First Attempt: Not So Bad

This was my first attempt at fixing my hair after washing it following my hairdressing appointment. It NEVER turns out looking the same, but fortunately I liked how it turned out this morning! I got it done on Monday, but didn't actually wash/fix my hair yesterday due to not having a shower. So today was the first day I did it on my own. And I now own a diffuser for my hair dryer. It's kind of fun! So we'll see how well subsequent days go... As a comparison, here's a picture of how it looked on Monday after Rachel (my hairdresser) cut and styled it:

And yes, that is MY OWN HAIR. It is not permed, nor did she use a curling iron. Crazy, eh?

Cold Much?

This is our bathroom faucet this morning. It may appear to be completely uninteresting, but note this: The faucet is turned on FULL BLAST for hot water. And this is all that's coming out. That's right, our hot water pipes froze. It got down to around 4 degrees last night and when I got up to get ready for work, there was no hot water. Fabulous. So Jason started a fire to get the house warmed up, and I heated water on the stove. I poured the hot water out of the kettle into a bucket and used that with a washcloth to wash my face and body (I felt quite Victorian) and then dressed for work. Fortunately I got my hair done yesterday so it still looked semi-presentable without being washed. I worked from home for two hours until I had to be there for a meeting, hoping the hot water would come back on and I could shower. No such luck. Fortunately, when Jason got home a couple of hours later, water was pouring out of the hot water faucets, so we showered this evening. Needless to say, we're taking precautions the rest of the winter!

Perseverance

In spite of our creek being frozen over, water continues to flow over the top of the ice and pool when it meets the other branch of the Little Walla Walla River that runs in front of our house. It's fun to watch. And when it warms up, you can hear the ice cracking. Welcome, winter!

Traveling Babies

Today we spent the day with the Nickoloffs. We met them at their house around 10:45 and headed to Tri-Cities, where we met up with Merrie Beth's mom and grandma, and our friend Melissa. We all had breakfast/lunch at Denny's, then the five of us younger folks went shopping. We went to the mall and then ended up at Wal-Mart (well, the girls did - the boys headed home for small groups). We were going to go to Target afterwards, but Kayla got very fussy (she didn't like the freezing cold wind - it was around zero degrees with windchill) and she was tired and getting hungry, so we decided to head home. As soon as we got to the stoplight to turn onto the highway, both girls fell fast asleep in the back of the car, and MB and I enjoyed a quiet trip home with easy conversation. In this picture, the girls (Chloe, left, and Kayla) are playing contentedly with their toys while the adults enjoy their food at Denny's.

Parade of Lights

Tonight we decided last-minute to check out the Macy's Light Parade in downtown Walla Walla. Seems it's the thing to do on the first weekend of December. It was cold. (Around 20, maybe?) So we bundled up and headed into town about half an hour before the parade was to start. We had been warned to arrive early to find a decent parking spot, but we didn't quite make up our minds early enough to manage that. So...we chanced it anyway, and found a nice parking lot about two blocks from where the parade was set to go through. Not bad! Kayla slept in the car and stayed asleep for the first third of the parade. While she slept, we took pictures and enjoyed the hot chocolate and hot sweet potato soup we'd brought in thermoses. When she woke up, Daddy and Mommy took turns showing her the lights. She was...mildly impressed. We saw some great floats, including a snowmobile "sleigh" pulled by light reindeer, a Jazzercise group dancing through the parade, and a group of 50-60-year-olds line-dancing on a flat-bed truck lined with lights. Really fun! And definitely rang in the Christmas season!

Little Decorator

We got our Christmas tree today. We bought it at a little roadside stand on the highway for a fraction of what people pay at "gourmet" tree farms like Klickers. And it's still a nice tree! Kayla helped us hang some ornaments. What a good little helper!

Renewed Tradition

Tonight we went to our first tree-lighting ceremony at the university. They used to do it, years ago, but somehow the tradition died...perhaps because the tree they used got sick and had to be chopped down. This year they purchased a large (30-50 feet?) tree and set it up in front of the administration building. Then they invited everyone to come out and watch them light it up for the first time. They plan to make this an annual thing, and I think that's fantastic! We also enjoyed hot chocolate and delicious (tasted like home-made) Christmas cookies. Somewhere, someone was passing out candy canes, too, but we missed that. The tree was beautiful, as were the other lights in nearby trees and on the ad building. It was cold, so we bundled up. Kayla ended up falling asleep, she was so warm and cozy. The only thing cold was her adorable little pudgy red cheeks. She's actually wearing the very first piece of clothing she ever owned: A Tigger bundler from Grandma Sevison. It's the first time she's worn it, actually! And it was adorable. (And Ruth, just as a note, yes, I DID pick out that hat and those gloves on my own. They came with a scarf, too. And yes, I do realize they're pink. I don't know what's wrong with me...)