Holiday traditions!

Christmas Advent calendar made with love from Aunty Lala
Plenty of movies at grandma & grandpa's house

Visit to Santa.

This was Ravenna's first year to sit on Santa's lap.

Hudson asked for a Teradactyl.

Ravenna a Snow White doll. My god daughter's 2nd birthday...sweet Delaney Maureen.

Helping Delaney open her presents.

This may be the last year they get away with this.

The North Pole Light Cruise on Lake Coeur d' Alene.

We went with Stephan's cousin Nathaniel & Holly & their 2 boys Eli & Nevhye.

We also brought our god son Caden & our niece Delaney Jo.

Ravenna & Delaney

The Egging family, who now lives in Hayden, ID.

Hopefully we will see more of them now, so fun to catch up.

The SL Byrd's

Our 2 monkeys & their sweet little cousins.

What a fun night!

Fun times with the Todd girls.

Love these 3 dollies!

Magical moments in Disneyland

Ravenna's "Gotcha Day"! 3 year anniversary

Our "Gotcha Day" in Guanzhou China! Sweet Ravenna Kelly Mei!
One year!

Two years!

Three years!

How fortunate we are to have this sweet little girl in our lives!

Disneyland

We have been here 2 days and we are:

-soaked, wet, & drenched from all the rain

-not having to stand in any lines & thrilled about that despite the weather

-smiling & laughing like children. This place does make you feel like a kid again.

-getting over the hacking coughs & temperatures the kids have had

-so thankful to be here with my parents & forever grateful for such a priceless gift

-watching the excitement of our children as they experience the wonder of this magical place.

Stuffed with food & love!

We spent Thanksgiving with Stephan's side of the family. My sister & brother in law had the whole lot of us over to their home in Spokane. We had a wonderful time, with lots of laughs (partly due to a black light), food, & drinks. We have so much to be thankful for!
Thanks Vic & Aim for hosting!

Caden, Delaney, Hudson & Ravenna
All the kids on Thanksgiving

This a very important picture as it is Ravenna & her cousin Delaney just before Ravenna's first sleep over. Delaney invited her & I thought for sure Ravenna wasn't going to go for it (since she ends up in our bed sometime every night). To my surprise she was soooo excited & I never got a call to come & pick her up during the middle of the night. She had hot cocoa for breakfast, got to play in Hannah's "princess castle" bed tent, and play and play with her sweet cousin "Laney Jo"!

Here is another important picture as it is Hudson with Caden, just before his big sleep over. He too got asked to spend the night & the smile on his face shows his response. I think they ended up falling asleep about midnight & now Hudson thinks this is the way it should always be when we come to Spokane. "Caden & I should always sleep over when we come to Spokane." Stephan & I will have to work on that one.

So just like that my little monkeys, get a little older!

We also got to spend time with my god daughter Delaney. She is growing so fast, talking more & more & is a sweet, funny, little child. Ravenna & Hudson love to walk with her, each holding one of her hands. It's very cute!

Guess where we're going?

My parents are taking us to the most "magical" place on earth. The kids don't know & my mom created a puzzle for them to figure it out. They wake up & run to open a little bag with a new puzzle piece every day & when it's all put together, we read them a letter expaining the surprise. They are convinced it's Mickey Mouse, a castle & some balloons.....but haven't put it all together yet. My mom has made this so fun, but the real fun will come when we get there!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Gymnastics & Karate!

Halloween

Our "chicken little" & "Tigr" our tiger
Somehow Halloween turned into a 3 day holiday. They had dress up at their pre-school & a parade on Thursday, on Friday downtown Whitefish had "trick or treat street". All the stores hand out candy to the little ones from 2-5pm. Then on Saturday (actual Halloween) we went to the mall & then trick or treating for a few blocks in Whitefish. The kids had fun, and I worry they will now expect this 3 day extravaganza next year. The only down fall of this fun time is all the left over candy that is finding a home in my tummy! BE GONE HALLOWEEN CANDY!

OB's team played for the state boys soccer championship on Saturday. They lost to Billings, but he had an awesome season to add to his phenomenal track record as a coach. The kids had fun with their cousins Cash & Zoey.

Daddy & his girl

OB & Zoey

I must compliment Old Navy on their costumes. These were on my kids for 3 days straight. They kept them warm, you can layer underneath them, and I've washed them 3 times....they still look great. The biggest bonus was they were on sale for $17.99 when I got them. I wonder how long I can get away with my kids thinking Old Navy is the only place to get a costume....maybe one more year.

Getting tuckered out.

On a mission for more candy. When he got home he laid all his candy out & grouped the matching ones together then counted them over & over.

Surprise visitors!

My parents surprised us with a visit after their Canada trip.
Stephan, my dad & the monkeys carved pumpkins at the Great Northern Brewery.

Some of the finished pumpkins.

One of their favorite things...reading with grandma.

Sweet Pickins

We traveled to "Sweet Pickins" with Ravenna & Hudson's pre-school class. I was pleasantly surprised with the cute place. They had animals (petting zoo thing), go karts, mazes, sand toys, bouncing balls, etc.... The kids had so much fun & we got our pumpkins. Halloween is near, have a happy one!

Back in "big sky" country!

View from road to Doris Peak
Our little Doris Peak hike. Turned out it was a little too technical for the little ones.

Glacier Park walk with Steven & Grace.

Steven & Grace's cute family of 5 now.

Grace & Liam

Middle Fork of the Flathead River, Glacier National Park

Sweet Liam James Byrd

Back in their room reading books.

Lake McDonald, Glacier National Park

Fall in GNP...beautiful!

Cash, at one of OB's (his dad is the coach, Stephan's cousin) soccer play off games.

Little Riley May, she's getting bigger, but still a peanut! All bundled up & warm.

Zoey, Ravenna, & Hudson at OB's game. Whitefish Boys' Soccer just made it to the state finals. The state playoff's will be here in Whitefish next weekend. Whoo Hooo OB!

First day of Pre-School with one of their teachers' Mrs. Jen.

Our little monkeys on their first day of Pre-School this year. They really do grow up fast!

So, that is a little glimpse of what we have been up to since we have been back in MT. We have been keeping busy, cooking comfy meals, watching football, and back in the groove here in Whitefish. It's cold here & we are ready for the snow.....I think.