more snow, ashford's 9th birthday, our christmas

hello from the other side of christmas 2022. i'm sad the hoiday is over, but we're getting ready to head to a cabin on the hood canal on wednesday, so we still have that to look forward to. here's what we've been up to in the last week:

last monday was the kids' first official day of winter break. thatcher went into the office. we had a lazy morning until ashford's orthodontist appointment. he had to get a bunch of pictures and xrays taken and he did so well. i was really proud of him. in the afternoon sisi and thelonius came over and helped us decorate the gingerbread cookies we made on sunday. we aren't quitting our day jobs anytime soon to pursue cookie decorating, but it was fun :) and they were yummy! 

monday was also a jackpot mail day. we got eight holiday cards in the mail. most days we get maybe 2, so it was really fun. 

that night i got all of ashford's birthday gifts wrapped. whew! there was more talk of measurable snowfall over night into tuesday, but i said i would believe it when i saw it. ;)

we woke up tuesday morning to 37 degrees and rain. so i thought the chance of snow was gone. imagine our surprise when 2 hours later the temp dropped a few degrees and huge fluffy flakes began to fall and stick. the kids were so excited and i was too. snow at christmas time is the best and i know it won't stick around for long. it wasn't enough for sledding, but just enough to make the trees look beautiful and throw some snowballs around. maybe 2 inches.

 the kids hung out with sisi and thelonius for most of the day again. some outside snow play and some in their house and ours. 

wednesday was ashford's 9th birthday (and winter solstice). i know i say it every year, but i can't believe he's another year older. at age 9 ashford loves playing roblox, building legos, going to 7-11 and playing baseball. he is still the biggest snuggler i've ever met. we feel so lucky to get to help guide him through life, even on the tough days. here are some of my favorite pictures of him from the past year: 

 

i call this one "when christmas and birthday collide"

 

most of his buddies were out of town on his actual birthday, so i suggested that he, azalea, and i go to the pacific science center. we hadn't been there in many years, so he liked that plan. it was a little disappointing that many of the exhibits we remembered are now closed (and haven't been replaced), but we enjoyed our time there, including seeing a laser show.

 

 

after that we walked over to the armory which is always decorated really nice for christmas and has a big electric train. the kids used to be obsessed with it, but they are too big/cool now i guess ;) we got some starbucks and that was fun. 

 

 

we relaxed at home for the afternoon. i took a picture of the sun setting at 3:53 pm. the temp was only in the 20s on wednesday and thursday. brrr (for seattle). that meant the snow actually stuck around.

 

i picked up mod pizza for dinner (ashford's favorite - so much pizza last week). then we had a family zoom (only with the u.s. family this year - it's too tricky to coordinate international time zones).

 

 

ashford opened his gifts and we sang happy birthday to him, then had cake. he requested a chocolate mint cake and thatcher delivered! 

thursday morning was back to the orthodontist for them to re-do one of ashford's scans. at least it was quick. we spent most of the day at home. i locked myself in my bedroom for 2 hours and wrapped all the christmas gifts so that felt like an accomplishment! 

 

in the evening, azalea and i ran to fred meyer because she still needed to get a gift for ashford. we were trying to beat the freezing rain that was expected overnight and into friday. 

friday we woke up to an ice covered neighborhood. they even cancelled all bus/garbage/mail service in the city. thatcher worked from home. the sidewalks/street in front of our house was like a skating rink. it's funny to think how many days of school would have been affected this week if they weren't already on break. the kids played with sisi and thelonius. so nice to have friends right on our street since it really wasn't safe to go anywhere.

saturday was christmas eve. it was nice to have it fall on the weekend because thatcher often works that day. the kids and i made puppy chow (also known as muddy buddies) in the morning.

 

 

the temperature rose and it rained so thankfully all the ice melted. since no one dared to leave their house on friday, the grocery stores were packed that morning, but we needed stuff for our christmas meals. between that chaos, the kids bickering nonstop, and me missing christmases past with our families, i may have shed a few tears. but the day improved from there. we made a delicious dinner of ham, cheesy potatoes, green beans, and rolls.

 

 

 we had leftover birthday cake and facetimed with my extended family in minnesota. after dinner we drove up to olympic manor neighborhood to look at the christmas lights. 

 

 

then we came back home and watched 'christmas vacation' and got the kids off to bed. we are trying to keep the santa magic alive, but the kids have their own ideas about that ;) 

 

 

 they slept til almost 8 am on christmas morning, which was nice! we checked out the santa gifts and opened a couple family gifts. azalea got clothes for her kirsten doll, a couple gift cards, clothes, and accessories. ashford got legos, an engineering kit, and clothes.

 

 

then we facetimed with my mom and brother and opened gifts from them. thatcher made us delicious cinnamon rolls (and eggs and bacon) for breakfast.

 

 

my favorite gift was these personalized book marks of our kids and our three nephews from thatcher :) 

 

the rest of the day was very relaxing. the kids played with their gifts. i watched a christmas movie and read. thatcher went for a walk. we made semi-homemade spaghetti for dinner. then we watched 'elf'' for our final christmas movie of the season. though our christmases don't feel like they used to, they are still pretty special.