Shortly after returning from Hawaii, we took the boys to visit Santa and his reindeer at the nearby Reindeer Festival. We went on a weekend this year, so Jonathan and I spent much of the time divided while one of us kept our place in line and the other toured around with the boys. After working our way up to see Santa (not too long of a line, maybe 15 minutes, but it was outside in the cold), we were 2nd in line when it was time for his lunch break! Boy were we disappointed! Apparently he has to eat too! Fortunately, it was a pretty brief break, and since we were so close to his cabin, I was able to hold our spot inside and warm up a little while Jonathan and the boys visited some of the other zoo animals. It would have been nice if the elves had cut the line short earlier and let us know his break was coming up. Oh well, we will remember that next year! Fortunately, the boys were very well behaved and when Santa came back they brought their manners and A game. Silas was even happy to sit on his lap. We snapped this adorable photo of them together.

If I had the time I would create a composite of the following two photos, but since I don’t, here they both are. I love Kieron’s hair and tan. He looks like a little 70’s beach boy!

The tigers were the most playful we’ve ever seen them on this particular morning.

Feeding the reindeer.

In early December we headed to Maui for a relaxing family vacation. Of course we had a fabulous time and enjoyed every second of it! What’s not to love, it’s Maui?! The timing ended up being great too, as we missed out on the flooding back home and two days of school that the boys would have missed ended up cancelled. December can be an iffy month weather-wise in Maui, but we had sun every day, and we tried to soak up as much of it as we could.

Bump shot 13 weeks

Kieron loved getting buried in the sand!

Silas was content to stay on the beach with Mommy while his brothers snorkeled

Back at the pool

Here are some photos I took on my phone. This is the boys waiting to board our flight to Hawaii.

And here we are enjoying some Hula Pie on one of our first nights in Maui.

These two looked so sweet sharing the hide-a-bed

Our morning ritual: donut holes on the balcony

We stopped by Coconuts for dinner a couple of times. Last year Kieron met a waitress there, Ariel, who made quite an impression on him with her wit and quirky sense of humor. We checked, and she has since moved on, but she will not be forgotten. 😉

We had some sleepy boys on the drive back from Coconuts

Avery practicing handstands

Kieron had fun on the big slide this year

The brothers enjoy showing off their strength by lifting one another off the ground

A stop on a nighttime stroll

At the Hyatt Luau

We loved snow cone days!

My belly wasn’t that big and impressive yet, but here’s an attempt at a bump selfie with the boys playing in the background

The boys loved playing chess with this set

Tired boys waiting as we load up the car to go back to the airport

We spent Thanksgiving in Pullman with Uncle Scott, Aunt Manivanh, Nicole & Andrew. As always, we had a fun time visiting and feasting. The kids sure had a blast playing together too!

Here we are at the WSU stadium. The kids had fun running around on the field.

Tackle!

Ninjas!

Turkey comas

Nicole performed a viola recital for us

On Friday we all went bowling, so much fun!

Sometimes a great Craigslist find justifies an impromptu family trip. In this case, a children’s desk sent us to Port Gamble for a day. The boys love ferry rides, and we had a fun time exploring the Peninsula.

It was a little windy

At Port Gamble

Wonder what he’s wishing…

We found a  big grassy hill perfect for the boys to roll down

Cutie pie!

In mid-October, we took the boys to Fox Hollow Farm to pick out pumpkins. The family farm is a sanctuary for abused or abandoned animals. I’ll let the pictures tell the story, but this farm is full of fun things to see and do. It was our first time there, and we all had a great time. Already looking forward to our next visit!

The first thing we came to at the farm was this adorable miniature neighborhood. It included 4-5 little two-story, four-room houses for the kids to play and run around in. The boys had a blast. I would have loved this as a child!

Inside one kitchen

I had to explore!

The farm was full of free-range roosters, hens, peacocks, and much more.

Our pumpkins!

Silas loved saying hi to all the kittens…

…and the chicks…

…and the cows.

There were train rides…

…and Avery found a giant A to take a picture in front of.

One of the highlights was this “race track” in front of the house. There were about a dozen little Jeeps and ATV’s for the kids to take turns in.

Avery posing for a head-shot

Time to pick out some pumpkins

The boys were hard workers
  

The hay maze and corn pit!

We had a brief scare at the hay maze. All three boys went in one end and Jonathan and I headed to the other side to meet them by the corn pit. What we didn’t realize was that Silas came back out the entrance and wandered off. After a bit of searching we found him with one of the employees behind a concessions counter, just as I was approaching full-blown panic mode. (It’s a decent-sized farm and there is a river just a few yards away from the hay maze.) I’m thankful the staff knew just what to do with a little guy on his own.

Checking out the parrots

Saying hello to the bunnies.