Strikes, Gutter Balls, and Spares at Lava Lanes

Bowling on Mikayla's birthday...not even sure what year or why that tradition began - but it sure has stuck.  And, thanks to the upgrades at Lava Lanes in Bend, we're now able to add "Birthday Lunch" to the mix.  And, what quality food that is, huh?  Nothing but the best for our kids!  (Need I even point out that it IS vacation?!!!)

This superstar turned into a teenager today, so it was time to celebrate. 

Whitley was a little slow to show up for the party.  Despite every effort to keep her awake until after the festivities (for the ride back), she fell asleep five minutes prior to arrival, so Steph kept the car running and hung out watching the snow fall from within their vehicle in the parking lot for about a half hour.  What a good mom.

That 35 minutes was all Whitley needed to get her second wind and come in ready to play!

I think it should be noted that prior to this bowl, I had two strikes in a row, but was willing to sacrifice my potentially awesome score to let this little gal throw the ball with me.  (Who am I kidding?  Those first two were a fluke - I'm just setting myself up for a convenient excuse!). 

The birthday girl and her daddy...

It should be pointed out that Whitley ABSOLUTELY ADORES TRAIG.  And Ellie comes in a close second.  Those two are her favorites - who she asks for most.  Traig can always illicit the best smiles and laughter from Whitley...

IN CONTRAST....this picture speaks a THOUSAND WORDS of the relationship between Whitley and Brayden.  There's no novelty with Brayden and they treat each other just like siblings would.  Yes, he's obviously a step up nicer than he is with Mikayla (I should hope so), but he's constantly teasing her, renaming her toys, pestering, etc.  And, this is how Whitley responds.  I LOVE THIS PIC - and the few following - such perfect sum-ups of how these two relate.

You know Michael is having a great time when he starts intentionally photo-bombing our pictures...

Everybody took turns helping Whitley bowl - which led to the least paid-attention scoreboard of all the games we've played together.  

I don't know what made Whitley so temporarily sad here, but know that she really didn't stay that way for long.  

Another selfie by Mikayla - that girl has mad skills!  I love how our group is all smiling - and then there's Whitley, yawning, as if she's bored of it all....

And, then there's the bowling that was posted on Instagram before we even got home.  Check out that snow fall in the parking lot!

Thanks again, Mikayla, for being willing to share your birthday with us instead of your girl friends in Eugene - and giving us such a great excuse to leave the cozy house and play together...

Living in a Snow Globe

Years from now, when I reflect back on the many Christmas-time trips taken to Sunriver (15 so far!), undoubtedly I'll consider 12-29-14 as one my favorite all-time days.

To be fair, a day is always made better when you are coming out of a time of pain or finding a resounding relief from some major stressor.  That was certainly the case for me, waking up sore, but not in pain.  And, oh, what a beautiful thing that is.  But, even more beautiful (yes, even more than relief from a headache - because it is so rare and SO MAGICAL!) was waking up to see that much more snow had fallen overnight - much more than the "less than an inch" predicted.  Michele and I were just all smiles and absolutely giddy in our early morning hot tub routine as we watched the sun rise and snow fall.  

(This was the view when I woke around 6am....I was dancing all over the kitchen as I got my Russian Tea prepared to take out with me....)

Though the forecast continued to report another "less than an inch" expected (from two different sources) - there was a special weather advisory that we followed with interest and optimism.  And, the best news for us, was, due to a cold front affecting almost the whole country, temperatures wouldn't rise above freezing before we were due to depart on New Years Day - thus securing the fact that any snow that fell would stick around.  

And, indeed, it kept snowing.  We had planned to leave for the bowling alley around 11, so Mikayla, Ellie, and I took some time prior to give Whitley a REAL taste of what fun this white stuff could be. 

SO GORGEOUS!!!

She was loving it - taking her time, not in any hurry as she explored every little groove of the snow.

Mikayla's so good at taking these selfies!

THIRTEEN today, can you believe it?  

We got such a kick out of this little hat....

None of us can trace back as to where Whitley learned about snow angels - or how to make them.  But, she was very good at it without any instruction given!

I sure LOVE this kid!!!!

When we returned, prior to leaving, we thought we'd take advantage of our "Winter Wonderland" and pose for some family pictures.  The plan was to take a group one at the bridge over the river en route to bowling.

Whitley started everyone out on the right note...

I think this is my all-time favorite, best looking picture of these two.  Kind of cool to consider they look even better now than they did 22 years ago!

I love Ellie's expression in this one too.

Is it too soon to put together next year's Christmas cards?

I love how pretty Whitley looks in this one, but she's really not that demure in real life!

 

As this was the view on the way to that bridge to take the group picture, we opted to take it after bowling.  Truly, it was a snow globe experience.

However, post bowling, the wind had picked up, and the driving was even more treacherous (fortunately, all three of our guys are phenomenal snow drivers....) - so we chose to just stage and take our group shot right outside our house.

 

The snow was falling so hard and we were getting so wet and cold, we literally only took three shots.  The first was good - this was the second, and the third focused on the snowflakes vs. our faces.  But, hey, we all agreed it was good enough!  And, because of the conditions, our smiles are all incredibly genuine! 

 

PICTURE PERFECT!

 

The kids then decided to don their own snow clothes and take Whitley out again for some snow fun.  Brayden was a good sport pulling her and Ellie over to the big kids rendezvous point in the cul-de-sac. 

To start with, Traig took the bike out to meet up with them.  As he left Michael asked which one of us would be willing to take him to the ER once he was done... ;)

That look of Mikayla says, "Can you believe this?"  or "Could I ask for anything better on my 13th birthday?"  The answer to both, "Nope, not really!".  Altogether, we estimated that about ten inches fell by the time the storm pushed through - a far cry from the "less than an inch" predicted.  Remind me of that, please, in the future, when I stress over the weather forecasts weeks ahead of our trip...sometimes God will choose to just pull His own miracles - and we are so thankful this was one of those years that truly happened.