Ushering in the Season

We had a great time celebrating the birth of Jesus this year.  The kids participated in their Christmas program at church....

 

 We went to the local Christmas parade to support our friends.

 We went Christmas caroling...

  We decorated the tree...

And all before leaving for Oregon on the 19th.  It was a busy but fun couple of weeks.

Character Counts

My daughter won an award for her trustworthiness at school this year.  They only pick one from each class and she was the one chosen.  She is SUCH a good kid and we couldn't be prouder of her.  I guess if I have to choose, I would rather she be trustworthy than remember to clean her room every day.  It is important to choose your battles.

OH BOY.

A Day at Del Mar

Our family, if you haven't guessed by reading my other blog posts, loves the horse races.  It's a fun way to spend the afternoon out in the sunshine with the family.  So we headed south toward San Diego to meet up with our friend Charlotte and stay with our friend, Quinn.  We had a great time with Charlotte at the horse races (see her in the picture with my kiddos).  Unfortunately, Quinn wasn't home, but her daddy was so we settled for staying with him.  Lucky for us, he lives just a golf ball shot to the ocean so we spent the following day as beach bums.  Life in Southern California can be so rough.

Dinosaurs in December

I got a killer deal on some kits for dinosaur escavation so we invited some of my little guy's pals (and their sisters) over to dig up some fun.

Burning Calories

We went for a hike with my new sister around our lake on Thanksgiving day before heading over to stuff ourselves with turkey.  It was a beautiful day for a walk and the kids made the whole trip, which is about  8 miles total!

Really REALLY tired

I came upon this sight recently while looking for my son at bedtime.

Our "Under the Sea" Halloween

 Duh, I'm a jellyfish (and I light up, which was cooler in the dark)

 My little turtle boy (he insisted that the shell I made be able to carry his candy, which it did)

 My sassy little mermaid (she LOVES the colored wigs for some reason)


Our trunk-or-treat decorations.  Unfortunately it was about 4 degrees outside so she and I both froze!

What, No PICTURES?

These are all the pictures I took in Mexico this year. My little man caught a lizard and it had to be captured for posterity and I was waiting in the airport with my camera in hand.  Other than that, it no camera, just relaxation on vacation...very nice.

Another Homecoming

Every October, we journey back to our alma mater to visit those with whom we graduated.  This year was no exception.  Afterward we attended the family carnival where there were blow up bounce houses, face painting, a beer/wine garden, balloon sculpting clowns, all the free food you can eat, carnival rides and some really great fish stories.  Here's a shot of Daddy and his little girl, enjoying a trip down a huge inflatable slide.

What Adventures Lie Ahead

You should never underestimate the potential any given night has in becoming memorable.  This was no exception.  We went to some friends' house for a simple barbeque, just a few families enjoying each other's company.  But then....

...the kids came running into the house yelling "We saw a deer!  We saw a deer!"  Oh, did I forget to mention that it was opening day for deer archery hunting?  Oh and did I ALSO forget to mention that one of the dads with us had his bow in the car?  Well, one good shot, some skillful tracking and a few hours later....

A night that none of us will soon forget!

Story about a Duck

Here's a little story about a duck named "feathers"

Imagine a man who works with his hands is outside working and sees a mama duck.  Now imagine that mama duck has a trail of 10 or so baby ducklings behind her (I'm talking BABY baby ducks...itty bitty ones).  Mama duck is walking along a tall wall and sees some stairs so she goes down them.  The baby ducks, still waddling in a line behind each other, stay on the wall, unaware of mom's diversion.  Mom waddles along a bit more, realizes that the babies have not followed her, and calls up to them.  The babies, in angst over their mother's separation, attempt to jump to her.  One after one, the baby ducklings don't survive.  Perhaps only 3 of the ten make the jump safely.  One of them has a hurt foot and cannot keep up as momma duck waddles away with the remaining 3 of the original 10 baby ducks.  All of this is viewed by the man working with his hands outside.  He sees the injured duck and makes his way to it, scoops it up into his hat and nurtures it as he brings it home.  Now image that man has a daughter.  That daughter LOVES animals and quickly comes to the aid of the duck and names it "feathers".  The girl helps her father make a crate for "feathers" and raise it from barely a handful of down to a full grown adult duck.  She feeds it, plays with it, cares for it and eventually realizes that ducks are better off in the wild.  She comes to a hard realization of the love it takes to set something free.  It takes a special kind of heart to make a sacrifice like that.  Imagine this proud mom and dad sniffing and blinking as their daughter releases "feathers" into a lake. 

My Brother Finally Wises Up

 My little ring bearer and my parents

 My 3 gorgeous nieces

 Table #1 at rehearsal dinner

 Table #2 at rehearsal dinner

 The beautiful bride

The church

 Our side of the family

 The flower girls

My littler sister & my bigger brother, all smiles after the ceremony

Ida-who?

We took a little trip up north to visit some dear friends this month.  We had an excellent time playing in the rivers, going bike riding, seeing wildlife, visiting, cooking together, playing on their farm, picking apples and blueberries, getting into shenanigans, going mutton-bustin', and wielding deadly weapons.  It may have been the first trip we took to visit them but it will most likely not be the last.

Robin Hood

Our little Robin Hood got a gift card from his aunt and uncle for his birthday this summer.  So we finally got to head down to Bass Pro Shops and naturally, what he picked out was something dangerous...

 

First Day of School

Here they are on their way to a new year of school.  

FREEEEDDDDOOOOOMMMM!!!!

Oregon Comes to Cali

My best friend from my home town came down to visit us this summer.  She brought her daughter and their friend and we did some sight seeing.  We went to six flags, Hollywood, the Santa Monica Pier, had In n Out and pretty much did the whole "touristy" thing.  I miss those girls a bunch when they're gone but when they come back to visit it's like we never left.  That's the best kind of friend.

Living in Paradise

Just another beautiful day on the lake with some friends from off the mountain.

Water Play

We went down to one of the neighboring towns on our mountain recently and the kids got to play in the water park they've created on their lake.  It cost a small fortune to get it but they seemed to enjoy themselves.  They even found friends from school to play with that they hadn't seen since school got out.  Add that to mommy getting to rest on the beach and the small fortune was worth it.