Holiday Happenings

Since my last post was from Halloween (ahem!), I figured it was time for a whack of photos and a holiday wrap-up.  All in all we've had a great time celebrating holidays with two little boys who understand how fun celebrations are.  

Starting the festive season at Yule Fest at the Nordic Heritage museum.  Lars is eating and loving lefse, like Papa, like son.

Odin having his lefse at Yule Fest, another fan!

Visiting the reindeer at Swanson's Nursery.  It was raining buckets, but the boys and Tor soldiered on for a playdate with friends.

Happy Thanksgiving!  The Bjorklund family.

Those kids are wiggly!

An early Christmas delivery from Svelte Santa (aka Great Uncle Steve or GUS)

Lars and Odin's first parade, downtown Seattle, day after Thanksgiving.

Intrepid, wet, parade goers.

Back to Swanson's Nursery for a visit with Santa.

Sleigh for photo ops at Swanson's.

Picking out the Christmas tree.

 Big Help getting the tree to the car.

"Ours House"

Lars and the obligatory Christmas tree shot.

Odin helping decorate.

Lars hanging an ornament.

Reading time with Grandma Cheryl and Grandpa Ralph.

What's the big deal?  Why take photos of me coming downstairs?

 

Oh, maybe this has something to do with all the excitement the adults were sharing....

Santa brought stools for each boy for helping in the kitchen.  He knew JUST what the boys wanted!

Helping prepare Christmas morning breakfast

You can't have Christmas breakfast without satsumas!

Tackling stockings!

Then presents!

 

And more presents!

Taking a break with Papa.  The joy of bubble wrap is universal!

It's particularly fun to stomp on!

While Grandma minces shallots for Christmas dinner (roasted leg of lamb with mint sauce, wilted spinach salad with lemon vinaigrette  goat cheese and olives and pan roasted potatoes), Lars and Odin help pull herb leaves (rosemary, oregano) off the stems and then put the stems in the "omPost."  Such big helpers!

A boxing day trip to the Aquarium and lunch at Ivars with K and K and their parents visiting from Missouri.

Stopping at the fuel dock on our way to Puget Sound for a New Years cruise.

 

A fantastic way to celebrate New Year's Day 2013!  Blakely Harbor, Bainbridge Island.

Throwing rocks to ring in the New Year.

 Family portrait on self timer

Beautiful weather!  Our boat is in the raft of sailboats.

Keeping warm down below.

Brrr...frost on the beach.

Lars, heading back home.

Odin, heading back home.

Halloween Fun!

Halloween sure is fun with little kids to celebrate with! First we went to Jubilee Farm for a fantastic pumpkin patch outing.  The boys were most enamored with the tractor rides to and from the field.  In fact most of the pictures we have of Odin from that day are of him pointing at tractors.

Odin digging the tractor ride to the pumpkin field at Jubilee Farm.

Lars in his Viking hat from previous Halloween costumes.

Odin cutting a pumpkin from the vine.

Lars helping Mama harvest her pumpkin

Okay, I've got a pumpkin.  Time to get back on the tractor!

Except my boot keeps coming off!  "Boot too big!"

Look a tractor!

Getting busy carving those pumpkins

This is super fun!

So pretty!

One of Odin and Lars' favorite activities right now is to cook in their play kitchen and make "soup" to share with us.  Some of the combinations they come up with are downright interesting...lemon, pear, carrot and cucumber or orange, apple, zucchini and mushroom.  Today Lars even started experimenting with enology and I sipped many different wines...the pear and apple seemed most appealing, but I swear the cucumber and tomato flavored wines were worth a try!  They also combine their love of cooking with their love of trucks and play "food truck" all the time.  I guess they have jumped with both (all four?) feet into the food truck trend.

All of this food and cooking play inspired me for their Halloween costumes, and I got busy making chef hats and aprons.  I figured they would go over great and be really popular.  Guess again Mama...you've got 2 year olds!  Fortunately I was able to convince them to wear their costumes long enough for some photos.  

Aren't I cute?

This happy face was directly following the most amazing fast feet dancing in front of the stove!

Now we're getting serious!  Can you hear us pushing the pretend buttons on the microwave?  "beep beep"

"Say cheese!" says Mama

"Yeah 'kay" says Lars

Odin thinks, but there isn't any cheese in our play kitchen set!

Lars says "food truck!"  Odin says "mine food truck!"

Restocking for hungry customers

On Halloween night we lucked out to have other 2 1/2 year old twin boys visiting who dressed in their costumes and provided peer pressure and we were able to take our Swedish chefs trick or treating.  All in all, Halloween was fantastic for us!

Heading up to the first house

I guess all of our work with the concept of trading has paid off.  When they were given their treat, they gave back what was in their bag from previous houses.

By the last house they were starting to get it, though they still didn't know what these little packages they were getting were.  Ahh, good thing Mama and Papa know what to do with those little packages (burp!)

Just as we were taking some last pictures at our house with our jack o lanterns, the rain started.  It was a highly successful night!