December 2015

Milo's first round with Santa wasn't so bad. Not thrilled, but had his sister to buffer the fear. Plus, it was followed by a horse-drawn carriage ride and hot chocolate, so it couldn't be awful.

Well, this is how the next visit at the ward party went...

So, when it came time for the next visit at Macy's Santaland, he didn't even want to enter the room. He did, and then bravely stood at Santa's feet so Mom could take the obligatory picture before slinking away again.

The girls, however, were happy to meet him and let him know their Christmas wishes.

A good friend took some family pictures for us. I sure love this growing crew of ours!

I was excited to give these to the girls for Christmas. Cut, cute girls!

And it was so fun to see the magic of Christmas with this boy, as long as it didn't involve close proximity to the fat man in the red suit.

A friend of mine from high school gave us free tickets to the Science Museum, so we used them over the break. Such a fun place, but too much to see in a day. We did it though, and the kids had fun. Cute little news anchors.

November 2015

This girl was very excited to join the "Lost tooth club" in Kindergarten.

And these girls were both excited about Grammie and Papa coming with all the loot in their suitcases. And this year, lucky Carli got Aunt Kera and Aunt Aubrey for her birthday too!

This little sweetheart is 8! Yes, she is at least as angelic as she looks in her beautiful white dress. She is a blessing to her family and the Lord knew what He was doing when He sent her to us first. Smart, sweet, funny and wise beyond her years. She wants so much to do what's right in everything she does. We are so grateful for her example. We were so blessed to have family visit to support her at her baptism. The service was especially tender as she asked both her grandmothers to speak, and so Grandma was able to view the baptism and participate via FaceTime. We are grateful for the Spirit they brought to this special day. Dad baptised her and Papa Tommy gave her a beautiful blessing after her confirmation. (Mom was particularly emotional (read hormonal) that day.)

This boy didn't know it, but these balloons meant he was getting a baby brother in the next few months. Grammie, Kera and Aubrey were all able to attend the ultrasound for the exciting gender reveal! We are thrilled with the prospect of two girls and two boys! Plus, it was a joy to see cute little Quatro moving around in there.

October 2015

Ever since our good friends the Nelsons had us over for scones on Conference morning, we have made it a tradition. Yum!!

This boy is the delight (and trial) of my days!

Of course, it's not October without a pumpkin patch and apple picking. And this year we got to do it with our great friends the Howards.

One of our favorite church activities is the annual talent show. This year Logan put together a band and the girls performed a "Clowan" act.

http://youtu.be/fbA0tnxj224 (Logan's Wagon Wheel)

We again attempted a family costume theme. I think it was fairly successful this time. Two witches, a werewolf, the full moon and a crazy doomsayer - things that come out on a full moon. Problem was that people weren't sure I was pregnant, so they didn't want to draw too much attention to the belly. ☺

Our traditional dinner in pumpkin.

And Dad's traditional checking the candy just to be "safe". 

September 2015

The Minnesota State Fair was so fun this year. Logan took the kids on the giant slide. It wasn't exactly their favorite. I guess they missed out on their dad's thrill-seeking gene.

Had to get pictures with the "Calamity Kate" contestants.

The kids' favorite spot is the dairy barn. Wouldn't have anything to do with getting a treat at the end...

Mom sat out on the trolley ride since her tummy was a bit rocky, thanks to Quatro. ☺

First day of second grade for Carli!

And first day of Kindergarten for Janie!

A cool lunar eclipse that was supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime event. (Don't they say that for every celestial happening?)