Post-Christmas Visit/Tubing at Snowqualmie with Auntie JoJo

We Milam men love our frequent visitors and Auntie JoJo is definitely at the top of the list . . . her visits are always fun, easy, connected and fun (yes, I said fun twice).  Christmas or post-Christmas for the boys' birthday have been a staple since the boys were born and we went with the latter for 2015. Two big blog highlights to share from this year's visit . . .  

First up, a fun filled kitchen dance party with the boys . . . some serious moves on display here:

Second great experience is uniquely PacNW . . . tubing!  Being from Texas, we only knew of tubing on the water, but in Seattle and Canada, many of the smaller skiing mountains carve out land in the lower part of the mountain and create grooved lanes down the hill with a tow rope (or snow stairs) to climb back to the top.  Heading down is as simple as grabbing an innertube, waiting in a short line and then heading downhill

The boys went into the activity with excitement . . . that is until they saw the mountain . . . they almost immediately transitioned from planned solo rides to many, many duo rides with Daddy or Pai. Noel finally got the courage to go solo on the last run of the day . . . Ethan opted instead to pass on the last couple of runs and enjoy warmth and hot chocolate inside the lodge.  

Truly a big hit with everyone . . . 

Our initial take on the tubing locale . . . 

Ethan and Sweet Pea Ethan showing some genuine excitement . . . 

Furry Auntie JoJo with Noelly giving some serious side eye

As I type this last caption, I realize, "did we go the entire day with no pictures of Daddy?"  I guess so !

Lastly, a couple of great action videos . . . up first, a duo run:

And, in closing, Noelly's solo run to close the day . . . so super proud of himself afterwards.

Christmas Gift Highlight: Pie Face

As you know, we continue to be sporadic and without continuity in our posts this year - you might see a post from Christmas followed by one of our summer vacation, so bear with us.

The holidays were awesome all around - relaxed, no travel and enjoyed time with family and friends.

We have a lovely tradition of opening gifts and eating throughout the day - no huge frenzy that allows us to really enjoy the day.

One of our other tradition is Uncle Ron's gift giving.  Always from a good place and sometimes from a place of questionable judgement, he takes on the role of Uncle in the right way.  His gifts are a mix of ones that might be a hair too old for them (reference motorized ATVs at first Christmas and  motorized Mini Coopers for second Christmas) with ones that are spot-on.

This year's gifts contained one that I (Pai) was dubious of and ended up being the HIT of Christmas - Pie Face.  No explanation needed - just watch the videos below:

I decided I'd go first thinking "It won't set off on the first try - I was wrong:



Then Noel showed us no-one really loses - whip cream in the face is a delicious way to lose:




Then Ethan took a turn:




And Uncle Ronnie finally got in on the fun: