Holiday Warm Up:: Cookie Day!

The weekend before Christmas is always packed up full of all kinds of activities and this year was no different. Joel and I finished up our Christmas shopping, we meet up with the Odell family for a holiday get together and the icing on the cake was Saturday morning, when I headed over to my sister's house to meet up with the rest of the extended family for a James Family Cookie Day!

For several years now, my mom's side of the family gets together to bake a billion cookies and decorate them. We all take home our favorites and the extra cookies are saved for the Christmas Eve family gathering. It is really fun to see how creative my family is. Everyone loves Cookie Day and we all really get into decorating the cookies.



Porter and Kaleb entertain themselves as we get everything set up. 



Check out the ugly sweater cookies! So cute! 



I made a Joel cookie, a me cookie and a Jack cookie. 

 

Did you know if you turn a gingerbread man cookie upside down, you can make a reindeer cookie? 

Here are all the cookies we baked and frosted together.

There are even more cookies under production in the kitchen! Too many cookies!

 

All the lovely bakers!

Me, Shaina, Riley, Tonna, Sidney, Betty, Maddie, Jackie, Moriah, Holli, Pat, Anne, Farrah, Leann, Karen, Porter, Janice, Kaleb, Tiffany and Jaisha 

The table was such a mess! Such a glorious, delicious mess!

 

Can you believe that Christmas Eve is tomorrow?! Joel and I will be traveling around to visit friends and family this holiday season, so posts might be sparse and few, but what else is new right?!

 

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Weekend Up Wrap Up :: Thanksgiving

I know, I know - a weekend wrap up on Wednesday? But it was Thanksgiving weekend and my weekend was jam packed with stuff and it took me several days of work to unwind from the weekend. Yep, it was that great!

For the second year, Joel and I hosted Thanksgiving at our house. All but one sibling and my parents came over early in the day on Thursday to help whip up a delicious Thanksgiving meal with all the fixings. We had a great time hanging out together, eating way too much food, watching game after game of football and feasting on a meal to end all meals.

Here's the table, set and ready for the food!

This is only half the food we had!
Good thing Joel and I put the extra leaf the in the table, we needed the space for the food!

My sister Jaisha celebrated Thanksgiving with her in-laws this year,
so before we started eating, we took this picture to text to her!



After taking the picture for Jaisha, they couldn't wait to dig in!

So Good!



The Baltimore Ravens were playing during dinner, so we kept an eye on the game using the Surface.
Dinner and Football - What could be better??

Joel and I were up early on Friday, not for black Friday shopping, but for the Apple Cup. We had tickets to watch the UW Husky's take on the WSU Cougars and we were excited to watch the game. We made sure to get there in time for all tailgating fun. Our tailgating group was cooking up not one, but two deep fried turkeys! But the best part was the fact that Anna was coming to the game! I was really excited to hang out with my bestie and get caught up on all things baby Ellie!



The Dawgs are in the house! I love cheering on the team as they arrive.
Might be best part of tailgating in the tyee club area!



We may or may not have had a bit of fun with the confetti tube we found.



It's game time baby!



Kick off!



A Washington First Down!
Check out my free paws that I got - so fun to cheer with these!



Touchdown Washington!



Go home Cougar - you're loosing.



It's hard to see, but this is the team accepting the Apple Cup trophy.

After the great game, we ran a few errands before heading home to my waiting family. Yep, they were still there! They went to the Museum of History and Industry while Joel and I were at the game. They said it was great and had all kinds of interesting facts to share with us. I think Joel and I might have to go check it out soon. We spent the rest of the night hanging out and playing games together. It was wonderful!

You would think after two busy days, we would lay low and just relax. Nope. We decided to surprise Jackie with tickets to see the Pacific Northwest Ballet's Nutcracker! Chris, Joel and I have been planning this for months now and let me tell you - it was tricky keeping this under wraps. She is very intuitive. She even tried to talk me into buying tickets to the show the night before! She said later that I did a great job of being interested while preventing her from buying. That's right, mad skills. Even though she figured out what we were doing when arrived at McCaw Hall, she had no idea how close we were sitting. We sat dead center, in the second row from the stage! As always, the dancers did an amazing job and I loved every minute!



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The dance of the snowflakes is usually every one's favorite dance, but it is my second favorite.
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The peacock is my hands-down favorite dance. I love, love, love this part!
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We headed home to another night of hanging out at my house with my family, yep - everyone was still there. We drank way too much and played a great game of Things. Seriously, if you don't already own this game, order it now! It would be a great Christmas gift.

On Sunday afternoon we headed over Joel's sister's house to hang out with his family for bit. I guess we had spent enough time with my family, I could pull myself away for an hour or two. Kendall made us all a delicious turkey noddle soup with his leftover smoked turkey and homemade noodles. It was delicious. Poor Connor was sick with pneumonia, so he was a mellowed version of his normal self. We watched more football together and made plans for Christmas. Can you believe it - it will be 2014 in no time!!

Well there you have it. That was my Thanksgiving weekend. I have so many things to be thankful for this year; two great families, wonderful friends, UW has the Apple Cup, and most of all, my wonderful hubby. Life is so good.

Sunday at the Ballet

Joel and I had to leave pretty early on Sunday after our weekend of bliss in the bavarian town of Leavenworth because I was attending the Pacific Northwest Ballet's premiers of the Forgotten Land and Emergence with Petite Mort, Sechs Tänze (Six Dances) that afternoon.


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I have season tickets to the Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) with my sister Jackie, my mom and my aunt Karen. I had already missed the first show of the season due to schedule conflicts so I was trying really hard not to miss another show, even if it meant missing out on the Seahawks game against the Vikings.

I was able to keep up with the game using the ESPN app on my phone, even though Jackie was giving me hard time. You are a girl, at the ballet and you are checking on football scores? Are you kidding me! But I was only checking in on the game during intermissions and Aunt Karen was doing it too! Besides, I had to make sure the boys were doing okay while I wasn't watching!


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Here is what the PNB website has to say about the performance I saw last night:

This month PNB cranks up the heat with red-hot premieres by Jiri Kylian and Crystal Pite. In Jiri Kylian’s haunting Forgotten Land, an eroding seascape evokes memories of things loved and lost. Sensational choreographer Crystal Pite marks her PNB debut with Emergence, a powerhouse ensemble piece kindled by provocative imagery. Sharing the program are Kylian’s Petite Mort, a sensual, gold-washed duel for six couples and six fencing foils, and Sechs Tänze (Six Dances), “an 18th-century court gone delightfully mad…a frothy joy that constantly charms” (Seattle Times). Featuring the PNB Orchestra.

 

I often struggle for the right words when I try to describe my reaction after seeing a show. Ballet is more of an all encompassing experience for me and sometimes that can be hard for me to express in words. I know that I enjoyed the show and was fascinated during the performance of Emergence (which includes the first picture in this post and the one above this paragraph). Here is a short clip featuring the end of Emergence.

 

 

I am really excited for the next performance, which will be Sleeping Beauty in February. Who knows, maybe I can talk Joel into going to see Nutcracker with me again. I love seeing the PNB perform the nutcracker - it just doesn't feel like Christmas without the story of the Nutcracker prince!

 

Oh - I almost forgot! After the show, as we walked over to Thai Heaven (where I Joel and I ate just a few weeks ago), I noticed these sweater wearing trees. I don't know why, but I like sweater wearing trees. I think they are kinda neat. So enjoy this little visual bit of fun and warmth.

 

 

I hope you all had wonderful weekends!

 

XOJO

Flag Football Playoffs

Last night, Joel and I dashed up to Glacier Peak High School after work (near Snohomish) to watch our nephew play in his flag football playoff game.

Oh my goodness, it was the most adorable thing I have seen in a long, long time. Those tiny little guys in their football jerseys, running around, making plays. I was totally into it! So much so, that Julia had to remind me there is no tackling in flag football.

They played their little hearts out. Making passes and rushing for yards, all while keeping an eye on their flags. I was really surprised at how good they all were. I will admit, I was kinda expecting a mess; kids running in all directions, not really understanding the strategy of the game.

Boy, was I wrong. I am not even sure I could throw the ball that far and I have like twenty years on these kids. Even though they didn't win the game and their season is now over, Connor's team played really well against a tough opponent. Some of those kids on the other team were so fast!

I think Joel and I need to make a bigger effort to see more of Mackenzie and Connor's games because shortly after we arrived, Connor's coach pulled him from the game and put another kid in for the next play. Connor was so upset and I figured it was because he benched for a bit. Nope, when his mom asked him what was wrong, he said, "Well, it isn't fair. They finally came and coach isn't playing me! Uncle Joel can't see me play!" Overhearing Connor's comments made us feel feel pretty special, knowing our nephew was so thrilled to have us there.


When we parted ways in the parking lot, Mackenzie reminded us that volleyball and basketball were starting up soon. I told her to send me her schedule. So you can expect to lots more posts about my adorable niece and nephew and their sporting events. So grateful to have such wonderful kids in my life.

I mean come on, look at these two kids - so cute right!

 

XOJO

James Family Camping Trip

This was the third year the James family gathered for a James Family Camping trip and this was the second year we gathered at Bay View State Park for a weekend of campfires, s'mores, hot dogs, and fun in the sun. Joel and I didn't get to the campsite until nearly 9:00 pm on Friday night, but Jackie and Chris were really nice to us and they brought our tent up earlier in the day with them and set it up for us! So when we arrived, we didn't have much to do aside from getting out our camp chairs and joining the fun around the campfire. We decided to play charades around the campfire and it was pretty fun.

Could you guess that I was a starfish?

Moriah and I were having an intense conversation...

...which included this!

I forget what she was acting out, but Sidney is just adorable!

Jackie was going big!

So Moriah and I had to go big, too!  (Mike looks like he isn't sure what to make to this...)

Riley needed to help us go bigger!

After a really fun night around the campfire, we decided we better get some sleep and headed to bed. In the morning we enjoyed a delicious breakfast which included Joel's fancy breakfast burritos, before we joined the rest of the group in the grassy field over by the campers. The big open area that we called the field, is perfect for lounging around in the sun, playing some Frisbee, and just hanging out together.

Joel going for the catch while playing some Frisbee in the field.

Chris is making a run for it while playing Frisbee with Joel and Mike.

Another amazing play by my husband, the Frisbee fanatic.

Mike and Chris having a good time playing Frisbee.

Chris, Mike, Sean and Joel, playing Frisbee in the field.

Maddie and Sidney, enjoying the sunshine.

Sidney invented a great way to stay cool in the warm sun!

Beautiful James Ladies - Moriah, Jaisha and Julie, plus Riley in the background!

After hanging out in the sun together for most of the morning we decided to head back to our campsites, eat some lunch and then meet up down at the beach for some bocce ball and beach time. I enjoyed a delicious Waldorf-style salad with some chicken while Joel, Chris and Jackie ate some very tasty hot dogs.

Time for some bocce ball!

 

After our game of bocce ball, Riley taught us all how to make a friendship bracelet.

My wonderful cousin, Maddie!

Everyone joined in on the fun of making friendship bracelets at the breezy beach!

I eventually taped it to my leg to have more control over the strings... what a frustrating fun project!

Moriah and Leann went crazy went for a dip in the bay. 

Here is the video footage of the plunge!

They said the water was lovely... except for the seaweed. Um gross.

It was refreshing to wade in the bay, though!

Jackie and Kaleb



Kaleb and Sidney dug a pool a mud hole on the beach.

Then made a mud cake for all to enjoy!

Joel organized yet another game of Frisbee.

Sidney photo bombed my Frisbee pictures... so cute!

We all noticed that we were snacking a lot and when we figured out it was already 6:00pm, we figured it was time to pack it up and head up to camp for dinner. We all went our separate ways to eat our dinners after making plans to meet up later for a game of kick ball. We had so much playing kickball at our Fifth of July celebration that we were excited for a rematch.



Kickball time!

Dad was our umpire and there were a lot of "discussions" about calls made.

Making the play at second.

Going for third!

Notice the little kid sitting near second base... not sure where he came from, but there were all kinds of distractions during our game; bicycles in center field, small children near second, and a large group of teenagers in right field.

Mom played left field and she made a huge catch - she couldn't believe she did it! Go Mom!

Someone kicked it way out in center field, I had to chase it down through the middle of a group of kids playing a game of touch football. I was too focused on getting the out, that I just ran through the center of it yelling, "Coming through, watch out!"

Maybe you remember what happened during our Fifth of July celebration... here is Dave committing to the game again...

Don't worry, he's fine!

We had some random kids ask to join our game.
I think by the end of the night we had picked up six kids from the campgrounds.

Our wedding favors were these Frisbees... we still have a million in our garage, so we brought a bunch with us to serve as our bases during kick ball. As you can see, we take kickball so serious that our "bases" didn't make it through the game in one peice.

We all played kickball until the sun went down and it was too dark to see the ball. We had so much fun! I love our games! The rest of night was spent gathered around our campfire, telling stories and playing games. In the morning, we had to pack up and get ready to head home. Of course we still had time for a game of four square and Riley taught us how to play Spoons.

Before everyone started to head home we all meet up in the field one last time for a group picture. Mom wanted to try out a picture she saw on line, where everyone put their feet in a circle. We tried our best! And of course, this was the third year that we made the James Family Pyramid of Cousins.



From the Top: Ben, Laura, Karen, Mike, Julie, Sean, Leann, Riley, Moriah, Maddie, Sidney, Joel, Me, Jackie, Jaisha, Kaleb, Tonna, and Mom. (Missing Steve and Dad)

Family!
Bottom Row: Mom, Maddie, Jaisha, Julie, Jackie, Me, Karen
Middle Row: Moriah, Leann, Tonna
Top Row: Sidney, Kaleb, Riley

I don't know what it is about my family, but we are amazing. There are so many of us and we are all so different, yet we can have so much fun when we all get together. It was hard to see the short weekend come to an end, but I was ready to sleep in my own bed. After a short stop at the Berry Barn for some fresh fruit and a scoop of ice cream, Joel and I headed back home.

I wasn't able to finish my friendship bracelet during the trip, but as soon as I got home, I made sure to finish it.
Thanks for teaching me, Riley!

I can't wait until next year!

Special thank you to Aunt Karen and Laura who took pictures for me!

 

How was your weekend?