The Grinch

 Rylee had her first jazz dance recital last night.  The Auburn Dance Academy put on an amazing performance of the Grinch.  It was so fun to watch all the dancers.  Rylee did such a great job!  She looked pretty adorable too.  =)

Santa and Mrs. Claus

We went to visit Santa and Mrs. Claus this weekend at a little coffee shop in Shelton.  The kids were so excited up until we got there.  Carson was shy at first and we had to convince him to sit on Santa's lap!  Both kids said "I don't know" when they were asked what they want for Christmas.  Hopefully Elf will pass their wish list on to Santa!

Holiday festivities

We've been busy this holiday season.  I can't believe Christmas is 2 weekends away.  Where does the time go??  Here are just a few of the things we've been busy with.

It's a tradition for mom and the girls to get together and make Christmas cookies.  It's even more fun (and messy) now that the kids like to get in on the action.  We made candy canes, snowballs, and magic bars.  Mmmmm... so yummy!

We bought a new tree this year, a very TALL tree,  It's even more fun to decorate this year because we need a ladder to reach the top of the tree!

It has snowed twice already this month!  This was the first day it snowed.  The kids had to run outside and attempt to catch snow on their tongues.  

Coulee has been enjoying the holidays as well.  One of her favorite friends Janice came and took her for a walk one day.  Sunshine and the lake... she was in heaven!

We just got back from a weekend at the beach house.  It snowed there too!  Friday and Saturday nights we watched the lighted boat parade.  Saturday we had a bonfire by the beach and watched the boats float by.  It was fun but cold!

And on a side note/ update Lance is starting a new job this week.  He will be a sales rep for Hilti (a big tool company).  More to come on that.

Thanksgiving 2016

Thanksgiving weekend was filled with lots of cousin and family time.  We played games, wrestled, gave big hugs, and ate delicious food.  We have so much to be thankful for.

Ixtapa- Lance's 40th birthday trip

 We just returned from an amazing, relaxing, once in a lifetime trip to Ixtapa, Mexico.  We stayed at Azul Ixtapa Grand, a beautiful, luxurious, all-inclusive resort with ocean views from every room.  Nine of our friends joined us on this trip to celebrate Lance's 40th birthday.

The first day we spent the whole day poolside (and then hot tubbing when we got tired of the pool).  A great way to start vacation.  

These were some of the views from our room.

On Sunday we ventured into downtown Ixtapa to watch the Seahawks game.  It was cool seeing so many 12's there.  And what a great game to watch!

 Monday the guys (and Erika) went fishing.  It was a long, hot day of fishing and not much catching.  They ended up catching one big sailfish.  They took turns reeling it in and then taking pictures with it.  Such a cool looking fish!  Lance also went fishing another day and caught another sailfish and 2 Dorados.

 Tuesday and Wednesday we took a water taxi over to Isla Ixtapa.  These were our favorite days.  Swimming, snorkeling, relaxing on the beach, eating fresh seafood and guac, drinking Coronas with salt and lime, and getting beach side massages.  I can't think of a better way to spend my vacation.

 These were some of the views of the island.

 This is where I spent my birthday on Wednesday, sitting next to my BFF on the beach drinking coconut drinks.  Occasionally we would get up to swim in the ocean or get a massage.  Did I mention the fresh coconut they brought us?  Delicious.  Below were the "coco locos."

 We had many group dinners together.  This picture was at Emilios in downtown Ixtapa.  Amazing wood fired pizza and the best margaritas.  Lance and I went back a second time because it was so delicious!  At the hotel we ate at a Japanese restaurant and at the Oyster Bar (A cool outdoor restaurant overlooking the ocean).  The rest of the time we ate at the buffet.

Just hanging by the pool was so much fun.  

Thursday morning we ventured into Zihuatanejo for some shopping.  It got really hot very quickly so we ended up back at the pool after a couple of hours.

 Most of our friends left on Friday (one couple on Thursday), so Lance and I had Friday evening to spend together.  We had date night at Emilio's and spent the rest of the night reminiscing about all the fun adventures we had this trip.

This was such a fun trip.  So many memories were made.  $13 beach side massages, "I'm meeting my friends," Tequila rickeys (AKA Ricky Bobbies), hot tub romances, water aerobics, late nights at the lounge listening to spanish music, hoping for just one more American song to dance to.

We are blessed to have so many great friends that are so much fun to travel with.

Until next time Ixtapa!