Leavenworth

Last weekend we went to Leavenworth, WA - a quaint Bavarian Village that looks like it was scooped up from the Alps and set smack down in central Washington.  Leavenworth is known for having year round festivals, so we planned our trip around the Bavarian Icefest.

We stayed in Wenatchee (about 20 minutes away), and as we were pulling into our hotel, AnnMarie nonchalantly asked, “What language do they speak here?”  Oh, that made me laugh!  I’m glad to know that she understands how diverse the world really is. 

The Icefest was pretty much a winter playground for all ages, and my kiddos were no exception.  The girls enjoyed the snowball toss, ice fishing…for kids (it was totally fake) – but still fun, AND their all time favorite, the ice cube scramble. 

Ready, Set, GO!

There was a little toy frozen in each ice cube.  The kids loved it.  It was almost like a winterized Easter egg scramble or something. :) 

I couldn’t get enough of the shops!  Check out that kitty cat sweatshirt in the background.  That beats the wolverine tees in Jackson Hole hands down.  Oh yeah. 

Gabe looks worried about something. 

Maybe it’s these:

Yes, it’s definitely those.  Can you believe AnnMarie found those for $3 each?  Of course you can believe it!  AnnMarie is a natural radar to all things panda. 

There are more than 6,000 nutcrackers in this museum on display from 40 different countries! Wowzer. 

After carefully inspecting each one individually (no, not really), I decided that this one was the one.  And if I would’ve had over $300, I would’ve definitely bought it for my bagpiping brother – the wee li’l lassie he is.  

Two tired panda bears waiting for hot cocoa and one cheesy mama bear waiting for a cheesy pretzel:

Now back to being creative during these cold days (sigh).  There’s nothing like a little get away to help January out. 

A week without Carlie

Dear Carlie Joy,

How are you doing?!  Are you having fun in Idaho with Dad?  I bet you are having a great time with your grandmas and grandpas, too.  We miss you!  On Monday night, after spending our first day without you, AnnMarie said, “I miss her already!”  She was talking about you.  I’ve been going through the pictures of our trip to Leavenworth last weekend, and I found this cute one of you in the Nutcracker Museum!  We love you and hope you have a good rest of the week.

Love,

Mom

Growing Gabe

 

We live in choo choo train range.  We hear a train whistle almost 3-4 times p/day.  Gabe loves it, and today he said “ooh ooh aaa” when the train went by this morning (making sure to hold the ‘a’ out extra long).  He’s into everything right now, and sometimes (most times) I want to pull my hair out, BUT he’s trying extra hard to be a big boy even though he does NOT like to be away from me for a second. 

I’ve been teaching piano lessons in our home since September.  I have almost 15 students and most of them come on weekdays between 6-7:30 am.  These time slots allow me to do something I love without interfering with my motherly duties.  As long as I go to bed at a good time (unlike tonight :P), I do just fine during the day, and it’s amazing how my little ones consistently sleep through lessons each morning.

Inevitably there have been a few times during my once a week evening lessons when Gabe has been in need of my attention, and even though my husband is here, he clings to me with a death grip that can’t be removed.  He’s going through some major stranger anxiety right now, and I’m not exactly sure how to help him other than to keep integrating him into normal every day encounters and to keep being patient with his uneasiness in regards to pretty much any social situation! 

In the meantime, we’ll keep helping him to discover the world around him.  He’s at such a cute age right now, and I love trying to see the world through his eyes.