A Gorgeous Site You've Got to See!!

Our temps have been in the twenties this past week, and as a result there's been a lot of freezing all around here. So when my daughter got home yesterday, we decided to take a drive to Snoqualmie Falls. These falls are so beautiful year round, and whenever we have out-of-town guests we always take them to the falls. This past summer, we visited the falls three times. This is a picture from the summer.

So when we saw a photo in the newspaper on Saturday, we KNEW we had to go see them for ourselves! All these photos were taken by my daughter, Katie. She is a photo journalism major in her last year in college. This is the way the falls looked yesterday!

I was in total awe when I saw this site! As pretty as her picture is, it still doesn't do justice to how beautiful the whole area was in person! Plus, even though you can't tell it, it was snowing at the time, too!

As we drove back, we came upon this river with a bridge over it. Katie was playing around with the shutter speed on her camera to get this beautiful affect. It was already getting dark, but she was still able to get a beautiful picture.

This was a little side road that was still fresh from the snow.

I made Katie get out to get the photo below. She said she felt like the paparazzi! I told her she wasn't taking a picture of "people"...only their home. LOL! This was a neighborhood we drove through that's on an airstrip. People have "hangers" off their house and then drive their airplanes on the roads to get to the airstrip. I've been back here several times and always noticed this house where they collect old fire engines. There are a lot of trees in front of their house, but we could see at least four old fire trucks. This part was out in the open and made for a Christmas card scene. That's why I just had to have a photo!

The snow was short lived, but it was so pretty coming down yesterday. I know I carry on about the snow, but I don't care how much you dislike it...there is something special about DECEMBER snow. It just adds to the Christmas spirit. By February and March, I'm not that excited about it. I guess that's why I love all those Christmas movies, where it always snows on Christmas Eve! Even in Southern California! LOL! ~~Annie

It's a Beautiful, Wonderful Day! Why.....?

I am just SO excited today! First of all, my daughter just walked through the front door, safe and sound. She's home for the holidays from college. She called us a couple of hours ago saying she had just left and it was snowing hard up there. She goes to college up in Bellingham, which is near the Canadian border. She said it was really bad about the first 50 miles she had to drive, but it got better the further south she traveled.

I'm also excited because now it's snowing here! I know, I know...not too exciting for many of you all who get it all the time, or for those of you who hate the snow. But I absolutely LOVE the snow and now that everyone's home safe and sound, it can snow all it wants! LOL!

And the third reason I am SO excited is

I WON!

Yes, I won Lynn's wonderful giveaway over at

Painting Thyme Needfuls!

OMG! There are so many wonderful goodies...I just can't wait to get the box. Just when I thought I was all finished decorating, woohoo...I get to decorate more! I just LOVE Lynn's blog. She is such a talented lady and I love seeing the things she makes and the way she decorates her home. I have always been so envious of her beautiful home! If you haven't already, you've just GOT to check out her wonderful blog!

Now that my daughter is home, hopefully I can get her to take a few pictures for me so I can post on here. My camera is still on the blink! Hope everyone is having a wonderful time getting ready for the season! I know I am! ~~Annie

A True Christmas Story!

I have been busy finishing up my decorations, been doing quite a bit of shopping this week and finishing up the last of my orders. My oldest son and I are going shopping again this afternoon and I need to pick up some fabric for my youngest son to make something for his big sister. He loves to sew and does a great job at it.

Anyway, my camera is acting up and I can't get any pictures to show you. The picture above is one I took last Christmas. When I put these candles out each year I'm reminded of the year I bought them. I typed this up the other night to post on here, but that's when my camera stopped working. Anyway, just remembered I had this photo from last year.

The Story of the Christmas Candles

This is a true story that happened in the late nineties while we still lived in Utah. Each year one of our traditions is to pile in the car and drive to look at all the Christmas decorations. I always make sandwiches and pack a "picnic" dinner. We've lived in four different states and have always had a special place where we'd stop to eat. Here in Washington, there's a park along Lake Washington that is decorated with beautiful lights. If we're lucky, we may get a glimps of the Christmas boats. Each night these boats, all decorated in Christmas lights, will travel Lake Union and Lake Washington. There's always a boat filled with Christmas carolers. It's a beautiful sight. Anyway...back to my story...

One year back in Utah, we piled in the car to go look at the decorations. Another of our traditions is to pick a certain item each year to count to see how many we see. One year it was plastic Santas, another year it was those lighted reindeer, another year snowmen, and on and on. We try to pick something different each year, and our wonderful retailers with all their new products, have helped us to choose new things over the years.

This particular year it was those plastic nutcrackers that people would adorn each side of their doors with. As we hunted for these we started seeing the plastic candles on the front porches. My oldest son, Sean, fell in love with these candles and begged me to buy a pair for our front door. While I mostly decorate for my kids, plastic candles on my front porch just didn't go along with my current decor. But that was all he could talk about...those plastic candles.

Now I'm a patsy when it comes to pleasing at Christmastime! So I figured I'd start looking for a pair of these candles. I knew of the perfect place for them INSIDE my home and I knew Sean would be happy with that. I drove down to our local hardware store to buy a pair, but there were none to be found. So I drove to a Home Depot over in the next town...still none. I searched K-Mart, Wal-Mart and Fred Meyer! I couldn't find these tacky little candles anywhere. I knew Sean would be disappointed, as he had now added these candles to his Christmas Wish List! I was disappointed, too! Sean is mildly autistic, and he tends to fixate on subjects or items. And all he could talk about that year were those candles! I was not looking forward to Christmas morning and no candles.

About a week before Christmas I went to turn on all the Christmas lights for the evening. When I turned on the tree lights I noticed a long strand of lights smack dab in the middle of the tree wasn't working! I jiggled and played with each light. I hunted down a pair of those little fuses and changed them out...still didn't work. I couldn't have a tree that was filled with lights top and bottom but dark in the middle. How would I get lights on a fully decorated tree, though? I had to find a way, so I hopped in my car and drove down to that little local hardware store to pick up another strand of lights. Of course, being the week before Christmas the only lights left were either the clear white lights or the solid strands of lights in either red or green. Our tree has always been decorated in the multi-colored lights...kids wouldn't have it any other way! So I grabbed a box of green lights and a box of red lights and figured I'd have to make do! As I was walking to the checkout I noticed the display of artificial trees at the front of the store. It was a pretty little display they did each year. It also included those pieces of the large yard art with the tinsel and lights, as well as the moving decorations, train sets and other things. I always enjoyed looking at it. And then, it caught my eye. There straddling one of the trees was a pair of the plastic candles! I couldn't believe what I was seeing. They hadn't been there the first time I visited the store! I know...I had looked! I hurried over there faster than a mom looking for a Tickle Me Elmo doll that year they first came out! LOL! I grabbed them up and paid for everything, and as I was driving home I was just so thrilled I'd found them. I decided not to let Sean know I'd found them and not to put them out that year. Instead, on Christmas Eve, after I'd put all their "Santa" out, I plugged in the candles and had them on each side of the tree. On Christmas morning, that was the first thing they saw when they came downstairs. Santa had left him the plastic candles!

And now, those candles have become Justin's favorite Christmas decoration. He's my youngest son and probably doesn't even remember the year Santa left those candles. Of course, he no longer believes in Santa, but he has a sense of how special those candles were!

But that's not the end of the story. For when I came home that night with those lights, still trying to figure out how I was going to get them on the tree, I drove up to see in the front window a tree perfectly lit! The strand was now working! No one knew how or when they'd come back on, but they worked throughout the rest of the holiday!

Christmas Decorating...Days 2, 3 and 4!

Oh my...what a mess! I haven't done a very good job of getting my decorating finished, have I?!?! At least I finished up the outside and I got most of the boxes unpacked today and taken back out to the garage. So at least I can walk around enough to finish putting things out. The tree is mostly decorated. Didn't put Katie's ornaments up...will wait till she gets home from college. And of course, there's always those "last few" ornaments that "I" have to put up because everyone else gets tired and "can't find anywhere else on the tree to put 'em!" LOL! Happens every year! So, still no good pictures.

Had my son help take down all my fall decorating over the weekend and put them on the kitchen table. Finally got all those packed up and put away!

My friend, Shelley, and I went to A Victorian Country Christmas last night. It's a big craft show at the state fairgrounds in Puyallup and is in three different buildings. The outside area is all decorated in lights and they have carraige rides and a little trolley that's all lit up with Christmas lights that will take you from building to building. Vendors must dress in Victorian era garb and booths are all decorated up in storefront style. Seems it always rains when we go to this show, but last night it was beautiful. The full moon was out and it was freezing cold! Perfect weather to get you in the mood for Christmas shopping! Picked up a cute Santa and some delicious fudge! Just can't stay away from that fudge. LOL! They won't let you take photos inside the building so I pulled this one off their site. Gives you an idea of how they set up the booths.

This is the Santa I got. I don't think he's handmade, but I just liked him so much I couldn't pass him up.

Also wanted to show you a few other things I've picked up at shows here and there. Can't show everything, because some of them are going to be gifts. Never know whose gonna come on here! ;-)

Do you see a theme here? I'm a little partial to snowmen! :)

Well this is Harley's first Christmas and I've been curious as to how he'll react to the trees and decorations. He loves the boxes and all the wrapping. So far so good as far as the decorations on the tree go. He's awfully curious, though, and especially loves the plastic.

I have my manger scene set up on an end table in the living room, and today he walked over the three wise men without knocking a single one over! Hopefully, he'll continue his surefootedness! He and Trixie have been running around and wrestling with each other and acting all crazy. Guess they're starting to feel the Christmas spirit! LOL!

Going to try to finish up by Saturday. Will be back this weekend with some good pics! ~~Annie