It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Winter...

You can tell winter is in the air .....

...when the Christmas tree hunt ends in success! (by the way, it is OK for babies not to wear socks when outside in the cold)

...when indoor activities revolve around art and horse play!

...when Carol gets (more) crafty (than usual)...

...when there are more kids in the house than one can count!

....when the grass under the snow is greener than in July..

...when babies hang out in front of the wood stove loooooong after bath time!

...when the hot cocoa flows like it's on tap...

...and the sledding never ends!

(until someone gets cold!)

You know winter is in the air when tree is trimed and the stockings are hung with care!

Man, I'm Glad I Married This Guy!

...he rocks...and so do his kids! :)

What Are You Doing For Thanksgiving?

These are pictures of our Thanksgiving last year. My how we have changed! It will be Nelson's first Thanksgiving OUT of the belly. We will be here again this year, but thinking about and missing our families back East.

We are trying to start family traditions for each holiday. On Thanksgiving morning, we go for a family hike (after watching the parade of course).

Do you have any traditions that you do on Thanksgiving?...or any other holiday for that matter?

We are always looking for more good ideas! A new one we might try out this Christmas is a Christmas Eve lantern walk in the snow (snow providing)........................

Overheard:

Amya and her friend were having lunch together. This is what I heard from the other room:

Friend: My mommy and I went to Wal-Mart last week.
Amya: Oh!
Friend: (excited) We went down a one-way street!! My mommy said, "Oh no! I'm a pickle!"
Amya: That is silly. Did you want to eat her?
Friend: No. I had to cover my hears because of all the horns honking.

Tommy Turkey Loves To...

!!!!!!!DANCE!!!!!!!

R.I.P. Hockey and Dockey

You were good girls!

Enjoying A Little Reprieve!

Hanging Out In The Yard

This is the first picture I've taken of lewis in 4 years

Cece Was Here...

...and now she's not :(

But we had fun when she was! We dragged her along trick-or-treating with us. She snapped these pictures for us.....

****Update****: The family picture is of our Halloween costumes. Amya did a last min. change and decided to dress up as "Snow White" ... which was really the dress I had just purchased earlier that day. Nelson was a pumpkin, I was a monarch butterfly (the pic doesn't show the tutu or wings) and Dan was a bag of coffee beans. Amya wanted him to be a prince, so he made a crown. A lady on the street asked him if he was the "Paper Bag Princess" which we have never heard of. (not pictured was Cheryl who dressed up as a tourist from Michigan)

Bear!

BOO!!!

We had a Halloween party today and I think the moms had just as much fun as the kids! Shelly and I co-hosted (I highly recommend this....sooooo much less stress!)

We had a pirate, fairy and witch show up!...

...not to mention Curious George...

...Amelia Earhart, a ghost and a woodland fairy!

Even Little Boo Peep...

...and Charlie Brown came!

And whoever dressed up as Baby Nelson was SPOT ON!

What are you going to dress up as for Halloween??

Uh-Oh!

Amya brought me paper and a marker and asked me to write out her "Naughty and Nice" list for her (since she is pretending to be Santa today). I guess Nelson has some making up to do!!

Who could ever think that this boy is naughty?!

Truth be told, this ain't no angel, either!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAROL!!

You are the best! we love you!!

It Get's Him Every Time!

Shortly after we took this video, a woman smiled and leaned over to say, "They made my ovaries hurt!"

Stir Crazy!!

Nelson is ready to bust out of this house...we're all a little stir crazy from being sick...

Small Town....Good People

This is a picture of my friend, Liette. She is a doctor. I've been sick for two weeks and Nelson just got it. Liette stopped by my house, TWICE yesterday and gave us both check ups!.....she looked in my nose and ears, and listened to Nelson's chest...all on our front porch! You just can't beat that!! I love my community! ...thank you Liette!!!
(Nelson is doing better, but did have to have his first dose of albuteral...poor guy just may take after his sister, cousins and Grandpa)