Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great Thanksgiving at Blake's parents. The weather was great, which meant we could play outside, and our kids got lots of attention since they were the only kiddos there. And of course the food was delicious!

I have a blog?

So, since April 2010, a few things have happened. We'll start with Halloween 2011 and go from there. The only reason I am doing this is: my yahoo mail, for some reason, won't let me attach pictures in anything other than full size. So I can't email pictures. I guess I'll need to open a new email address, but for now I will just post some pics here.

Green tea frap, please

Ok, so it's been quite a while since I updated the blog. I guess nothing has been happening - ha! Anyway, here is a pic of Julia the other day - I got a green tea frap from Starbucks and let her try a few sips. She LOVED it.

Monkey bars

Our neighbors have a swing set that the kids and I use quite a bit. For the past couple of weeks, Grant has been trying the monkey bars but makes sure that I stay right next to him. Well last night, I guess he decided he was ready to do them alone. I was pushing Julia on the baby swing and looked over to see him go across by himself. Who would have quessed his boney arms were so strong?!?! He was so proud of himself - he kept going back and forth. After about 15 mintues, I finally got the camera so I could record it. Now all he wants to play at are playgrounds with monkey bars, which unfortunately aren't that easy to find! The three within jogging distance of our house don't have them. Guess we'll be driving to more parks.

Christmas in CF

Here are some pics from Christmas with my fam in CF. Unfortunately Lyn, Darci and I were only there for 1 day together. Or maybe that's a good thing since there are so many kids/babies now :) I can't believe I didn't get any pictures of mom and dad with the kids! We are going home again in 2 weeks - I'll be sure to get some then.

Look - all 6 grandkids in a shot! What a nice pose.

Drew and Julia playing a quiet, beautiful song.

Julia and Joel - yes, he is always this smiley!

Julia playing with my dad.

Grant and Drew had the same pjs. They thought that was pretty neat, but saw no need to pose for a photo. Boys.

Christmas time pics

I guess I haven't posted anything since Thanksgiving! I blame it on the holiday shopping, the kids, and of course being in the first trimester. Anyway, here are some pictures from December. Grant and I made a gingerbread house - he LOVES doing that sort of thing. He did most of it himself. Also a pic of Julia with her babies. Oh how she can love on her babies, and then just as quickly throw them to the ground and step on them as she walks over. Let's hope that changes before August!

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a great time with Blake's family at Thanksgiving, but missed the Barker's. It was strange having the only kids there! But of course Grant loved all his one-on-one time with Grandma in the kitchen. He helped her make the best pizza dough! Now if only he could do that at home...

The weather was beautiful so we were able to play outside which is always a good thing!

Looking for her belly button.

Having a tea party with Grandma - all the grandkids love the tea parties!

The kids

Here are some pictures from the past few days. Julia had some raspberries last week and thought it was so cool to put them on her fingers. I gotta agree - it's a fun fruit to eat! Mom and Dad came to visit this weekend and Grant was Mom's shadow and Julia was crazy about my dad. She didn't want me - she only wanted my dad! That was great for me since Julia has decided that 5-5:30 is a great time to start our day. So I have more than enough quality time with her by the time she goes to bed at night.
Blake asked why Julia needed this coat. Don't you think it speaks for itself? This is Grant's reaction to tasting Grandma's tea. And yes, he insisted I take a picture of him.
Our little climber. Wow, did she think she was big stuff! Ok, so maybe Dad helped her up there, and had to pry her fingers loose to get her down.

My dad got LOTS of snuggles this weekend! Also notice how long Julia's hair is getting in back :)

Zoo day

Grant is finally healthy!! He had a virus last week, then a double ear infection. Anyway, he's back to normal (which means full of energy) so we headed to the zoo this morning. It was a beautiful morning! We even had a picnic lunch outside - probably the last time we'll get to do that this year.

Grant ended up falling off the elephant and requested that I take this picture, which he had to see immediately. Julia thought it was soooo funny to kiss this turtle. And I agree, as long as it doesn't have H1N1 :)

Grant laid back on this and announced, "Mommy - I'm an angel!"

Grant and Ellee - separated!

Grant's girlfriend, Ellee, and her family moved to Texas last week. We are going to miss them! They stopped by on their way out of town to say goodbye. I don't think the kids really understand that they won't get to see each other all the time, so they weren't too upset, but Amanda and I were :( Anyway, I'm glad they braved our sick, germ-filled house to say goodbye! Here are Grant and Ellee
Julia and Cole - we couldn't get these two to sit still

Joke time

Grant makes up jokes all the time, but most of them don't make sense. But the other night he had a good one while getting ready for bed:
Knock knock
Who's there?
Naughty
Naughty who?
Hi Naughty, I'm nice.

The kids are actually both napping right now - Grant is still sick (day 3), and Julia is just tired since she got up at 5:15 this morning. Why am I blogging? Think I'll go lay down.

Happy Halloween!

The kids had so much fun trick-or-treating last night - and the weather was beautiful. Julia only went to a few houses - she liked playing with the candy people had, then saying "tank ooo" (thank you). Then she and I came home to pass out candy while Grant ran the neighborhood with Blake in hot pursuit!

This is what Grant drew while Blake and I were watching the Hawkeye game (what a game, eh?). We were quite impressed!

Trick-or-treat

We took the kids to the outdoor shopping area for a little candy today. They had so much fun! Grant loves his scarecrow costume, and Julia kept her headband on the whole time! They also had face painting and some games. Thank goodness for the break in the crappy weather - 50 degrees and windy didn't seem so bad, and the place was packed. A nice little afternoon.

Baby Holland

We went to the lake this weekend to see Grandma and Grandpa and to see the Barkers before their big move to Hawaii. We also got to meet new baby Holland - she is such a sweetie! The older kids had a great time playing together, despite the record cold weather. brrrr Julia doing the sign for "more". I have a similar picture of Grant at this age.

Mom and Dad's visit

Last weekend Mom and Dad came to visit. Grant is all about tradition, and since we carved a pumpkin with Dad last year, we had to do it again this year :) Grant drew what he wanted on the pumpkin, then Dad and I cut it. And Grant wanted nothing to do with pulling out the insides. Silly boy - we'll carve another pumpkin this month and I'll MAKE him do it!! We also went out to Vala's - the best pumpkin patch around.