Aunt Pat visits

It was so nice to have Pat come to visit us! She came with a car full of treasures (art, rock collections, books, dress-up dresses!) and stories and time to spend with us.

We went on several adventures to nearby nature areas that we hadn't visited yet. The weather is definitely colder now, a parka is not unwelcome in shady places or early in the morning.

One of our trips with her was to the McNary Wildlife Refuge. We spotted a coyote in addition to the birds.

 It was a beautiful morning for exploring.

 We are so glad that she could be here with us!

Visit from Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Maryann

We cooked dinner outside in our fire pit.

Mark helped Millie eat her toasted marshmallow.

Some of us took a day trip to visit the tall ships and Fort Walla Walla. (Others stayed home with sick or small children.)

 

The kids were very impressed with the brick of tea that one "settler" had as well as some old hard tack.

We were glad they could come see our new house and spend some time with us.

Nora's early birthday

We celebrated Nora's birthday with Anja. On Friday night we had cake after dinner.

On Saturday there were presents and we had a more festive dinner. Iso fixed up my old bike to give to Nora.

 

 

She hadn't learned to ride a two-wheeler yet, but she picked it right up!

Friends from far away

Lydia and Lauren brought their mom to visit from Hawaii and be our first house guests.

We had a lovely time chatting and eating and hanging out. Now that the kids are a little older they remember each other from one visit to the next. And since we saw each other around Christmas it hasn't even been that long this time.

We're looking forward to our next meeting.

Another visit with the Wienermobile

Anja and the Wienermobile were both in town.

We were there before they opened the door and took some pictures outside. Then we did a super fast shopping trip and came out to take our turn inside.

Mark called while we were there. It's silly, but it was kid of fun to be taking calls in the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.

Some friends saw it driving down the highway between stops. It would be fun to see it unexpectedly. Other companies should really consider product-shaped vehicles for marketing. People love them!

Before Christmas

Nora dressed up in all of Anja's winter gear.

We started our holiday on Sunday with a turkey feast.

Do you see our paper chain hanging in the back? We did some Christmas crafting earlier this month!

Christmas coffee

We had some Finnish friends over for an afternoon of chatting and eating.

The table was set with our favorite dishes and decorations from Finland. It was such fun to visit!

You can see our Christmas tree in the background. I didn't take a single picture while we were decorating it on Wednesday. The big kids did a great job this year of distributing the ornaments evenly over the tree. It was a constantly changing display over the month as people refined the placement of favorite ornaments, but the tree always looked festive.

After Thanksgiving

 On Saturday morning my dad and I cooked up ohukaisia (Finnish crepes) for everyone.

 We had three pans going to keep up with the crowd. Bacon, fruit salad, and cookies rounded out the meal.

Nora has a little of several toppings on this one. It can be hard to choose what to have. After brunch we had an unexpected chance to see a house that was going to be for sale.

That night we had sandwiches. Nora's creation was cheese, salami, and a potato chip topped with herring. She says her everything sandwich was better than the one she made with turkey.

Thanksgiving

After our exercise the kids and I came home to finish cooking. Maryann drove over and made it in time for lunch. I made festive mashed potatoes (peeled!) with the ricer that is on long-term loan from my sister.

After lunch there was game playing and napping and reading and relaxing.

Desserts with coffee in the afternoon and turkey sandwiches in the evening. A good day with family remembering all we have to be thankful for.

Turkey Trotting

Two years in a row makes this a firmly established tradition.

But if we run into bad weather it's one I'm ready to relinquish. This year that wasn't a problem and we had another lovely sunny morning for our walk. Penny walked some and rode in the stroller some. Millie and Mark stayed home with the actual turkey in the oven.

Henry did some running and was our fastest finisher. It's fun to see the costumes that some of the runners wear.

Pre-Thanksgiving festivities

Anja brought facial hair for everyone.

It was a hit. By the end of the evening Henry had a mustache, beard with sideburns, and thick eyebrows. 

The baby did not think this game was funny.

Aunt Maryann visited

She came for a brief stay, but we packed in a lot of fun. Saturday morning there was a one-mile fun run that Mark and the four big kids took her to. Then we had lunch at a Greek restaurant. Penny enjoyed the hummus great deal.

There was chai and board game playing. 

And cinnamon rolls for breakfast. We can't wait until she comes back.

A visit from Grandma and Grandpa

Mark's parents stopped to visit with us for a day on their way to see Maryann.

We're so glad they came!

Summer evening

 Anja was here visiting so we had a celebratory summer meal out on the deck.
 Grilled mixed vegetables.

 Grass-fed steaks and new potatoes with dill from Mimmu's garden.

 Cool guests.

Happy babies.

Bee tree

Our across-the-street neighbor knocked on our door just after dinner and told us to keep the kids inside because there were a bunch of bees in one of our trees. A swarm!

We learned a little about bees and their habits last year from our bee-keeping neighbors and were very excited to be close to the action. We reassured the neighbors that the bees were full of honey and very mellow right now and not dangerous.

 I let the bee-keepers know about the bees and one came to check on the situation.

After a look she labeled them "very considerate" for picking such an easy place to land. She went home to get a bee box and we took the children out to admire the swarm while we waited.

The box was placed under the tree, she gave the branch a quick shake, and the whole mess of them just went splat.

They landed about half in and half out of the box so we weren't sure for a moment if the capture had worked, but in just a little bit it was easy to see that the bees were moving into the box so the queen landed in the right place.

Watching the bees move in to their new home.

The carpet of bees on the grass moved slowly toward the box and up its sides until all the bees were in. It was amazing. Once it got dark our neighbors came back, put the lid on the box, put it in their little car, and took the bees home.