Sugar cookies and Sugarbear!

Doug and Brianna built the gingerbread house and did a great job. Of course there were some bumps and bruises along the way....

But for all that, their hard work came out great. Of course, as you can see, at this time the roof is no longer with us...THANKS Doug....but I wanted to be sure I have a picture before it all goes the way of the roof.

Lots of Christmas lights in the Vander Yacht household...making spirits bright....

And Sugarbear always makes us happy! Sandra and Matt stopped by on their way to Washington. We had a great visit, with Matt and Steven playing the Wi game. Matt won at bowling and Steven was top dog at golf. Sugarbear got to bark at Deacon (who was put in our bedroom since he doesn't know his own strength and he's a bit bigger than Sugarbear...better safe than sorry!). It was so nice to see them.

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas.....

Surprise: a white Christmas! Was coming down pretty well and we enjoyed it big time!

But of course, the Wi game was top dog today. Cari shows off her skills.

And Doug goes the old fashioned route and plays with his Rock em Sock em Robots. I have to tell you, I think Cari kicked his butt at it!

And Steven looks like he had a bit too much Christmas....................

Joy

My friend Alexis and her husband are welcoming a beautiful young woman into their lives:

Elizabeth (Ellie) Rose

She was born prematurely, but is strong as well as lovely, and doing quite well. Her mother has chosen a wonderful family for Ellie to become a part of. Ellie is already very much loved, and will be the center of the universe for two of the nicest people around.

Merry Christmas Ellie! (I'm the one who gave you the penguin 'rattle' slippers...when you're a bit old and able to wear them, and your dad and mom are being driven crazy by the noise, don't remind them who gave them to you...it's just between you and me)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.....

Yesterday morning I met up with Cari and took her and Erik to breakfast. Great food! And then we went to a Scrap Bazaar, and Cari found some paper and a yellow ring (see above for details). Fun was had by all.
Mark put up my penguins. It wouldn't be Christmas without a penguin or two around!

Joy to the world!

'da bears'

This last Thursday Mark and I headed on out to Captain's Ron in Sherwood to watch the Bear's game. It's a great little place and we had good food and great service. Unfortunately the Bears did not have a good time and lost. Mark and I just know that our friend Kurt was living and dying by how the Bears did. He is a HUGE Bears fan and we were rooting for the Bears for Kurt, but it wasn't to be. As you can tell by the picture, he's even got his adorable daughter Sara in the act! Gee, I remember when she was born. Time sure flies.

Fun in Port Orchard!

Mark and I drove up to Port Orchard yesterday and had a wonderful time. Mark hung out with his dad and brother-in-law Randy while I went shopping (yippee!). Above my mother-in-law and sister-in-law Mary Jo are looking through the goods at the bazaar we went to at a local high school. It was a lot of fun, I bought a small purse, and looked at quite a few amazing items. We had a great time.

And the whole while it snowed! It was just enough to be pretty, and I woke up to snowfall this morning. This is the view outside of Mary Jo and Randy's home. Lovely.

And this is Megan and Dillion's dog: and you know, I can't remember his darn ole name, but I remember how much fun he was to play with! He loves to fetch, and he tries to carry as many toys in his mouth as possible, and he was cracking us up all night. Now if I could just remember his name.......
New addition: his name is Thor! The same name as Mark's grandfather......