I’ve been so out of touch that I don’t even know where to begin!  My family has been here since the 18th, so we’ve been really spoiled by having a house filled with people.  I love it!  And even though I’m about a week behind in sharing our adventures, I don’t want to skip anything since these are some of my personal favorite posts to come back and read years later.  So get ready for a serious holiday photo bomb!

We had pretty dreary weather the first few days people were here, so we stayed in and just let the babies play inside most of the time.  When the rain finally let up, we went in search of some local holiday fun – the Reindeer Festival at Swanson’s Nursery!

They had a few reindeer and a giant camel – the boys loved them!  I was also happy to see that all proceeds from the event went toward supporting the local Humane Society.  Animals helping animals!

There were lots of cute holiday decorations like big sleighs perfect for picture taking.  No visit is complete without the side by side cousins photo!

Cullen was so thrilled to be running around outside after a week of hard rain.  He laughed and smiled the whole time. 

Grandma and her boys. 

Inside the greenhouse they had a huge electric train display.  Total fascination.

But of all the fabulous holiday displays and activities they had, nothing was more exciting than the giant pile of rubber buckets that Cullen found.  He is really into cups and bags right now, so these pretty much blew his mind.

Buckets for everyone!

This has been the first visit where I felt like Cullen and Jonah really interacted and reacted to one another.  They would high five and laugh at each other all day long, and I can’t wait to see how their relationship grows as they get older.

We were so grateful that everyone was willing and able to make the trek to Seattle this year.  I love our city so much, but it is always more fun to share it with others.  And Cullen has been so happy and playful with so many new arms to snuggle in.  Although at the end of the day he still comes running back to mom.

He has been trying to charm Aunt Sarah into moving out to Seattle after she graduates this spring!  I think it might be working…

Family goofs.

One of the reasons we went to the reindeer festival was to finally get a picture on Santa’s lap – I had put it off for weeks and weeks!  We got there and discovered Santa was only there on weekends – oops.  No Santa, but we used his chair for a few cute photos anyway.

Now that I’m writing this up, I’m realizing how much I miss having my nephew and sister here.  We are so lucky to have boys so close in age.  I’m glad that despite living in opposite sides of the country, we are still a big part of each other’s lives.

After we left the holiday fest, something miraculous happened.  The SUN came out for the first time in weeks!  Since we were nearby, we took advantage and drove over to Golden Gardens – one of our favorite local beaches.  My family hadn’t been there before, so I was excited to show them the breathtaking views.

I felt like I was honestly starting to forget what a blue sky looked like.  It came back just in time!

We also lucked out with really mild temperatures, so the boys were able to run around and enjoy some fresh air without freezing or getting little pink noses.

On the hunt…

So, so beautiful. 

I’ve eaten a LOT of delicious food over the past week, so I’m only going to share what I happened to snap pictures of – like this avocado and scrambled egg sandwich.  Mmmmmmm.

The following day, we resumed our quest to find Santa.  I wasn’t sure what Cullen would think – about two seconds after this photo was snapped, he started reaching for Casey and screaming.  The Santa was really creepy and not friendly at all – I don’t blame him!

We usually spent most of our mornings and afternoons out and about in the city, and then headed back to the house for the late afternoon and evening time.  Once the babies were in bed, we got to cooking and relaxing.

Each night, Casey and tackled a new cooking project.  It is a lot of work to shop, prep, and cook for a house full of people!  I can’t imagine doing it (and affording to do it!) all year long.  Props to those moms with five hungry teenagers to feed – craziness.

Saturday night, Casey and I did our version of homemade Indian food.  I made my coconut eggplant bhartha, and doubled the recipe.

Along with a big rice cooker pot of jasmine rice.

And Casey made homemade aloo gobi (which I hope to photograph and publish soon – so delicious!).  An Indian feast for the family, that everyone seemed to really enjoy.

While Casey and I were in charge of meals, my mom was in charge of cookies.  She brought the recipe for my family’s favorite Christmas cookie – Finnish fingers.  I have been eating these for 30 years, and I think I love them a little bit more each year.

My older sister and her family were actually leaving to head back to Connecticut on Christmas Eve, so we celebrated with them a day early.  We spent the afternoon looping Greenlake during another break in the rain.

Followed by more relaxing at home.  I wonder what the weight limit is on Cullen’s baby chair…

We spent the evening by the fire, opening gifts and watching the babies play with new toys and lots of wrapping paper.  I’m actually really glad we split our Christmas into two different days, since I think it was pretty overwhelming for the little guys. 

A gold star to any and everyone who is still reading after what is possibly my longest post ever.  Sorry for the photobomb.  Back soon with a few more Christmas adventures. 

And last but not least, a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY today to my amazing husband.  Off to celebrate!