Christmas 2009

What a Merry Christmas we had! It was great to have Mick and Chris staying with us and we even convinced Erin to sleep at the house on Christmas Eve. The children received so MANY nice gifts. We were able to hold the boys off until 7:20a that's when the gift opening began. Next we had breakfast and then Doug, Erin and I went to the Larkin's open house while Mick and Chris stayed home with the kids. We finished the day off with more food...Christmas dinner. I made shrimp salad, ham, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, biscuits and Raspberry Fool for dessert.

Christmas Eve, getting ready to hang up their stockings. Who is the clown in this picture?
One of many attempts to get a picture of all the kids before going to bed.

Christmas morning, me opening my Kindle from Doug. I was so surprised and so thrilled!

Grandma and Grandpa opening their gifts.
Christmas morning mayhem!

Annemarie in the new dress made by Grandma, holding the pony purse from Aunt Erin and sporting her pink phone and red ballet flats from Santa.

The boys in the new pajamas made by Grandma.

Christmas Eve Activities

Mick and Chris have traveled out to Whitefish to celebrate Christmas with us. We're so lucky! Last night the adults went out to dinner and then went to the bar to visit and listen to music. Today there were lots of fun activities! Mick, Chris, Doug and the boys went for a dog sled ride in Olney. This was the first time for everyone except Will. Everyone had a great time.

One of the dogs, sitting on his house.

Mick and Chris all cozy in their sled.

We had another Whitefish first tonight. We went to Santa's Torch Lighting Parade up on Big Mountain. I guess it's a Montana tradition and it's so fun to watch. Skiers ski down a dark run (it was about 6p) holding torches. It's so pretty to watch them zig zag down the mountain. This may become a new Christmas Eve tradition for us. Check out the movie below to see the parade in action.

Erin, Kelly and Annemarie trying to stay warm. Later tonight Chris, Erin, Doug and I are headed to 9p mass in Kalispell. What a treat to go to church without the kids. Thanks Mick!

Santa's Torchlight Parade at Big Mountain

Will Turns 6!

So I'm about two weeks late with this post, but I figured better late then never. I cannot believe Will is six. I know I say this every year when one of the kids has a birthday, but WOW, really? Are we already to six? Will is so big and he's becoming more and more independent. He loves to talk and tell me all about the interesting things he's learning at school. His penmanship for a kindergardener is quite legible and he's reading!

Will loves to play with LEGOS, Transformers, anything Star Wars related. He's an avid skiier (as much as a 6-year-old can be) and has memorized the mountain's ski map. He's a good big brother to Jack and very sweet with Annemarie.

At his well child check up we learned that he weighs 43.8 pounds (50%) and is 45.5 inches tall (75%). Starting in January Will will begin guitar lessons and is going to play basketball. It's going to be a busy start to the New Year! Will you bring us all such joy, we love you!!

Star Wars Crossovers from Grandma and Grandpa.

A new game from Uncle Neill.

A child-sized guitar, Will had been asking for this since August. Thank you to everyone for thinking of Will and sending him gifts. He had a very special and fun filled birthday.

Welcome Baby Tyler!

The Hunts and Peppemeiers received an early Christmas present this year. Sara and Jason's son Tyler Anthony was born today. He was 10 days early but he and his parents are doing great. He weighs 7 pounds, 6 ounces and has a full head of dark hair. We look forward to meeting you Tyler!

18-24 months

This picture is for my sister Corey. Thank you for the shirt and leggings for Annemarie. See...the shirt fits and she loves the pig. She'll even make the oink oink noise and point to the picture if you ask her to. Thank you for coming out to visit us. The kids had a great time playing with you and Doug and I enjoyed your company as well!

WCA Christmas Program

So today was Will and Jack's Christmas program at school. The lighting in the church isn't very good and I really didn't get any good pictures. However, the program was very entertaining. Both Will and Jack's classes sang songs and Will's class recited Psalms 100. It was very impressive.

Jack up close.

Will in the plaid shirt on the end.

Feliz Navidad Program

Will's class put on a little production this afternoon and I'm so happy I was there to watch it. They went from classroom to classroom singing this song about Joseph and Mary and how they are very weary from their travels and is there any room available? Now I wish I had recorded them singing, it was very cute. After going to many classrooms the last one they went to was the 4th grade where their buddies are. And of course they said "yes" there was room. Then they all had cookies.

After their program they had a fiesta in their classroom. This included songs, food and even a pinata and sparklers!

Will's Birthday Party Extravaganza

Will's birthday party took place today. What a great time! We invited his entire kindergarden class and ended up with 13 kids (including Will and Jack). We were a bit old-fashion, no themes but lots of party games...pin the tail on the donkey, musical chairs, a relay and twister to name a few. We served lunch, Will opened gifts and we had cake. The group was rowdy but lots of fun. Here are the pictures to prove it!

The lovely ladies.

Presents galore.

Make a wish!

A picture of the entire group, not bad!

The Tree

Our tree is up and decorated. We did it last night. It's a funny tree because it is so narrow. We didn't realise how narrow until we got it home. The good part is it didn't need as many lights and I'm sure there will be less needles to clean up. Otherwise it's really pretty. The boys really enjoyed putting their ornaments on the tree. Now we get to sit back and enjoy it!

The boys hanging up their ornaments and Doug monitoring the placement of each ornament.

Annemarie found her favorite - a picture of Will and kept taking it off the tree and moving it.

Kelly and Annemarie

Smile!

Pink Snow Pants

Check out Annemarie's first pair of snow pants. I purchased them while we were in Oregon and I tried them on her today. She loves them and doesn't want to take them off. They're fleece-lined so I really don't blame her. I also bought her snow boots and I cannot wait to get some pictures of her in the snow with her brothers.

Thanksgiving 2009

We had a great Thanksgiving holiday. We were in Oregon and celebrated with the Peppmeiers. The food was great the the company could not have been better! The kids really enjoyed playing with their cousins and we kept busy the three full days we were there.

I got some shopping in on Wednesday, we went to the basketball game Wednesday night, Thursday morning we took the kids to visit Papa, Uncle Neill and my dad. We celebrated Thanksgiving with the Peppmeiers Thursday evening and Doug played golf with his family on Friday. Friday night we had a quick visit with Dennis, Marcie, Matt and Ryan. Saturday morning we headed back to Whitefish around 6a. We had a really nice time and enjoyed our visit.

The kids in the Fort at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Matt, Jack, Will and Caleb.
Visiting Papa, Annemarie was screaming and Papa was copying her.

Will, Uncle Neill, Jack and Annemarie.

Thanksgiving dinner. Doug, Steve, Chris, Mick, Sara, Jason, Kelly, Will, Jack and Annemarie. Matthew and Caleb joined us for dessert. Thank you everyone for making our visit so much fun!

First Blazer Game

We took the boys to their first Blazer game Wednesday night and they had so much fun! We were in Portland for the Thanksgiving holiday. We had a big group, Steve and the twins, our family minus Annemarie (she stayed at home with Grandma and Grandpa) and Sara and Jason. The kids did great, we made it to the beginning of the fourth quarter and then packed it up and headed back to Sherwood.

The view from our seats.

Uncle Jason, Will, Doug, Jack, Caleb, Steve and Matt.

New Bathroom Floor

Look what Doug did! We can add Tiler to the long list of things Doug can do. The master bathroom floor was looking pretty bad. Originally (I forgot to take a before picture) there were small white hex tiles, but the floor was very stained and at least 30 years old. So Doug replaced it. He did a great job!

The Climber

We have a climber on our hands. Every elevated surface or piece of furniture is out there for Annemarie's climbing pleasure, or so she has decided. She's grown in past few weeks and is now able to get onto things she couldn't before. She's thrilled with this new developement and I'm realizing I need to watch her even closer.

Happy Birthday Doug

We celebrated Doug's 36th birthday last night. I made Doug peanut butter pie because it's his favorite and the kids helped sing Happy Birthday. Will "accidentally" blew out the candles. We re-lit them so Doug could have a chance. I also put together an adult celebration a couple nights earlier at the Great Northern. The birthday boy had a great time.

Annemarie's Stats

We finally made it to the doctor for Annemarie's 18 month check up. I have updated stats. Her head circumference is in the 75 percentile, she's 31 inches tall (25%) and weighs 23 pounds (15%). I had no idea she was on the smaller side. She doesn't fit in half of her 18-24 month size clothes (maybe I'm shrinking them when I do the wash?). The doctor said she looks great and there is no reason for concern. She thinks Annemarie just may be on the petite side.

Picture Day

So, this is a perfect example about how things don't always go the way you plan. I found a local photographer and have been looking forward to getting some pictures of the family and especially Annemarie. I've actually had to reschedule our session three times due to injuries and unexpected trips out of town. This photographer is booked for the rest of the year so it was very important that we make our appointment on Sunday. The weather was perfect (cold but sunny) and the boys were in good spirits. So what happened? Annemarie cried, the entire time. She would not look at the camera and when I was holding her during our attempt at a family picture she cried and cried some more. Needless to say, we did not get the pictures we were after...we did get some great one of the boys. If you'd like to see the pictures go here: http://thousandwordsphotographymontana.blogspot.com/2009/11/brown-eyed-cuties.html

Halloween 2009

We had such a great Halloween. The kids were a theme this year...Star Wars. Jack was Darth Vader, Will was Luke Skywalker and Annemarie was the perfect Yoda. They received lots of compliments while we were out, especially Annemarie (thanks Hovdes for lending us the costume!).

Darth Vader, Yoda and Luke Skywalker

Team Peppmeier before heading out for the evening

Tyler the Pumpkin and Annemarie at the Larkins' get together. Thanks Stef and Scott for the treats!

At the end of the evening, lots of smiles and no tears!

Snowy October Morning

It was so beautiful and snowy when we woke up this morning. It was coming down when I took the kids to school but has tapered off this afternoon. I made sure I got a picture before it melted. I never get tired of how pretty the snow makes everything look.