Playing in the snow

We went up for some play time in the snow once in January, and once in February this winter (we go about 30 minutes east on I-90 to exit 45, where there's an area you can park and play near the highway).  Rylan absolutely loved it!  The first day we went was at the end of a very cold spell, and it was in the 20's so the snow was too try to make a snowman, but was great for sledding.  He and Jason also went on a walk together in the snow.  As we were getting ready to head up there, Ry said, "I'm going to do some damage in the snow today!"... so cute and hilarious! 

One of our friends passed along this great snow suit for Maylee... so snug and warm!

Loving sledding!

Off we go!

Amazing ice crystals due to the super cold weather

View on Jason and Ry's walk... such a beautiful, sunny day in the mountains!

So happy to be in the snow!

Our second time up, in February, it had been warmer, so we made snowballs and had snowball fights, made a snow man, and played with the buckets and shovels.  We also got a second sled and had a great time with that too (I especially love sledding)!  These trips were Maylee's first real experiences in the snow... for both she started out happy and excited, but after a while she started to get fussy and tell us she was ready to go back to the car! She's still little though (and we seem to remember Ry having a similar reaction around this age), so we'll see what she thinks next year. :) Yay for snow in the mountains!  So far we haven't had any snow down in Seattle this year (which hasn't happened in several years).

Snowball fun!  

Maylee wouldn't leave her gloves on :) and I took mine off to make snowballs faster and see how cold it was.

Gotcha!!

Such good stuff!

Rylan's Christmas poem at church

More catching up from Christmas!  Rylan and I had the privilege of sharing a poem called the Christmas Story on December 15 at a special Christmas worship service at our church where members of the congregation organize and present the service.  I have to admit I was a little nervous after I signed us up to participate (our friend invited us to and made it hard to refuse!), but it turned out to be a great learning experience and a blessing for both of us.  And truth be told, we practiced together for the same amount of time and he learned it faster than I did!  He did a wonderful job and we're so proud of him!

Our Florida trip - Rylan's first flight on a private plane, and heading home

Grandpa Larry was so thoughtful and amazing to organize a flight for Rylan and Jason with him and his friend Bob in Bob's Beechcraft Bonanza the day before we headed home (Larry is a Civil Air Patrol pilot, so he has many pilot friends and loves to fly himself).  Rylan was absolutely thrilled to go on his first private plane flight and was wide-eyed the whole time!  Thanks to Grandpa Larry for the wonderful experience and to Bob for taking them up!!

Checking the tires during the preflight plane check

Ready for take off!

So excited!

They flew north along the beach from Naples to Sanibel on a gorgeous, sunny day

Near Sanibel

Back to Naples... Allegro, the shorter, square condo (at the bottom of the photo, third from the right) is actually the one my family lived in when I was little!

This one shows the Naples pier

Helping to push the plane back into the hanger

Cleaning off the bugs!

Helping to close the hangar door... what a morning!

The previous day, we met Grandpa, Grandma Deb, and Auntie Kimmy at the Cheesecake Factory for dinner... the grandpas had fun entertaining Ry Ry and Mei Mei while we waited for our table!  We had a great meal together.

Airport fun with Jason while waiting for our first plane home

Stretching our legs during our layover in Atlanta

Very cozy in our three seats on our final flight home!  I was stretched out to Jason's lap, and the kids are laying on both of us, peacefully napping after all of the adventures on our trip. :)

We were so glad we could make the trip and had such a wonderful, memorable time... many, many thank you's to our family for everything!  We love you!!