Christmas...

I can't believe Christmas has come and gone already. We had a very lovely Christmas. We went to church in the morning and I have to say I kind of wish we had a church service every Christmas morning, it just fits. It was a very windy morning and at the end of the service the power went out but then came right back on. The power in our neighborhood is so sensitive that it goes out when someone sneezes. We pretty much expected it would be out when we got home and sure enough it was. We packed all the presents into the car and headed over to my parents'. Their power was still on and they have a wood stove which very much adds to the ambiance of Christmas. We opened presents and had Christmas dinner. Daniel, Daisy and I spent the night and Rue went home to sleep with the dog inside so she wouldn't have to spend the cold, windy night outside. The next morning was so nice. I woke up to Daniel's sweet little face staring at me. I got up and built a fire. Mom got up soon after and I made peppermint mochas for my dad and me. Mom made pancakes with her new Kitchenaide stand mixer (my dad surprised her with it for Christmas) and we just enjoyed a nice relaxing morning. I told mom that next year we needed to just plan on spending the night over there on Christmas whether the power goes out or not. She agreed with me. Our power had come back on some time in the middle of the night so Rue didn't freeze completely. :)


I think heading to Leavenworth at Christmas is becoming a tradition. We went up on Tuesday after Christmas. Leavenworth is a Bovarian Village nestled in the Cascades. It is always so nicely decorated for Christmas with Christmas music playing in the town square and of course there is SNOW! It was snowing when we got there and didn't stop the entire time we were there.



In the middle of town there is a little sledding hill. Rue sent Daniel down it. He was a little scared at first but by the time he reached me he had a huge smile on his face. Daisy went down a couple times too.

Rue pulled Daniel around on the sled. It was too cute!


We went to the Starbucks there and it was CROWDED! We heard someone say it was a 30 minute wait. We decided to find coffee somewhere else. We found a cute little bakery that had lattes and self-serve brewed coffee. It was quiet and cozy. I didn't get my Starbucks employee discount but that was okay. Daisy and Daniel shared a hot chocolate.



We looked around in the shops and then we ate dinner at the Munchen Haus. It's an outdoor grill that serves all kinds of kielbasas. They have outdoor fires and heating lamps. We found a nice dry table under a couple of heating lamps. Rue had been waiting all year to eat one of these kielbasas. Daniel was just as excited but he was more excited about the bun than the actual dog. In the picture of Daisy choosing her condiments you can see some steam. That is from a huge, steaming pot of SAUERKRAUT!! That's my favorite part of the meal. :) The Munchen Haus is such a great place to eat. The cold and the snow coming down with the heat from the heat lamps and the smell of woodsmoke from the fires and Christmas music playing just makes for some great atmosphere.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!