Bowling!

The Mudgetts and Grandpa Louie took Lynnwood Bowl and Skate by storm yesterday!

Owen was SO excited, scoring 75 and 68 in his two games before the siren calls of pinball and air hockey lured him away.

 
 

 

 

Snow Day!!

We woke up this morning to the first snow in Seattle since Josh's Birth Day (1/17/2012) almost two years ago.  Owen and I started the morning off right with a mug of hot chocolate.  "A warm drink is perfect on a cold day!" 

At the first light of day, we bundled up and headed to the front yard.  Josh was excited to see it - not so excited to stand in it.  Owen, on the other hand, would stay out in it all day if we were up for it!  After a mandatory snowball fight, Owen and Dan made "Owen" the snowman, complete with candy cane nose and Skittles eyes and buttons. 

I love snow!!

Hip Hop Throwback

Owen, seemingly randomly, asked Dan and me what Hip Hop is.  We then took a Hip Hop journey through the 90s and I literally couldn't NOT dance.  

Meanwhile, Owen and Josh just stared at us like we were aliens.  Kids these days don't appreciate good music! ;)

Like Mother, Like Son

I had a mini spa day yesterday with some friends from work.  We went for pedicures at Habitude, then to happy hour at Ballard's Hot Cakes Molten Chocolate Cakery (yum!).  Owen wanted to come along, but it wasn't in the cards for him. 

When I got home, the quivering lip started, and he told me that he was sad he didn't get to have his nails polished too.  So, I did what any good mom would do, and VOILA:

Owen got one better and we painted his fingernails too.  He and I picked an outfit for school today to match his red nails.  And here I thought I'd miss out on this stuff by not having a daughter! :)

Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas

Our Christmas tree is up and decorated.  And by "up" I mean literally up on the dresser for one more year!  I think next year we can probably put a full-sized tree on the floor without worrying about the kids pulling all of the ornaments off.  Maybe. :)

Here are some pictures of our new ornaments this year, and the finished tree!

Gingerbread Showdown 2013

It's a cutthroat competition each year, full of trash talking and candy hoarding.  I'm talking, of course, about decorating gingerbread houses!  We went to my Mom's house yesterday to continue the tradition.  She had a few curve balls for us this year, the most challenging being that most of the candy was kept in a different room, and you had to get up to choose more to bring into the dining room for your house. 

Somewhat luckily, Josh kept me busy so that I was unable to participate this year, but that didn't stop Owen from jumping right in.  In fact, Owen was the hands-down winner of the Frosting Per Square Inch award this year!  Gold star!  And Aunt Beccka had a good showing in her first year, especially after she inherited the house that Owen squirted frosting all over.  A good sport, that one!

Here are some photos of the action, including Josh playing in Grandma's china cabinet:

Joyful Josh

Josh is a happy happy kid.  When Owen is at Aikido, Josh has playdates with his buddy, Phoebe (and her mom, Lisa).  Josh and Phoebe are like the dream duo - both quiet and calm and sweet.  Dan and Lisa both swear that childcare swapping is the easiest thing ever with these two!

Here are a few photos from Josh's adventures with Phoebe and Lisa this week:

The Most Wonderful Time...

It's that time again!  We went to see Santa at Alderwood Mall the week before Thanksgiving.  Don't judge!  No lines and unlimited chat-with-Santa time. :)

It was a Wednesday night, just after I got home from work.  We fought traffic for longer than I care to admit, and I gave Josh our iPad to play with to keep him awake on the dark ride.

We rounded a corner in the mall, Owen saw where we were heading, and raced over to Santa to give him a huge bear hug.  He eagerly told him what his Santa Christmas list is this year: a spy kit, a tractor, and Pokemon stuff.  I think Santa can handle that!

But poor Josh.  I held him until the picture-taker was ready, dropped him on Santa's knee, and backed away so I wasn't in the pictures.  He screamed like crazy, and I couldn't even get a real smile out of Owen.  Remembering the bear hug and Owen's joy makes it worth it.  Sorry, Josh!