New Year Resolutions...

I have several New Year Resolutions this year, one of which is to keep up on our blog. I can't believe how much I slacked last year in regards to this. So, here I am. Writing it down for all to read... I know I've read that if you write down your resolutions you are more likely to succeed, so I'm testing it out.

Happy New Year!

We brought in 2010 at home with a few friends. It was a good night... good friends, good eats, good drinks, good cheers! Welcome new year - It feels like it's going to be a good one!

Hannah and Reese had a great evening... Hannah had no problem staying up past mid-night (for those of you who know Hannah, know that's nothing new).

Good times... (Mikey, Jinoo, & my dad, Thad) Some girls... (Sarah, Brandi & Katie) My step-mom and I had been working on this puzzle for a couple of days and it was too much a tempation to let it sit unfinished... we had lots of help.

Christmas 2009

We spent Christmas this year in Seattle (our first Christmas here in the 8 years I've lived here). My dad and step-mom are here for the holidays, YAY! Christmas morning was so fun with Hannah. I waited (impatiently) next to her for a hour, waiting for her to wake up... finally at 8:15am she woke up. She looked at me and said (in her her very matter-of-fact voice), "Mom! If you don't go to sleep, Santa won't come!" At which time I was so happy to announce that it was morning and that Santa and his "prep & landing" team had already come and gone, and it was indeed time for us to wake up and see the wonders of Christmas morning.

Hannah was pretty timid coming down the stairs but once she got down, she was excited to see what was waiting for her. Our conversation went something like this:

Mom: Hannah, what did you get?!?

Hannah: Mommm... it's a kitchen set. (in a tone that was very- seriously?)

Mom: Wow! What do you think?

Hannah: I'm so EXASPERATED!

Once she got over the shock of seeing what was left out for her, we had to persuade her open the rest of her presents. All she wanted to do was "bake". She is enjoying her kitchen set, her new table and chairs, lots of stuff for her kicthen playing, and many more wonderful gifts from friends and family. Thanks for everyone for making our Christmas so special!

Annual White Elephant Gift Exchange & Christmas Party

Another year, another gift to prove what a great sport my husband is... We had a great time at the Carlisle's and look forward to many more years of this great tradition! Here are some pictures of the night...

The goose made it back... this year filled with vodka jello

A toilet seat that opened to a picture of my husbands face... gotta love how creative our friends are. btw: it also played music when opened!!!

The night would not be complete without a Leg Lamp!

A little Christmas Spirit to go around... or not.

And thanks to X (you know who you are) who brought a beebee gun that Jinoo bartered for. You know, one man's junk is NOT another man's treasure...

Santa Visit 2009

Hannah has been talking about visiting Santa for the last couple of weeks. Mostly because whenever we go anywhere and she wants something and I say NO, she simply tells me - "OK, I'll just ask Santa for it!" As her list is VERY LONG, I was very interested in how much she would remember. We stood in line, outside, in 29 degree weather, for 1.5 hours! Hannah was such a trooper - I think Jinoo and I were more cold than she was. She was just so excited to visit Santa. Once we got into Santa's little "workshop" it was nice and warm, but didn't want to take Hannah's warm sweats she had on under her dress off - thus, Christmas dress, sweat pants, and Converse. When Hannah saw Santa I could tell that she was VERY nervous. But she marched right up to him, sat on his lap, and waited for him to ask her what she wanted.

Conversation went like this:

Santa: What do you want for Christmas?

Hannah: A Kitchen Set

Santa: Do you know how to cook?

Hannah: YES! (in a tone like duh!)

Santa: Well, then do you think you could make me some cookies and leave them out for me?

Hannah: Sure, what's your favorite?

Santa: Chocolate Chip or Sprinkles.

Hannah: Yeah, I think I could do sprinkles.

Then she got down from his lap and gave Santa a big hug.

She really had a hard time smiling for the picture - I think it's because she was concentrating on being so brave, and she was! When we left, she told me, "I didn't cry or ANYTHING!"

Gotta LOVE Scottsdale

Swimming in November... you just can't beat it!

Halloween 2009

Here are some pics of our Halloween weekend..

Princess Aurora (aka. Sleeping Beauty)
Hannah had to wear her glow in the dark skeleton
pjs under her dress.

Candy Haul 2009

Cousins: Spiderman (Jason), Sleeping Beauty (Hannah) & Strawberry Shortcake (Jazlyn)

a whole lotta pumpkin...

October starts my favorite holiday season. I love Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. There is just something magnetic in the air this time of year (and I'm not talking about the cold, which I hate). To start the season off, October 1st marks the day I can put up all my Halloween decorations. This years decorations have a special addition. Jinoo won a HUGE pumpkin (I'd say over 100 lbs) thanks to his, in Hannah's words, "strong muscles" and great aim in slinging tiny pumpkins at a small target. I wonder if this pumpkin will avoid the yearly demise of being smashed by the local teens? Although this picture doesn't do justice the size of the pumpkin - keep in mind the smaller four pumpkins weighed in at almost 60 lbs. Fun stuff... except, what do I do with it once Halloween and Thanksgiving are over?

September Catch Up...

Hannah does Gymnastics twice a week. She took dad one
day and thought he was a lot of fun.

It was so warm that day... but we loved to cheer...
"GO HUSKIES"

Enjoying the Huskies WINNING!!!

Spent some time at the beach...

August Catch Up...

Jinoo and I celebrated our 5th wedding Anniversary at
the same restaurant (and table) our very first date was.




Hannah did 4 weeks of swim lessons (5 days a week) in
a pool that was heated to 100 degrees!

Two BIG Birthdays...

Today is my sister Amy's 30th birthday. It really is a big birthday that should be celebrated with your friends and family... But here I am 1500 miles away - wishing I were in Phoenix to take my sister out for her birthday. So instead, she gets a gift and card in the mail (which is supposed to arrive today) and a phone call. Love ya, Sis! Happy Birthday! {Picture is of Amy and her oldest daughter, Jazlyn, age 6}

Today is ALSO my brother Tyler's birthday. He is 13 - which is also a big day - now a teenager. Again, sad not to be able to celebrate with him. But he is on vacation - and I'm not - so he should have a great day. Hugs to you Ty. Happy Birthday! {This picture is a couple of years old. But, he is anti-picture and it's impossible to get a picture of him smiling right now}

we're melting... melting...

This week has been a HOT one here in Seattle. We have had record temperatures (over 100) mix that with Seattle humidity (over 80%), add that most homes in Seattle do NOT have AC - leaves most of us Seattleites melting away in the sun we wait most of the year to see. We have been eating out most nights this week in order to escape the heat; even if it's only for an hour. Everyone has the same idea - the restaurants and malls are crazy busy (you'd think it was Christmas).

Our bedroom has shown a temperature of 96 for the last two days (un-sleepable) so we have set up our aerobed in front of the sliding glass door in the living room to try to get a little breeze. It is all very funny to hear the things everyone is doing to try to stay a little cool. Air conditioners and fans are sold out as fast as any store can get them in. With most stores answering their phones - "Hello, Thank you for calling (insert store name here), we're out of fans (or air-conditioners), how can we help you?"

Alas, I don't tell you this to complain (I spend most of my time here in Seattle patiently waiting for the sun to show it's face). I tell you this for a little laugh about the Northwest. It has a funny way about it. If you want sun, Seattle... watch out!

Fourth of July

For the 4th this year, we went with a bunch of friends and spent the weekend in a cabin on Hood Canal on the Olympic Peninsula. We had a great time and it was so beautiful... (and for you Twilight Fans, we kept our eyes out for the Cullins. No sightings... so sad!) More pictures to come...

View from the cabin's deck

Cookie Monster

Hannah is much like her mom in that she *loves* cookie dough. We're also the same in that we would rather eat the dough than the actual cookie. We made a double batch this morning in preparation for the holiday weekend BBQ (I'm usually in charge of the sweets). Hannah loves to help; her idea of helping is tasting the dough in the various stages of mixing. I have to fight with her just to wait til everything is mixed together. For those of you who think I'm a terrible mom for letting her eat something with raw eggs... well, we sometimes live on the wild side here at the Mattila home.

Family Visit

It was so great to have family visit us from SLC. We had such a great time and it was so fun to have house guests at our new home. We kept busy, here are some highlights of our week...

Grammy and Hannah spent the evenings reading books

We took a trip to the Woodland Park Zoo (Hannah with her friend Reese)

On Father's Day we had brunch at Salty's on Alki - complete with chocolate fountain

Me and my dad on Father's Day

We took a boat out into Puget Sound, thru the locks, and into Lake Union. We stayed outside on the deck the whole trip - it was pretty cold, but the sites were so cool!

Even the captain commented on how "tough" we were. I didn't think it was that cold, maybe I turning into a true Seattlelite?! Scare me!

She loves her Reeses to Pieces

We are so lucky to have such great friends here in Seattle. Since we don't have any family here in Seattle, they are our family away from home. Hannah has a very special friend named Reese whom she loves to spend time with. They are so cute together - Hannah really looks up to Reese and wants to do everything she does, which comes in handy when we are trying to get her to do things such as trying new foods (not so handy when she learns some of the 3 year old sassy stuff). Overall, they are really very cute together.