Christmas in Seattle: round 4

I think this is finally the last post for our time spent in Seattle! And a long one at that, get ready. We did so many fun things, here's my attempt at trying to document a few of them. Thanks to you mom and dad for providing us with such a fun trip!!! Me and the kids head back to Michigan tomorrow, back to the cold and snow. Tuesday is forecasted to greet us with 19 degree weather. Should be fun. Ha! Hopefully we have enjoyed enough time with family to get us through the supposedly freezing Michigan winter.

Gingerbread houses. Once again Joe just sat there eating frosting and candy the entire time. Enough to make me sick just watching him.




Lots of morning walks with Grandma. They have a fun little trail that starts right across the street from their house. I really am amazed how beautiful it is here, even in the winter! And the weather was nice most days. A jacket, hat and gloves and you could stay outside all day. Until the rain comes.





Iron Chef Amarcuma! This is becoming a Marcum family favorite event. Divided up into two teams, Chef Kevin versus Chef Jessica (Steve's wife, not me). And for the first time in Marcum history, Chef Kevin was defeated! Way to go Jess. She pulled out some pretty amazing dishes. But it was a close match. Each team has 1 hour to complete 4 dishes. The secret ingredient this time around was apples. SO many yummy dishes. The best part? We get to eat all the food. The worst part? Cleaning up.



Pete was the videographer and a judge. Just look at that intensity.



The judges table... the best roll to play if you ask me!

The adults (except for my sweet mom who stayed at home with the kids) took the ferry into Seattle one night and had dinner at a very nice restaurant. The kind of place Pete and I won't be going to on our own for many many years :) On the way back we had to wait 45 minutes or so for the next ferry, and I looked over and noticed every single person had their phone out and was gaming/searching/texting away. Had to take a picture of it. Then I went and sat down and joined them.


Colt, Joe and Kate on the tramp.


Tea party with grandma. I guess it's alright for the kids to get in touch with their feminine side every once in a while :)



The pregnant ladies... pregnant together once again. Brittney is 6 weeks behind me, if you can't tell. We were pregnant with Kate and Dan together too. Brittney gets a nice round belly, you still can't hardly tell she's pregnant, my belly looks like a torpedo.


Since the boys went to the football game, us girls took an afternoon and went to lunch then got pedicures. A welcome activity for a pregnant lady who can barely reach her toes anymore.




How to Host a Murder...


The kids made cookies with grandma. Always an event that is looked forward to.


My mom took the kids over to their neighbor's house to look at and hold their chickens and roosters. Their neighbor's have a small chicken farm and sell their fresh eggs. The kids seemed to enjoy it!





My dad's office is just off the main family room upstairs, and Joe would often run over to the glass doors when my dad was in there and yell, "Hi Gampa!" Then push the door open and sit in with Grandpa for a few minutes.


Kate and John came upstairs all dressed up one night. We can give credit to their aunt Audrey. She kept the kids busy playing school, playing dress ups, pretending to be in a band, she thought up all sorts of things to play with them! I told my mom when she comes to help when the baby's born she needs to bring Audrey along. That way Audrey can play with the older kids, my mom can hold the baby, and I can sleep :)


The kids loved playing with their uncle Andrew. They ran around shooting each other with the play guns, Andrew built them a big box house, pulled them around on blankets and let them play the games on his phone. What am I going to do when it's me who has to actually entertain these little munchkins!?


New Year's Eve! Spent the night eating and playing games. We had an early celebration with the kids at 10 so we could put them to bed, then continued the game playing till midnight. Pete was at home alone and went to bed early, and I wasn't able to get my New Year's kiss :) Oh well. New Year's Eve is overrated anyway.