Thanksgiving and Decorating

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. My parents and Damon's dad came over and we had a nice relaxing (if cooking all day can be relaxing) Thanksgiving. My parents brought Ryan a train for under the Christmas tree and he honestly spent ALL day watching that train go around and around. He never lost interest. Here are a few pictures of our day.

Friday, after my annual Black Friday shopping with Kris, I begged the kids to let me take a nap for a couple hours and then they wanted to decorate for Christmas. They always LOVE doing this so I was happy to do it. (Although it is more work for me to have helpers LOL). They had a fun time reminiscing about all the decorations and ornaments. It's fun to listen to them talk to each other about their own memories. Damon even put the lights up outside, yea!!

Catch up

Well, it's been a while since I posted, so I will try to catch up. Halloween was fun and busy. The kids had TONS of fun and got WAY too much candy. Kaylie went with some friends trick-or-treating and had a fun time as well.

Also, our trees are losing their leaves now and the kids are loving it. The other evening the kids called me outside. So I went out and there was a message raked in the leaves. So cute! Then, Dad raked ALL the leaves to the bottom of the slide and they all played outside until after dark. They had a blast and if was fun to capture that moment.

Halloween Party

Kaylie had a Halloween Party for her friends. She planned the whole thing, made the invitations, organized the games/prizes, decorated, and everything. It turned out super cute and it was really fun to see her so excited to be in charge of something so important to her. Here is a picture of her dressed up as a witch. Ryan did not like her costume...especially the makeup.

Fall is my FAVORITE!!

I can't help but be in amazement of the beautiful things that fall brings. All the colors, crunchy leaves, pumpkins, cool nights, and frosty mornings. It's fun to watch the kids enjoy this time of year, too. They love to play outside and they are so excited for all our trees to lose their leaves. I came across these pictures from last year and they just bring back such fun memories. Ryan was watching the leaves fall and the girls were having a fabulous time on the trampoline (piled high with leaves.) Fall is definitely my favorite!

Ryan

Ryan is 3 years old and started preschool. His teacher says that his is very well-behaved and gets along with all the other kids. That's always a good thing to hear. Is FULL of energy. In fact, he never stops moving.....NEVER! (He gets this from his dad.) :) He loves his Thomas trains and his cars and always has at least one of them with him. He is a super sweet boy and loves to talk. He says some of the funniest things. HIs new favorite words include: "actually", "especially", and "freaking". You've got to be careful around those 3-year-olds. LOL

Emma

Emma is 7 years old and in the 2nd grade. She is a good student and has a lot of friends. She absolutely LOVES her gymnastics class. She goes twice a week, but would love to go everyday. She was very proud of herself the other day when she finally got her roundoff-2 in class. She's been working on it for months. She is a good sister and friend to both Ryan and Kaylie. She is looking forward to her baptism in March.

Kaylie

Kaylie just turned 12 and started Junior High and also the Young Women program in church. (This was quite a big leap.....for mom!) She loves to sing, write, draw, play piano, and act. She just tried out for the solo in her school's choir concert and GOT IT! We are so proud of her many accomplishments. She is a wonderful big sister to Emma and Ryan helps me out a TON at home. What a good babysitter.

Here we go!

Well, here goes nothing. I've decided to jump on the band wagon and start blogging. It seems pretty easy, so I will do my best to keep it up to date. I will start by introducing the family. Damon is a wonderful husband and father. He is always doing fun stuff with the kids that make them feel important. He is good at making fun memories that I know they will carry with them throughout their life. He loves ALL sports, but I think his favorite is skiing. (snow and water!)