December 10-21, 2007: The fun BEFORE the festivities :)
Written by Annaliese
In trying to catch up, I am going to mesh all sorts of weeks together! Good Luck with my novels!
Monday, December 10th- Life was mostly back to normal after all the power outages- most of the area had power returned, a few didn't, but stores were back to being open, schools had kids in them and we felt a little harried, but like we were trying to get back into the swing of things. I went back to babysitting that afternoon as the girls went back to school.
Thursday, December 13th- That afternoon I went on a kitchen spree making wassail, peanut butter cup cupcakes and brownies. I then loaded all of it along with some decorations into the car to attend our Christmas Enrichment. It was such a fun night! We enjoyed hearing various family traditions from different sisters, eating delicious desserts and playing some fun games. I almost never feel like going as there is so much going on in life, but I'm always glad when I do as it's a great time to enjoy the sisters in the ward and support those who did so much hard work.
Friday, December 14th- After work, the kids and I headed out of town for Maple Valley. Jessica Wayment (Tanner's finance) was visiting for the weekend and Corrine, Allen & I were "babysitting" them while Mom & Dad were out of town. :) We figured we would keep McKay company too in case he got tired of all the mushiness in the air. We all enjoyed hanging out and playing games. Jessica was even a good sport to join in a few games of Settlers while I was there!
Saturday, December 15th- Tanner & Jessica had spent Friday sightseeing all over Seattle, so they took it easy on Saturday and just stayed close to home. They did enjoy walking around the lake and even volunteered to take Corrine with them- she LOVED it of course and she REALLY likes Jessica. She reminds me all the time that after Tanner & Jessica get married she will be AUNT Jessica. Mom & Dad got home that night and it was so fun to be with them as well.
Sunday, December 16th- We enjoyed sacrament meeting in Maple Valley which was wonderful as usual. We slipped out after Sacrament meeting as Chris' work party was that night. McKay had offered/asked to come spend a few days with us as he was done with work. It turned out to be such a blessing for us! He will definitely be missed when he goes back to Idaho for school!
McKay and the kids before church
Our smiley boy 
We made good time home and McKay entertained the troops while Chris & I got ready to go. He wasn't the slightest bit nervous about having a newborn to babysit either. We left him several bottles and they had a blast! Chris & I attended his work party in Olympia- they had a wonderful dinner and it was very nice to visit with his co-workers. When we got home all was great with McKay. We enjoyed spending some time with him before we all crashed for the night.
Monday, December 17th- McKay & Corrine opted to stay at the house while Allen & I went to the office. Corrine LOVED having her Uncle McKay there to play with! I was worried he was bored and he said it was great since he knew when he got home he would need to help get things ready for Christmas and get his stuff ready for school. So he was enjoying the "down" time (if there is such a thing with Corrine around). I wasn't babysitting at all this week as the girl I babysit was already out for Christmas break, so that was one less thing to worry about.
McKay was loved by ALL- including Pikku (our dog) as you can see that both Pikku & Corrine cuddled up to sleep next to McKay on the couch
We had a pediatrician appointment that afternoon for both kids- I was grateful for his extra pair of hands and arms especially since both kids had to get shots. Corrine DID NOT like shots. But she was pretty brave. I was glad McKay was there to hold & console her while I helped hold Allen during his shots. She told me later "I don't think I want to do that anymore." Definitely an adventure!
McKay reading to Allen
Naptime!
Tuesday, December 18th- Since McKay was only going to be with us for one last night we ordered our favorite pizza and watched a movie together. It was fun to just hang out and laugh about silly stuff together.
Wednesday, December 19th- After work, we all headed up to Olympia to meet Mom. She was picking up McKay and taking Corrine for the rest of the week as we would be headed up that way that weekend for Christmas festivities. I always miss her when she's gone, but I had so much going on that it was a HUGE blessing to have her with Mom & Dad. After making the big switch I took advantage of being in Olympia (with only one child) and did some Christmas shopping since at that point we had done NONE of it. Thankfully I got the majority of it done! There were a few things that still needed to be found, but that was a huge relief.
Friday, December 21st- We received a "present" from our landlords- a NEW sink, with a garbage disposal! It's so nice! Chris keeps wiping it down and keeping it shiny- I think he loves it more than I do! It was a much needed improvement.
That night my work had our Christmas party/dinner. We all go out to a favorite Mexican restaurant and just enjoy being together. It's such a small company (and almost everyone is related) that it is a really enjoyable, laid back evening. It's so nice to have such a great boss and that he feels the same way- it's one of those amazing blessings that is good for everyone.
That night we tried to get everything packed and organized for our Christmas adventures!
