It's That Time Again!

And yet another year comes to a close. How does this happen? This year seemed to have a summer that would never end. I thought we would never make it to the beginning of school. But then I blinked and the whole year was gone!

Caity- Caitlin is 9 this year and is growing taller and more independent by the day. Caitlin still loves to read and is our little scholar. She is enjoying her 4th grade experience at John Adams Academy, a new charter school in our area, and made us very proud with her first straight-A report card. Caitlin asked to begin horseback riding lessons this year and has become quite the entrepreneur since being told she needs to come up with the funds for 4 lessons all on her own before mom and dad will take over the financial commitment riding will bring. She is excited to be past the half way mark of her goal and was thrilled to receive riding boots for Christmas this year.

Amber- Amber just celebrated her 6th birthday. She has begun Kindergarten at John Adams and is loving school. Amber is already counting down the days until she too can begin riding lessons (heaven help my bank account). Amber will forever be our ball of energy. She is the life of every party and brings joy and energy to our family daily. Amber is our little athlete and was thrilled to play soccer for the first time this year. She scored her first goal and played her little heart out all season long. Amber's other passion this year is painting. It is uncommon to go more than a day or two without hearing, "mommy, can I paint?"

Drew- My precious boy is 2 and 1/2. He is so different from his sisters! Every day is entertaining with a son; I love watching the way he plays. Drew loves music. He frequently plays his favorite tunes on daddy's iphone but also likes to sing 'twinkle, twinkle' and dance to any recognizable beat. One of his favorite songs is "tonight, tonight" by Hot Chelle Rae and he will sing it anytime, anywhere, sometimes at the top of his little lungs. We are excited to watch as he learns new colors and numbers and blows us away with his words. At Christmas dinner he enjoyed the sparkling apple cider and announced to us all, "That drink awesome!"

Brad and I are just along for the ride with these sweet little ones. Life for Brad continues to revolve around work at Weatherite with the occasional weekend family outing. My focus is keeping up with the wild indians and trying to keep the house standing. So far, so good. I did take great pleasure in coaching both the girls' soccer teams this year. That is probably why the year went by so quickly at the end. Soccer 4 days a week will make time fly.

We are grateful for an abundantly blessed life and wish you and yours a happy Holiday season! Hugs to all!

crunchy

I LOVE FALL! September through December is the best time of year in my opinion. School is in session, the heat subsides, the holiday rush swoops me away to January, and I get to soak up the cool breeze, beautiful fall colors, fresh rain, and rekindle my love affair with the great outdoors.

Family activities are fun year-round. Skiing in the winter, swimming in the summer, and whatever it is we do in the spring. But there is something special about jumping into a pile of leaves when you're little. The fall breeze making the leaves race down the walkway. The cool weather and coarse leaves requiring long sleeves and pants. The "crunch" and "crackle" the leaves make when you plunge into the pile and climb back out. And what is more fun than fishing leaves out of long hair and finding leaves hidden inside your sweater after arriving home?





Unfortunately all of the romance tends to fade when you've grown to the point that no pile of leaves is big enough to cause you to settle gently on the ground after a giant leap. But watching the kids light up with excitement was a great reminder of fun times.

playmate

Amber and Drew are my animal lovers. They are both naturally drawn to animals and love being around them. Unfortunately for our pets that means the constant attention of an active toddler is unavoidable. Fortunately for us, our pets are all wonderful with children.

Drew has a special interest in our cat, Joseph. We frequently question whether Joseph is just super sweet and tollerant or if maybe an important part of his mental development is missing. Either way he continues to seek out the attention of our Great Dane puppy and busy toddler on a daily basis. Bella is grateful for the chew toy and Drew loves his playmate. Here's hoping Joseph makes it to his second birthday.

When Grandma Comes to Play

Everybody is happy when Grandma comes!

Big Sisters

The best part about having big sisters:

There's always someone to read you a story.







They know where all the cool bugs are.



TV time is better together.





What would we do without big sisters?

hikers

Our children believe hiking is a part of life. Our five year old can probably out-hike the average adult. We LOVE getting outdoors and seeing mother nature at her best. Labor Day weekend seemed the perfect opportunity for a new hike. So we loaded the ol' van and started another adventure.

We visited a water fall about an hour and a half away called "horse-tail falls". You can see it from the hwy but few notice it. What a gorgeous place!






The five year old may be able to out hike you, but she's still getting used to the idea that being dirty can be fun.



And Brad can't pass an opportunity to push the limits. This video does not show the drop on the other side of the trees he would be slipping over if he fell.



Another successful trip to wipe out the small people.

San Fran

I cannot keep track of how many times I have been to San Francisco. And, truth be told, it's not my favorite day trip destination. But for the last weekend before school started we needed an outing. There happened to be a Great Dane meetup (yes there is such a thing) at Point Isabelle in the bay area. So we left Drew home with Grandma and took the girls (giant Great Dane puppy included) to the meetup and Golden Gate park for the day.

I have never had so much fun in San Francisco before!

We started the day at the meetup at Point Isabelle. This particular 'dog park' is like none we have ever seen before. There is a doggie restaurant and salon at the entrance and then an unfenced walking path along the coastal trail. Open fields, paved walkways, natural water ways, a bridge, you name it they had it. The girls didn't complain once.

Then it was into the city for our next adventure. We went directly to Golden Gate park where the girls rode scooters to the various points of interest.










We stopped for dinner at a great dog-friendly burger place before stopping by Crissy field (beach with Golden Gate bride in the background) on our way out of town.



It was a great last hurrah before starting school!

Two

Two. My baby is two. This will be the last year of diapers. The last year of milk before bed. The last year of pacifiers. The last year of cradling him in the rocking chair.

My baby boy can unlock the front door, jump off the top of the couch, start the car, and jump in the pool all on his own. We now hear his little protests and opinions clearly all day every day. We are right smack in the middle of "me do it!"

What a fun year this has been! My boy, my joy. Happy Birthday, Tiny Man!

adventure part II

In the winter months I agree to go on crazy blizzard ski trips because I love my husband. This summer I agreed to go on a wilderness backpacking trip for the same reason. Turns out I enjoyed it more than he did, but I still claim I "did it for him".

These pictures are the only level ground we saw the entire weekend. This was an advanced hike to say the least. We climbed 2500 ft over a 2 mile trail. Translation: steep.




We made camp.



We avoided the rattlesnakes (although I almost stepped on this one). Bella saw it first. She was our snake and bear detterant.




We created a "bear hang" 100 yards from camp to keep the bears from sampling our food.



We chopped firewood and enjoyed the fruits of our labor.



Saturday we swam in the river and waterfalls. Gorgeous!




And we tried to connvince Bella she was taking more than her 'half' of the tent.



This was an amazing experience! I want to do it again. Let's see if I can talk Brad into it...

mouths of babes

As I was wiping the kitchen table for the third time today, Amber asked, "Why do you have to do that so much, Mom?" I less-than-sweetly answered that she and her sister create enough crumbs for an army of mice to stay plump and healthy. As she cocked her head to the side and crumpled her brow, I continued, "Someday when you have children you will have to clean up after them too." She paused for only a second before matter-or-factly replying, "No. I'll just train them to do better."

I don't know whether to laugh or cry...

our little 4th

A little breakfast at the park:




A little hike:




A little swim:



A little cave:



A little fire:

Who's scared?

Bella and Drew got to see their very first hail storm this week. The thunder woke Drew from his nap. I was pleased to see he and Bella both anxiously hurried outside to see what all the noise was. No fear.

I love these storms! I can hardly look away and just want to stand in front of the window and pretend I have nothing more important to do than watch...

To be 9 again

Another year gone, another year older. My baby is 9 years old. I remember 9. I remember when sleepovers were the ultimate party. I remember being silly and wild with my girlfriends. I remember taking an hour to fall alseep even though everyone kept saying "shhhh!" and "I'm trying to sleep!". I remember the year flying by and not being a single digit anymore. Someone please make the days last longer and time stop passing so quickly; my baby is too big...










Success!

Run, Forest, Run!

Six months of training + 1 great friend to put up with me + blood, sweat, and tears=
MY FRIST HALF MARATHON!
There will be more. I am not ready to call myself 'hooked' just yet, but I can definitely see more half and maybe even a full marathon in my future. Craziness...

How old is your baby?

We took Bella to visit her vet's office this week. The girls were staying at grandma's so it was just Brad, me, and the baby. Drew was thrilled to greet all the other big dogs in the waiting room as Bella sat and waited her turn to be seen. A lady sitting next to me flashed me a huge smile and asked, "How old is your baby?" Without thinking I answered, "Oh, she's only 4 months." After the words came out I looked at my sweet little boy and gasped, "Did you mean the furry one or the human one?" She laughed and confirmed she was indeed asking about the puppy but I admit feeling guilty about Drew not being the baby any more.

Bella reminds us more and more everyday why we need a Dane in the house. We still miss our Beau, but Bella is beginning to fill the void. There are some things that all Danes do, and we love it!!

"Sitting" on the couch




Droopy lips and floppy ears




Love and tolerance of children





Beauty




Laziness




Ah, to have a Dane in the house again!