Boy oh boy...where has the time gone?! What a beautiful way to start out April. First snow then weather that shines in the 70s!
The past month has been interesting to say the least. Toby's dear friend, John, passed away on March 12th at the age of 85. Toby was able to be by his side at John's home when he passed. He will be missed greatly.
On that same day, Toby and I were to catch a plane, that same morning, to have our first "away" vacation together. We were going to be spending time in Napa and Sacramento with our dear friends Matt and Tawny...with no kids! We were able to catch a flight that next morning. We really needed to get away.
Napa was beautiful and Sacramento is a city I would love to visit again. I was sick most of the time but we still had a blast. The weather was great and just spending time with Toby and our friends was just wonderful.
Now with me being sick, I just had an ultrasound done this past weekend to see what's going on. After Napa, I was fine for a few days but then was sick again with stabbing pain in my upper stomach. So, we'll see what the doctor says!
Toby has been working hard on getting John's house ready for us to remodel, working on his Scout, and now back onto working on the yard.
Anders is getting bigger, saying more things, having mini tantrums (ugh!), and becoming a fun addition to our family.
I am getting ready for the WASL, thankfully this will be the last year of it, working on my photography skills, and wishing I had more time to read!

Cannon Beach

This
past holiday weekend we were able to spend three glorious days at Cannon Beach with my parents.
This will be the third year in a row that the weather that just been perfect. Don't get me wrong, I do love beach storms! On Saturday, the sun greeted us with a slight wind. This was Anders first day out on the beach. It's funny how I could just sit for hours watching Anders experience all the things around him. I think we ended up stay out for around an hour. Anders reminded us of the little boy from A Christmas Story all bundled up and could barely walk. Once again a pain for him but a joy for us to watch! We then spent the rest of the day relaxing, walking the town, and people watching from our room. I do remember thinking, "I never remember this many couples let alone all the smooching." That's right, it was Valentine's Day. Thankfully Toby and I have always kept our promise of not to celebrate that day, it really does make things a lot easier!
On Sunday it started out a bit gloomy, so of course I needed to go and get my apple fritter from the Cannon Beach Bakery. It's amazing how one yummy treat can set the mood for the whole day! The sky did clear and the wind went away which brought all the love birds out from hiding to cover the beach and town. We decided to venture into Sea Side. Not my favorite place but every once in a while it's fun to go. We combed the beach, when on the merry-go-round, and watched Toby and my dad play in the arcade. Our day ended with Toby and I have a quiet evening at one of our favorite place, Bill's Tavern. You may laugh, but they have great local brews there.
As Monday came, we walked the beach for the last time. Anders cried the whole time, but I like to think it was because he knew he was leaving.
I feel very fortunate that we are able to take family mini-trips with my parents. You could see how much Anders loves being around them. Anyway, this is a new tradition for our family that hopefully will continue!

Christmas Day...Part 1

I'm saying this is Christmas Day Part 1 since we were unable to spend Christmas Eve with my family (stupid snow!).
We spent the day with Toby's parents, brothers, sister-in-laws, and nephews. The morning started off with a wonderful breakfast. We then spent the next two hours opening presents and watching the snow fall.
I have to say, it was a very relaxing and enjoyable Christmas this year which made it that much nicer.

Christmas Morning

This Christmas morning was what we have been waiting for.
Anders woke-up around 5:30, had his bottle, and we thought would be heading back to bed. We were wrong. He was wide awake! So, we went to open presents. At first he wasn't too sure about what the big gifts were and what he should do with them. But with a little encouragement, he went at it. Anders loved his basketball hoop! He was making baskets right away. Now the other gift, the one that dad said would be perfect, Anders was not too sure about. I think the Power Wheels will need a little warming up to. Anders also got the hang of finding presents in his stocking.
Toby and I decided just to do stocking this year...we have already said we'll do presents next year! It just didn't feel the same.
After about an hour or so, Anders crashed and took a nice two hour nap. Classic.

Gingerbread

This year we were finally able to join back with the gingerbread crew. It's been a couple of years since we were able to participate in my family tradition of going to the home that I always loved going to...The Kautz house. We have been going to gingerbread as long as I can remember and I couldn't wait to have Anders be part of this tradition.
Linda always takes the time to make three different types of gingerbread homes. You then get the chance to pick your out and decorate!
It was great this year now seeing all of us who use to be the "kids" bring our growing family. The cycle has come back around and there are lot's of little feet throughout the house.
We didn't make a house this year, but Anders was able to play with other kids and loved watching others make their homes. I think next year we'll try it out. Most of all, I just loved being with our family friends and catching up!

First present of the year

This year we were able to participate in the Lion's Christmas held at the Elks. Thanks to Papa Ken, Anders great grandpa, Anders was able to meet Santa and get his first present of the holiday season. This was on December 15th, just before the snow would test our ability to see family over the holidays.
I was not sure how Anders would do with Santa this year, given he was only a few months old last year. But, Anders knows who the big guy is! He kept wanting to go up to see him while the other kids where getting their presents. When his name was called he walked right up to him and sat on his lap without any hesitation!

Snow Day or should I say "Snow Days!"

I still can't believe that we were getting snow for almost a week! When was the last time this had happened?! Well, we loved it while it was here but are now happy to have it gone.
Anders enjoyed the snow for the first couple of days but as the days went on I could tell he was wanting to be somewhere other than the house. Wait, maybe that we just me. Anyway, it was a couple days later that we went up to Toby's parents house to go sledding. We would have thought that Anders would love it but...he didn't. He went down the hill a couple of times with Dad and then spent the rest of the day inside playing with mom.
Toby on the other had loved the snow. He built a big throne in our backyard, jumped around in it like a little kid, and went sledding with his big brother, nephew, and his mom. Let's just say the next day Toby was sore.
Lady turned into the young pup that she was when she lived in Ellensburg. It's amazing how a dog acts so old but when there is snow, the aches and pains all go away. Out of all of us, I think she was heartbroken to see the snow leave.
Overall, I think we ended up with a couple feet of snow over a weeks time. Wow! I just wish that Anders was a little bit older to enjoy this. You know, the age where they want to be out all day and you have to drag them inside to warm up.