The Guddat Gang

This is Jon. Merry Christmas! The excitement of the Christmas season has settled a bit and now we're just trying to keep the house from exploding from figuring out where to put everything Santa brought. We're pretty laid back on the gift giving, preferring to make it more of a family time than a gift giving time, but there are still a few new gems in the house. We headed down to Brittany's Uncle Terry and Aunt Cheryl's house a few days ago and Santa always meets us there. Adelyn was super excited to see Santa if you can't tell. Delaney and her homeboy. Adelyn and her good friend. The picture is blurry, but still a good one of all of us. Delaney and Adelyn get Santa to themselves. Delaney and her newest cousin, Kamryn. Adelyn earned the title of Rudolph while she and Santa sang "Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer". She got to keep the nose and antlers and wore them in the car on our way home. Christmas morning with the girls. Those tubes peaki...

This is Jon. It's been way too warm for late December. We've had three very trivial dustings of snow since November, and beside one week where the temps were single digits, the weather has been unseasonably balmy. It's even been high 40s a few days. Rain, snow or sun, we've routinely gone on Christmas Eve hikes with the girls and this year was no exception, walking along the Yakima River. We were playing hide and seek and Adelyn and I took it up a notch in our hiding. With the river receding a bit during the wintertime, Adelyn found a hidden spot by jumping down off the trail and into the dry riverbed, hiding underneath a tree since the dirt has been washed away from years of erosion. Very proud, but a bit concerned for what antics she'll continue to pull. The girls writing their letters to Santa on Christmas Eve. Both girls had many questions for the big man, but Delaney really grilled him. Adelyn putting out the special oats for the reindeer along with ...

Tis the season for choir concerts. Delaney and Adelyn both sing in the Kittitas Valley Children's Choir and of course the school choir at Kittitas Elementary. Little Adelyn is the youngest in her choir division (and we think the cutest). She had a few nerves on the idea of singing in the full concert hall at CWU, but got up there and belted out her tune. Very cute. Delaney moved up into the classification that ranges from third to eighth grade. We've been really proud to watch her develop in this group. Both girls sang together when all choirs (five of them in the county) joined together onstage. Adelyn decided it would be better to stand with her arms crossed. Delaney spent much time trying to discipline the girl right next to her. Comical and a tad bit embarrassing as well. The girls in their Christmas concert outfits for the school concert. Adelyn and her friends, Mika and Savannah. Delaney and Maggie.

This is Jon. It got dang cold last week with night time wind chills in the single digit negatives and day time highs of low single digits, obviously awesome tree hunting weather. We were going to go the weekend before (especially since it was in the high 20s/low 30s) but schedule's got fouled up. The girls, frolicking in the parking lot near Blewett Pass. This is where we had gone the year before, had some success, but we decided on taking a different trail from the same parking lot. It was about 20 seconds after this picture was taken when we realized that two layers wasn't enough for Adelyn. She and Mommy stayed back in the warmth of the heated seats and a warm car. Dee stuck with it and ventured into the great, snowy, cold unknown. We enjoyed the sled and a few hills when she realized that two layers wasn't enough for her either. So we backtracked a bit so she could enjoy the warmth of heated seats and a warm car. The third trip out was the charm. It took me 45 l...

This is Jon. Never a dull moment in the house or on the schedule. Welcome baby Kamryn! Logan and Lyndsay welcomed Kamryn a few days before Thanksgiving. Very cute kid. Proud auntie right here. Adelyn loves to wash dishes and she actually does a bang up job. The girls taking a break from it all to catch a favorite show online. Rare moment where they're not yelling, playing or arguing, just chilling out together. Adelyn will do pretty much anything I tell her to do and part of the chores around the house this day was to fix a clogged drained filled with hardened grease that Adelyn the dishwasher had poured down the drain a couple of days before. Making mommy's birthday cake together.