Christmas Post... Finally ;)

I have been procrastinating this post because so many wonderful things happen during the holiday season, that there's a lot to share.

We love Santa. Jonas loves him from a distance :)

This year was our first attempt to act out the nativity story. Hannah was an angel, Eli a shepherd and Jonas a wise man.


Eli's preschool class acted out the nativity. Eli was Joseph and did an awesome job!

Gotta love the party with the Skidmores. Our kids look forward to it every year. Good food, good people, and lots to do. Notice the look of concentration on Brady's face...hahaha!

Go Eli!

Hannah's old enough for the blindfold, but still got a few good hits in.

Fun with cousins at grandma Lori's party. Jonas and Gavin playing together.

This toy is great... it kept Jonas occupied so mom and dad could have some fun.

Eli was soooooo excited about getting Elefun. Lots of fun!

Can't go wrong with princesses... Hannah's favorite.

All the grandkids in their new jammies.

Christmas Eve. We decided Santa would probably come through the stove.

Christmas morning. We had Brady's brother Luke and family visiting. That explains the two extra, adorable girls. I didn't get many pictures of the kids on Christmas morning, but there is a cute little video at the bottom of the post.

Brady, Luke, and Bruce (some brothers) playing Monopoly.

Here's our service Christmas tree. Each night we each got to decorate an ornament and put it on the tree as we shared an act of service that we provided that day. It was a fun activity that we all enjoyed and will probably continue in the future.

Getting ready for Christmas

Here's what we've been up to the last few weeks...



Debbie found this beautiful piano on Craigslist. We have always wanted to get a piano, especially since Hannah has been taking lessons. We are very fortunate to know someone in the piano business who was willing to transport it for us!



For the first time in our marriage (eight Thanksgivings now) we had Thanksgiving at our home. It was only our little family plus Mom, Matt, and Vicki, so it wasn't all that stressful and it turned out really well. We're so thankful to have a beautiful new home with plenty of room in the kitchen and dining room!









It was Eli's turn to put the star on the tree this year.




I've been looking forward to decorating the house all year. I even bought our own ladder this year instead of borrowing Mom's.

Happy Halloween

Halloween was great this year... not too drawn out. The kids had a blast at trunk or treat and their various parties at school and Dance Tech. On Halloween, Brady and I decided to dress up (at the last minute) for a party at a friend's house. We all had a fun time.

The kids had a great time eating...
playing...
and decorating :)
Jonas was just happy to have a holiday totally dedicated to eating candy.

Visit from Grandma and Grandpa

Last month we had a nice time with grandma and grandpa Shipp who were visiting from California. We even had our first snow while they were here... hahaha... lucky for them it didn't stick for long. We love when they come to visit, and miss them when they leave. (Hope to see you again soon!)

Eli's FOUR!!!

Eli celebrated his fourth birthday last month. He is growing up so fast! He had a fun party with lots of cousins.



I think this next picture is hilarious. Leila wanted to be sure Eli got to blow out his candles. So sweet!

Day at the Fair

I just downloaded about two hundred pictures from my camera and decided that it is time to update our blog a bit.
(I don't take many pictures, so 200 is A LOT for me.)
Anyway, we went to the Idaho State Fair last month, so here are some pictures from that fun day....

Jonas loved the petting zoo.
He followed the goats around to pet them.
They were very tolerant of him... they must be used to it.

If dogs stayed this cute and cuddly, I would probably want one, but I am not that disillusioned!

Each year the kids ride the barrel train that's pulled by a four wheeler.
They love it.

Here's a pic of Eli and Jonas.
We were glad that Jonas had a pillow behind him... it was kind of bumpy!

Hannah LOVES the carousel.
She enjoys naming the horse that she rides.

Here's Eli with a little friend that he made. She was adorable (her mom asked me if her little girl could ride with Eli). They were having trouble getting the ride going so the two of them were just sitting and chatting for a few minutes. I would love to know what they said :)

After the fair, we stopped at a park for a picnic on the way home.

Here's the last picture of the kids after a long day of playing hard.
Yes, their faces are very dirty... another sign of a good day.

Hannah took this one of me and Brady :)
After a long day of ... hardly playing!?!
Just kidding, I think that we had as much fun as the kids!

First Day of School

Waiting for the bus.
(Notice the huge backpack that I stuffed everything into so that
she would not leave anything on the bus.)

Climbing onto the bus :)

Meeting the bus driver!

Summer's over... school's in... our little girl is growing up! I don't know why but sending Hannah to first grade has been so much harder than sending her to kindergarten. Maybe it's because a huge bus carried her away to first grade. It was quite entertaining watching her climb onto the bus though. Anyway, Hannah seems to like her new school and her new teacher.