Mom is too busy in December to take normal pictures....

I got to take Ethan and Anna out to the Civic Theater in the beginning of December and we walked downtown to watch the ice-skaters. They were hooked and we went back the next week to skate. It was the first time for all the kids - super fun! Ethan did really well, Anna looked like a cartoon character whose legs would not stay underneath her and Claire skated pretty well while either Joel or I was bent over helping her. Our backs did not fare well. Sadly, I took no pictures - this one is taken downtown when we went to the Civic, though.

On a sunny Saturday in early December we went to the Santa Claus Parade in Caledonia. Small but fun - I think the kids were more interested in the hot chocolate than the parade.

No Christmas season would be complete without Pillsbury cookie decorating. Please try to note the HUGE pile of sprinkles/sugar completely covering every inch of Anna's cookies.

Ethan was more meticulous than his sister. I didn't know it took so much concentration! :)

Bears being herself by our tree.

We're off to Florida for the holidays. We're driving this year so say a prayer for safe travels and we wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

Meijer Gardens Holiday Visit

Why is it that the one year I do not need a Christmas card picture (remember the 4th of July cards??), I get several great choices without even trying. So, here is the your virtual holiday picture. Minus the card and envelope. :)


Here is Mr. Beans by his favorite Christmas tree at the Gardens.

Another good one of all three....not sure about the look on Ethan's face. Claire seems to be the only one hamming it up - as usual.

Awwww...sweet siblings. :)

Assorted November Activities

Earlier this month Anna went to her first Libby Lu Birthday Party. The girls get their hair and nails done and basically acted way too old for their age. Actually, it was quite cute and Anna looked like a princess.

The other day, the girls took all the toys out of our toy shelves and decided it was their bed.

Here is a picture of my lovely sister and I while we were in Las Vegas. Wow...what an awesome time it was!! No kids or responsibilities for 4 days!!

However, we still managed to irritate our husbands. :) And we even got it on camera! If I recall, we were simply suggesting they scooch closer together for their picture.

This fantastic picture was taken in my mom's suite - my sister and I, Elvis, and my two lovely new sisters, Sarah and Erin. There was a great Elvis impersonator at her 60th birthday party - he stayed past the party and hung out with us and sang just for us... it was so fun!

Happy Halloween!

And here we have our lovely witch....we've decided we need to use face paint every year from now on. It was so fun!

It's no suprise who Ethan was going to be this year. He was loving life being his favorite Nascar driver, Dale Jr.

Here are the three Halloween Trixters.....Dale, ballerina and witch.

We trick-or-treated at Jon and Jesi's this year. It is so great b/c the houses are close together and decorated so cute. They were very excited to get started!

Here is the post-trick-or-treating pose....lots of excitement and silliness. They had to stop going from house to house because their arms were sore from all the loot.

The whole gang!

One final witch picture to leave you with....
she's got the glamour smile going on.

More Fall Fun...

Wow...I'm a little behind in the pictures.
Here is Claire at Koetsiers Greenhouse. They have a fun fall kids area set up and she loved it. She's digging dried corn kernels.


Here is our beautiful Anna who has unfortunately discovered how to go cross-eyed on command.

This is our lovely baby cousin Violet the Sugar Plum Fairy. The sweetest halloween costume ever....

The pumpkin carving day had finally arrived. All three were very into digging the gunk out of their pumpkins. No one likes the seeds...just mom. :)

Ethan worked very hard on his and did the whole thing by himself.

Stay tuned for the actual Halloween pictures....

Fall Festival Weekend!

We visited Klackle Orchards on Saturday for lots of Fall fun....pumpkin patches, apple picking, go-carts, face-painting and lots of animals to pet.

Here we are in an Enchanted Pumpkin headed out to the pumpkin patch.

They had more fun than they are letting on in this picture. There were so many pumpkins everywhere it was very tough for them to make a decision. :) Claire thought she heard a fire engine.

Sorry, I don't know how to rotate pictures yet on here....anyway, she seriously would not remove her hands from her ears!

Here are Ethan and Anna riding a barrel train around huge silos. Claire would have nothing to do with it.

Ethan is defying gravity inside a huge inflatable dinosaur.

They had a pedal go-cart track which had my little NASCAR fans quite excited. They could have spent all day going around this track. Joel and Claire even went too....

Claire liked the pedal tractors....she had a white horse with a pink mane painted on her cheek (and hair).

Soccer Stars and Smiling Lessons....

Hello again......

Here is one of our soccer stars in action...

The other day we went to lunch with Jesi, Violet and Grandma and Anna HAD to be the photographer. Here is one attempt at a group shot....at least the sisters are smiling nice! :)

Here is the other attempt...honestly, Claire and Violet....do you not get that you have to look at the camera and smile??

And, the entire family on the three-wheeler....being very safe, as usual. :)

A few more back to school pictures....

Here are Ethan, Anna and Claire at the bus stop for Anna's first real day of Kindergarden. It was AYSO Jersey day so they had to wear their soccer jerseys to school.

How sweet...brother and sister waiting for the bus. :)

I have no idea why the color is strange on this picture but here they are again...this time before their first soccer games of the season. Anna really does wear kleats during the game, just not the photo shoot.

Here is Anna today as Allie Alligator. Please note the teeth and nostril.

Claire had to have her picture taken too...she wiped out this afternoon on the cement step in our garage. I was sure one of her teeth had either cracked or gone through her lip but no...just a nice scratch.

Back to School...

Here is one last picture of our week at the cottage. We went to a Jazz show at a Garden shop - here are our three munchkins enjoying the music...wow...Claire has a very fake smile!


Here is Ethan on his first day of 2nd Grade. He loves his teacher and class so far.

Here is Anna on her first day...she goes all day Mon. and Wed. and then Fri. am. She loves Kindergarten! Her favorite friend is a neighbor named Keegan. Of course, no mention of girls in her class...just boys.

Goodbye Summer....

We spent the last week of the summer at Glen Lake.
Here is Claire and lots of knotty pine.


Claire and Aunt Jesi and Violet - three happy girls on a couch.

It's not breakfast at the cottage without bacon.

Early morning swim - sun just happens to be peaking through on Anna's buns.

Anna's domino tower. She thought this was no big deal. Her Dad thought it was another amazing thing about his daughter.