:

We discovered a new park near our house today that had wonderful hiking trails through an old growth forest. There was a sign at the entrance saying there had been a recent bear sighting, so to be sure to keep your dogs on a leash. We made sure to make lots of noise, cuz we didn't want to startle any bears! There were lots of different kinds of mushrooms in these woods, so I captured a few with my camera. Awesome park - we plan to go back next weekend!

Ed's:

We all went for a brisk walk down to the beach today - a beautiful evening. Along the way, Riley found a caterpillar which became his pet for the duration of our walk. He finally released him back to its natural habitat so it could continue its life journey.

Mt. Rainier was in her glory tonight!


Riley's "pet":


Riley's nose was cold, so he used the headband I had in my pocket to keep his nose warm - worked like a charm!


The clouds were amazing!