Jack walking up the steps to the sweet sledding hill Doug has made in our yard. Doug says he's going to keep adding to it each time he shovels the driveway. At this rate the hill should be about 30 feet tall by the end of winter. 
Jack, ready to go.
Doug and Jack going for a ride.
Yesterday we got so much snow. In the morning Doug shoveled the driveway and cleared off the roof. Here's proof of all his hard work.
The human snow plow at it again.
Merry Christmas Family and Friends!! We had a great day celebrating and playing. We were able to hold the boys off from opening gifts until 7a. Aunt Erin stayed overnight, so she was able to join in the fun. Stockings were opened first then presents. Wow, thank you all for all the wonderful gifts. The kids have been thoroughly enjoying everything they received. We made it to Christmas Mass around 10a. The kids were pretty good and Annemarie made friends with everyone around her. The picture above is after church. We took a family picture as well - but I think the one of the kids is so cute. Christmas afternoon the Larkin's hosted an open house with lots of yummy food and great company, it was lots of fun. Christmas night Doug and I ate leftovers from the night before and were in bed by 10p, we were exhausted!
Ahh, the joy of stockings. PEZ anyone?? 
Big green Hulk fists from Aunt Sara and Uncle Jason - each time you hit something they roar or say something funny like "the Hulk is mad!!". (Don't worry, Jack's not sad, he just didn't want to take another picture.) 
Jack and Will with their new sleeping bags from Grandma and Grandpa, Annemarie got one too!
Annemarie in her new hat (hand knitted by Aunt Erin) and me in my new vest. 
Our small mountain of gift wrap and boxes - it's amazing how long it takes to wrap everything and how quickly little boys can unwrap it!
Our pretty tree, no longer overwhelmed with packages. 
There's been all this talk about snow in Portland - just wanted to show everyone the almost buried lilac in the front yard.
Jack, Erin, Doug and Will all ready to dig in.
Annemarie after a mouthful of mashed potatoes - I think they may have had a little bit of mustard on them!
Doug reading the Night Before Christmas - Jack and his new "crazy face"
Ready for Santa and for bed!
Last night's Christmas program was cancelled due to the amount of snow we had. But the show did go on. Every Friday morning the students attend Chapel, so the school rescheduled the program for this morning. The preschoolers preformed four songs (don't worry the video only includes one). Will did such a great job and I think he had a good time.
Brrrr, it has been cold. Last night while Doug was shoveling the driveway the boys went out and played. Here they are after 20 minutes outside. Of course they probably would have stayed out longer but were sent inside after Will hit Jack in the face with a snowball.
Last night Doug taught Will how to read LEGO instructions so he can build on his own. Look what he built all by himself! A car...
and helicopter!
Will and Aunt Erin getting ready to open gifts.
Checking out his new Transformers - isn't funny how some toys stick around for years??
REALLY enjoying his cupcake
Matthew, Will and Jack with their final product, well done boys!
Will is 5 today! Can you believe it? Five years ago, I checked in the hospital to be induced on December 11, 2003 at 6a. Will was born December 12, 2003 at 12:30a. He weighed 8 pounds 10 ounces and was 21 inches long. I was certain he was going to be a girl, so he was a lovely surprise. Will had almost a full head of dark hair and looked suntanned, I had hoped some of those fantastic Swiss/Italian genes were making an appearance. Will is such a sweet and fun kid. He loves going to school and working on projects. He's very detail oriented and notices things most children and even adults don't usually see. He is so kind to Annemarie and likes playing with and making up games with Jack. Will enjoys building with his LEGOS, Cogs or Lincoln Logs and is an expert at putting together his puzzle of the United States.
Really, I always have the best of intentions when it comes to documenting everything pertaining to the Peppmeier children, but time moves quickly and sometimes I fail at my quest for perfection. Our baby girl is 8 months old today! What joy she brings to this house! Here's a quick wrap up of the past two months, including some milestones...
While we were in Portland we made a trip to Santaland. Santaland is located in the downtown Macy's (previously Meier & Frank) and has been relocated from the top floor of the store to the basement. However, I must admit the set up is really nice and a bit more low-key compared to the predecessor. This was Annemarie's first time seeing Santa and I think he was a hit. She loved the beard and just keep gazing up at Santa. The boys did well too. Jack kept saying he didn't want to see Santa, but once we got there he wouldn't stop talking - apparently there are lots of toys on his list. Will was great too and asked Santa to bring him a surprise - you've got to love that!
Here's Will in the original monorail/train that used to run in the old Santaland. I even remember riding in it as a child, so it must be really old!
Will and Jack checking out the decorations and counting all the presents.
The tree has arrived, after all the best of intentions we ended up picking out a pre-cut tree at the Pin & Cue. Last week I found a U-cut tree location close to town (there are tons of them in Oregon, but not many near Whitefish) that's only open on weekends. Today we planned to go out there and cut one down only, it was raining! It's been warm the last few days and instead of snow we're getting rain. So, we decided against a rain soaked tree trek and instead ... went to the parking lot of the Pin & Cue, and Doug and I picked out a tree in less than 5 minutes. We're pretty happy with what we ended up with. Cannot wait to get the tree inside and decorated!
The Whitefish Christmas Stroll was last night. We bundled up the kids and went to check it out. The city closes off about 2 blocks downtown and all the stores stay open late. There's also vendors set up selling foods and other goods. It was cold, about 28 degrees but we had a good time.
Cozy Annemarie, her hat kept shifting around and covering her eyes.
Jack and Doug
The dads and the boys - Jack, Doug, Will, Matthew and John 
Peppmeier cousins - Matt, Will, Jack and Caleb
All the kids on the couch! Kelly, Jack, Caleb, Matt, G.G. (Grandma Peppmeier), Annemarie & Will.
Mick and Chris with ALL their grandchildren.
Dinner with the McAuliffes was so fun! I heard there were 18 adults and 5 children - I didn't count but there were definitely a lot of us. The boys really enjoyed playing with their cousins. Both Matthew and Ryan have grown so much from the last time we visited.
Ryan, Matthew, Will and Jack at the kids table - what big boys!
Here is our attempt at a kids pictures. No matter how many times we asked Jack to move so we could see him, he wouldn't budge. Also, Ryan liked his sweater so much he didn't want to take it off when he put his pajama pants on. He is such a funny boy!
