New Years

Nothing too fancy to report today. Mum and I did manage to creep off and finally get a pedicure. We were longer than I expected though and so we had to rush dinner through. Mum also came home with a nasty cut on the side of her foot. She's still deciding whether or not she will sue!

We then headed off to our bowling party, which has become a little tradition. Thanks Johanna and Pamela for organizing that. It was a fun night. We rented out the bowling alley and enjoyed some tasty treats after. Because Spense thinks he is some kind of high roller he was playing on two lanes. The men really wanted to show their style. I didn't play tonight. My knee has been bothering me a lot and it hurts to walk. I see that good things are not on the horizon for my new years gym resolutions. I tended Zach. He took lots of tending and comforting as is usual with a boy of his disposition.

The players

( Spense was high rolling so is not included in this photo)

Thomas had a good game

Zach not so much although there were fleeting moments of happiness

for him as he stalked out the arcade games.

Thomas and Connor eating some ice cream

Connor had some chocolate it would seem.

Sometimes we don't like to smile

A happy evening took a downturn after we arrived home. Mum and dad held Spenser captive on the computer looking at Alaskan cruises for next summer all night. Then mum decided that she would spend the rest of the evening catching up on more 'Dancing with the Stars.' I was not impressed and I let her know it. My rant about how '...you came here to see us and all you've done is watch TV in my room the whole time' didn't go down too well. In fact it soured the rest of the evening enough for Spenser to declare that it was our worst New Years ever. Dad also didn't help with his complaints about how there was nothing good on the tele downstairs.

Happy New Year indeed!

In a desperate attempt to save the evening I poured some of our left over sparkling apple cider before the stroke of midnight.

Dad thought the practice was pretty funny and decided to ridicule me. He was pretending to be happy because he knew that this would be posted on the blog, and wants me to maintain the idilic life that he says I'm trying to portray. Life is good, but I certainly hope you know it's not idilic.

The kids made it into the New Year. This one was crazy overtired.

He got super silly and Spenser couldn't wait to send him to bed.

As the clock struck twelve these two rose to their feet.

They led us in a little 'Auld Lang Sign'

Some of us decided to join in

Some of us drank our apple cider on the side and complained about

singing a silly song that no one really knows the words too

(the smile was forced by the way!).

Then it was outside for some left over fireworks. At this point Olivia and grandma left us to go and lie down. The noise was too much for the little girls ears and I think grandma was glad to have an excuse to disappear for the night.

There was more false laughter and mockery

Crazy kids showing their lightsaber skills

and more grouchiness.

I hope that this will be a happy new year. It doesn't seem to have gone well so far!

Happy New Year to you!

A day out

Since Spenser was finished with work until after New Years we decided to go out for the day. We thought that mum and dad might enjoy seeing Port Townsend so we made the 2 hour drive out there. I think that the Olympic Peninsula is a beautiful area and when the weather gets warmer I hope that we can do some more exploring. Of course in true Rasmussen fashion we had to stop along the way for a toilet break at the side of the road.

Enjoying the batteries at Fort Worden State Park

Supervising Zach

There was lots of climbing around

Thomas loves climbing through the 'secret' passages

Being skinny makes it easier to fit

Of course when Zach saw everyone else climbing

he had to have a go, much to Spenser's chagrin.

Dad was there to make sure Zach was safe

Grandma Elaine didn't do much climbing.

She had more of a supervisory role!

Then it was down to the beach. There's nothing better than rocks on the beach.

Picking up rocks

and throwing them.

Hanging out with dad

Looking for some good rocks with grandpa

This women always has some food in her mouth. In her defense we did skip lunch because we got a late start (due to grandparents sleeping in) and we were worried it would be too dark if we ate first.

The group

The next thing on the list to do was to go and find some food. We decided to go back to Nifty Fifty's diner to sample some of their fried goods!

Nostalgia DJ never wants to be far from his music

Waiting to order. Look how happy Elaine looks!

Our crew. Zach couldn't keep awake for it all.

After burgers and fries it was time for milkshake

Mum enjoying her sundae at the bar

Olivia and I shared a little bit of ice cream

With tummies full we headed home after a nice day out.

5 years

When people tell you that you have to enjoy your kids while they're young because they grow so fast I always think "they're only saying that because their kids are older and they don't remember what it was like!" When I look at my older more independent nieces and nephews I think it looks easier. They are more independant and can entertain themselves. But as I wondered how the past 5 years of Miss Olivia's life has just flown by, I was surprised to feel a twinge of sadness.

The day started off with the traditional birthday balloons and present opening. We never know what the birthday response is really going to be like since her birthday is so close to Christmas, but everyone seemed to remember this year. It might have helped that one set of grandparents was physically present - I'm not sure!

Zach was interested from a far.

Checking those presents out

Tinkerbell was a hit Grandma Noelene

The kids always get to pick what they want for breakfast on their birthday. Olivia requested some pink waffles with red syrup. She loves to have those little wells filled up with the good stuff.

Zach decided to join us for some food

After lunch we headed out to Charlie's Safari, which was where Olivia said she would like to spend her day. As luck would have it the Johnson's and Hollingsheads were also out there and so everyone got to run around together. Thomas was a little emotional at times since his buddy Carson was moving to Texas the next day and he has really enjoyed playing with him just recently.

Carson, Thomas, and Connor

Zach had a few problems with some of the younger boys while he was playing. He managed to get into quite the fight with one little boy. He was however, very nice to one little girl that he met. He was trying to be kind and gentle, but he got into her space a little too much. Girls are cool, but the boys are clearly a threat. He's also that way in nursery.

The kids ran around on the play equipment for a while and before we left we had a game of miniature golf.

The tongue is important for concentration!

Zach loves to play golf. This is where I spend most

of my time when we come to Charlies.

Grandpa hit balls back and forth to Zach.

Grandma and Grandpa dropped me off while they drove over to Spenser's office to pay for dad's dental work. They managed to arrive back at Charlie's 2 hours later. They got to see a lot of the area while they were driving around! We were just glad that they made it in the end. Grandpa was good enough to take Zach into the climbing area so he saved me.

Even Spenser made it for a little while.

We then headed out to dinner at Panera Bread. Olivia is quite the picky eater and so we made sure to ask her where she would like to go. Unfortunately, they were out of plain bagels, but the sesame seed one worked out once I had picked off as many of the seeds as I could.

As is typical I hadn't made any cupcakes yet and so we got some of those in the oven real quick when we got home. Grandma and Grandpa headed out to the movies, while we frosted cupcakes and sang 'Happy Birthday.'

Starwberry cupcakes

She seemed quite happy with them

Getting ready to blow the candles out

Never getting too close. She's scared of fire.

Olivia we sure are glad that you came to our family 5 years ago. What would be do without you?! Olivia is a pretty good girl. She is often happy to play and entertain herself. Just recently though, she has started to come out of her shell and is asking more and more to have friends over to play with.

She is a sweet girl and loves her brothers very much. She loves to joke around with Thomas and loves to have hugs with Zach when she wakes up in the morning.

You would never know it, but she really is quite smart. She has known most of her letters since she was 2. I think that there are also lots of words that she can read, but you never can be quite sure with that one though, since she has memorized a lot of her favorite books. I do know that she recognizes lots of high frequency words.

She is also quite emotional at times, and when she gets that way it can be hard to bring her back around. Oh, how I look forward to a teenager with hormones!