Woo woo a trip to spokane

We drove down to Spokane to meet up with John's mom this weekend. John mapquested it and said "it's only 5 hours to Spokane, it won't be so bad!" 1. Mapquest actually says 5 hours 51 minutes, you don't understand rounding 2. We are traveling with children and every rest stop is going to be a production 3. It is the middle of winter and the roads are going to be terrible which will slow us down.

But his mom had never even met Eloise and really wanted to see John and the kids, so I gave in and we made the trek. And everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves, even if we did end up having to stay an extra night because I couldn't bear to be back in the car on Sunday after driving all day Saturday.

John's mom had the worse end of the trip though, it's 10 hours from her house to Spokane and she was traveling with dogs. Everyone had a good time, but I was bad and forgot to get out my camera until John's mom was leaving so I got very posed pictures.

It's like when Dad's family gets together and they all stand in a line and you take their picture, but with more kids hoverhanding dogs and less line. Also I hadn't fixed anyone's hair yet so Eloise has the sheepdog look going on.

The greyhound apparently said something funny and distracted everyone so that the little dog could lick Eloise right in the face. He has trouble holding his licker.

Yet more Elf games

Fina got up this morning and said "Mommy, the elf is playing cards with Porkie and a moose wearing socks. And they got into the M&Ms!"

I darkly suspect Porkie of cheating for some reason. Bonus comedy option:

That angel looks rough. She's got a good poker face.

Elf shenanigans

John and I wanted to set the elf up photocopying his butt. Because that is hilarious, in case you didn't get the memo.

But we settled for the more kid friendly version, photocopying himself. The kids think it's hilarious, but he should have made 2 copies because they've spent the day fighting over who gets to color the photocopied elf. (And I moved him slightly after it printed, plus I don't want to waste more ink, plus I had to shut the printer off to make the light go off.)

Stuffed animals

I made this raccoon for my nephew for Christmas. I liked him.

He's simple, but nice. I made up the pattern as I went along.

But then I made this leopard for his sister. I was afraid it would be too hard because it had lots of pieces and confusing instructions.

But it went together really nice. And it doesn't really even look handmade. I'm afraid the raccoon will seem cheesy in comparison.

Elf on the Shelf

I don't want to be all "that guy" and clog up everyone's facebook feed with pictures of my elf on the shelf every day, but I can't help but take pictures of him sometimes when I feel I was particularly clever with placing.

Fishing in the fish tank.

Having breakfast.

Fi had to sit down and eat with him. They had a nice visit.

I think we interrupted his grooming ritual, he looks like he's just gotten out of the shower.

Halloween (Trunk or Treat version)

My mom outdid herself on costumes again. Serafina wanted to be a fairy and my mom made her a gown fit for a queen. Eloise was a nurse, because we thought it would be adorable, and she's not old enough to pick for herself. She was not exactly pleased with this turn of events once she saw Fina's gorgeous costume.

We packed them up and took them to the trunk or treat party at the church, they had this set up by the door so you could pose your kids and take a nice picture of them in their costumes. Note that someone is missing, she laid on the floor and cried when I suggested she go stand by Fina for a picture.

Serafina enjoyed the coloring. Eloise stood nearby and frowned.

They took a brief break from the activities and Serafina patiently let Eloise give her a check up. Get it? Patiently.

Someone suggested to Eloise that she might like to try a game. She was scared by a lot of the costumes, she wasn't just being a brat.

Speaking of scary, John decorated our trunk super creepy. It looked like a tomb.

Eloise was finally happy when I put her in her car seat and gave her her blanket and 'fier. Although she did adorably cooperate with the trick or treating part, she actually said "trick or treat!" and "thank you!" which is more than I can get her sister to do.

The payout. Eloise actually got more candy than Fina, probably because she's so freaking adorable. Then they went into the bathroom and turned off all the lights to play with glow sticks and Serafina managed to burst one and spray herself right in the eye. It was awesome and distressing at the same time when I ran back there to find her face glowing. (We called poison control and they said to toss her in the bathtub and flush her eye with water for 15 minutes. She's feeling better now.)

Ian and Sean's new duds

These onsies were nice because they pretty much fit so I just had to hem them instead of doing all the cutting apart stuff (although they're a little wide, but they work). Then I had a bit of fabric left over from the bottoms of the onsies so I made them some new underpants. Sean insisted on tucking his shirt into his because the blue ones came out a little short. Also this is probably the worst picture of Ian and Sean in existence. Just toss them on the floor and snap away.