Hunting for the Christmas Tree....

At first our plan was a BIG adventure. We were heading to Verlot (Mt Loop Hwy) to get a $10 permit to hike into the mountains to find that allusive Prince family Christmas Tree.
But on the way out to Granite Falls we saw a lot selling...ANY TREE $20.....I said to Joe SOLD!! We headed up Green Mountain to find more snow and see the river from the first bridge. The road was bumpy as always, but the girls giggled and had FUN.
So we headed back to the farm on Hwy 92 and got our 20 bucks ready. We walked through a good majority of the farm and it came down to two trees. Just a few yards from each other. We picked the larger one so I could make a swag for the front door.

Joe is sawing the tree down and the girls are cold, but SUPER excited about getting the tree.

and its down...

Ready to go pay, and take our prize home to decorate and enjoy this Holiday Season!!

Now time to put lights on it and decorate it......

Marriage of Jake & Darci Smulkowski

What comes around goes around......

One of our best friends, Jake Smulkowski married Joe and I in November 2004. When we found out Jake was going to marry Darci, we were SO thrilled for him. In June 2009, our family vacation to Sun Mountain Lodge in Kellogg, Idaho also included a visit with our Reverend and his fiance. During our visit, I started asking questions about the wedding, where, when, location and other important details that were in their plans. Darci then shared that Jake intended Joe to marry them just like He marry us. I almost cried.

July 2010.....We had planned for several weeks for our trip to Hayden ID. to be without kids. We headed over on Thursday morning to make it to the rehearsal by 5pm in Deer Park. We had a great weekend celebrating our Friend's Big day. Joe and I stayed with Jake at his place and I had a great time hanging with the groom, best man and officiant....GOOD TIMES! :)
It was great to meet Jake's mom and dad. Renee and I had never met, but you would have never known. It was nice to have conversations with adults and not have little ones interrupting you. I was included in a Bridal Tea for Darci and got to know many of her girlfriends and her lovely family. Thank you for including us like family!!

The BIG DAY.....July 17th 2010

The Princes with the newly married Smulkowski's. Jake and Darci got married at a Beautiful farm in Deer Park, WA just North of Spokane.

Joe as the Officiant and the Groom waiting for his Bride....

Here comes the Bride....

Darci looked SO Pretty!

the hand-off

And then....They're MARRIED!!

Joe did a GREAT job as the Officiant. He received several comments of approval. We enjoyed a delicious dinner and watched them cut the cake. We headed out a bit early to start our trip home. We missed our babies and were tired from the FUN-filled weekend.

We are SO very happy for Jake and Darci!! Congratulations!! We Love you!!

And a BIG Thank you to Gram and Gramps for taking the girls and Henry for the first few days....and another Big Thanks goes to GG for having the girls the last part of the weekend and for Auntie Krissy for being there too with a brand new baby!! Thanks for your help & WE LOVE YOU!!

Great Wolf Lodge

Happy Birthday Avery Rose!!! This trip to the Great Wolf Lodge was Avery's 5th Birthday present. Auntie and Mama started talking about taking our families to the Lodge since March. We found a good rate and decided to share a suite with the DeRemers which was like a slumber party. We arrived after lunch and then headed to the water park. The girls jumped right in....

The girls in the arcade at the GWL.


Avery and Natale taking a turn on the water toy in the kiddie pool....
BEWARE: Mama walked thru this pool and water squirts from all angles and sides w/o warning. Mama got nailed in the ear, back and over her head. It was FUNNY!!

Mama and the girls taking a rest before we head for more FUN


Our little swimmers

Natale and Danielle squirting who they can....

At the TOP of the slide

1...2....3....GO!!

SPLASH!!

We played hard at the water park and planned to return for a while on our last day. It was time for dinner and we had a great time at dinner, but it SUCKED. For the amount of money you spend on the food. The Food not so GOOD. Mama ordered fish and chips (always good right??) that was mostly breading and the fish was dry when you found it through the breading. Next time, we are heading to the Mexican restaurant down the street or ordering a pizza.

The girls making silly faces...

The DeRemers...Grant, Krissy & Danielle. We had a GREAT time with you. Hope we can plan another trip to the GWL in the near future.....It was FUN!!!

The Prince Family!! We had a great time and hope to return soon. Avery received a gift package for her Birthday. She got a wolf back pack with lots of goodies inside. Happy Birthday Avery! I hope you had a GOOD weekend!!! WE LOVE YOU!!

Christmas Tree HUNT....

We were SUPER EXCITED to get our Christmas tree this year. We were in a brand NEW house and knew that we would remember this Christmas for a LONG time. Joe wanted to get the tree the day after Thanksgiving, but I wanted to get things finished up at the apartment, so we headed out this morning. We didn't have to drive far to get our Christmas tree because we have at least 2 tree farms within a 5 mile radius of our home. It did feel a bit weird that it took more time to find the tree than it took to drive too and from the Farm.

The girls at the start of the HUNT, we were waiting for Papa to get the saw.


Papa and his girls on our hike searching for the 2009 Prince Family Christmas tree

The very frosty and cold Christmas tree farm

The HUNT begins....and we were off!

My pretty little girls taking a trip in the wagon because they were tired from all the walking around the farm.

Papa sawing down the tree

TIMMMMBBBBEEERRRRR!!!

The tree ready for the hike back to the car.


And ALL decorated!!

The Girls standing in front of our Christmas tree.

Crescent Bar

With all the anticipation of our new home, I asked Joe if we could take a mini-vacation before the big move next month. He agreed and actually made it work out that it ended up as a business trip. We planned to head to Crescent Bar, in Quincey WA. Joe's Aunt Natale and Uncle Dave own a condo at the Sunserra resort at Crescent Bar and have offered their condo out to family which is awesome and thank you so much!!! And we invited the DeRemers to join us for the weekend.

On Thursday, Joe arrived home at 2:30 and helped me finish packing and loaded the car up for our road trip. We actually pulled out at 3pm and headed east on Hwy 2. I ended up driving most of the trip and when we landed in Wenatchee we had some dinner and continued on to the condo. The drive was not bad and I loved, loved, loved the Fall colors. I am IN LOVE with orange right now. We arrived at the condo at around 7pm. The girls loved the huge soaking tub and so did Mama. :) Early Friday morning, Joe was off to his meeting in Chelan and the girls and I spent the morning snuggled up sleeping in and watching our favorite "kid shows." We called Auntie Krissy to see when they were to arrive. Papa got home alot sooner than we all figured and was soon catching up on some sleep. I took the girls to the Walmart in Wenatchee to find a swimsuit for me because I realized I had forgotten mine just outside of Monroe and there was NO WAY we could turn around without making it a MUCH longer drive. No suits, but my sister came through with one . We headed home to have lunch and wait for the DeRemers arrival. The next few days are explained with the pictures...enjoy

THE VIEWS

The View from the deck....lots of storms blowing through. Clouds formations were breathtaking and so were the sunsets


from the bridge

My cutie putie

with a silly face, but LOVED her cookie
The girls and Auntie Krissy baked and decorated the cookies on Saturday afternoon.

We went to the pool and enjoyed the hot tub, but not the bugs. Krissy and I took a few golf cart rides and did some arts and crafts with the girls. Avery is writing so many notes these days. She is writing letters that she is learning at preschool. She has memorized writing Avery Rose Prince.
The goof balls....

The cousins, Natale, Avery, & Danielle. While Auntie Krissy and Uncle Grant took a hike, the girls played in the grass behind the condo. Playing "ring around the rosie", and running to hug each other....too flipping cute!! I need to video it! Oh well??

My girls playing the yard

Avery running by....I heart her!!

and my sweet baby girl!!

Auntie Krissy and Uncle Grant took a hike up the mountain. To see her pictures of this hike see her blog. (Joe kicks ass for inserting hyperlink)

them climbing up....

And us watching there progress....

And the hikers returning.

the guys and their girls

Mama/Auntie with my girls

Our yummy Saturday night dinner, Chicken Kabobs and a delicious macaroni salad. Once we got the babies to sleep, we played Mexican train.

Golf cart rides were exciting and the girls giggled most of our trips

Natale ready for a spin in the golf cart

And All US girls on the golf cart ready for a spin...

The girls LOVING their bath!

Mama and Papa in LOVE!!

On Sunday morning we made French toast for breakfast and starting cleaning and doing the laundry. We were on the road by noon. We decided to take I-90 for a the speed limit. :) Joe flew home and I really enjoyed all the fall foliage...I LOVE the FALL. I think my new house might end up with an orange wall?? We got home around 4 pm and then quickly headed to the house to check it out. We had a FUN and relaxing weekend away with some great company. Thanks for coming along DeRemers!! Always looking forward to our next adventure!!

Again here is Auntie Krissy's blog
http://deremerblog.blogspot.com/

Saturday Drive....

We woke up this morning wondering how we were going to enjoy this beautiful day....so we packed a cooler with lunch and beverages and headed for the ferry landing. We boarded the Kittitas ferry and headed for Whidbey Island. We headed to the top deck of the boat to enjoy the view. Mukilteo beach was having some sort of a festival and there were some really large beautiful kites flying in the sky.
kites flying in the sky from the boat

CHEESER!!

Out on the deck...Natale is not too sure about it!!

Taken from the beach of the bridge

There were LOTS of fisherman on the beach. We enjoyed our picnic on the beach, watched boats cruise through the channel, threw rocks in the water and just loved taking in the beautiful surroundings.

BIG WAVE...

Throwing rocks and collecting crystals

Me and my honey on the beach!!

All of US!!

We had a great FAMILY DAY, spending time with each other, laughing and chatting about life and our new house!! Looking forward to our next adventure!!!!