Snow Snow and More Snow!

It was so fun to have snow (a ton of snow) over Christmas Break.  Kallie spent hours outside with friends sledding, building forts and having snowball fights.  They only came home for food and hot cocoa to warm up and then back outside they all went.

It was also Murphy's first snow and he LOVED IT. We went for lots of snowy walks and he got to play with all the neighborhood dogs at the big park.   

Although we all love the snow, I was ready for it to go after being stuck at home for over a week - it was so cold and icy we (well I) was happy when it finally melted!

Christmas Magic

Merry Christmas!  We had a great slow morning at the Bates house.  We took time watching each other open gifts and talking about about each one.  Some of the hits this year were colored LED lights, Hydro Flask, What do you Meme board game and some new clothes from American Eagle.  Murphy was very excited for his new Kong toy and dads new hunting blind :)  

As always, we spent the evening at Grammy's with family.  It was a great day!

 

1st Hunting Trip With Dad

Today was the day Eric had been waiting for  . . . he asked Kallie if she wanted to go duck hunting with him and SHE SAID YES!   As you can see by the pictures, it was a successful hunt with lots of smiles.  Kallie does not want to shoot the birds but she does like to help clean them (ick).  I know Eric hopes this is one of many trips these two take together. 

Cookies with Grammy

Making Christmas cookies with Grammy and all of the cousins is one of Kallie's favorite holiday traditions.  Now that all of the kids are vaccinated the tradition is BACK!  A quick stop at Santa was a great way to start the day.  I am pretty sure the smiles say it all  . . . the day was a big success.  Thanks to Grammy (and Papa) for making it such a special day every year.

Let the Holiday Season Begin

Let' the festivities begin!  We found a great tree at our favorite tree farm (aka church parking lot) in Issaquah.  Lights went up on the house, the tree was decorated, Crack Crack arrived with Christmas pajamas and Murphy officially had his own stocking by December 1st.  Our course there was a visit with Santa in-between!  The Bates family is ready for the holidays!