Second Christmas in Spokane

The day after Christmas we drove up to Spokane to see my family.
The boys were very excited about another Christmas and took to wearing the Santa hats immediately.




They were also super excited about the snow. When we got there it was just hard and crusty, but Avery still spent a good part of the first day out in it.

Emmett got an elephant mask for Christmas and my cousin Tammy modeled it for us all. My cousin Lori from Tennessee who I haven't seen since (I think) I was 16 when our Grandma Benjamin died, was also visiting.


And then the snow came! Lots and lots. Well, about six inches anyway. Avery ran alongside Grandpa the whole time he used the snow blower (which was on half the block!) letting himself be blasted by the snow.


He has about 4-6 inches of snow plastered to the side of his head here!


Have I mentioned Travis is training for the Newport marathon this summer? I haven't, but he decided to right after Thanksgiving. Even in all that snow he went running. Look at the frosty sweat on his eyebrows.


Travis and Dad got the driveway dug out so we could go out for me to take pictures of the snow covered parks. At one of our stops, we took the boys into the greenhouse in Manito Park. Notice Avery is now wearing a giant flannel coat and Grandma's gloves? Yeah, well, turning yourself into a human snowman by getting blasted by a snow blower makes for very soggy outerwear.


The greenhouse was decked out in lights (which weren't on) and had candycane flower arrangements.


And the boys really liked Santa's sleigh and reindeer.


Back home, it was time to build a snowman! Carson "helped" for a very short time and then was ready to come in.


Carson is our puzzler. He's so like his mother. So he stayed warm and dry while Travis and Avery worked on the snowman (and Emmett took a nap)


That broken lawnmower deck saw a lot of mileage from Avery. The snow was way too fluffy for rolling, so Travis had to painstakingly pack it on a handful at a time.


Don't forget to catch the snowflakes!


This was cute, Avery leaned companionably up against the snowman and gave me a big smile through the window, clearly posing for a picture. That doesn't happen often, so of course I was happy to oblige.


Carson took a break to show his Curious George how progress was coming along on the snowman.


Once Travis had the snowman to height, he marked lines where he was going to sculpt it to look like it had been rolled. And then suddenly our snowman wasn't a man anymore. But only long enough for Travis to get a laugh from me.


Finishing touches. So cute that Travis sticks his tongue out when he works sometimes.


And there you have it. After a lot of work and a few hours, here's Travis' ~6' 9" snowman.


More Spokane to come.