Thanks Giving

We went to Colorado for Thanksgiving this year and had a great time! I didn't get a lot of pictures (I never seem to) but here are a few. This first one is of Becky and Natalie holding one of the twins, Kim.
Natalie and Carson shopping for the Food Bank. This was Grandpa and Grandma G's idea. They had the kids each pick out a few of their favorite food items that Grandpa bought and then we took them to the local food bank. It was a great experience for everyone. I know my kids had the best time. What a great idea! They loved it! A great way to give to others and teach the kids the importance of giving.

We had a great time! Thanks to Dan and Loyce for a great and relaxing weekend together.

Christmas Tree Hunt

We cut down our own Christmas tree again this year, on Natalie's birthday (it was her birthday request). It didn't take us too long to find one, maybe an hour to search, cut it down, and drag it back to the truck. I think the kids started to get cold and tired by the end, but we had hot chocolate in the car afterwards, and that got their energy level right back up.

Here's Mike cutting our tree down.
Here's Carson:

And Natalie:

The kids climbing the ladder to decorate the tree once we got it home:

I'll have to take a picture of the finished tree sometime to post. It was a fun day, and now our home is almost ready for Christmas!

Birthday Weekend

Natalie just turned two, and the day after was my birthday! It was a birthday weekend for us, and we had a great time. Here's Natalie in her new princess outfit from Grandma G.
Natalie's present from Carson. He helped her open all her gifts.

Dresses from Grandma L. She loved them, and gave them a big hug!

Kitchen stuff from Mom and Dad.

Natalie's breakfast request: pink waffles with pink ice cream!

All Natalie wanted for her birthday was hot dogs and a Christmas tree. So we let her have hot dogs for dinner, and we made her a Christmas tree cake. So easy, and the kids loved putting on the "decorations."

Happy Birthday Natalie!

And here are a couple of pictures from my birthday. I got to pick breakfast and dinner (of course, I always do that), and Mike fixed them for me. No birthday cake, because we still had a ton from the day before, and we were leaving for Colorado in three days. Still, it was a good day.

What a fun weekend! This week, it's Mike's turn!

Private Pool Party Anyone?

We told the kids we'd take them swimming at the pool here for FHE this week. Everybody got swimsuits on under warm clothes, and we grabbed our towels and drove across town. Only to find out the pool is closed for the next couple of weeks for cleaning. So we loaded two crying children back into the car and drove home. Mike suggested swimming in our bathtub, and the kids decided this would be an acceptable substitution. As you can see, it was a bit of a tight fit for all four of us, but the kids had a blast, and Mike and I were able to save an otherwise doomed evening. At least the water was warmer this way. I can't help but notice that this seems to happen to us frequently. Maybe we're unlucky. Or maybe they see us coming and shout, "Quick, it's the crazy family! Put the closed sign in the window!"

What Goes with a Calculator?

We had a lot of Halloween fun last week. Some friends had a family costume party, so Mike and I even came up with costumes this year. At the party, we realized that a lot of couples had matching costumes, which never even occurred to us. I suppose next year we ought to try that. Of course, Mike mentioned being a calculator, so I'm not sure how I'm supposed to coordinate with that? A friend of mine suggested being a nerd, but we'll see.

Carson found his costume and loved it, even though he's never seen the Transformer movies or anything. Somehow he knows they are awesome, and he loves them. He was cute, talking in his best "Bumblebee" voice. Natalie was a witch, and she was very good at cackling like one. I had her hair in little braids for Thursday and Friday festivities, and on Saturday, we took them out for a frizzy fro (no pictures, sorry).
Natalie as a witch and Carson as the Autobot Bumblebee.

Here's our little family before a Halloween party on Thursday night. We had a party on Thursday, trick-or-treating at Mike's work on Friday, and trunk-or-treating at the church on Saturday. The kids loved spreading it out like that. On Saturday, Carson told us, "Today is the last day of Halloween!"

Mike, as a crazy Indian.

Me, as Little Red Riding Hood.

Mike and Carson cleaning out pumpkins. Unfortunately, we didn't take pictures of the finished ones, but they were fun to do with the kids!

Carson cleaning out his pumpkin.

Natalie cleaning out the insides of her pumpkin.

Carson now thinks this is a tradition, pretending to eat pumpkin goop for a picture.

Here's what I found Natalie doing the other day; talking on a shoe "phone."