Letter to the Snow

Dear Snow,

Wow, you came early this year. Usually we don't see you for a few more weeks. It is nice that you came to town for Christmas, as it makes it feel so Christmasy. However, I have some issues right now that we need to discuss.

First of all, could you take at least one day off to let the sun come out and melt what you left the day before? You are making it really hard to get around, especially since we still haven't bought chains for our cars. Now they are sold out and we keep spinning out and getting stuck. I will thank you for letting me prove to Jason that I can drive better than him in the snow, however, as I was the one who got us out of the alley and into the garage finally. But really, too much of you around. We live on a hill, remember? You and hills just don't mix.

Second, we should have been enjoying Christmas with Jason's family in Iowa right now. However because of all the ruckus you've caused, we'll be stuck here with no tree and already opened presents. Though it will still be a good Christmas since we will be together as a family, you really threw a wrench in things. Do you know how long ago we bought those plane tickets? And how much we were looking forward to seeing the Iowa family? And how long I spent packing last night for no good reason. Yes, I'll say it: I really hate you right now.

There is so much of you that you're not even fun to play with. Taylor doesn't like you anymore because you are so deep that he can't walk and gets frustrated. Jason doesn't like that you are only around when it is freezing outside. And I'm so sick I'd much rather be in bed than out playing with you.

All this to say, we like you for a day, maybe even two, but more than that and you begin to outstay your welcome. Why don't you go back to the mountains where you belong. We'll visit you there when we feel like it.

Sincerely,

Rachel (bitter about her busted Christmas plans) Jenkins

P.S. Don't even think about coming back in the spring time like last year. Then you'll really be in trouble!

Thanksgiving: The Condensed Version

Since I'm actually writing this much after Thanksgiving, I'm going to keep it short and sweet, mostly because I can't quite remember everything. Here we go!

Wednesday: Took Taylor to JCPenney for second time ever to get early Christmas picts. Taylor-nap+annoying new girl that looked at me making faces and not at Taylor to take picts+freaked out Taylor crying hysterically=5 semi ok shots to choose from and 1 frustrated me.

Thursday: Thanksgiving dinner at Aunt Luellen, Uncle Doug, & cousin Cassie's house. Taylor liked stuffing. Mary and Rob showed up around dessert from San Diego. Played Wii bowling. Taylor imitated us playing Wii bowling. Went home with nice full belly.

Friday: Worked that night, so stuck around house during day and took a nap.

Saturday: Slept in the AM, then met up with family (now also Sarah and Mark in from OC) at real bowling alley. Rocked the first round, scoring 156 and beating everyone. Chased Taylor around the arcade. Went back to mom & dad's for dinner. Had to leave before the party was over to put Taylor to bed.

Sunday: Church, nap, then made dinner for everyone at my parents house (our house can't hold many people at one time). BBQ's a fabulous pork loin. Enjoyed time with my sisters. Then went home to life as normal.

Baby Loves Disco

Yesterday we tried out a new activity as a family. It is called Baby Loves Disco. They have them in lots of cities all over the US. What they do is open a dance club once a month from 1-4pm. It is open to children from 0-7 and their parents. They have 70's and 80's music playing, a DJ mixing the tunes, lights, balloons, bubble blowers, and a side play room where you can go and cool off after you've been dancing the afternoon away. Our friends Jacqui and Phil were taking their son Hayden for the Halloween themed one, so we thought we'd try it out also.

Taylor is a shark for Halloween this year, and I really wanted to get in the spirit and dress up as a family. I thought it'd be funny to have Jason as a surfer with a shark bite out of his board and I could be a lifeguard. However Jason wasn't quite in the spirit, so I took over as the surfer and constructed a smaller version surf board so it would be easier to carry around. Unfortunately, not many parents dressed up, so i felt a bit funny. Oh well, at least I stayed cool in my board shorts and t-shirt because the place was hot! It was so packed when we first got there that Taylor would not be put down for a second. I can't blame him because on the ground all he would be able to see was knees. So we held him and took turns dancing around and popping bubbles. There were some great other costumes. One baby was a pizza, one family came as the Royal Tenanbalms, and then there were a bunch of little girl lady bugs. We stopped for snacks and watched the action from higher ground, where Taylor and Hayden would actually get down and run around. Then he ventured back out toward the dance floor as the crowds thinned. It was fun and we got some great pictures, but it probably would have been a little better if they had the middle of the floor open for kids and the parents could be around the perimeter, just so it wasn't so overwhelming for the little ones.

After that we kept the party going by heading to the Issaquah Highlands Fall Festival. They had a hay bale maze, pony rides, inflatable, and I think a haunted house. We let Taylor just roam for a bit, which he enjoyed. Then he took a ride on a pony (hesitant at first, then was smiling and laughing), had a couple small bites of popcorn, petted some bunnies and visited with friends. Then it was to Jacqui and Phil's for a spaghetti dinner. It is so fun to watch the boys play together and remember when they were babies and would just lay next to each other. My how they are growing up.

Well, with all the celebrating we already did, it feels like it all should be over, but there is still 5 more days till the actually thing. If Taylor gets a good nap and Jason gets home from work on time on the 31st, we'll probably go to Overlake Christian Church (where I grew up) and enjoy the festivities there. Nana will be helping out with the puppets, so we'll check her out in action.

Fall leaves

After summer is over I start the dread the impending cold/wind/rain/snow. But I always look forward to the beautiful fall leaves. Especially on a nice sunny day, nothing beats it. Boston in the fall?! Forget it! Seattle is the place to be.

Casting Call

It's that time of year again for the Gap baby/children casting call. I hadn't gotten a chance to take any recent pictures but last weekend got a few good ones. Wednesday was the last day to post picts, so I got home from working all night and spent till 11am getting the pictures off my camera and brightened/color enhances/cropped. When I finally went to post them I realized they were all too big! The photo could only be 2mb and all mine were 4-6mb. Grr. So I found two that I took with my other camera and sent them off. Here they are! Lets see what the judges think.

Pumpkins and Dirt Bikes

Today we stayed home from church since Taylor was still recovering from the stomach bug. We had picked up some pumpkins the day before, so after he woke up from his nap we went out on the front lawn to carve them since it was a beautiful sunny day. I took over the carving duty while Jason played photographer. Taylor was interested at the beginning, but when I tried to get him to stick his hand in the pumpkin he took off the other direction running. He did try to do a little scooping of innards with the ice cream scoop, but then realized it was more fun to bang it on the cement and hear the neat sound. So I did my best to carve the pumpkin on my own (which I hadn't done since sophomore year of college). Got some cute picts, and we got one of the three pumpkins ready for the big day. Mission accomplished.

The first cut

Discovering whats on the inside

Helping collect the seeds

Scooping all by himself

A little help from mom

Break for a kiss!

Distracted

Ready to get messy

Doesn't taste as good as it looks

Letting mom do the carving

Then it was Jason's turn to be photographed. He had just bought a dirt bike the day before off craigslist for a sweet deal and couldn't wait to get it all shined up. Taylor was a little timid watching Jason ride it up and down the street, partly because it was so loud. But when it had stopped and he got to sit on it, he was in heaven. He even helped Jason wash it, dunking the brush in the soapy water and scrubbing the big tires. He loves his dad and follows him all around. I'm sure he'll follow Jason's passion for riding and be out there on his own some day. I'm starting therapy now for when that day comes. Do you know they make little kid dirt bikes with training wheels?! Lord help me.

Taylor & Jason cleaning the bike together

Fascinated by the big wheel

"Dad, you missed a spot!"

The boys hard at work

Taking it for a test drive

That evening we went to Nana and Grandpa's house for dinner. Taylor always loves playing in the back yard. This time he discovered the bird bath and how throwing rocks into it is so cool. After some bubble blowing to distract him from the bird bath, we went inside and he played the piano. My mom remembers back to when we were little and sat at the same piano at my grandparents house and played. After some yummy pot roast (definitely a cool fall day meal), we headed home to get our recovering sicky to bed. What a fun day full of lots of great memories, and some great pictures too!

Checking out the rocks

"Throwing rocks in water is so fun!"

Mesmerized by bubbles

Working on his Mozart piece

"Nana & Grandpa's is always a blast!"