So about Christmas...

...I kind of forgot to take pictures :)

We had a wonderful day, but we mostly used the camcorder on Christmas morning & the few pictures I did get look groggy & weird (I was going on 4 hours of sleep, you know?).

So I just didn't post about it.

But for some reason I can't move on with this blog until I document Christmas somehow.

It's like I'm afraid if we go back through the archives in years to come, and there's no Christmas post we'll sit back & wonder, "Did we celebrate Christmas that year?"

Anyway, to help me move on with life here are a few shots in front the tree at my Mom's house. (These were taken a week or so after the holiday.)

Phew! I feel better now :)

Thanksgiving

Just a few pictures from Thanksgiving. We had the big dinner at our place this year--our first time! It was a wonderful day. I'm so thankful for all my family!

Jase was pretty sure he could eat a whole turkey drumstick. He's demonstrating how wide he can open his mouth to fit the whole thing in!

Our Thankful turkeys with all their blessing feathers. (Photo courtesy of Emily.)

The whole gang ready to eat!!

Happy Halloween!

Just a few pictures from Halloween. They aren't the greatest because I forgot my camera (hello!) so had to use my cell phone. Emily is Jessie the cowgirl from Toy Story (I love all her fun poses--she was in a great mood!), Jase is Spiderman, & Greta is a spooky witch. (She was very clear, she wanted to be scary--no pretty, lacy, princess-like witch costume for her!)

This years trick-or-treating was our best yet! We went down the first street & someone had rented a giant bounce house/slide thing for their front yard. The kids made a beeline & played for at least half an hour. We went down one more street & then back to the bounce house for another 20+ min. I had to finally drag them away because it was so dark I was afraid they'd get hurt. They each got only 15-20 pieces of candy & plenty of fun exercise--perfect! They were happy, I was happy--wish it worked out that way every year!

A sad day for Jase...with a happy ending!

I'm behind on my blogging! This happened a few weeks ago but I think this picture is so funny! Jase fell off the little fence in our yard (it's only about 2-3 feet tall) and broke his arm. He was miserable & it was so sad to see him hurting. His pain was miraculously cured by a splint & a Spiderman sticker--it was like night & day! Here he is showing off his prize & injury outside the Dr.'s office.

Will's home!

Ethan's younger brother, Will, recently returned home from a mission to Hawaii--yea!! He came home July 4th, so we celebrated the holiday a little differently this year--no balloon-fest, parade, or carnival. It was really wonderful to spend time together as a family, though, and mostly just to have Will home again!

Many of us drove up to meet Will at the airport.

Will at the airport with some of his "huge" nieces & nephews. Greta & Jase didn't really remember him too well (two years is a loooong time when you're little!), but they warmed up quickly!

Will brought home some really nice souveniers for everyone. Here are the guys posing Hawaiian-style!

...and the ladies in our lovely sari's.

Cute Kids!!

I love this picture! Our Boyack cousins visited from Kansas over the 4th & we got to spend some time at the park visiting & playing. It was so fun to catch up & let the kids get reaquainted. Thanks Chrissy & Darren for sharing the pictures!

Camping!!

Here are a few pictures from a recent camping trip. It was a beautiful weekend with gorgeous scenery & good weather. The kids had fun paddling around the reservoir and playing in the woods with their cousins. These are the only pictures I got before I gracefully fell out of the boat and into the lake, taking my camera with me (no pictures of that, thank goodness!). It was out of commission the rest of the trip while it dried out but, amazingly, the pictures survived and the camera is even working well again, except for some fine sand in the controls :)