Simpsons in Seattle

Evie's bud Hadley invited us to take a cooking class with them on Sunday, and boy did we have fun! It was an hour long class for kids 4-6 years of age and we were able to make 2 types of cookies. The ingredients were already pre-measured so it was easy for the kids to dump everything together to mix into a dough, and then roll out shapes. The Rugelach (made with apricot jam and dried cherries) was my favorite but the Chocolate Crinkle cookie was Evie's. I really liked that neither was overly sweet. I'm sad that I already lost the recipe booklet because I would totally make them again! We have another class in Feb to make pies that we signed up for and we are already looking forward to it. I'm even thinking of taking an adult one for fun! These girls chatted and giggled the whole time. yummy rugelachs!

I'm sort of worried I'm going to jinx it by calling this out, but the girls play together so nicely most of the time and so cute when they snuggle together. They've been playing "mommy and baby" a lot lately where they each take turns being the mommy or the baby. They'll cry out "mommy! mommy!" and when I turn around to ask what they need, they look at my in exasperation and say "no! not YOU mommy! Evie/Nora mommy!"  I hope they stay this close even when they get older.  Watching cartoon snuggles Waiting in the parking lot at Home Depot for Daddy snuggles. plus some "waiting in the parking lot at Home Depot hugs";

Was cleaning up my inbox and found this in an old email that was dated 12/13/2013 - so just around 3 years ago today! How cute are these 2 gals?

We went for a snowy adventure today to do some sledding, make snow angels and have a snowball fight. Unfortunately, we got to the snow park pretty late so didn't have tons of time to play, but it was good enough to just get the girls comfortable with the idea of snow again. Like the beach, I think it will take Nora a few more trips before she's not scared to walk around on her own. Evie, though, was an old pro and ran off to romp in the snow and even went sledding on her own! Ready to start a snowball fight! This was Nora for the first 10 minutes of being outside.  It was pretty quiet and not crowded at all! By the end of the day, Nora was just a teeny bit happier. Getting Skittles didn't hurt either.

We got some more snow last night, but not enough to stay home from school and work. Here was the scene after our first snowfall a few days ago. We've been staying nice and cozy warm inside the house with the fire turned on. Here's a snap I couldn't resist taking that's a pretty typical picture. The girls playing together, and being very snuggly and huggy!

Evie and I went to watch The Little Mermaid last night and had a great Mommy-Evie night! The show is slightly different than the movie in both good ways and bad, but it was fun to hear all the great songs that I knew from when I was younger. As we were leaving the theater, Evie spied a poster for Sound of Music, which is playing in January, and she is already bugging to get tickets to go!  Excited before the show Selfie The theater was all decked out for Christmas

"Mommy, Mommy! Cheese! CHEESE!" So I had to snap a pic!

There was a hail storm this afternoon and when we got home, the girls had fun slushing around in the ice. After the warmest November on record, the temps are finally dropping and we are expecting to get our first snowfall tomorrow. Cross your fingers it'll be a good one! Pretty little ice bits!

We took Evie to the Nutcracker last year and enjoyed it so much we wanted to do it again this year. Tickets are expensive though so I found a local ballet company that performs in Bellevue that is much cheaper ($16 tix) and has shortened performances in the afternoon that's specifically geared for families with young kids. Awesome idea because it meant I didn't mind taking Nora with us this time. Scott even wanted to join in on the fun. And fun it was! The show obviously wasn't as high quality as the Seattle one, but it was still fun to hear the music and to watch the ballerinas twirl around on stage. I was really impressed that both girls sat quietly through the whole thing which was about 1.5 hours long (including intermission). The LOVED getting dressed up for the event, and loved even more the lollipop treat we surprised them with for being so good. I think we have a tradition starting up! All smiles before the show. They shared a seat for part of the show.