Snow in November? Sure why not

What a week of great weather. I love it when the weather throws us curve ball. No one knows what to do with this. We had snow on Sunday night and the kids didn't have school all day Monday. The first day was great and then the temperature started dropping to the point where you couldn't make a snowman because everything was rock hard. The first day, the kids were out making a snowman and shoving it down one another's shirts. It was great fun. Tuesday was a late start , but Wednesday and Thursday turned into more days off. All though the kids have had a great time, we are all ready for them to go back to school for one day this week. Snow is beautiful and great to watch from inside the house while holding a cup of coffee. You always envision sitting somewhere in a cabin watching the snow out a large window. We can handle the snow when we are on vacation up in the mountains and we have nowhere to go. When we have work, school, swimming lessons, and events, it can become pretty inconvenient quickly. The snow is melted now and we are getting back into our routines. A week from now, we will secretly hope for another little snow storm.....or at least I will. Have a great Friday.


lego had a great time running around in the snow, trying his hardest to bite and kill the snow. No such luck. The look of confusion is priceless.


Robb

Fun Pictures to share

These are pictures from the day at the tree farm. We had a great time, but I think the kids had even more fun. Enjoy

R and R

Christmas Tree Hunting- a skill like no other

A picture is worth a thousands words. My mother-in-law will kill me for capturing this picture, which makes it all the better. Year after year, my wife's family has memories of finding the perfect tree. Some years this meant searching for hours until the perfect tree was chosen. Often times, it was the first one that the whole family looked at. In the past couple years, everyone has gotten better about choosing, taking a lot less time. This year, I think Sue found the tree and gave her seal of approval in record time---Hence the marathon stance. We were all very happy for her and gave her a hearty cheer. The funny thing is that my wife is much like her mother. A tree is not something you pick out quickly. There can be a misplaced twig, it can look too blue or too green, or not green enough. I have to say though, we get the perfect tree every year. So the day after Thanksgiving, we all loaded up and headed out to the tree farm to hunt down our trees. In years past, we have gone during rain or snow storms, but this year it was sunny and cold. The kids immediately start running around while chewing on their candy canes. Within minutes, Jonah and Noah need a restroom, so since we are out in the middle of nowhere, we let them drop trough and become one with nature (It is all part of the experience). Trees were found in record time and we were on our way back home within the hour. This year, Hannah was able to be with us on this excursion since she now lives close. Sarah and Josh also came and she got her tree and decided she would be decorating one this year. It is officially the kick off to the Christmas Holiday now that we have our tree. We all went home that night and had leftover Turkey and sealed the deal. We had a great time and then crashed hard that night. Now the hard part begins, decorating the tree. I can go out and kill a tree within minutes, but the decorating takes real skill. Until then.

Lumber Jack signing off

Thanks for Thanksgiving

Yesterday we had a great day of relaxation, family, and a lot of great food. We have started a tradition without knowing it to go out to breakfast the morning of Thanksgiving. It made extra sense this year since we were hosting Thanksgiving this year. We had the table set and we didn't want to dirty anything more at that point so it made sense to go out for breakfast. It was a great way to startt the day. We came home and Rebecca got things ready while I took the kids out and tried to weather the storm of "last minute items at the grocery store". When we left, snow starting falling, which the kids and their dad, thought was great. It was heavy,wet, snow, but it was beautiful, making the grocery store trip that much more chaotic.

We had wine, cheese, and lots of munchies around noon and family trickled in. "Grandma Karen" was the savior of the day by renting an xbox for the kids. Once the xbox arrived, a quiet peace fell over the house, allowing the adults to taste wine and cheese uninterrupted. It was kind of strange that we sat around talking and catching up without breaking up any major diagreements. When the natives did get restless, Reba broke out the gingerbread house kits and the kits went to town on those. They had a great time decorating them. The parents had a great time watching and nibbling on the candy. Later there was ornament decorating, which they loved. All the while, the xbox was plugging away and the kids were getting their fill.

It was crazy getting dinner ready right at the last minute, but it all worked out. "Uncle Tom" was able to make it earliy which we were all happy about. "GG", who is 92, also felt up to coming, which was great. We had a nice relaxing, long dinner as you can imagine with 9 children and 8 adults. Just like Thanksgiving should be. Everyone has something to say and they want to share it at the same time. We then had Reba's parents and sister, my cousins and Aunt and Uncle over around 7:00 for dessert. The day was great and most of all, we were able to have people over here. All of the remodel is done and it was great to have people over to see it and share the experience. Most of the people have helped throughout the last 6 months, so it was great for them to see the changes. I also got to talk with my brother, Scott, from Charleston, SC. He was heading down to Hilton Head for Thanksgiving. It was great to talk to him.

Today, dad and the boys are having a pajama morning in front of the television while mom is out shopping with her mom and sister. This is exactly where I want to be the day after Thanksgiving. Doing nothing to kick off the Christmas season. Tomorrow, we get to get caught up with a college frined, Wendy, and her 2 year old son, Charlie. We can't wait to see her. Have a great Thanksgiving weekend and we hope your Thanksgiving was a good one.

Robb and Reba

Soccer Season Comes to an End!!

Well, the season of soccer is now done. Even thought Jonah was the one who played for the past eight weeks, it was a family affair with practices and games three times a week. Jacob and Noah were just as much a part of the team as the rest of the players. They always showed up, kicked the ball around and consumed the cookies and juice afterwards. Jonah had a great time playing and usually didn't even know the score at the end of the game. Last night was his party at Pizza Hut which consisted of the boys playing video games and eating pizza. The highlight for Jonah was receiving his trophy. He had been waiting for this since he first started playing. Last night he wanted to sleep with it and today he wanted to carry it around everywhere he went. The best part also was that his soccer picture were made into trading cards with his "stats" on the back.. You know.... 4ft 1inch, 50 lbs. He really had a great time and it was fun to watch him learn so much in the past couple months. Now it is back to only swimming two nights a week which will be a nice break. Until the next sporting event.

Robb and Reba

Darth Vador stomps Yoda

We made it through Halloween with all the parties for the kids and the non-stop flow of sugar that poured down from heaven. The kids had a great time with their parties and costumes at school. I will have to put up a picture of the three of them when I find the camera. You know the drill. You sit down to dinner to try and get the kids fed prior to running out the door. While you are trying to eat dinner, the doorbell continues to ring, and even though you tell the kids to sit down, they can't help themselves. Maybe it is the sugar pushing them off the chair towards the door or just the excitement of seeing all the costumes. Once dinner was shoveled down in record time, the costumes are prepared. Darth Vador (Jacob) is dressed first and Yoda (Noah) is the one who needs the most help. Once all assembled and the pictures are taken, Darth Vador stomps on Yoda's foot in all of the excitement. Yoda is crying with big tears which takes consoling from his mother while Darth Vador leans down to see if Yoda is alright. At the same time, the storm trooper (Jonah) doesn't see a need to check on Yoda and is half way out the door. "Every man for himself", he yells. The rest of the night consisted of picking up the kids at different times as they all fell while running up to the door. All in all, there were no broken bones, just a bunch of star wars figures getting as much candy as they could. At the end of the night, Darth Vador ate too many Hershey bars, the storm trooper stuck to the suckers, and Yoda couldn't;t make up his mind not eating anything--self control. All the costumes were thrown to the floor, the kids went to bed and then Reba and I had to take our share before putting the candy up out of reach. Like always every year, a week after Halloween, our kids haven't even asked about their candy. It goes in a bag and the bag from last year is thrown away. Another year.