Annual Sledding Party 2009

Our annual sledding party at Brad's Aunt Polly and Uncle Bobby's house. The temps were in the mid 30's! The kids stayed out all day. It was great! Always enjoyable. I'll post better pics later when I get pics from other people's cameras. There were some pretty cool pics of the boys snowboarding over some jumps!

Isaak's birthday party

We took the boys (all 9 of them) to the first tee down at the golf course. Great sledding hill! The temperature was in the low 30's , perfect.

Christmas pics 2009

Celie is the only one I could get before church yesteray.



Christmas morning.

Merry Christmas!

The Holiday's are EXHAUSTING!

Which of the following sorry excuses explains the pictures:

1. Ocelia had way to much "partying" and passed out on the nearest table.
2. We had 7 children in our house that day, Ocelia did not get a nap, Mom had reached her limit and asked the boys to watch sister for a minute while she did the dishes, the boys played wii instead of watching sister.
3. I am a bad mom and just let her go all night until she just crashed in utter exhaustion rather than fight a bedtime routine.
4. The girl can't hold her drink (note wine glass in background of second picture) and is a sleepy drinker.

Gingerbread Houses!

Yeah!!! We love making gingerbread houses each holiday season. I am not so good as to make real gingerbread, but graham crackers can make some really cool structures!

Celie spent most of her time eating the icing glue. We did everything we could to discourage it. Eventually, we had to put her down from the table, which went over like a lead balloon. Oh well.

Isaak's house is a cabin in the woods, complete with its own out-house. If you have ever used an out house at any temperature below 32 degrees, you will agree that indoor plumbing is the best invention EVER!!!

Ellis took the simple square house structure and just piled. When all was said and done, it looked like the Sugar Plum Fairy threw up on his house. He basically took his icing glue, squeezed about 1/4 th of a cup, grabbed candy, dropped it on the glue like an excavator, and then added more glue on top. It was a great experiment in layering and height. But, he loved his house and said, "it rocked!"

When Avery was gluing his house together, he really had no plan. He just found a piece and glued it somewhere. Interestingly enough, it ended up looking much like a Frank Lloyd Wright house. He kept his decor simple and was the first to finish. Despite the crazed look on his face, his structure is quite normal.

Finally, I give you Bell Christmas Village, with additional town structures of the Advent house and the fruit factory.

And, in case you are wondering....

Yes, we did cut our Christmas tree from our yard.

Yes, it was 3 degrees below zero.

Yes, limbs on a tree snap instantly when it hits the ground at that temperature.

Luckily, our tree goes in the corner, so the side with no limbs fits perfectly. HA! It is our MOST Charlie Brown tree ever. Happy Holidays!

November catch up

November has been full of all sorts of adventures. We got our first snow at the beginning of the month. The boys had a blast sledding down the front slope. There is really not enough around here to snowmachine or snowboard yet.



With the snow and the snuggly feeling that brings, Ellis and Celie and I decided to bake. They are great little bakers. We had more fun making goodies than eating them.

As you may have heard, Isaak was able to play school sponsored basketball this year. He loved it and was pretty good at it. It ended last week, but he is STILL bouncing a ball around here anytime he is on his feet.

All in all, we have had a good November, despite the never ending colds we keep passing back and forth and the little bouts of stomach flu some of us get. We are all sick of being sick and hope to get better for the holiday season, we are all pretty run down. Hope the fall is well for you all.

Take care and Happy Thanksgiving!

Halloween

Halloween fun. Here is the gang.



Forest Fairy, more like a crazy fairy, but whatever.
Pirate, obviously. But for those with a more discerning eye, you will see that he is actually a robot pirate. Yes, I thought you could tell.

Safari guide. Most creative costume. Avery found all the parts himself and we did not have to buy a thing (he points out to me, I love this kid!)

Business on top, party in the back, man. Biker dude. Brad actually gave him a hair cut to the wig prior to this pic!

Such personalities!

Pumpking Carving 101

Well, as usual, our pumpkin choices are very limited as they are mostly shipped up here. By the time they arrive they are pretty old and are starting to grow white mold on the stems. It is a sad state of affairs, but the price we pay I suppose. I was able to fish one small pumpkin out of 4 large boxes. This was literally the ONLY pumpkin without mold. So, it was definitely meant to be for us. Well, the boys and I carved our hearts out and found that our design was not really meant for our small pumpkin. Thank goodness for toothpicks and good repair engineering. Still we had fun and love our little skeleton pumpkin head. Now we just hope he doesn't start growing mold by being inside the house or shrivel up from the cold temps over night before Saturday. HA! One is bound to happen. None the less, we had fun! Sorry that the pics are not in order, but you can figure it out.

Say CHEESE!

Yes, I am proud to say that I have joined the ranks of the cheese makers of America! I have officially made my first batch of mozzarella, and it was terrific on our Friday night pizzas. All the kids approved (that doesn't happen often). My next cullinary attempt will be yogurt for Avery (dairy free). We'll see. I am definately not ready for parm or other hard cheeses, but am on my way.

FALL

Just a few pics of the kids on the last "warm" weekend I spoke about on the previous blog. What is fall without a leaf pile to jump in?! I believe Ellis yelled "Cowabunga!" prior to the launch.

Yes, it is Isaak in the leaves.

1 Mile Run

The boys participated in the Fall Fun Run Sept. 19. They did great. Isaak had spent the night at a friend's house, so in the morning when I picked him up, he was DRAGGIN'! HA! Ellis was really pumped about running a race by himself. They had a preKinder race just for little kids. It was adorable. Isaak's time for the 1 mile was 8:56 and Avery's was 11:01. They did great. It was great training for Isaak for his cross country meet this Wednesday. He will run the 1 1/2 mile. It will be fun. This was our last "warm" weekend. It is now cold (42 or so for a daily high) and the snow is half way down the mountains. (sigh) I knew it would be here soon, I just always hope it will surprise me and wait until November. Doesn't hurt to dream, right?!

If you give a moose....

If you give a moose a muffin, he will ask some jam. If you give a moose a 375 H&H bullet to the neck he will charge you and get within 20 yards when you give him another bullet straight to the heart and he will drop like a sack of potatoes.

Yes, it is hunting season. Brad, inspired by other animal kill stories from the week (thank you Chris and Jason) started his hunting vacation early with a quick trip out to Point Mackenzie just to look. Two hours later, 7:30 am, Brad had a moose. Reference above story. The happiness in his voice was amazing! I haven't heard that in a while. Well, I will let the pictures tell the rest of

the story.

Yes it was stinky!