Sammamish Christmas - Part Three (Post-Christmas Fun)

The day after Christmas, we went downtown with my siblings and their spouses to see the Little Mermaid at the 5th Avenue in Seattle. Before the show we stopped at the Sheraton to look at the gingerbread houses. Every year they do a huge display, and this year everything was themed for Harry Potter! I would have loved to get a closer look at all the details, but there were TONS of people and we didn't have time to wait in the huge line so we just walked past the back side to try and catch a glimpse.

The play was also fun, as Disney productions always are. Ariel is one of Sophie's favorites and I bet she would have loved it if she were a couple years older. The way Flounder was portrayed was a little weird, but Sebastian was fantastic and probably my favorite part of the show. 

The one on the right is Hogwarts and it even had moving staircases!

 

After the play we stopped at the house to grab the kids and my mom, and then continued driving up to the cabin. It was snowing hard and not the best travel conditions, but we made it and the storm brought several inches of fresh powder - perfect for skiing! We went to Hyak with my parents and sister Natalie the next morning and had great time on the mountain!

One of our big activities was to try an Escape Room as a family. Ours was an Egypt themed adventure and they had really cool decorations and the chambers were even covered in sand. It was the room with the hardest rating, but we did AWESOME and solved all the puzzles without using any clues and still broke out with 15 minutes to spare.

And speaking of puzzles, I also found time to do quite a few during our trip. Sometimes I had help, and sometimes I was on my own, but had a good time either way.

Sophie got really spoiled while we were visiting. Normally quiet time at our house means playtime in her room by herself while Davey naps. At Grandmari's house it meant watching a movie in the media room with a bowl of popcorn and special drink. Davey seemed to enjoy it too :)

My sister celebrated her birthday on December 30th and the tradition is to go racing at K1 Speed and then have lunch at Olive Garden. I was really excited to go racing because I have been pregnant the last couple times they have gone and was really happy that this time I could go too! I struggled a bit the first race because my helmet kept sliding down over my eyes and I got last :( After that race, I switched my helmet for a youth size and it worked so much better and I won! Worst to First!!

Happy Birthday Nat!

We also took Sophie to the Festival d'Lights at the Bellevue Botanical Gardens that night. Admission is normally $10/person, but we got in free thanks to my Thanksgiving Point pass, which is part of the American Horticulture Society. We got there right at opening before it was even all the way dark, and were able to enjoy some time on our own before the crowds got too crazy. They gave us a paper with different critters to look for while we walked through, and she found them all! 

This aquarium display was her favorite

A slug - ewww

On New Year's Eve we planned to go to a session at the temple (without realizing it was a holiday), so we got all ready in the morning and almost walked out the door before remembering it would be closed. It's the thought that counts though I hope.... instead we played lots of games and then packed up to start our trip back home.

We spent the night at the cabin. Dave went to bed at 9:30, so I spent New Year's Eve on my own, but I had a fire, a fresh snow cone, and Harry Potter on tv so it was still kind of fun. The next morning Sophie played in the snow with Dave, while Davey and I finished up travel preparations inside. 

Helping Dave clear the driveway so we could leave

Someone learned how to climb stairs

Farewell Washington!