Tree Time

Decorating the tree is one of the kids' favorite things to do. We always put it up the day after Thanksgiving, and they get to take turns picking which ornaments they get to put on. Then of course they fight over who gets to put the star on top. This year they all came to the decision that it was Madi's turn. If you ask Ryan, she is getting too big to lift up. He might turn into the designated tree topper in the next year or two. Zack loved all the pretty twinkling lights!

Zack got into dancing to the Christmas music!

The girls found the Santa hats and had to try them on

Bubble Blowin'

One of Zacks favorite things to do is drink from the cup with the built in straw, especially when it has milk in it. He blows through the straw until the bubbles from the milk touch his nose and spill over the side. Then he tries to pop them with his finger. Thanks to his sisters for teaching him the bubbles fun with this one!

Hairy contest

Ryan had a contest with his friends at work, to see who could grow the most facial hair in a week. By the weeks end, it started getting itchy and driving them nuts. On the last day, they all went to work wearing just their mustaches. Has anyone ever seen Ryan this hairy? Crazy men! I will try to get a picture of his mustache posted later, if its not too late! (Cheryl, I hope to see one of Doug too!) Personally, I kinda like the unshaven look, before it gets too long! What do you think?

Halloween

Well, here we are on Halloween. The kids enjoyed carving their own tiny pumpkins, and Zack liked to eat the seeds. Alissa still hasnt gotten into the mushy feeling of cleaning it out, but she loved designing her face. Afterwards, they got into their costumes. Just in case you cant tell, Madison was a spider princess, Katelin Tinkerbell, Alissa a butterfly fairy, and Zack a fearless dragon. I also caught Ryan goofing around with a beautiful Ariel wig on! Since they do trick-or-treating on Sunday afternoon where we live, we went to our friends house a couple towns over on the actual day. It was so warm and nice, the kids stayed out for about 3 hours and got a ton of candy! It felt much more like a normal Halloween this year, after trying to go with the flow last year. We all had fun.

Alissa's 4th birthday

Alissa celebrated her birthday on Oct. 8. She chose to have a butterfly cake which she enjoyed decorating herself (with help). We then had a little family party where she got to open her presents and eat her beautiful butterfly cake. During the weekend, she chose to celebrate by having a special date with Mom and Dad. She wanted to have dinner with the animals at the Rainforest Cafe, where she wasnt too sure about the sparkler in her ice cream. But the birds and fishes were great! Afterwards we went to Build-a-Bear workshop, where she picked out and stuffed her new furry friend, a very cute puppy; which she named cuddles. She topped off the night with what she does best, falling asleep on the way home. It was a big success!

Pumpkin Patch Party

Zack Katelin Madison Alissa

Here we are at our ward activity at the Pumpkin Patch. We ate chili and cornbread and went on a hayride...a dark hayride, through the corn field. It was really cold, even the "Hot Cocoa", but the kids had a blast! They especially loved picking out their own pumpkins to take home. What good little Monsters!

Checking out the animals while it was still light out

Katelin & Alissa trying to keep warm

Relaxin on the hayride

Zack with his pumpkin

Our First Big News!

Well, as the start of our family blog we would like to announce the most surprising upcoming event of our life...a new baby. Thats right, baby #5 is on the way and expected to arrive mid December. Believe me, this was as big a shock for me as anyone, but after many months of thought and reflection about the whole thing, I have finally started to become more accepting and excited about welcoming another little person into our family. Katelin has taken full responsibility for this one, since she claims she "wished for it" with the blow of a dandelion. Therefore, I am putting her in charge of all the night wakings and whether she likes it or not, the dirty diapers!

So our family has been shaking things up in preparation of the big day. We have been in the process of buying beds and re-arranging bedrooms. We have been trying to figure out how to fit yet another car seat into the Montero, or be able to afford a much hesitated necessity... a van. Yes, I said it, Im giving in to the whole van way of life. Im finally tired of climbing over the seats to buckle seat belts, and trying to stuff the groceries into any available nook and cranny I can find. My convertible will just have to wait, I need more room! Zack has also surprisingly eased into staying in the toddler bed at night. He was climbing out of the crib anyway! And as always, Ryan has been on the lookout for better paying positions/jobs to be able to accomodate. So thats the biggest life changing news for us right now.

After all, doesnt everything revolve around a new baby?!

Heres a look at #5.