Halloween 2011

We started out our Halloween festivities with Carter's school Harvest Carnival on Saturday night. The kids had so much fun. They set up bouncy houses and tons of carnival games in the gym. Carter's favorite was the cake walk which he played until he won. The girls loved the bouncy houses and face painting. Such a fun family gathering.

On Monday we were so excited to host our first Halloween Party this year. Last year we attempted the Downtown Edmonds Trick-or-Treat but it was crazy packed. And we also tried out the Westgate Chapel Harvest Festival which was super fun but also very busy.
Since we normally host Community Group on Monday nights we thought it would be great fun to team up with 2 other Community Groups to have a big chili cook-off and party for the kiddos. It turned out great thanks to a lot of help from friends decorating the house, cooking, and creating party games for the kids. They bobbed for apples, decorated sugar cookies, and pinned-the-face on the pumpkin. After a delicious dinner we took the kids trick-or-treating. Everyone had such a great time. We are so blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful friends.

Pumpkin Patch 2011

We love our annual trips to the pumpkin patch! We take 2 or 3 trips to various pumpkin farms in the fall months. We went to Fairbank's Pumpkin Farm in Edmonds with Mimi & Pop. And to The Farm at Swan's Trail with Kiki. The kids love picking out pumpkins and seeing all the farm animals. Adeline even got to The Farm for a second time with her preschool for a field trip.

End of Summer 2011

   I know it has been a while since I posted but with the gentle nudgings of my mother I am back in the game. Slowly but surely I will post in chronological order the exciting happenings of the Cox family. I am still determined to turn this blog into a book year by year for my kids to look back on and remember as they grow older.
   We enjoyed the summer with multiple trips to watch the Everett Aquasocks play baseball which we all loved. We went to lots of spray parks with friends and even got to have our old neighbors the Payne's up for an overnight. We barbecued with friends, went on bike rides,  and spent some time in Coeur D'Alene (which will be its own post soon).

Edmonds Summer Fun

Despite the cool summer weather we've had this year our family has still made it on a ton of fun outings. We have been exploring new parks nearby. One of our favorites is Forest Park in Everett. It has a petting farm where the kids can interact with the animals, a splash park and a gigantic playground.
We've been to quite a few beaches around our home and done lots of exploring. Carter even came home with 5 pet crabs (1 is still alive).
Carter has been bowling a lot with Pop on the rainy days through the kids bowl free summer program. And our old neighbor, David, had his Birthday party at a bowling alley. We have also frequented the Imagine Children's Museum quite a bit on rainy days.
We all enjoyed the Greenwood Seafair Parade this past week though the girls were a little scared of the pirates. The kids collected tons of candy which can make any frightening situation better for a 2 & 3 year old.
And of course we've loved picnicking and bbq's with friends when the weather's been nice. We are looking forward to Coeur D'Alene in a few weeks with all the grandparents and Uncle Dicky from Texas. Hope everyone is having a great summer!

Preschool Playgroup

Every Thursday morning the girls and I head to Liese & Miss Melissa's house for preschool playgroup. They look forward to Thursdays all week long. Melissa was a kindergarten teacher before she came home to take on the tougher job of stay-at-home mom. She is extremely talented and organized with the kids. Every week she has a different art project set up and various play stations. We have circle time where the kids recite their Bible verse of the month, read books and sing songs. Then we head up stairs for snack and more activities and singing.

On the Thursday before Easter Melissa made sugar cookies for the kids to decorate and planned a special egg hunt for the kids. The girls love it and they get to play with all their friends from church and community groups. We are so blessed to be surrounded by such a great group of friends. Thanks Melissa for all your hard work!

Texas Fish Fry

Our last Sunday in Texas we went to visit Adeline's Fairy Godfather, Bobby and his lovely girlfriend Darcy. They treated us to a delicious BBQ lunch and ice cream. It was great to get some one on one time to visit with them.

After our visit with Bobby and Darcy we headed over to Chad's parents for a fish fry. This was the first time I had been to a fish fry and wasn't quite sure what to expect but I knew that since we were eating at the Sones' it was going to be good. Clark and Steve fried up tons of food, 2 kinds of fish, sweet and dill pickles, artichokes, okra, hush puppies. I thought I was going to explode when we were through eating. The kids had a ton of fun with all their friends playing in the backyard.

We are so grateful that we had the opportunity to take this wonderful trip. It was great to see all our friends and family. The boys had a great time watching the Rangers win. We can't wait for our friends to come up and see us in September. 

(A family photo after the Fish Fry courtesy of our hostess, Tracy)

Fort Worth Zoo Fun

Another spectacular outing we enjoyed while in Texas was a trip to our favorite zoo. Tracy and Elliott took us to the Fort Worth Zoo which is my absolute favorite zoo. They had added a new Museum of Living Art which was filled with all kind of reptiles and snakes. The kids love riding the train from one end of the zoo to the other. It has an old Western town to play and buy snacks in. We all had a great time!

Legoland Texas

A few weeks before our trip we found out that Legoland Discovery Center was opening in Dallas the week we were going to be there. We bought tickets for the day after it opened and headed with Mimi & Pop, our hostess Tracy and her daughter Elliott. We had a great time, especially Carter and Brandon. They built cars and raced them with other kids down a track. The girls sang karaoke in a princess castle and there was a huge model of DFW landmarks made of legos that was amazing. There were a few rides that we got to go on and play areas for toddlers and big kids. We all had a wonderful time!

Empty Tomb Easter Rolls

A great hands-on way to teach kids about Jesus' death and resurrection (and they're delicious too). This is our 3rd year doing this activity and the kids love to make them. They have been asking to make them for weeks. We finally got around to doing it today!

"Jesus Is Risen” Rolls

To help children understand the meaning of Christ’s empty tomb, make this fun and tasty treat.

Ingredients:
1 Can Refrigerated Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
8 Large Marshmallows
Melted Butter
Cinnamon & Sugar Mixture

Directions:

1. Give each person one crescent roll triangle, (this represents Christ’s tomb) and one marshmallow (representing His body).

2. Have each person dip their marshmallow in the melted butter and roll around in the cinnamon and sugar (representing the oil and spices that were anointed on Christ’s body).

3. Next Lay the cinnamon and sugar covered marshmallow onto the crescent roll triangle then carefully wrap, making sure that all seams are closed.

4. Bake on baking sheet or cupcake pan according to package directions and let cool.

5. Break open the ‘tomb’ and show how Christ has risen and the tomb is empty.

Opening Day Rangers Game

   On Friday Brandon, Carter and about 30 of Brandon's friends went to the Opening Day of the Rangers. They had an amazing time. It was a long day, as they tailgated for a few hours before and after the game but Brandon said there were tons of activities for kids around the park so Carter kept busy hitting and pitching. Of course being a man Brandon didn't get as many pictures as I may have but I am grateful for the few he did get!

   While Brandon and Carter were at the game the girls and I met his cousin Tracy in Arlington at River Legacy Living Science Center and Park. The girls got to learn about Texas plants and wildlife and had fun scoping out a family of turtles.

2011 Texas Fun

   After months of planning and excited anticipation we finally made it down to Texas. Despite a little flight delay (we flew Alaska Airlines the day their computers crashed) Janice and I made it down there with all 3 kiddos in one piece (Brandon joined us a few days later due to work). The kids were so exhausted by the time we got on the plane that they slept most of the way down. We stayed at our good friends, Chad & Tracy's home while we were down there. They were such gracious and hospitable hosts. We were extremely blessed by their willingness to let all 5 of us crash at their place for 10 days.
    The first few days were spent indoors at a variety of indoor playareas due to the weather we brought with us. But as the week went on we got some of that warm Texas weather we were hoping for. It even got into the 90's one day. I am going to do a few blog posts about our trip as there is so much to share. The first day we had with Brandon there we went to an Indoor Safari Park in Southlake, TX with a bunch of friends and their kids. It was a ton of fun. The kids got to ride on a train and robotic safari animals, play in a large play structure, and even mini-golf! After playing all morning we enjoyed lunch at our favorite burger place, Kincaid's.

Band Practice

I was cleaning up the breakfast mess when I heard the kids rockin' out in the living room. I grabbed my camera and got what little video I could before the band dispersed. It's pretty cute! (Don't forget to hit pause on the playlist)

Christmas 2010

We had a wonderful and relaxed Christmas Day this year. We woke up and had a birthday party for Jesus with a delicious chocolate cake for breakfast...yum! We talked about why we celebrate Christmas and lit a candle to remind us that Jesus is the light of the world. We opened presents at home then headed to Mimi &  Pop's for brunch. After a delicious brunch we headed home for naps and then to Nana & Bampa's for dinner. Kiki created an amazing dinner of Prime Rib, Twiced baked potatoes, Wedge Salad with homemade blue cheese and Roasted Brussel Sprouts. It was out of this world! The kids had a great day and got a lot of fun gifts. We are so grateful for the opportunity to spend the holiday with our families. We hope you all had a great Christmas too!

Santa Pics....Finally!

After 2 attempts at waiting in a 2.5 hour line for our yearly picture with Santa we finally got them done thanks to Nana. After running errands downtown Nana graciously waited in line for over an hour for us at which point we met her and endured the last hour of waiting with her. We got the pictures done with Eleanor screaming on Santa's lap but we got them done. And I am sure the emotional scarring she experienced will be gone by next year.

Christmas Fun with Friends and Family

This Christmas season has been fun-filled with outings to see the Gingerbread houses, Teddy Bear Suite and carousel in downtown Seattle with our good friends the Paks and the Reinkings. We baked and decorated sugar cookies and of course made a Gingerbread house. And for Mimi's birthday, Adeline and I took her to see the Olympic Ballet performance of the Nutcracker. We have had a lot of fun so far and are looking forward to Carter and Adeline's choir performance at church on Christmas Eve. Here are some of our favorite pics. Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving in Snowy Coeur D'Alene

With an early snow in Seattle we headed east of the mountains to Coeur D'Alene, Idaho for Thanksgiving with Great Grandma Mag and Robert. We thought we had a lot of snow in Edmonds with our 3 inches of but boy were we surprised we stumbled upon a good foot of snow on Nana & Bampa's deck in Idaho.
The kids had so much fun sledding and building igloos. The snow was too soft for snowmen but that didn't stop us from getting out and enjoying it all the same. Eleanor was apprehensive and didn't enjoy the snow too much but Carter and Adeline loved it.
We had a great dinner at the Coeur D'Alene Resort and the parade and fireworks the next evening were really fun to watch as the snow was falling. Saturday night we took the big kids on the Santa Cruise from the Resort to the "North Pole" where Santa read off the names on his good list (both Carter and Adeline were on it this year). We had hot cocoa and cookies and got to see all the Christmas lights from the lake. The kids posed for pictures with Rudolph and friends. We love spending Thanksgiving in Idaho and are excited for next year.

Coeur D'Alene with Friends

With Carter out of school for parent-teacher conferences we decided to head out of town with our good friends, Doug and Martina, and their son Bennett. Mom and Dad generously let us stay at their place in Coeur D'Alene. So we spent a long weekend introducing our friends to our favorite Coeur D'Alene hangouts.

We were blessed with great weather and had lots of fun walking around town and going to parks with the kids. Eleanor had her 1st carousel ride at our favorite toy store, Figpickels. They have a mini-carousel with 3 horses and for $.50 cents the kids get a short ride which they all love. We are excited to head back over in a few weeks for Thanksgiving.

Halloween Fun

With Brandon in Texas for the World Series, Halloween for the Cox family just wasn't the same. But luckily Nana came over to hangout and keep us company and Mimi made us a delicious lasagna dinner to come home to after trick-or-treating.

The kids had a lot of fun over the weekend going to Carter's school carnival on Saturday and Sunday we had fun going to our friends house for a little Halloween party, downtown Edmonds for trick-or-treating, and to Westgate Chapel's Harvest Carnival for all sorts of fun games, bouncy houses, etc.

Unfortunately the excitement of the day prohibited my kids from sitting still long enough to get any really good pics, but what can you expect from a holiday dedicated to the consumption of sugar! Needless to say my Texas Ranger, Cinderella & Ladybug had a great time with all of their Halloween activities.

Pumpkin Season

I love fall in the Northwest. It is my favorite season up here. I am constantly reminded of God's beautiful creation during the fall months with all the leaves changing colors and the crisp, cool days. And it always seems to be pretty sunny in September and the first part of October which is why we enjoy going to Pumpkin Farms so much. Every year around this time I post pics from our annual trip to our favorite pumpkin farm, The Farm at Swan's Trail. This year was especially fun because Auntie Kiki joined us on our family outing.

The kids had so much fun exploring all the different activities the farm had to offer. Eleanor's favorite activity was throwing hay. She thought it was so fun to throw handfuls of hay at people. She was cracking herself up every time she let a handful fly. It was so fun to watch.

Adeline enjoyed the pumpkin patch itself immensely. She went around searching for all the baby pumpkins. She carried each one around as if she was carrying a baby doll. She sang to them and rocked them. She even made a little orphanage for them all and sat on them as if they were going to hatch. She brought 2 home and named them Lewis and Go-Go (no I don't know where in the world she got those names).

Carter loved the hay pit. He jumped off the sides into a big pit of hay and loved throwing the hay around. He also loved the long tunnel slides and was always so sweet to catch his baby sister at the bottom when she went down. We are grateful that God provided us such a beautiful afternoon to spend together as a family.