Holiday from a Child's Eyes

As we prepared for Christmas, it was good to see it through a child's eyes.

At first, James was not sure what to make of all of the activities.   He wanted to see them but from a distance and wanted to be very close to someone he knew.

It took some coaxing to even get him close to Santa.

But as the holidays approached, he got more into the activities.  A free candy cane helped.

 After a while, he was willing to sit on Santa's lap (as long as we were close).

Babysitting Adventures

Velda took James to the tractor store in Woodinville.  The owner let James sit on the dozen or so tractors he had in stock.  He sat on all of them - some more than once.  Here are a couple of the many pictures that Velda took during that time.  As you can see, he was one totally happy boy!

As a kid, I used to drive Uncle Oscar's tractor  (1947-1948) which was just like this one.  It even had a knob on the steering wheel like this one.

This is the same model in pink.  This tractor won a ribbon for its breast cancer awareness.

Another Day of Hooky

Velda and I took a day off to visit our friends Roy and Joyce who moved to Leavenworth.  We stopped at Steven's Pass for a rest stop.  There was already quite a bit of snow so it may be an early ski season.

Velda liked Roy's bird houses.  He builds them in his shop.

Velda, Roy, Joyce and I stopped at Sleeping Lady Resort to look at the art work.

http://oldsite.sleepinglady.com/music/artwork.php

One was Dale Chihuly's Icicle Creek Chandelier.  It was his first permanent outdoor installation.

Roy said it was more beautiful at night so on our way out of town that night we stopped in to see it and yes it is!

We walked the grounds to see more of the art work.  There were many salmon swimming by.
They grow big in Leavenworth.

Velda liked the one with bling.

We stopped at Faith Lutheran Church.  It was reported that it was purchased from the Sears Catalog and later filled with art work.

http://faithleavenworth.org/murals.html

We were told it is very small inside.  It holds less than a 100 people.  It was closed for the day so next time.

After seeing the sites and doing some shopping.

It was dark and the town was starting to get ready for the holidays.  Some parts of town had lights up and some were in the process - this is serious business as you see lifts of all types throughout town with teams of people working on putting up the lights.

Time With Grandchildren

We stopped by last weekend to see how the grandchildren were doing on our way home from the cabin.  At 5 weeks old, Katie added some fluff to her cheeks since we last saw her.

And according to Allison, Katie sleeps well during the day.  Look at that big yawn!

James was coy so we did not get a good picture.  On a prior visit, Velda was showing him how to use our computer to advance pictures.  By the expression on his face, it will not be long and he will be showing us.

Biker James

Velda found a press on tattoo for James.   James can't wait to see what Po Po is doing with that wash cloth on his arm.

 Velda thought it was a good tattoo.

After he got the tattoo, he went to ride his Harley.  Or was it was Thomas - Choo, choo....

And was willing to show off his tattoo.

Baby Katie

Katie was petite but is growing here at 10 weeks old.

According to Allison, she sleeps well during the day but not so well at night.  Velda and I tell her we remember someone else that did that.

She is a little bigger than James's baby doll.

Time with James on Wet Fall Day

A couple of weekends ago, we picked up James to give Allison a break and we get the benefit of play time with James at the cabin.  See his happy little face as we head to the cabin.

Even though it was sprinkling, we looked for salmon spawning but did not see any.

We toured the lakes in the area and still no signs of fish. 

The leaves were turning.

Po Po wanted a close up of James checking out the fall leaves.

James was more interested in the caterpillar and wanting to hold it.

He loved splashing in the mud.

Checking out the shoreline.

And of course throwing rocks.

He helped make dinner - he really liked the salad spinner.  " I do it" he says.  He played with that for two days.

Playing Hooky

Velda and I took a day off from chores to play hooky.

First we went to the Rhododendron Species Foundation and Botanical Garden which is at the Weyerhauser property at Federal Way, WA.  

http://www.rhodygarden.org/page/page/1083572.htm

In addition to the gardens, they raise unique plants to sell.  Velda found a number of very unique species of rhodies that she could add to her garden, several were from China.  They were having a sale (50% off) and heard if she joined the Foundation, she would get another 10% off - so she filled the  car (quite literally).   By joining, they reimbursed her for our entry fee.  

While she was selecting just the right plant for her collection, she met and talked with some gardeners that were there for the sale.  They had a nice chat about gardening in the northwest.  Uh oh, they ended up exchanging phone numbers.  We spent a number of hours there on a dark and overcast day.  After she filled up two wagons of plants she wanted to purchase, we did a quick tour of the gardens.  We could have spent hours looking at the gardens but that is for another day (with better weather) and a little earlier in the season.

We also spent some time (cut short by rain) the Weyerhaeuser Bonsai Gardens, which is adjacent to the Rhody Garden.

http://www.weyerhaeuser.com/Company/Bonsai 

They had a number of beautiful old plants.

Later we drove over to Black Diamond Bakery for a very late lunch and eat some of that bread made in a wood fired oven.

http://www.blackdiamondbakery.com/ 

We had not been there for many-many years and it appears to have changed ownership since we were  last there.

Since we weren't that far from the North Bend Outlet Stores, we made a quick stop there.  Velda did some shopping and found her prep bowls that she had been looking for months as well as more coffee flavors to buy.   As evening set in, we headed back home.  We felt like tourists on vacation.  It was a great day to spend an overcast and rainy day.