Dueck's Roost

Eight is an exciting age. At our home it's especially great since it happens to be the age that the kiddos get to start either Cub Scouts or Activity Day Girls, and also the age when our children get baptized (I think there will be a baptism post to follow).  For Brook's 8th b-day, he got to enjoy this delicious cake!! With his amazing (and young;) parents and family. Maybe even  more fun than eating cake with his super cool parents, he also got to go with everyone to Chuck E Cheese's for a fun evening out. I know Chuck E Cheese's might seem (be) a little ghetto, but it has always been such a perfect place for our family--with our size and range of ages. It's big enough that there's enough to do for an hour or two, but small enough that everyone for the most part can roam around on their own.  And of course the cousins got to join which made it that much more exciting!! They had a great time playing some games.  Visiting and eating ...

And to finish out the month of October we have James' personal history/heritage project ... He made crepes with Grandma D. to show a traditional family recipe. They made them the night before and then we rolled them up with cinnamon sugar and a drizzle of syrup in the morning. They were delicious!! The best part (well, for me anyway) was that I got to volunteer in the classroom that morning, keeping an eye on the project displays as other classes visited.  And also in October, Kevin talked me into a morning hike on the Cable Line Trail on Tiger Mountain (in Issaquah). Here's what Washington Trails Association has to say about the hike ... "What a workout! The Cable Line Trail on Tiger Mountain is not for the weak of heart, nor the weak of knees. A steep, slippery incline awaits you here, climbing over 2,000 feet in just 1.5 miles to the summit of West Tiger 3.  True to its name, an old cable line is occasionally visible in ground as hikers trudge to the ...

I don't have a ton of pics for Halloween 2014--which is kinda a good thing, since I'm trying to keep my blogging quick;).  Most of them are actually from our traditional family pumpkin carving! And for the final product ... plus chocolate chip pumpkin bread for dessert!! And now just a few of our also-traditional church Halloween carnival/trunk-or-treat ... These two helped me set up the picture backdrop--made by our amazing and very artistic YW (young womens) group. Looks like James is getting into character as a tough-guy football player;). In case it's not obvious, Mae's an 80s chick.  You can't tell it from the picture, but this little cutie Transformer (Optimus Prime to be specific) thinks Halloween is pretty darn awesome! And for a couple of family pictures before the evening ends ... 

Right around the corner from Porter entering teenage-hood we celebrated Mae in double digits--the big 10. These kids just won't stop growing up:/. It's definitely exciting and scary at the same time!! It was Mae's "family party" year. Lucky for her she has a pretty fantastically amazing family so the whole birthday thing kinda rocked;).  She had an amazing time baking her own birthday cake with Grandma Dueck.  And was excited to learn to make marshmallow fondant!! Gracie got to come over and join in on the fun, which made for a pretty amazing birthday right from the start.  They decorated the cake with polka dots and Pepperidge Farm cookies--yum! Soon it was time to open some presents!! Or at least Joseph thought so! She got a new mirror for her room. Yet another stuffed giraffe. A cute new (high-low) skirt. And her very own KitchenAid mixer in one of her favorite colors--aqua! We were all having fun vi...

Okay, so the weekend we returned from Hawaii, this amazing fantastic kid turned the big 13!! Meaning we officially now had a TEENAGER in the house. I don't know if this is way super exciting or entirely terrifying--but I guess I'll go with both:-).  We had an especially fun time celebrating as, in addition to the grandmas and auntie Jill's family,  Grandpa Jacobs happened to be up from Portland and Aunt Carrie was visiting from Japan!! Woohoo!! It was awesome to be together celebrating this great day:). The new teenager got some fun b-day gifts--crazy teeth, a cool book, a magnetic toy that K and I brought back from Hawaii, a Seahawks hat, and more! We also had a tasty time eating a very thoughtful cake that the other kiddos made for him--in case it's not obvious, it's a book cake. Perfect for Porter!! After the indoor fun, the kids all had a wacky and wild time out on the trampoline--must have been a beautiful Fall day.  And then som...

Okay, where to start, where to start??! September 2014 Kevin and I decided to venture to the big island of Hawaii in celebration of our 15th anniversary. I know I need to keep this brief, but I can't do this post without explaining that my amazing, wonderful, ambitious, hard-working husband is not the type to lay out on a beach for days on end. Not even hours on end in fact. Minutes could be pushing it. This guy likes to be moving and going! If I wasn't aware of that fact before, I certainly became aware during our week in a tropical paradise.  We stayed at the Hilton Waikoloa Village Resort which was very nice, well-maintained, and super relaxing. The only drawback to this place is that, while the property is amazing and happens to have it's own fun little lagoon, there is no actual beachside access directly from the resort (at least none that includes soft warm Hawaiian sand). Pics of our hotel room and view from balcony. There are however a couple of ...