Christmas Vacation!

We had a white Christmas this year.

Everything was so pristine and pretty.

The boys couldn't help themselves.

They had to play in the snow.

The dogs enjoyed it too!

Tom and Keaton, building snowmen.

Their cute snowmen~

~in the light of the barn~

~at night.

Catan anyone?

Our favorite family game.

There was a lot of that going on, along with a couple of new games:  'Awkward Family Photos' and 'Ticket to Ride'.  Tom and I also put together a 1000 piece puzzle - which turned out to be a 999 piece puzzle.  We also all took turns giving each other a terrible cold.  I'll admit - I'm the one who started it.

Tom reads 'The Night Before Christmas' on Christmas Eve.

Winston is enjoying the reading.

Keaton could hardly contain himself.

Preston flew in from Alaska on Christmas Eve.  The pilot of his plane wouldn't land in Pullman because of fog, so they re-routed to Lewiston.  Tom and I got to have a nice evening drive - through the snow - to Lewiston to pick him up.  It was good to have him back home with us - although I think he really enjoyed his time with the Pierce family.

Christmas was full of fun and surprises.

I made quilts for the boys out of some of their favorite old T-shirts.

Everyone needs a Slinky!

Poor Grandma wasn't feeling too well on Christmas day.

We enjoyed having her with us anyway.

Sometimes it's just too much fun.

Then we took family pictures.

The boys.

And all of us. 

Now on to New Years and then back to work.

Happy New Year!

Boredom Buster of Titanic Proportions... and a birthday.

It's amazing how this kid can be entertained by a box.

He loves this time of year because we seem to have a lot of boxes floating around.  Two days after school got out, he came to me and said "Mom, I'm bored."  I said "Well, you've got a bunch of boxes around here, why don't you think of something to do with them."  So he did.

All it took was some scissors, tape and a little help from Mom, and...

Waaaaaaa.....

......Laaaaaaa!

I think you can see where this is going.

Especially if you know Winston.

The box Titanic was created!

Now it just needed a little paint.

Don't look too excited.

He really was enjoying this.

In the meantime, Grandma Marcia was baking cookies!

Almost done!

Here it is!

This thing will fill hours with entertainment for days to come!

Aaaaaand....

A birthday!

Look at the cute bell Winston got me for my birthday!

I love that kid!

Thanks to all for the birthday wishes and gifts.

Despite having a cold, we had a really nice day.  Tom even cooked dinner for me, with the help of Keaton and Marcia.  Then we had Red Velvet birthday cake!

YUM!

Snow at Last!

A crisp and beautiful Winter Morn.

We finally got our first real snowfall, and it was lovely.

We got to enjoy visiting some more with Rachael.

Thank You to the Pierce family for the goodies from Alaska!

The chocolates are already gone!

And the Moose Farkle will definitely get some use!

On Saturday we took Preston and Rachael to the airport.

They flew to Alaska together.

Preston will be back with us on Christmas Eve.

Bah-Humbug!

Keaton is done with school, but still has work this week.

He really doesn't seem to mind it - especially the paycheck.

Winston, enjoying the fresh snowfall.

Also counting the minutes until he can play in it.

In other news:

I caught a terrible cold and think I've passed it on to Tom.

Just what we needed in time for the holidays.

Marcia arrived last night and will be spending the holidays with us.

She's got a lot of baking planned.

We can't wait until Wednesday -

it's our last day of school and work for a couple of weeks.

I'm not sure I'm ready for another birthday.

I guess it's only fair, though, to keep up with Tom.

Happy Winter Everyone!

Jolly Good Cheer!

That holiday season has crept up on me again.

Preston and Rachel put out my Christmas farm for me.

They did a great job.

Now, if I could just get Winston to quit playing with it...

...at least he hasn't parked a Greyhound bus in it this year.

Yet.

Things have been so busy, I've hardly had time to enjoy the season.

I haven't even done any shopping yet.

Winston has been wrapping presents for everyone.

We're all anxious to see what each one of us gets.

It's usually something he's found around the house.

Last year he wrapped up Tom's work keys to give to him for Christmas.

Last night we went to the holiday parade in town.

We stood on a corner at the beginning of the parade route.

Winston was the only kid there.

He made out like a bandit in the candy department.

I say the beginning of the route is the best place to be!

So despite no shopping, I've been working on some cute, fun things.

It's just enough to fill whatever spare time I have.

It has also helped me get a little more in the spirit of the season.

I listen to Christmas music while I'm sewing them.

My all-time favorite song is 'O Holy Night' by Nat King Cole

This is what I really feel like doing.

Hey, it's winter (or at least it's supposed to be).

Hybernation is only natural.

Hope you all are enjoying the season too!

Thanksgiving 2012

Winston, helping with Thanksgiving Dinner!

We didn't have any real plans for Thanksgiving this year.  We were just going to hang out, lounge around and eat turkey by ourselves.  Then we got company.

We were glad to have Nels and girls here for Thanksgiving evening and the weekend.  It was too bad their Thanksgiving trip to the west-side had to be canceled and that Hazel and Rachel were stuck in the hospital all weekend.   We're so glad Hazel is getting better and is finally home!  We wish they could have been here too.  Then Kendall & Jeremy and girls came for Friday and Saturday.  It was so much fun having them all here.  The cousins all had a blast too!

We played a LOT of Qwirkle, quite a bit of Catan and some Kings.  There was lots of eating going on, too, but that's typical for this holiday.  Good Family + Good Food = Good Fun

Getting ready to play Kings!

The kids had a great time running all over the house, making forts and beating pinatas on the WII.

Clara was a darling!

Preston was gone part of the time - Coug stadium security.

When he was around and not 'sleeping' we enjoyed his company.

Who needs sleep anyways, right?

Here's the crew - waiting for breakfast!

Thanks for spending the weekend with us Chicks and Polands!  Let's do it again sometime!

Just In Case.

Some Monday Morning Cuteness

Keaton took this picture while Sally was running like a crazy cat around in the bathtub.  Not sure why she does that, but it happens quite often.

I just thought I'd post once before the satellite man comes and changes our service.  It might be a while before the internet is up again.  I'm hoping sometime this evening - but where we live, who knows.  We're upgrading, so it's supposed to make our internet connection faster.  We'll see about that. 

Anyways, all is well here.  We're looking forward to getting a couple days off from school and work.  Preston has the whole week off - yippee!  Keaton has it off from school, but has a couple days of work.  The rest of us have until after Wednesday before getting time off.  Can't wait for Turkey Day!

Have a Great Thanksgiving All!!!

Just Too Much Fun!

Swimming at Grandma & Grandpa Chick's House!

And riding bikes at Jack & Ani's House! 

Who's that old lady standing next to my Mom???

Next up is Grammy Moore's and then back to reality.

Moore Stuff

I was recently informed by my eldest son that there is some favoritism going on around here.  He said that I seem to post more things about Winston on my blog than I do about Keaton and him.  I told him that it was probably because Winston was readily available and provided me with more content because of proximity.  We don't see much of the older boys these days.  And Winston provides many hours of entertainment, all by himself.

  That being said...

...this one's for you, Preston.

I Love Ya!

And because the only material I've got has been provided by Winston, here's some funnies he came up with lately:

Some of the farmers were working on a field near our home.  They brought in a Port-A-Potty for the extra help.  We would drive by it every day for a couple of months.  Every time we drove by, Winston would say "That Portal Potty is still here."  I always wondered where that 'Portal' potty would send you if you were transported in it.

The other day we were riding in the car with our good friend Janice.  She pointed out an old house to us and said that she'd been inside it.  She said that at one time it was a really fancy house.  Winston perked up at the words "Fancy House" and asked if they had golden toilet paper in it.

That kid - cracks me up!

Now, on to the other stuff... 

We were over-run with lady bugs a couple of weeks ago.  This is just one spot in our yard.  There were several spots that were just covered with 'swarming' lady bugs.  They were EVERYWHERE!

Shelvin the Rooster's days may be numbered.  Not only does he come after me, but he now comes after Tom.  Not a good idea to attack a guy who looks at you like you're already fried chicken legs.

And... on to the cuteness!

Here is our resident deer friend, Hope.

Isn't she cute?

We call her Hope, because we hope she survives us.

The red collar is to save her from the hunters.  We wanted to let her have at least a year before having to worry about that.

Here's Hope with her favorite human.

Here's Hope contemplating eating my gorgeous burning bush.

Here's Daisy Dog, contemplating messing with Sally Cat.

Here's Hope Deer and Daisy Dog actually messing with Sally Cat.

Just a side-note... I love all my children equally and unconditionally

and always will.

The animals - not quite so much.

Here's another one for ya, Preston!