SIPRESS SCOOP

Sadly I have actually experienced the loss of a number of friends & family members over the years.   We have all seen the Lion King; it is simply “The circle of Life”.   But this is the first time, in my ADULT life, that I have loss someone who meant so much to me, my childhood, my character, my soul.   I don’t have a single happy childhood or holiday memory that doesn’t include my Grandma Rosalie.   I was a lucky only grandchild with the exception of my deceased brother, Shawn.     Anyone who knows me knows that I’m close with my family & this loss has hit us hard, I find myself realizing that I have to find a new normal & that things will never be the exactly the same.   ~A few of my 30 years of MEMORIES~ When I was younger my Mother & I spent the night before any holiday at my Grandma’s house.   Easter we dyed eggs, woke up to beautiful dresses, hats & our version of baskets (wagon, cabbage patch strollers, makeup case). ...

Before December began we had decided to hold off on Christmas until after Josie’s Birthday, we had even decided to do everything from the 15 th on to celebrate with the “Sipress 12 days of Christmas”.   We ran out of energy and money before we could do every little activity we had discussed but did manage to enjoy a ton of festive holiday activities.   Although ice skating & caroling may come to mind when you think of seasonal activities, with two young kids we spent a few evenings watching holiday films & reading Christmas themed children’s books as a family.   However, after witnessing Issac’s excitement every time we drove by a minivan with a tree strapped to the top we decided to get our Christmas tree on Sunday the 11 th .   We wanted to revisit the spot we went last year so we drove out Highway 18 to Black Diamond to purchase our tree from a local “you cut tree farm”.   It was a chilly evening but we bundled up & had a great time.   They ...

We celebrated Josie’s 1 st Birthday with a Penguins & Pizza Party at Alfy’s Pizza in Lynwood. It was actually difficult to find penguin party supplies that were not for a holiday party but I settled on Happy Feet supplies & they looked great. We had a fabulous group of family & friends including; Grandma Mel, Auntie Nicole& Warren, Gramma Laura & Mark, Cousin Jackson, Erin & Ryan, Maddison, Haley, Diane & Matt, and Jennifer & Lily. Josie got a great selection of clothes & toys as gifts. After the party we went home to enjoy some family time. We ate left over pizza, watched Happy Feet & played with Josie’s new toys. It was a PERFECT DAY, thank you to everyone who came. This pic is of Josie at her regular check up. On Tuesday the 13 th I took Josie to her 1 year well child check.   Josephine was 29 inches tall & weighted in at 20 lbs, 5 oz.     At past visits our pediatrician had expressed a small concern for a h...

Josie's 1st Thanksgiving has come & gone. We were having such a nice relaxing day that I didn't take my usual pelethora of photos but we had a great day.  I hope that you & your family had a great Thanksgiving as well. here are ten great things from the turkey day. Enjoy! 1) we got out the door early & hit the road, missing traffic. 2) Magically we were the very last car on the ferry, each way!!! 3) We traveled to Oak Harbor to my Great Aunt Sharon’s to enjoy some ham, lasagna & of course turkey with our family.   It was great to see & catch up with people we only see once a year or less like my Great Uncle & some of my cousins.   The kids had a great time visiting & playing with everyone as well. 4) Issac was such a good boy & pleasantly handed out the Thanksgiving cards we had made, until it was time to go & he caught a glimpse of Grandma’s card hang out her purse so he had to “take his paint home”.   I secretly mailed th...

November passed like a series of overwhelming sneezes.   The next month is filled with exciting holidays and celebrations so it is my intention to post about each of these exciting events.   So until next week when I get to pleasantly write about Josie’s 1 st Thanksgiving, here is ten exciting things that happened this month.   1-       On Saturday November 5 th we finished up our breakfast & headed to downtown Auburn to attend the annual Veteran’s Day Parade.   Josie slept most of the parade all cozy in the Bjorn on Tyler’s chest.   Issac was fascinated by the cars, motorcycles, bands and people.   I chased down one of those salesmen pushing a shopping cart full of overly priced blow up toys to purchase Issac a flag.   He was a good boy about not hitting people with his flag & was quick to hold it up when I reminded him that the flag shouldn’t touch the ground.   2-       Tyler’s birt...

  It’s that time of year again. Time to deck the halls & be jolly, or so the saying goes.   Every year I have to force myself into the joy.   Each holiday season comes and goes & I celebrate on New Year’s Eve that I made it through another year.   This year Issac is old enough to start to understand what is happening around him, so I think we’ll get a Christmas tree before December 20 th this year!   I have even already started to get our Christmas cards together, watched a couple holiday kid movies & even took out a few winter decorations.   BUT I’m internally fighting it, but my brain knows it is here, EVERYONE is on fb talking about that fat jolly man Santa. So now I must face the fact that the holiday season is in full swing, on TV, at the stores and even in our conversations.   I haven’t always been a Grinch.    As a young child, my Mother & my family celebrated the holiday season with a variety of yearly traditions. ...

October has come & gone. It was an amazing month all gearing up to the big day: Halloween!   I was super excited to take Issac trick or treating this year.   To prepare we did a ton of pumpkin crafts, checked out some Halloween themed books from the library and watched a few Halloween movies including A Word World Halloween DVD, Spooky Buddies & others.   Here are our top ten highlights for the month.   1)       On the 5 th we celebrated a friend’s 1 st birthday.   I went with my friend Jen & her daughter Lily to Pacific Science Center with the kids.   I packed some Pb&J’s & we had a great time. 2)       The 8 th I took Josie to a birthday party & Issac got to see his first theater movie with Dad.   Tyler took Issac to see Cars 2 and Issac did a great job, lasting almost the entire film’s length. 3)       The 9 th Tyler’s Mom & Mark came over f...