Does your family have any crazy holiday traditions...?

Well, I must tell you about ours. When G-Ma was a little girl her parents would make Swedish Potato Sausage for Christmas. My Dad grew up making it, I grew up making it...and now are girls are growing up making it too. This year we did it at our house...will my kitchen ever be the same?!? :)

You start by peeling 30 lbs (yes 30!) of Potatoes

Then cut up a ton of onions (killer on your eyes!)

Then you drink a beer...oh wait- not sure that was in the recipe!

But we added it :)

Next, you grind all the onions

This is done with G-Ma's parents original grinder, made in the late 1800 or early 1900's

Then you grind all the potatoes.

Dan married into this-poor guy! :)

Ground pork is then added to the mix

....and a lot of spice!

Now comes the gross part- thankfully Dad like this part!

smooshing... gooshing... mixing everything together

That's right Peyton- Gross! :)

(not sure anyone will want to eat this after seeing how it is made-hehe)

The next you use a press (another original- which is now 3-legged) to make the links

spreading a part the casings

Press is ready to go.

Meat in the press and casing on the tube

...and the cranking has begun!

Done! Look good to you?

The girls were very interested this year.....

They had quite the production line going on

5 hours later, they were done (I say they, because I did not help this year-hehehe)

27 quart Ziploc bags were filled

Ridin' the Santa Train...North Bend to Snoqualmie & back

The old railroad that runs between Snoqualmie and North Bend does a Santa Train from Thanksgiving to Christmas. The train departs from North Bend and it is a 20 min ride into the Snoqualmie Train Depot. You then get to stay for an hour and visit with Santa, play on the trains and warm up with hot chocolate and freshly made cookies. This year Grampie, Grammie Jo and G-Ma came with us. The girls were soooo excited!

Waiting to board the train
Aboard the train and ready to go

Me and our beautiful girls!

Dan & G-Ma

There were four passenger cars and a steam engine. The conductor said these trains were built in 1915...so almost 100 years old! He said they were built the same year as the Titanic, but these cars are still floating- lol! It is a cold and bumpy ride...and that is what makes this trip so fun.

Ridin' to Snoqualmie

We were in line to see Santa and G-Ma got pulled aside by the Constable. (She gets in trouble where ever she goes :) He said that Santa asked him to give her an early gift. Her eyes lit up and what does he give her......

...a piece of black coal. So funny. Can you see it in her hand?

Then, we get closer to the door where Santa is and she wanted a picture with this cute old man. He said, "Yes, go ahead, I only let good lookin' ladies touch my beard!" So she got to tug at his beard. G-Ma is soo0 funny. As you can tell she enjoyed herself

Girls with Santa inside the Snoqualmie Train Depot

Inside another train, they have cookies and hot chocolate. This is an old Aide Car...and it has the original kitchen- which they still use coal to cook with.

Playing outside on the trains

Bailey- 5 yrs old

Peyton 3.5 yrs old

Aboard the train back to North Bend. They do such a beautiful job decorating the inside of each car

G-Ma and I...oh how love that lady :)

Visit to see Santa

We took the girls to Bellevue Square to see Santa a few weeks ago. I did not have my good camera with me so these are not the best pictures....made me realize how much I LOVE my Canon SLR!
Rudolph and his team by Santa's workshop. As you can tell, we were a ways away...we had a 45 min wait to see him

Bailey anxiously awaiting to get closer

Ready to enter Santa's workshop

Inside Santa's workshop, you can see the production of his toys (very cool set up)

Beautiful Peyton

Bailey standing by Santa's desk...bunch of kid's Christmas lists on his desk. The of course would not let me me take a picture of the girls on his lap, but the one they took was very cute. This was the first year the girls were not scared to sit on his lap without us. They were so excited to tell him what they wanted too.

Peyton: mermaid doll with wings for the bathtub

Bailey: Pink doll, with pink hair, arms and legs

Bellevue Botanical Lights

This year we visited the Bellevue Botanical Garden of Lights...and it was very cool!
http://www.bellevuebotanical.org/events/fmevents_gardendlights.htm
I guess volunteers start in July or August putting lights up. The designs are done with small strands of lights and zip ties. The detail is incredible in each design.

This picture became our Christmas Card picture
Best Buddies!
Peyton, Cole, Bailey & Presley



Dan checking out how detail

Peyton & Dan and JJ & Presley

The waterfall in the middle actually had lights that blinked so it looked like the water was falling. This was an incredible design, and this is all done on the ground (there is no water there) and around some of the plants

The Welliver's

Presley, JJ, Cole and Rebecca

*Best Buds*

Here you can kind of see how the lights were placed together