Caden LOVES the snow!

Caden going "exploring like Dora!" in the woods

So happy to be sledding!

We had to teach him not to eat yellow snow :) because he liked eating it so much.

I don't know who is having more fun.

The ride down is so much more fun than the walk up.

Caden and I made a snowman while Dad was at the Seahawks game. I asked Caden what he wanted to name it and he said "Mona." So here is Mona the snow-woman.

Pure joy.

I asked Caden to pose and this is what I got

And our girl -- Amber!

What a difference a year makes...

Last Winter we were in the frozen tundra of Klamath Falls, OR and Caden did not knw what to think about the snow. The last thing he wanted to do was play for hours in it. All of the photos we got from last year are of us placing him in the snow and trying to get a picture before he started crying for someone to pick him up (photo above).

Fast forward one year and we have decided that our son could live in the snow :) He LOVED playing in the snow. He made snow angels, built snowmen, went sledding, threw snowballs, and especially loved to run in the snow. Ususally it was mom or dad who decided it was time to go in and warm up.

Fresh Snow is SO pretty!

For those of you who don't live in Washington I wanted to show you what we lived in for quite awhile...us Northwesterners just aren't used to that much snow and that cold of temperatures :) Pat missed 3 days of school because of the snow and ice and I missed 4 days of work...we had an extra long holiday vacation.

Our backyard after the big snow!

Our backyard after the first snow!

A little falling snow in our front yard at night.


The view of our neighborhood from the "sledding hill"

The forest next to our house...we tried to go for a walk, but the snow was too deep.

Gingerbread Houses -- what a sugary, sweet mess!

As a "Thank You" for being great neighbors and friends we had The Bailey's over for a little Gingerbread House making party on the weekend of the first snow (of what we now know was many). The kids had a blast decorating and eating too much candy and frosting....we might have to make this a tradition!

Before the decorating began!

Caden contemplating what to do next...hmmm.

Caden's finished product...I was pretty proud :)

It wouldn't have been a true winter party without a little time playing in the snow!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

We spent last weekend putting up some Christmas lights outside and getting all of our decorations put up inside. Last year we didn't decorate at all because we spent most of our Winter Break in Klamath Falls, OR, so it was fun taking out all of our decorations and figuring out where to put them in our new house. We quickly remembered that our house in Kent was much smaller than this house so we will be buying some more Christmas Lights and decorations soon!

Caden really wanted to help this year. He even brought all of his tools out to help Daddy hang the lights. He only broke one Christmas ornament thinking he could throw it like a ball...overall I think it went pretty well.


This is a random photo. But as we were driving on 410 to the grocery store I wanted to take this photo to show some of you just how close Mt. Rainier looks now that we live in Bonney Lake. And yes the light was red :)

A Family Thanksgiving in Seaside, OR!

First off...sorry about the lack of postings. Our camera died on Halloween and we finally got a new camera the day after Thanksgiving.

Second, yes, we did it again! We had a Ferguson/Peterson/Olsen/Prather Thanksgiving on the Oregon Coast. The final numbers were 13 adults, 2 babies/toddlers and 3 dogs...it was a full weekend, but I don't think any of us would have it any other way!

Joel surprised us with his own set of footie pajamas...we had to get a picture with the other two that had matching PJs. So here he is with Addisen (who we finally got to meet...and what a happy, sweet baby girl she is) and Caden!

Papa Ferg spending a little quality time with Addisen.

Ever year, for the last few years, Friday night is a HUGE crab feed thanks to Uncle Spike (who is allergic to crab...but does it for the love of his family). Here is Meagan and Mandy enjoying their piles of crab meet. It was great to see Meagan even if her trip home from London left her in a little bit of a fog!

Caden wanted to join in on the crab feed but only so he could play with the tools.

Thanksgiving always involves a puzzle!

With so many people in one place, sometimes someone gets left behind on accident. We all pulled away from the house to head to downtown Seaside and we realized that Papa Ferg was left behind. Uncle Spike had to go back and get him...and this time we weren't taking any chances.

Overall Caden really liked the bumper cars (he went twice) and the carousel, but the Tilt-o-Whirl made him a little wary.

But his favorite part of downtown Seaside was the ice cream!

This is the face we get when we ask Caden to say cheese!

Caden Goes Trick-Or-Treating!

I was SO excited for Halloween this year because Caden was actually excited and seemed to grasp the concept of Trick-or-Treating. We had watched some Dora and Diego Halloween specials and read some books to get him excited about dressing up and going door to door. Pat even practiced with him a few nights earlier :). It was really cute!

We headed out after dinner and some of Caden's friends from the neighborhood showed him the ropes...thanks Bailey's! He ran from door to door with him, going up all the stairs in our neighborhood. He would say "Trick-or-Treat...Give me Candy!" and say "Thank You!" when they rewarded him with the treats. He lasted a lot longer than we thought he would and he keeps asking when he gets to do it again!

Our little bat and the Rhinestone Cowgirl, Ava!

Caden heading out for his first taste of Trick-or-Treating!

This was the face Caden makes when he is excited...and he was excited about candy!

My guys and gal! Amber hates Trick-or-Treaters so we have to put her in our bathroom.

This was right before he changed into his Bat costume.

The first house! Just waiting for someone to open the door!

Caden surveying his loot. He got two full-size butterfingers. We have some nice neighbors.

After family time I drove up to Seattle to hang-out with some of my favorite ladies! We were the Deal Or No Deal girls and we even won first place in a costume contest. It was so fun.

Fall in Bonney Lake, WA

Not counting yesterday, during the torrential downpour, it has been a beautiful fall. Everyday I drive home through the trees that are all shades of orange, yellow, red and green and I remember why fall is my favorite season! I have also developed new appreciation of the place that I live. So I decided to share some photos of our house with all of you :)

Here is the view of Mt. Rainier from our Master Bathroom :)

Happy Birthday to Me and a trip to the Pumpkin Patch!

Yes, I celebrated my 28th birthday on Saturday in a very low-key style. I have been so busy with work, school and family that a quiet weekend with friends was all I asked for! Pat took me out to dinner on Friday while Caden spent the night with Grandma and Papa G. They brought him to meet Pat and I at gymnastics...he loves it! Then we decided to go to a local Pumpkin Patch. It is so crazy living in the "country"! There are like 7 pumpkin patches within 4 miles of our house and all of them are very family friendly. After that I headed to Seattle to spend time getting manicures and dinner (and winning American Idol on Wii) with two of my favorite people - Jen and Beth! Thanks ladies for a lovely evening.

Caden loves the foam pit at gymnastics. He likes to stack up the "blocks" and knock them over!

The farm sets up all of these little vignettes based on different fairytales. Caden especially liked this one that had the seven dwarfs.

Kids get to ride different cars, wagons, bikes, etc down this hill of sawdust.

Papa G and Caden!

Caden LOVED the animals on the farm. When we saw the cows he kept saying to them "say Moo!" and he didn't understand why they weren't listening. Grandma helped him feed the goats which made him laugh. Every time they ate some food out of his hand he said "he licked me!"

He is just so creative. These definitely look like maracas to me!

Caden thought this gourd looked like a phone. He said "Hello, I Caden!"