Hazel is not a very good ski jumper

It was a very merry Christmas

For the first time in years, Dad had Christmas Eve AND Christmas day off.  A weekend followed that, so Hazel took her parents to her grandparents' house in Sammamish for the holiday.  We HAVE to get more presents! she told them.  And there was no lack of presents nor relatives to love on Hazel in Sammamish.

Grandma and Grandpa bought Hazel a Little People nativity scene, complete with palm trees.  Uncle Nate puts it to good use by "crowning" Hazel.

Having a lot of people who love and adore you is good- most of the time.  Then, it can become a little exhausting.

The ever-growing Kaiser family.  The Hizz has a new cousin on the way!  She can't wait to show him or her the ropes.

Toddlers do not pose very well for photos.

Playing Wii ski-jumping.  Mom and Dad make a very conscious effort to not let Hazel watch tv or play video games, but hey, it's Christmas.  Let's eat some refined sugar and stay up until 9pm while we're at it!  Long live the holidays!

Rain, rain, and more rain

Uncle Nate and Aunt Marissa came down from Seattle for a fabulous weekend of skiing.  Except it rained...a lot.  Everyone bagged the mountain on Saturday and went to Beacon Rock instead- in the rain.

Hazel catches raindrops on her tongue.

A wet family picture in the clouds.  Not much to see here today.

Hazel was angry to have missed another chance to use her season pass.

After a wet afternoon, everyone joined the entire metro population of Portland for Zoo Lights.  At this point, Hazel has been to the holiday parade in Bellevue, WA, PIR Bike Lights, and Zoo Lights.  Enough! she says (or maybe that was her mom who said Enough!).  

And, then, on Sunday, Hazel sucked it up like a good Northwestern girl and braved the rain to go to the mountain anyway.  Except for some walks outside, she mostly made the rounds of the lodge- again and again and again, and then fell asleep on Uncle Nate.

After driving home in- guess what? MORE RAIN- Hazel went back to bed for a nap.  She was SO over the rain.

On the mountain

Hazel was supposed to spend two days on the mountain this weekend, but Mom came down with bronchitis, so Dad went up and ski patrolled by himself on Saturday.  Mom and Hazel spent the whole day in their fleece pajamas in front of the fireplace, so it wasn't too bad.

On Sunday, though, Mom couldn't take it anymore and all of the Barkers went back to the Hood.  It looked like this, sunny with 5 inches of fresh, cold powder:

Hazel spent her morning entertaining various skiers in the lodge and then promptly conked out in front of the fireplace.

Afterwards, Hazel quickly made friends with the big kids in the lodge and basically following them everywhere they went.  Those big kids are just so AWESOME.

Lights by bike

Every winter, PIR creates a Winter Wonderland of lights.  Usually, visitors drive through the light shows.  This year, the show was opened up to bikes for one night only- no cars allowed.  Unfortunately, bike night fell on one of the coldest nights of the year.  The temperature was only in the 20s, but the wind chill made it a true arctic blast.  Mom and Dad hemmed and hawed a little before finally deciding that the Barkers are tough.  Everyone bundled up and headed out in to the cold on their bikes.

Before boarding her chariot aka bike trailer, Hazel shows off her winter fashion.  Remind you of anyone you may have seen in A Christmas Story?  The gloves and boots (and fleece socks you can't see), by the way, come from Molehill Mountain, the only company Mom has found that makes true winter clothing accessories in Hazel's size.  Ten points for quality AND affordability.

The family, with the hidden Hazel, at the entrance to the light show.  Mom and Dad had on all of their ski clothes.  Hazel was nicely enconsed in her chariot and didn't feel a breath of wind.  Some babies have all the luck.  She did, however, point to lights (as best as she could with big, warm mittens on), when asked.

Once back at home, in front of the warm fire, Hazel plotted which ornaments to destroy first.  So many to choose from, so little time.

Christmas tree hunting

It was an atypical Saturday for the Barkers.  Dad was on call and the skiing probably wasn't any good anyway- it was 12 degrees on the mountain with no new snow for over a week and a half.  Mom made the most of the situation and raced the USGP Cyclocross race early in the morning.  In the afternoon, everyone went in search of a Christmas tree.  Turns out that Hazel is a pro at choosing the best tree.

Hazel explores the finer points of wagon-riding. 

Dad and Hazel admire a mighty fine tractor tire.

Despite clear instructions to guide Mom towards some affordable Douglas Firs, Hazel really wants a very expensive Noble Fir.  Can you say "after-school job" for the Hizz?

On the way back to hot cider, cookies, and a warm fire.