Birthday Girl!

We played several games at the 1st birthday bash today. One was "Who's that baby?" Only 2 of these are the birthday girl. Grandma & Grandpa came. We played kickball. She looks a little worried that her team might not win, doesn't she? We bribed some people in the park to pose as our friends. We had pizza, peaches, pop... ...and of course CAKE! We also played a game where the baby chooses an item with deeper meaning for her life. It's a cool Korean tradition for 1st birthdays. Guests could guess before hand which item she might pick. (String = long life or tailor, Bell = harmony or musician, Cup= full life or chef, Jar of Coins = prosperity or business, Paint Brush = Sees beauty or artist, Book = knowledge or scholar) At first it looked like she might go for the book. But then she picked up the cup of rice...SO A FULL LIFE! Her friend chose the bell. Happy 1st Birthday, Sweetheart!

Cousins & Cubscouts, etc.

@ Redrocks We hosted these cousins this week. It was SO FUN having them visit. My nephew wanted to build a snowman. It turned out great considering how powdery the snow was. We also went swimming, hiking, played in a real cockpit, drank hot chocolate, & played games. My nieces got a kick out of the baby & vice-versa. They got lots of smiles & laughs out of her. Before they came, we had a Circus-themed dinner for cubscouts. We had balloon twisting, carnival games, corndogs, clown skits, & a photo booth. Here are a couple cute circus ringmasters: We had a dinner with some of their friends that live here & we recycled the circus props. (I should have taken more pics!) Our house often feels like a 3-ring circus. Now we're a circus with a piano- which certainly adds to the noise, I mean, to the fun!

1 Mold

Our kids definitely look like siblings. My husband says we have "one mold." Here's the baby & a picture of her sister around the same age. The baby is the first child I've been able to really see myself in, but she sure doesn't vary much from the mold, does she?!

Winter fun from A to Zebra!

A snow day! We played with cousins at G'ma & G'pas recently & went to the zoo. We bribed some smiles for a Christmas pic... Our lil' stinker has given up on us getting him a pet. So, he took it upon himself to adopt an invisible lion (friendly, luckily) and a stuffed zebra. He loves his zebra & can even type "zebra". It's pretty cute. Hope everyone is enjoying plenty of hot chocolate & holiday music. Merry Christmas!

Fall Fun

The scary Holiday for us this year was election day rather than Halloween. Here are a few pictures of our fall... Eatin' pumpkin seeds. My mom made this witch dress for me when I was a little girl. Which witch is which? Captain America!

Busy, but blessed

We're happy but busy here. D is doing hockey again & cubscouts. I'm his bear den leader. He planned a hike this summer for one of his requirements. There is the coolest trail up in the mountains where train tracks once were & you can hike through train tunnels. Visit us & we'll take you. Miss H helped decorate her own birthday cake. She is also in a singing/dancing group this fall that's really cute and fun. Our lil' stinker had the audacity to turn 4 (FOUR?! That went too fast). He's actually been asking for about a month "Is today my birthday?" And if you say no, he'll keep asking until you tell him "Yes, Happy Birthday!" He's so fun. The baby's thinking "I have a high chair, now where's my share of all this cake?!" Also, I've also been doing more legal work. It is good, but our laundry pile & overflowing dish sink show the lack of extra time in our schedules lately. It makes us tired just thinking about it all... I love how she smiles even in her sleep. She's such a joy. We sure feel blessed.

School Starting

1st day! I'll admit my relief at school starting. (I've shared my thoughts on the so-called "lazy days of summer" before). We've had a fun summer, but it's like a "mom marathon". Wheew! We made it. The "kid garden" section of our yard. They have a pumpkin growing & check out this zuchinni... D said his arm got tired while posing for pics. The baby's growing like crazy too. She's 4 mos. She loves to "stand". She's sweet & happy. Miss H turned 6. Her main gifts were a violin & getting her ears pierced. Great grandma turns 90 next month!