Christmas Traditions

From 2011-12-08 Tree trimming

Here is Charles helping us get into the Christmas spirit! We trimmed the tree together. Then we took a candle light tour of the historic Fort Steilcoom. It was so fun, like we were guests of the Ghost of Christmas Past. The girls really enjoyed the dancing:

From 2011-12-11 Ft. Stilicum candle light tour

I really enjoyed hearing the musicians outside. They let us play the Jaw bone.

From 2011-12-11 Ft. Stilicum candle light tour

It was really quite magical. Next Charly helped us get into the Christmas Mood by Singing at the Seattle Center Winterfest. We had fun riding the ferry and listing to the schools perform. Charly did a wonderful job!

From 2011-12-14 Charly's concert

Every year the Seattle Center sets up a miniature train. Lizzy even got to be a guest conductor!

From 2011-12-14 Charly's concert

Lizzy go to be an Angel in the primary "Picture a Christmas" program. She was so excited!

From 2011-12-16 tward party

Unfortunately she was in the very back so we couldn't see her. Here we all are!

From 2011-12-16 tward party

Then we went to the Clear Creek Nursery to see some real reindeer and a camel! Not only that, but inside they make it snow! Lizzy loved it!

From 2011-12-18 Saturday Fun

And finally our last Christmas stop was Poulsbo! A quaint little Norwegian town. They had Father Christmas and  horse drawn carriage rides.

From 2011-12-18 Saturday Fun

We finished by taking in the lights at the Harborside park.

The Birth of Sean Jackson

It was a dark and stormy night.... OK, it was an overcast afternoon when Jessica got the call to come into the hospital. Her baby was already 9 days late and she was ready to hold him. She asked me to go as her coach and I was happy to oblige. Luckily Daniel was able to stay home with the kids. Here is the before shot:

From 2011-12-02 Sean Jackson's birth

Not bad huh? I never look that pregnant. I never really look pregnant, but enough about me... Anyway we were finally admitted to the Bremerton Naval Hospital around 2. I had dutifully packed my snacks and things since this hospital really doesn't have a cafeteria. They put us in a room and we waited for a while. Then a corp man came and hooked Jessica up to an IV and we waited. And waited. The Dr. came in and asked how she was doing and told her she had already had her trauma 10 lbs. baby today so Jessica could not have one as well. Then she said that she was going home for dinner and that she'd be back later. Here she is with Jessica:

From Sean's Birth

 Well all was well, going slowly actually, it was nearing 4 pm when the petosin was finally administered and then another few hours before Jessica was feeling any real contractions. We sent Rex to go get dinner and snacks for us and put in Harry Potter Deathly Hallows part 2 and settled in to wait for some more contractions. They were slow coming. Daniel came by with Charles so I could nurse him and I went down to the Subway to get a sandwich for later on.  Then around 7PM the contractions had picked up and Jessica was starting to really feel them so they started the epidural. The anesthesiologist was crazy. Making weired remarks about his wife and getting girls paralyzed. Very different.  Well, long story short, Sean Jackson came at 1:06 AM. on Dec. 2nd.  He Weighed in at 9 lbs 4.5 oz and 21 in. long. We were so glad to see him!

From Sean's Birth

From Sean's Birth

From Sean's Birth

Holiday Events

I have been a little lax in my blogging lately so I have a lot to make up for. First let me tell you about Thanksgiving! Traditionally thanksgiving is a nice slow day with dinner around 1PM and lots of family. We don't usually watch football unless my Uncle Harris is visiting, but Dad felt like watching the game and Lizzy sat with him. They were so animated! Lizzy dutifully repeating Papa's words. I took a video because it was so funny:

From 2011-11-24 Thanksgiving

The dinner was wonderful and the company most welcome. Quite an enjoyable day. The festivities continued with our early celebration of Caitlin's birthday. She of course wanted pumpkin pie instead of cake.

From 2011-11-26 Caitlin's Birthday

This was our fourth pumpkin pie event in November. Once is never enough! Sal dressed up for the occasion:

From 2011-11-26 Caitlin's Birthday

Isn't that something? This was his work attire. Pretty spiffy Sal! And finally we went to the Bremerton Stake's Creches and carols display. It was so nice. The kids loved the activity room where you could dress up as characters of the Nativity.

It's My Party

From 2011-11-23 Charles 1st birthday

Charles turned one on the 22nd. We had a great day getting ready for it. Charles helped clean and Lizzy helped me bake the cake.

From 2011-11-23 Charles 1st birthday

We had the Martins over for lumpia and red rice and then we let Charles open gifts and ATTACK CAKE. Here the girls are helping him figure it out:

From 2011-11-23 Charles 1st birthday

It was quite fun. He even chucked a piece of cake at Charly. He did better then I thought he would.

They Finally Got Married

 Sal and Caitlin were married on Nov. 5th. The ceremony was so beautiful and we couldn't have asked for a nicer day. The bride and groom looked so happy. Afterward we all went to The Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner. Except from the pollen getting all over us, it was a pleasant day.
 We had the reception the following Sat. in the new Central Valley building. I had planned the decorations and Daniel helped me put them up. We make a great team. It only took us 3 hours to set everything up. I think it turned out nice. The pictures don't do it justice.

From 2011-11-14 Sal's Reception

Charles had fun playing with the lines:

From 2011-11-14 Sal's Reception

Sal and Caitlin had fun dancing to "Moondance."

From 2011-11-14 Sal's Reception

It was fun to watch. The cake was beautiful and Daniel and I even got to dance a little bit! The church was so perfect, we didn't have all the things we needed, but the church had them. That was a blessing. Daniel and I started the tradition of cutting the cake with a sword. It is traditional in Spain. Sal used his Calvary sword he got on his mission.
 We had the best photographer! Doranda Woestman! Check out some of her pics from her blog: http://watchoutforthewoestmans.blogspot.com/2011/11/more-wedding-pics.html  and http://watchoutforthewoestmans.blogspot.com/2011/11/sal-and-caitlin.html

This is Halloween!

From 2011-10-31 Halloween

This year Lizzy got sick right before Halloween. Right after the sacrament was passed she came down with a fever. Daniel took the kids home and I caught a ride with my brother and soon to be sister-in-law. So we had a stay at home Halloween. Lizzy helped me carve the pumpkin.  She didn't like taking out the innards with her hands, but did fine with the spoon. She was so excited to pass out the candy to the trick-or-treaters! All in all, it was a fun day.  I like how our pumpkins turned out.                                      


We went to the Libray's Trick or treat and it was so fun! Lizzy was Ladybug Girl and Charles was a pirate.

From 2011-10-28 Library Trick or treat

They took us through all the inner workings of the library and in the bookmobile "Violet" It was neat to see how they sort and distribute the books.

Brownsville Halloween

My sister invited us to celebrate Halloween at her kids school. The kids got to dress up and play carnival games and go trick or treating. It sounded fun so away we went. We arrived some time before my Sister and her entourage, but we had fun watching Lizzy play the games. She was a great shot! Most of the games you had to throw something. When Jessica showed up we all went down the trick of treat lane. Some of the teachers were hiding an used scary gloves to pass out the candy.

Steaming: It all started with a skirt

Daniel and I have been interested in the Steam punk genre for a while now. While we were still in St. Louis it came to our attention that Seattle hosts the worlds biggest Steam punk Convention SteamconIII! And it was in October just after we moved back to Bremerton! Kismet! So when Amanda Myler gave me a bag of random sewing things along with a green skirt originally given to her from Sue Hodgeston I took one look and knew I had the makings of a great steam punk outfit.
 Daniel's outfit was fairly easy, He wanted to wear Knickers so I found a great video on how to modify pants. Sew easy! Here's how they turned out:
Then Daniel got to work making goggles out of leather. They were so cool. Here is the pair he made for Lizzy:
Ours were similar. I stamped flowers onto mine and had Daniel add ribbon and a different nose piece. Daniel made a leather octopus to put on his. The theme this year was 20,000 leagues under the sea.

Then I got to work on my outfit. I found a pattern at Joann's that I liked and went for it full steam ahead. After I made the corset (which was a bit of a challenge) I focused on the spats and hat. I found a wonderful video on how to make spats and used some fun techniques to make my hat. Then I visited Micheals for a little inspiration and came home with a fun cameo that I turned into a broach and some vintage keys.  Daniel made a cuff and arm band for his costume and I had my brother Steam out my guns. They are awesome! Here's a few pics of the various accouterments:

Then I got to work on my jacket. After a small miscalculation it turned out great and I was ready for the ball!

From 2011-10-16 Steamcon3

It was an awesome night. The minute we stepped onto the lobby floor the air was electric. I have never seen so many Steam punked people in my life and I loved it! I started taking pictures right a way. This was the third year of Steamcon so most of the attendees had been before. We just soaked it all in. There were workshops and music and so so much eye candy. We toured the emporium and the art gallery. We learned about making props and weapons from the gentleman who made Castle's arm for him:

From Aug

 That was pretty cool! Then we searched and searched for a place to eat dinner. Not finding anything we settled on Daniel's Broiler up on the 21st. floor. The dining area was full, so we took a cosy table in the corner with a great view. We didn't think to ask for real menus so we ordered some appitizers and dessert. It was all wonderful, but the scallopes took over 20 minutes to get to us. We watched the sun set and talked. Then after a quick pit stop at the car to drop of a few things we headed up to Captan Nemo's ball. It was an hour of social dancing. We danced the star trek which was great fun and the waltz. Then we decided it was enough and headed home. It was wonderful night.

I have strange kids

Here is Charles, he just picked up the hammer and I thought, "Thor!"

From 2011-10-08 Dancing Thor

Isn't he cute? Then Lizzy had to get in on the action:

From 2011-10-08 Dancing Thor

She just loves getting her picture taken. Also a cute moment as the two of them were dancing together:

From 2011-10-08 Dancing Thor

Later Lizzy showed off her amazing skills as she fearlessly rowed one handed down the hall:

From 2011-10-14 row row row

I love how creative my children are. Every day is an adventure!

From 2011-10-14 row row row

War!

For my niece's eighth birthday we had a World of Warcraft theme. I had the distinct privilege of being a Mage:

From 2011-10-03 Taylor's birthday

I got to inform the magi how their powers work. The guests got to choose between Mage, Warrior, Hunter and Priest. Each had a special ability. Magi throw fireballs, we used soaker balls sans water. Later I became one of the beasts they had to slay. I was a two headed ogre. Here's Lizzy my little helper:

From 2011-10-03 Taylor's b

We hid behind the ogre and shot Nerf guns at the kids.Then after the second wave of intrepid warriors came through Lizzy and I followed them down the water soaked terrain. I was not prepared for exactly how water soaked the terrain was. I lost both shoes to the muddy recesses. I recovered them with out too much difficulty and just went barefoot the rest of the time.
 Once they crossed the bridge they had to face a demonic robot intent on taking over the world! My sister threw projectiles at the assailants. Then after defeating this mighty foe they had to "blow up a door way":

From 2011-10-03 Taylor's birthday

The kids loved popping all those balloons! And finally they had to face My Brother in law, Daniel and our friend Pat to finally win their quest. It was pretty intense. Check out the video:

I think everyone had a great time. Taylor got a ton of nerf guns and Legos.

 I can't wait for the next battle! 

Twirling

I love Costco! And twice a year they bring out the little girl dresses. Normally these dresses go for around $35-$50, but at Costco they are $19! Love it! So I am always excited to see the new dresses. This time I got Lizzy 2 since one was a little big. She may fit into it next year... Any way here she is sporting the black and white one, She is checking it's twirlability:

From 2011-09-25 twirl

I think it passed.

Mall Rats

So I needed a day out of the house and didn't have any specific plans so we headed to the mall. My favorite time wasting space. We played at the play area, Lizzy dominated the Submarine there. It was great until she bent a nail back and then a kid kept trying to hold onto Charles. I would get him off and he'd do it again. Lizzy, ever the big sister, ran over and freed Charles only to be latched upon. She started yelling and finally the boy's mother got involved. Thanks Mom, better late then never right? Any way we decided it was high time to relocate. We checked out a few stores for inspiration and Lizzy liked what she saw. Take a look:

From 2011-09-16 Mall

Need another look? Well here you go:

From 2011-09-16 Mall

I love my girlie girl!

Un Locked

Since my cousin was getting married in Seattle I had some family come up for the event. We decided to get together at the Ballard Locks It was a beautiful day and I was excited to see everyone. We wandered around the gardens a bit then went over the locks themselves.
Here is Lizzy looking over the lock:
There was a seal eating the Salmon as they were trying to climb the fish ladder. Poor things. There were plenty of fish in the viewing area though. Here we are learning about the Salmon growth cycle. It was fun then we went up to play on the waves: Isn't she a doll! We decided to go to Pikes place for lunch, but after touring the parking for half and hour we abandoned the idea and Sal, Caitlin and our family went to the Old Spaghetti Factory for a wonderful lunch. After that we drove home, but Sal and Caitlin went back to Gas works Park and met up with Grandma, Uncle Matt and Family. It was a nice day.

Lions Park

The Lions Club helped build a park on the waterfront in Bremerton in 1964. It has beautiful views of the mountains and a bout launch. Walking paths and ball fields. It is a lovely park, but it was in need of a few repairs and parking was an issue and so on. So, the city decided to update it. We went to the re-dedication and viewed the park  for ourselves. It is still a beautiful park, but not one I'd recommend for children. The play equipment was removed and replaced with stone Whales, which, while beautiful, get rather hot. And one slide, a zip line ans a sandpit with a water rock. Oh, and there is a boat. All nice and all, but the play area is covered in mulch. Lizzy had splinters all over her body after a few hours of play, She also was injured on one of the rocks. Like I said, beautiful park, but not kid friendly.

It' Fair

We were able to go to the Kitsap Fair in Aug. I love going to fairs. It is fun to see all the artwork, flowers and crafts everyone has been doing.  Check out this cabbage:  Crazy huh? There were some amazing produce, especially since I haven't seen so much as a tomato out of my parent's garden. And here is a cake:  Doesn't it look good? We saw most of the animals and the kids got to pet a cow and rabbits. Jessica lost her lens cap in the Turkey pen, but it was retrieved for her. The kids had a blast. Here's Daniel and Charles in his modified carrier: He did get a few stares! I love the flower arraignments, they are always inspiring. My favorite was this one:  Isn't it beautiful? And of course the Dahlias were gorgeous. All in all it was a wonderful day.