Christmas Fun...and snow!

We were blessed to be able to spend the holidays with family in Hood River, Oregon...we celebrated a late Christmas on the 28th, and
we were so excited to receive a "white christmas"!
The snow kept falling, and we actually had to stay a day later than planned because of a big storm coming through...
but this is one time when we were happy to stay put!
It was a fun week filled with laughs, Wii, sledding, baking
(which of course means eating!!),
games, and just enjoying time together as a family.

The Pichura kids all lined up with their "big gift" -- Red Sox jerseys!

Caleb and his new outfit...too cute!

Faith seems to be in an ongoing Broadway production...it's always drama with her!

This was the main attraction throughout the week--
"we" played a lot of Wii!! :)

David's dad and our nephew Titus.

This dog has patience like I have never seen!

The infamous Gingerbread contest has begun!! Get ready for some crazy pictures! I don't know where the Parker's get their "talent" :)

Paul's masterpiece...I'll let you guess.

As you can see, Andrew was really getting into the Spirit of Christmas with his gingerbread man.

Bryan's left us speechless. :)

Micah's Star War's gingerbread man.

Mom Parker's adorable gingerbread house...I think she could start a business!

My entry-- orphan Annie and her dog Sandy.

Grace's amazing gingerbread house...she is becoming quite the artist!!

David's finished product...he spent a lot of time on the Wonka house, and I thought it was pretty cute, but, apparently, others didn't, because he was knocked down to second place this year...the new championship title went to:

Kristin's cute clown!

Mery Christmas from the Parker's!!

Merry Christmas!!

We hope you all have a Merry Christmas celebrating our Savior!

Merry...Thanksgiving!

These pictures are just a tad bit late, but I wanted to post a few pictures from November before Christmas pictures roll around! David's parents and brother Andrew made the trip up from Oregon, and my parents were here for the week visiting,
which made this Thanksgiving extra nice.

Starting the morning off with a healthy dose of cinnamon rolls! :)

David's brother Andrew enjoying some snacks.

The star of the show: the turkey fry!

Table set and ready to go!

The Parker men and their technology! ;)

(Some) of the Parker's! It was great to spend some time with everyone!

Mom and Dad Come to Seattle!

My parents have been patiently waiting for the "opportune time" to fly out and visit...they were trying to avoid all the rain that welcomed them on their first trip! :) However, circumstances didn't work out for a summer visit, so they decided to take their chances with November, which is usually one of our rainiest months!! I must say that all things considered, I think they had great weather...and a great week!

We had a really fun time visiting with them, and showing them around our lovely city. The first time they visited, we had only lived here for 3 months, so we were still figuring things out for ourselves...This time, it feels more like home, and we actually own a home, so that was fun to show them for the first time! I think by the end of the trip, my parents probably felt like they needed another vacation, as we had them moving around a lot! :) They flew in on Thanksgiving Day, which is probably enough to exhaust anyone! Then we took them all around Seattle, and even did some day-trips...We had a great time seeing new sights with them, and are so thankful they came out to visit us!

We took a day trip to the picturesque town of Leavenworth. It's a Bavarian-themed village nestled right below the Cascade mountains...definitely a tourist town, but we loved it! :)

We had to try a soft pretzel in Leavenworth!

Another "must" in Seattle: the Space Needle!

We went to a Christmas Party for my work, with lots of different Christmas Trees...this was the German themed tree-- my Dad's favorite!

I think this was my Dad's favorite part of the trip. We went to a Japanese restaurant in West Seattle, and it was a treat! Dad said it was the best Japanese food he's had since Japan!

Mom and I tasting some chocolate gelatto and hot chocolate at a fun shop downtown called "The Chocolate Box"...yes, it's one of my favorites! :)

Dad and I overlooking downtown Seattle.