The Decorating Begins...

Now that it is home...

Dad was in charge of putting on the lights.

Kiera acted as "head elf" and got all the decorations ready for the tree.

Much thought went into the placement of each and every ornament...

Mom enjoyed decorating the artificial tree on the front porch.

The Search for the Perfect Tree

The search begins...

Kiera always wants the "Charlie Brown" tree.

Kinsey just wants one that is bigger than herself.

Dad wants to do it the easy way.....just cut off the top!

And hopefully.....it's a short walk back to the truck!

Fun at Great Wolf Lodge

We decided to do something different for Thanksgiving this year.....we went to Great Wolf Lodge on Wednesday and came home late on Thursday. The kids had a blast!!

Jeff and Kinsey having fun in the wave pool......that's about as close as Kinsey would get to the "waves".

Somewhere in that big splash is Kiera.

Kinsey spent most of her time in the big pool.

Kiera preferred the wave pool.

And Mom.........was the one with the camera......

Our baby turns 12!!

Yes, that's right! Kiera is 12!

She and three of her friends went to see the movie "Twilight"(which Mom enjoyed just as much as they did) and then came back to the house for a slumber party. A fun time was had by all!

Halloween

Well, Halloween was a lot of fun. Here are some pictures of me and Kinsey carving pumpkins, and us in our costume. See if you can guess what we are. We got a lot of candy, and I don't think this dog wanted to dress up for Halloween. What do you think?

Can you guess what we were?

A Halloween thank you

Thanks for the Halloween gifts, NeNe Char, Papa Ed, Nannie Jeanie & Papa Jim.

Fall pics. in Port Orchard

It's Kiera. The other day my mom told me to go take some pics. outside, so I went around the house and up the hill and took some. I took a lot, but I only put a few on here.

This is a tree in our front yard. Every Christmas we put lights on it.

If you look closely you can see Mt. Rainer. I'm not sure if I spelled that right.

Zoe/haunted house

Well, it's Kiera. I haven't written in a while and my mom was bugging me about it.
This is a picture of our dog Zoe. She went and got groomed this morning. She looks SO much better, and they put little Halloween bows in her hair. Isn't she cute!
Tonight I'm going to my friends haunted house. She has one every year in her backyard( I think). I can't wait!!

Mom's late night blog...

I was recently asked why I chose the name "seattleclines" for our blog when we actually live in Port Orchard. I guess it was a good question. I guess the answer would be .......when family and friends (out of state) tell others where we live they say Seattle. Most people know where Seattle is but not many have heard of Port Orchard. It's kind of like when people ask me where I grew up. I always say "the Kansas City area". Again, most know of Kansas City but few know of Lathrop. Maybe I will get "out and about" and take some pics of our town......

Back in the land of the living.....

Well, it's been a week since the last time I made an entry. As many of you know, I had my gallbladder removed last Thursday. Boy! Was that fun! NOT!! Ended up staying overnight due to the inflammation and the fact that my gallbladder was HUGE! Just to make sure no-one thought I was telling a tall tale.....here is the picture to prove it.


****** WARNING ******* The following picture may not be suitable for those with a weak stomach....................





Can you believe they pulled that out of a little slit at my belly button?????? I know it's hard to tell by looking at the picture, but it was over a foot long. Yep! That's right...a foot long!!! No wonder I'm still sore!! The healing process has been slow. My stomach muscles are still sore and I'm REALLY tired of laying around. But overall.....I'm feeling much better.

Halloweens past...

O.k......I've been going through pictures this morning....is it only 6:00 a.m.??? I decided to include some of my favorite pics from Halloweens past...

Halloween 2005...

Halloween 2006...

Halloween 2007...

Whatever happened to wanting to be a princess????

Mom's early morning blog...

What else is there to do when you wake early besides build a fire (it's a little chilly in the house this morning) and blog? I think I will start going through old pictures.....oh the age of digital....my collection of pictures on disc doesn't begin until 2004. I think I will begin with ....







I think she's got a future in fashion design......what do you think?




Jeff and the kids decorating for Halloween that year........the "holidays" officially begin for us in October.....this is our old house on Spencer Ave...

Kiera

This is me at my best friend Olivia's house. We have known each other since kindergarten. She has 2 beagles named Holly, and Hoover.

Kinsey's B-Day

At Kinsey's 8th B-Day she was SO excited when she opened up a present and found Ruthie the American Girl doll inside. She can make some of the weirdest faces!

Fun at Lake Cushman

Pictures from our canoe trip at Lake Cushman. Kinsey wasn't too sure about being out on the water in such a small boat but she was a trooper! Kiera couldn't wait to kick off her shoes and go wading..............below is a picture of our new friend, Todd.

They Grow Up SO Fast!!

Well, another school year is in full swing. Kiera is now in 6th grade and Kinsey in 3rd. They both enjoy school and have wonderful teachers. It is hard to believe Kiera will be in junior high next year!

Nestle

This is our other dog Nestle. I think she's 11. She loves to play in the water. Even if the water is really cold, in she goes! Nestle and Zoe like to play with each other. Zoe always licks Nestle's gums! I think it's so gross. But if Nestle doesn't like it, she'll let her know. Nestle doesn't like to walk in the grass when it's wet. She will just stay on the front porch. Nestle is NOT an outside dog(unless she's in water). :)

Halloween Pics.