Snow, Friends, and Fun!

We got about 6 inches of snow over 2 days, but it was so powdery we couldn't do much with it, so instead of a snowman, we made a snow pile with eyes, hands, nose, and mouth.

30 Weeks

Wade plays some songs for us. Can you make out what he is singing?

We attended Kevin and Julianne's annual Holiday Party. The male gifts this year were mostly headlamps. It was pretty funny as each gift was opened and chances were good that it was a headlamp. Here were the lucky receivers! Thanks again Kevin and Julianne for a great party with great food and friends!!

Mandy made a corral for my two horses. Wade has an "apple" in his mouth, because we know how much horses like apples!

Mandy was the caretaker of the horses.

Carolyn and sweet baby Branson

The guys played basketball in Waterville, so the women and children tagged along to watch.

We got a little more excitement than we bargained for when the fire alarm went off and we had to wait for the fire department to show up.

We then went to Leavenworth to see the tree lighting festival. We'd been there a couple of years before, but I don't remember it being quite this crowded. It was a very pleasant evening, so we didn't freeze!

Rob and Mandy

Mobs of people waiting for it to light up.

All lit up

Wade Hit Me

Wade has been hitting his brother quite a bit. Tristan will come to me and say, "Wade hit me." Wade has learned to associate the sentence "Wade hit me" with his actual hitting. Now if he hits someone he comes up to me and tells me, "Wade hit me." He's turning himself in!

Little Peapod

The little peapod over there ------> is just not moving fast enough!

New Blog

Not for me, for Kale and Jaspar!!!! Yeah!! Many of you know that my brother and his wife recently moved to South Africa for 2 years. We have treasured every picture and email they have sent us, and now they have started a blog!!!! Check it out. I can't wait to see what their life is like in Durban, SA, and you can follow along too! www.jasparandkale.wordpress.com

Caleb's 4th Birthday

This is the cow cheese that Tristan got from Grandma and Grandpa in Wisconsin. We had accidently left our cheese behind, so they sent it and we got it in about a day and a half. Tristan was so excited, he immediately took a big bite out of the leg, wax and all! He said "Mmm, yum!" and proceeded to chew it for about 1/2 an hour before deciding it was time to spit the wax out. We explained that we peel the wax back and eat the cheese that is inside. He has been enjoying it ever since!

My new nephews Huck (as in Huck Finn) and Oliver (as in Oliver Twist).

Grandpa, Grandma, and Oliver

Proud new puppy owner with Huck.

Grandma took right over. Oliver has pneumonia and was coughing quite a bit. Grandma had no problem getting hacked on and cleaning up after the puppy. I was content not getting involved.

Caleb wanted a pirate themed birthday. Yar!

Another beautiful cake created by DeAnne.

My little cowboy hitching up his pants.

Ummm...cowgirl meets star wars?

Grandpa and Grandma brought matching pajamas for the boys.

Our first snow!!! It snowed Saturday evening and night, so by Sunday morning Tristan was eager to get outside and play in it! Before meeting he had some time, so he rode his reindeer. :)

The boys also received matching meeting clothes!!

The Lepak Family

On Friday we got together with Dad's side of the family. This was the first time I got to meet my cousin Jody's girls. Olivia and Campbell got along really well with Tristan and Wade. We went to the community room of the apartments that my grandma lives in.

Grandma

Under-the-table tea party!

Uncle Guy, Aunt Lori, Travis, Becky, Clayton, and Grandma

The 2-year-olds missed their nap, and were so tired they were playing nap-time!

Aunt Jane, her granddaughters, and Tristan

Post-Thanksgiving Work-Out

Dad took advantage of a couple of strong backs to get some firewood chopped!

The elm was a little much for the strong backs, so we were glad for the hydraulic splitter.

Hauling wood

All tuckered out from working so hard.

Warming up with a tea party.

Turkey Day

Our wonderful host and hostess with the 32 lb turkey!

The expert potato mashers!

My cousin, Andrea, the salad maker.

Grandma Enge

The feast! Only about 32 this year. All of the cousins were back in WI in September for Blake's wedding, so Garrett and us were the only out-of-state cousins to attend.

One of the highlights of the day is the annual Turkey Bowl. It is always exciting to get your first glimpse of the teams. I was once again on the injured list with a "bloated abdomen". Last time we were at T-Day in WI, I was 6 months pregnant with Wade! Jason made his first debut on the "Old Guys Team". Some of the stats are incorrect, but that makes it all the more fun. For example, Jason is only 25 for another month.

The Skinny

14 pies shown in the picture. 2 more that didn't even get served, plus an English trifle, fruit pizza, and a plate of cookies. Urp!

Annual shuffleboard tournament

Talent show and thankfuls. The Schmidts had a beautiful Thanksgiving song.

I did the bean trick, so Jason had to show us a little of his magic. Sarah and I also played a duet on the piano.

The Stein family joined us for the festivities and sang a couple of hymns for us.