Ostling Birthday Party for October, November, & December Birthdays

I don't turn 12 until December 5th but my mom's side of the family combined 3 months of birthdays together, October, November, & December, this year so I got to have an early birthday party. We held it up at our neighboring cousins, the Ostlings, house. Their dad, my uncle Ridge, works at Microsoft so they had the new Xbox Kinect set up to their flatscreen tv, which in about the size of a wall, and played it a lot of the time we were there. I got some very cool presents this year including an added up amount of $40.00, a 6-pack of Altoids, an electronic dog, a messenger bag, a Coldstone gift card, and a 5 pound bag of mini marshmallows. For desert mom & I shared a big chocolate/peanut butter cake, which was supposed to be doubled the size we made it, but it was already big enough. Much later on in the party we went a show by Tim Noah down in downtown Snohonish with some of the Ostlings and our grandma. We got home late and went straight to bed, having church in the morning we needed to get up early.

-Emma

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today, was Mom's much anticipated birthday, and children of all ages were bustling about blithely, with the pleasant thoughts of their self-bought or self made gifts, which one and all were thoroughly appetent to bestow upon our dear mother. All that is to say, except one alpine, eldest child, who had no gift to give yet.

Our disconcerted Caleb, at the moment, could see no way to purchase a gift and to still conserve its stature as a surprise, or how to make one which could still be venerated through the years.

Caleb was still pondering these things in his consciousness when Mom and the other siblings left for swimming. Unanticipatedly, vaguely around twenty minuets later, the doorbell rang. When answered the doorway greeted him with the sight of a FedEx pulling away from the front driveway. And a very big package sitting on the porch.

After bringing this bulky box into the living room, I scratched my head over who would be sending my Mom a Hoover SteamVac MaxExtract. While I was puzzling over this, a more significant notion came to mind. To wrap it. With time and rapping paper running short I barely managed to finish the job before the van pulled in.

Boy were they surprised to find a three foot high birthday present sitting by the front door! And special thanks goes to Papa Ray for sending that gift at such a convenient time.

Officially 11 and a Half!

On the 5th this month I officially turned 11 and a Half! That means only 6 more months till I'm 12! I have been keeping track of things I see and want since January and have a pretty good list already. The two main things I want are a new bike with gears and a 4-person innertube for our dinghy. I still am amazed that next year I'll be 13; the same year dad turns 50 (I can't believe I just revealed his coming age). Anyway, I'm happy Being 11 (for now). -Emma

Whistler Vacation

We just got back from a week-long vacation in Whistler, BC. We try to do something special for the kids’ birthdays and birthday #8 is earmarked as a destination vacation. Emma turned 8 on the 5th and things worked out for us to celebrate in Whistler. Here are some comments in the kids’ journals:

“We went to Whistler in Canada where there was lots of snow. Mom bought us a red sled and three ‘magic carpets’ (rectangle plastic sheets with cut out handles)! And boy were they fun! You could steer side ways and still keep going forwards (you could slide down the hill sideways all the way down unless you tuned back into position – you turn by leaning). Once we went to a park and there was a hill with a slide that went all the way to the bottom. So we sledded on it – it was like a ski jump!” [Caleb, age 10]

“My favorite part of the trip was ice skating, swimming, climbing, sledding and playing.” [Emma, the birthday girl]

Colin [age 6] drew pictures in his journal of sliding and sledding at Helicopter Park as well as the whirlpool at the Meadow Park Sports Centre pool.