Workin' Out

 We bought an elliptical in January. I have been using it quite a bit and Leila has watched me many a night. She loves to put on her running clothes and run too. I love to see her "tracking her mileage and watching her strides". She is too funny!

Tacoma Children's Museum

On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Leila and I decided that we wanted to check out the newly remodeled Tacoma Children's Museum. We invited Erin and Elliott to go with us. The kids loved exploring, building, playing and creating art. 

The water table. Always a favorite! 

 When we were finished at the museum, we walked across the street for lunch at Subway and then rode the Tacoma Link light rail train back to the parking garage. That was a first time ride for Leila and me. Fun way to end the day!!

Paradise Snow Play

 We spent the Sunday of Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend playing in the snow at Mt. Rainier. Leila had been asking to go sledding for a LONG time. We finally chose a day and did it! When we left the house, it was cold, dark and soooo foggy! By the time we made it to Eatonville the fog was lifting and then when we entered the park it became gorgeous! We were shedding layers of our clothes the entire afternoon. Thank goodness we had three pair of sunglasses in my car...even though Chris had to wear my Mickey Mouse glasses for the day. We had a great day! Leila and Chris went down the big sled run. I got too nervous to even stay at the top and watch them. It looked so steep from the top. They did great and Leila loved it!

What a splendid day! We bought a park pass for only $30 dollars and it is good for 13 months. We are so excited to head back up in the spring for some hiking, which will be a new experience for Leila!!

Piggy Bank

Leila has stuffed lots of money into her piggy bank over the last several years. She finally had it too full to add any more to it so we emptied and counted it. She helped me sort it and then I taught her a little about counting change. When it was all said and done she has $52 dollars and some odd change to her name!! Wow!

We need to add a special thank you to Papa Mike....as we think most of that change came from his pockets!

Snowman Playdate

With the return of school after Christmas vacation comes lots of time without Chris at home. Leila and I try to keep our weekends busy when Daddy is on stage rehearsing, building, writing light cues, directing, etc, etc, etc. The second weekend of January we invited the Neeleys over for lunch, play time and a January craft. Edith would not stand for a picture, but we did get a picture of her snowman. 

Leila's, Edith's and Elliott's snow friends:

Christmas Kitty

Two nights before Christmas, we were sitting at dinner when Chris announced that he needed to go out shopping for more thing. He was very secretive and wasn't gone very long before returning with a large, wrapped gift marked with a tag for me and Leila. Christmas morning we found out that the package was full of kitty needs! We were getting a new kitten! When we had to put Quincy down this summer it was very hard to think about ever getting a new kitten but after 6 months we had started to talk about it again. Chris was still hesitant, but then he surprised us girls on Christmas morning! 

We waited until Monday, December 31st, to start looking. We had quite the time! Leila and I had been to Petsmart the night before and noticed two kittens, but they had an adoption pending. She went home in tears but I kept promising that we were going the very next morning to pick out our kitty. Well, the next morning we ventured, bright and early, to the Humane Society only to find that they didn't have any kittens! And even worse was the fact that the local pet stores that usually adopt the Humane Society animals were also kitten-less. I checked my Pet Finder app (thanks, Amanda!) and ended up calling the Puyallup Animal Rescue. The owner told me they only had two kittens at the Petsmart in Puyallup. I replied, "Oh, we saw them last night and noticed they were in the adoption process already." She then told us that they were available again and she was in the process of calling the pet store to cancel the adoption when I called her. Wow! What good timing!! We raced over to Petsmart and put in an adoption application. A whole DAY later we were finally approved! Geez! What a process. We even had a home visit from the Rescue Shelter's animal foster mom. Chris thinks it is probably easier to buy a gun in Pierce County than it is to adopt a cat! 

Anyway, we have a new kitten. As I write this, he is 3 months old now. He was called Clarence at the shelter and because he was our Christmas Kitty and Clarence is the name of the angel in one of the all-time, best Christmas movies, we kept that as his middle name. 

Meet Rudolph Clarence Kringer. We call him Rudy. 

In some of the pictures above it is hard to tell how big, or rather, how small he was. I think this picture looks more accurate. 

Rudy is one crazy kitty! He is sweet, energetic, lets Leila do whatever she wants with him, which includes pushing him in her baby stroller and LOVES to snuggle!!! Our house feels good with a cat in it again. There is something so peaceful about cat snuggles and purrs. We think Quincy would approve of Rudy's addition to our family.

2012 Christmas Card

  The final calendar flip has taken place and so, as is the tradition, we look back on the year that was and send our season’s greetings to you and yours. Looking back through photos from the past year, I realize that it is impossible to encapsulate twelve months of experiences in a short letter. But, here’s an attempt nonetheless.

Erin and I celebrated our twelfth anniversary in July, one short month before Leila turned five. Half a decade! Watching her grow and experience life continues to be our biggest source of joy, and our biggest reason to be thankful. This year, Leila danced in her very first dance recital, on the big stage at the Panatages Theater in Tacoma. I have to admit: seeing her name in the program was pretty darn cool. She continues to dance this year, sticking with tap, ballet, and jazz. She also played soccer for the first time this year. Though she was a bit reluctant at first, she really got into it over the course of the season, and is already looking forward to next season. We packed the sideline each week and I even got to do some assistant coaching. Or at least, I acted like an assistant coach. Other firsts include ice skating for the first time (she gets better every time we go), her first trip to Canada (“I love it down in Canada! When can we go back?!?”), her first movie date with a friend (Brave, if you were wondering) and her first lost tooth!

As is usually the case in a family of two teachers, we made the most of our summer this year. We bought a new swing set for Leila, put it together ourselves, and it stands strong in the backyard (a little less grass to mow is always fine with me). Having a swing set at home has created a little swinging fool. Just last week, as clouds pass overhead and the rain had stopped for a brief moment, Leila asked to go swing outside. It has been fun to invite her friends over to have a good time in the backyard. We had fun camping at Millersylvania in my parents’ new trailer. Leila loved riding her bike around the campsite, but loved it even more when I pulled her around in the bike trailer; I actually pulled her while I ran, since the piece of the trailer that attaches to the bike was left at home. When we were at home, we completed a mini-remodel of our bathrooms and Leila’s room received a little makeover, namely a new purple wall. We rounded  out the summer with our annual California trip and, of course, Disneyland was on the itinerary. We are definitely a family that loves The Magic Kingdom.

We continue to enjoy attending shows at the Seattle Children’s Theatre. Favorite shows this year included A Year With Frog and Toad and The Wizard of Oz. The three of us are, also, usually in agreement about which music to listen to around the house or in the car: The Avett Brothers (who Erin and I saw in Vancouver, BC), The Lumineers, Mumford & Sons (Leila’s favs, she calls them “The Mumforders”), and Carbon Leaf make up much of the soundtrack our lives.

As a line from one our favorite Christmas movies reminds us, “Life is full of meetings and partings.” This year, sadly we had to say good-bye, not once, but twice. First to Quincy, our loving cat, who Leila always called “Brother.” Later in the year, my grandfather, Papa Don, passed away after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. Though we were all very sad to say goodbye, looking back and celebrating his life helped us remember all of the good times and great memories.

As the year draws to a close, Leila is most likely reading (actually reading the words now!), watching Wild Kratts, or playing He-Man, her newest obsession. Erin might be found doing something supremely crafty, baking, or blogging about the exploits of the Taverns Three. As for me, if I’m not reading a script for an upcoming show, I’m probably picking away on my guitar or my new banjo. In all that we do, we are thankful for the many great things we have the opportunity to experience. 

There is something magical about this season that reminds us to stop and remember the things that are important, not just the things that are urgent. Whatever ups and downs this past year brought, we wish you the best in the year to be.

May the joy of the season, the peace of the divine, and the many blessings of life abound for you in the year to come.

Peace and Good Wishes,

The Tavern Famiy

Christmas in Portland

We had one more Christmas celebration before the year came to a close. This time it was in Portland with my family. We had post-Christmas Christmas Morning at Mom and Jim's house. Aunt Kathy and Uncle Tom, Jonny and Amanda were all there too. Even though is was 4 days after Christmas, the morning still felt just as magical and special as the real deal. 

Leila got a new baby from Aunt Vicky and Uncle Ricky!

Mom and Leila love to play Angry Birds with each other, so this gift was a must for Mom to give her.