Superstars

The kids have been throwing a lot of parties for us lately. Led by Gabriella, they usually include notes, glasses of water, gifts of coins and erasers in old purses, and concerts using homemade instruments. And a lot of loud singing.

Thanksgiving/Christmas

We headed out to my parents' house for Thanksgiving this year. For a full week prior to leaving, we passed around a nasty stomach bug. I caught it the night before we left, but we all powered through and had a wonderful time with my parents and my brother's family.

Opening presents with Madeline and Olivia. If you can see her, Rebecca is on Skype in the background.

Dad was trying to hide Caleb's present in his shirt...

Dad organized a crawlspace treasure hunt for the kids. He gave each of them a flashlight and hid a "treasure" box for each one down under the house. The kids had a blast... might have to repeat this someday.

Once we got back home, it was time to decorate our own tree. And everything's better in Batman underpants.

Looking forward to a fun holiday season with these three munchkins. We hope yours is just as wonderful!

Happy Birthday, Gabriella!

Gabriella turned 6 this year... Can't believe this sweet little baby with a mohawk has suddenly turned into a beautiful little girl with a crazy head of red curly hair. She is fiercely independent but has the most caring heart I've ever met in a little kid (she spends her recess playing with the handicapped girl on the playground). We can't wait to see how her life unfolds!

And yes, my mother-in-law and I made that Barbie cake. It was so bad that it was hilarious, but Gabriella didn't care. She celebrated with a quick party that night with her neighbor friends and a new big girl bed. (She is so small that she was still sleeping in a toddler bed.)

Fall Pictures

The kids have had fun playing outside this fall and doing all those things that you're supposed to do when the weather turns colder.

Graham tried rock climbing at the Fall Picnic. It's more convincing when the picture is vertical.

They even played in the leaves without hurting each other and had a fun Halloween.

I was able to chaperon field trips to the pumpkin patch for both Chase and Gabriella.

We made a quick trip in to see Will's family when the kids had a day off of school.

And Will's dad taught the kids how to make cider.

Uncle Rodney was nice enough to take the kids on a tractor ride, and Emily & Susan brought out Tina Marie for them. Our kids have the kindest relatives they could ever ask for.

Swimming Lessons

The kids take swimming lessons every summer, and at the very least, they are learning how to not drown. But their favorite part of it is the snow cone at the end...

I think what has helped more than anything else was setting up this pool in our backyard. They only stayed in for about 15 minutes at a time, but it was in the backyard. So who cares? Bonus: We learned how to strain out mosquito larvae when we left the cover off.

Daddy's helper

Will asked the kids if anyone wanted to come help him work on the van. Gabriella was the one who jumped at the chance. In her pajamas. And my shoes. This girl cracks me up.

Fall Soccer

The boys were on the same team again for fall soccer. A few people were able to come out and watch a game with us, which makes it even more fun.