Let It Snow!

Well, it will definitely be a white Christmas this year! We have had 2 storms (with another one to come) that dumped about 16-18 inches of snow on us. And, since Michael is down for the count temporarily, I learned how to use the snow blower and snow rake.

For those of you that didn't know, Michael had knee surgery 2 weeks ago. He tore his miniscus and had to have it repaired by means of arthroscopic surgery. He was on crutches for a few days. He is doing much better and walking around with less of a limp. Then he got bronchitis. He has been on some lame antibiotics that don't seem to be working, poor Michael.

Poor Brad and Holly and kids, too. Last week in the ice storm, they lost power for 6 days. They stayed in their house for 2 nights, then a friend's house for a couple days, and 3 nights with us. It was fun, kind of reminded me of the Northridge Earthquake in '94. Fun for me, not them. :( Actually, I think they had fun. It was a big sleepover for the kids.

Anyway, we are ready for Christmas except for the fact that our tree is DEAD!!!! I hope it stays up for a couple more days because on the 26th, bye bye!!

Cole is very excited for Santa. This year he received the Elf on a Shelf. Oh my gosh, if you haven't heard of this, and you have kids, you must get one for next year. It is the cutest concept. I got it at the Hallmark store. It comes with a little stuffed elf and a book about the Elf on a Shelf. You have to name your elf, ours is Nate. He watches you during the day, then at night, he flys to Santa with his elf magic to report how the child(ren) has been behaving each day, then when he returns, he is in a different location in your house and the child(ren) has to find him. It is so cute!

The twins are clueless about Christmas, but it will be cute to watch them open gifts and then play with the boxes. They are really fun to watch lately. Luke is starting to walk, which is hysterical. He puts his arms straight up over his head and laughs at the fact that he is upright, then after 4 or 5 steps, he falls. Mallory is saying a few words, kitty, mama, dada, uh-oh!

This is the Christmas picture I really wanted to use.

We wish everyone a beautiful Christmas, and a healthy, happy new year!

The Twins are One!

I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving holiday and were able to spend it with loved ones.

We had a great time at Laurie's in Virginia. My mom and John came up from North Carolina as well. We also celebrated the twins' first birthday on Saturday, Nov. 29th. We first went to the Arboretum to view the train exhibt.

We decorated the dining room with prince and princess crowns (that was the theme) blue and pink number ones, streamers, etc. We started by playing pin the kiss on the frog, some of us even played upside down and blindfolded! Then we opened presents (Luke's favorite was the recycled Shape-O-Toy) then had cake. This is more for the adults amusement than for the one year olds who have never had cake, much less sugar. Mallory dug in and did not disappoint us by getting it all over her face, hair and even in her ear. Luke was not enjoying anything about the cake, not the look of it, the feel of it or the taste of it! And, there is one thing that needs to be added in the Parenting 101 Manual, "Chocolate can sometimes cause diarrhea...often at 2:30 a.m.". Poor Luke!

I survived another round trip to Virginia with the kids. I guess we'll do it again!

Enjoy the pictures.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ok, raise your hand if you can believe the twins are almost a year. Yeah, me either!

We are all driving down to Laurie's tomorrow for the Thanksgiving holiday. My mom and John will be there as well. We plan on leaving at o' dark thirty (or 5:30 a.m.). We should pull in around 2 or 3:00 with any luck.

We are also celebrating the twins' 1st birthday which is on Saturday. We'll be sure to get lots of pictures with chocolate frosting all over them. My guess is that Mallory will be covered in cake (she is a very messy eater and likes to grab her hair when she eats - ahhhhh!)

VOTE!

Hi everyone,

Election day is upon us. After months of endless campaigning (mostly negative) the day is finally here. It's not as if we have great choices, but please get out there and vote (republican). :)

Here are a few more pictures that I didn't get the chance to put up yesterday. Cole is playing hockey this season and is doing great! He likes it and is getting better all the time. His soccer season is ending this coming Sunday. Basketball starts tonight, and he is looking forward to that as well.

Things to remember...when babies are quiet, all is not well. I came downstairs for a few minutes this morning. It was a little too quiet upstairs, so I went up to check on the little darlings. Mallory had a fistfull of dirt, and it was in her mouth too. No, she was not playing outside in the yard, this dirt was in our house (disgusting!) in the grooves of the sliding glass door that has probably been there for 10 years. I'm looking forward to cleaning that.

Anyway, that was my morning. How was yours?

Halloween

So, Halloween was fun. Our candy bunch went out and got...candy. They were very cute. I think Cole got his weight in candy this year.

More later.

I thought I would update this while the twins are sleeping...too late, Luke is up.

Melanie's and Nick's visit was a very good one. We were able to go on a boat ride to look at the foliage up in NH. It wasn't quite peak, but it was still a good time. We also visited a pumpkin patch which was a highlight for Nick. Mel and I went shopping for my birthday and then brought dinner home from The Cheesecake Factory (my favorite place!). The babies' gift to me was sleeping in until 9:00 that morning, and Cole wrote me a story. Michael got me a pair of jeans I wanted! We went into Boston and had a great lunch at the Barking Crab, then walked around the Boston Public Gardens.

Nick liked my garden and picked several vegetables and announced that he was going to have a "Halloween Party" with them. He also informed us that he would be taking these vegetables back with him on the plane!


I have more pix from apple picking with Cole, Mallory and Luke as well as some I took on our front porch.

Have a great day!

October! My favorite month.

So, here we are in October, I don't know what happened to September. Somehow the month vanished.

Cole is in full swing with school, soccer, hockey (I think he scored a baker's dozen on his first game) and soon, basketball. He loves being a big brother and is constantly carrying Mallory around and making them both laugh.

We are finally seeing some sun today and it looks like it is going to be around for a while. Just in time for my BFF Melanie, and her younger son, Nick to visit. Below are some pictures from their last visit 2 years ago.

Also, I want to say congratulations to my cousin, Robin for the birth of her 3rd child. Baby Ainsley born September 26th, both home and doing great!

Happy Anniversary
13 Years!

Happy Fall

Happy Autumnal Equinox!

We had a nice weekend. We hope you did too. One new thing we did was to go hiking with the twins. The picture will show how we did it, but all the kids loved it and we can't wait to go again.

We also got a quick boat ride in, not too many of those days left!

Cole had his first soccer game. He almost scored 2 goals (when you are at this level, almost is just as fun for the fans!) We had beautiful weather and tried to get outside as much as possible.

More later.

Sunday Rainy Sunday

Today has been raining all day. So, no soccer for Cole today. To entertain myself, I've organized the computer room, but I'm scared to attempt the work/laundry room. That will have to be a project for another whole month.

We went to church, IHOP and visited Michael's dad. He lives at a local assisted living facility. He enjoyed seeing the kids and all of their new developments.

Next week, Cole has his school pictures. Last night he developed a zit on...where else...the middle of his nose. Both front teeth are missing, too.


Here's a funny video clip for your enjoyment. Have a happy day!

Welcome!

Well, after several requests that we have some sort of "blog", I am attempting to do so and join the cyberworld.


We had an amazingly fun and busy summer with our new expanded family, but are now in the swing of things with school, work, schedules, sports, etc.




We were able to spend some time up at the cabin, and even upgraded our boat. This is something that happens to boat owners; the minute they get used to their current boat...they need a bigger one. Our new boat is able to safely hold our family, and 7 more passengers! It has been a lot of fun.

In August, we made our first flight with the twins and headed out to the Pacific Northwest to visit my dad and Ev. The babies did great (maybe we will attempt this again sooner than we thought) and Cole was a huge help as usual. We had several visitors while we were there, Aunt Judy and Uncle Tom, Uncle Darrell, Ann and Sandy (Toby too!) and Uncle Dean, Aunt Lela, Becky and Gavin. It was so nice to see everyone again. We had a wonderful time picking huckleberries, riding on my dad's new toy - the 4-wheeler, swimming, kayaking, boating, eating, drinking, visiting and of course, watching the Olympics!


Four days after our return, we all drove down to Laurie's. (minus Michael who had to work...someone has to do it!) 8 1/2 hours later, we were in Virginia. The next day, we drove further south (with Laurie and the girls) to North Carolina to my mom and John's house. Auntie Gayle was there too, and we all enjoyed the visit. Well, some may have enjoyed it more had someones car not been TOTALLED while parked on the street! Well, at least Laurie got a new car out of it!

Cole started 2nd grade and had a much easier time this year as opposed to last year. 1st grade was a tough transition! He loves baseball and is quite good at it if I do say so myself. ;) He is playing fall soccer, ice hockey and will be starting classes at church for his First Holy Communion next spring! Michael is teaching his class - cute!

Luke is crawling, well it's not your typical style of crawling, it is more like both arms out in front of him, then dragging himself forward, kind of like a lame frog. Hey, whatever works! He smiles a lot and melts everyone with his dimples. He loves to eat and is a very healthy 20 pounds and 30 inches.

Mallory is a comedian. She does things on purpose to get our attention. She waves hi and bye and is sitting up on her own. They both have a pair of teeth on the bottom. They are more aware of each other now and don't think it's a problem to steal the others' binky, or suck on a foot, be it their own or not. Mallory's eyes are as blue as the day is long. I hope they stay that color.




Ok, I've used up my free time, they are up from their nap.

Look for more in the days and weeks to come. I want to post a couple of video clips too.

Take care!

Lanae, Michael, Cole, Mallory and Luke