Wasn't very long ago...

that my son was 21 months old and my daughter was
3 months old in these pictures.

"2004"

We have been able to catch this same pose over the years
as they open their Christmas stockings.

"2005"

"2006"

As I was reviewing our picture file this photo got me all choked up.
They both look so "grown up" with their feet reaching to the
end of the couch and hanging over a little bit. They grow up so quickly.
Sniff, Sniff.

"2007"

Next milestone,
Their feet touching the ground.
Mine don't even do that on most couches. ;)

Let's chat over a cup of tea...

...and catch up.

Starting from Thanksgiving - this year seemed to be one of our favorites. It was made special with a visit from my husband's parents from Oregon. The kids were so excited and so were we.

Preparation for this Thanksgiving feast was so much fun.
My mother-in-law worked right along side me in the kitchen as we prepared a meal with all the fixings for 4 adults and 2 kids. :) As it should be - we had many leftovers. Mom shared her recipes for creamed peas and mashed potatoes, then I shared my recipes for the Turkey, Cornbread Stuffing, Gravy, and a Holiday Yam Dish.

The next thing I knew, she was offering to teach me how to make Homemade rolls and Cinnamon Rolls (my husband had a smile on his face!) I don't think I will ever forget the special time of fellowship and meal preparation we had together. She got me over the fear of using yeast and getting my hands in dough with flying colors! What was even more meaningful was that this roll recipe was first taught to her by own Grandmother. It is not one that has been recorded on paper, but remains in her memory. So as mom, prepared the rolls and taught me the techniques, I was carefully/frantically recording the different steps and measurements. I look forward to some day passing this recipe to my own daughter.

Since then, I have made another batch of Cinnamon Rolls. The entire process went very well, although next time I will use much more cinnamon & sugar. Mom says, "It should be flowing out of the rolls ". Mmm...

Here are some rolls that I made for my husbands work.

Although, a wager had been made with his boss and fellow coworkers that if they let my husband leave early that day, then I would make them cinnamon rolls. Of course clarification was in order! Were the rolls going to be made from tube refrigerator rolls or homemade ones? Was my husband going to be let go more than say half and hour before quitting time or a substantial amount of time? Joking - all in fun.

Next thing you know, my husband returned home from work a couple hours early, helped finish packing the car, and then the guys received these yummy treasures when we returned from our trip:

Had to show you these happy faces of the kids mixing colors of frosting for Christmas Sugar cookies. They really enjoyed the entire process and the mess. Sprinkles and candy bits!



We made our way to Oregon with only one road closure due to inclement weather and a truck accident. Then the next day, my sister got married. Here is a picture of her in her sweet and beautiful wedding dress. The shoulder straps were so romantic.

I liked the Bride & Groom Elephant's placed on their wedding cake.
So fun!
Just like the two of them.

Then a surprise!

On Christmas Day, at about 2:00 p.m., I received a call from other sister Tiffany, that her water had broke. She was having a baby! So I quickly went up to the hospital to be with her. It was such a special time to spend the next 12 hours with her, her husband, friends, and family. Sophia Daisy was born the next day at 4 a.m., weighing 5 lbs, 7 oz. Healthy and cute as could be. It was such a privilege to be there for the delivery. Since Sophia was originally due in early January, she was such a good little girl to be born when her auntie was in town. She was the first out of my 6 nieces and nephews that I was able to see as a baby. This event was really the highlight of the entire vacation. Something I won't forget. :)

Proud parents! Just minutes after baby was born.

After a week of visiting dear Oregon, we then returned back to our "home" in Idaho despite another road closure and more inclement weather. New Year's was a quiet night at home with hubby, staying up and watching a movie till' midnight, and then watching 10 minutes of network T.V. parties.

Looking forward to another full year!

Fall crafting

Here's a sample of the different crafting activities we have been doing during this Fall Season:
These bird feeders were simply put together with an empty toilet paper roll, peanut butter, and bird seed (from WinCo's bulk section).

We then hanged the feeders up in the backyard. The squirrels were really attracted to this treat, but very frustrated that they couldn't get to it. :) ha, ha.

Here is our son's collection of the different types of leafs & plants we've been finding on our nature walks. It's been so precious to hear him ask to place another specimen onto his

Collection poster.

We then took our favorite leafs and placed them in the middle of wax paper, along with some crayon shavings; and then ironed the pieces together. It was really neat to see the colors blend together.

Here is a pumpkin decoration that I made in our MOPS Group. I have had lots of practice putting it back together again, and, again as the kids would take it apart because of their curiosity to see the full toilet paper roll inside. They thought it was silly that the pumpkin didn't have seeds inside.

Traditions

Painting pumpkins has been a tradition in our house for many years now. It is so easy for these little ones to create their own art, and then be able to see them all month long.

Hayride fun

We recently had a field trip day at the MAIZE. This place is a working farm that offers hayrides, educational talks, a huge maize, petting zoo, refreshments, and of course a pumpkin patch. The hayrides were the "hit" for the day.

They loved watching the red tractor work.

This one is my favorite pictures of the day.

Navigating the children's maize

Found the perfect pumpkin.

A great day overall. The kids had fun.

And mommy did too!

Catching up

...on pictures from September and October. Best do this before we say hello to November. Can't believe how fast October went. My favorite month of the year!

Here are some pictures of our little girl turning 3 years old:

Look at me - I'm 3!

Our little girl LOVES horses.
So deciding on the theme for her party was not too difficult.

A thrilled little girl who loves Appaloosa Horses, for sure!

Note to self: Do not serve caked after 5 p.m.

Keeps children up until midnight going potty.
We think it had to do with the frosting and Red Dye #40.

She got a horse stamp collection, an Appaloosa horse toy, animal farm shapes with holes and strings to sew with; along with a window gel Birthday Cake decoration from her Auntie; then a card and gift from Grandma & Grandpa. We also played "Pin the tail on the donkey (horse)".

All in all a very good day. I don't think I've ever heard my daughter talk and chat that much! She was very excited.

The views

A few more sights from the trip...
(I thought these had been posted?)


A mountain lake
















































A favorite...



















A view from Mt. Constitution

Family...

Here is a picture of the guys just after they had hiked up
Mt. Constitution.

Their entire journey on Orcas Island turned out to be 50 miles
of bicycling and hiking.

Here's looking to next year!

Bike Trip

Here are pictures from my husband's biking camp/tour with his Dad and brothers to Orcas Island, Washington.

Truck loaded with 4 bikes, a trailer, and supplies.

The guys. A road trip to Washington, a ferry ride to Orcas Island, then a bike ride to the camping site.

More pictures to come...

Orcas Island

The Ferry

















This mama seagull was giving the guys an evil red eye. One of her babies that is brown, is sitting on a rope to the bottom right of the stack near the black post.





























Each morning the deer walked graciously through the campgrounds.














Seemed to be an old boat out in the water.














Here is my hubby getting the fires going. He 's so good at that. ;)














John's brother provided the 4 man tent. It was so helpful to have the gear stored just outside the tent.

Belated 4th of July News

We had a great time with some good friends celebrating the 4th of July. We went out to their country home and stayed until the fireworks were done and the bugs chased us home.

The evening had all the "fixins" of a traditional 4th of July Celebration. There were barbecued hamburgers & hot dogs, beans, chips, watermelon, ice tea, pink lemonade, rice krispie squares, brownies, Raspberry Cobbler, and ice cream.

There were 7 kids, under the age of 5, running around (except for the 2 month old). They had fun splashing in the kiddie pool. My little Emily just lit up when she went down the slide into the pool. All the kids got along so well. It was a joy to watch them play with kittens, run on the lawn, check out the cows, and watch fireworks. Definitely a night to remember...

Here are the kids enjoying the water:


Kids checking out the kittens that are hiding in the bushes.


And the cows...


Kids waiting for the fireworks to light up the sky: