Bald Mountain

Here are the pictures of our annual Bald Mountain hike.  After hiking up, we drove up. Something Brad has always talked about doing.  Added a little excitement to our day =0).

Poor Liv was sick this day. It is a really easy hike, steep and short.  Liv had a hard time making it to the top.  It is also the day we took our yearly family picture.

So that I can remember

While flying home on Thanksgiving day, we had a layover in Detroit and it was snowing.  Beckham looked out the window in wonder.  He exclaimed in an awestruck voice, "Oh Momma!  How did Jesus make the snow fall from the sky?"  and then answered his own question, "Oh, I know, Jesus is sending pieces of ice from the clouds, right?"  I was so grateful for a sweet boy who knows that Jesus is so real :).

This year, the kids and I spent the week before Thanksgiving with our Holt cousins and grandparents in St. Louis. We had a wonderful time being with them.  Then, we woke up early on Thanksgiving morning to fly home.  We arrived home at 12:45.  Brad had our delicious Thanksgiving meal organized and prepared!  His mom helped as well as a friend who also came.  We had a house full of 17 people and everything was perfect.  The Holiday season is my favorite time of year.

Beckaroo

Oh this little boy is such a joy!  This picture says it all.  He was born happy and it is contagious.  Here is a list of some cute things he is doing right now:

• He loves to play cars.  He lines them up as husband and wife and then needs a girl to play with him because it is against his ethical code to move one of the girl cars or ever talk for one.  The other day I was trying to encourage him to play for a minute while I took a shower and he cried and said, "But mom! Then I will have to play with the girl cars!"  
• When he plays "baby" he pretends to be a baby monster truck.  He crawls around and talks baby talk.  
• His pretend name is always "fire dragon"
• He wants to sleep with his door open so that he doesn't feel alone.
• He has a hard time being alone, ever.

Braces for Gwen

Gwen was lucky enough to get her braces on the same day as two of her best friends.  One of which's dad is one of our great friends who is also their Orthodontist.  SO, he arranged for them to be in the office all by themselves.  It was a great time.  Gwen felt pretty special and braces have been a smooth transition so far :).

Acadia National Park

We hit a mile stone this year.  All of our kids can hike over 2 miles by themselves!  Which meant that this fall, we were able to enjoy lots of weekend hikes in Acadia National Park.  One of my favorite places on this earth.  You can't beat the scenery and the activities are almost endless.  I am beyond happy about our newest hobby :).

Can you see in this picture of the boys that Beckham inherited Brad's crooked grin :).  I love it!

Other random things I am grateful for |November 2012|

1.  That my kids have never had lice....... (knock on wood).  I know I might as well start this list off right.  I really do think about this one every once in a while.  I am so relieved.  It is something I have worried about since Olivia was born.
2. That Beckham tells me, "I love you too momma." Every time I tell him that I love him.
3.  That Gwen loves to do the little things I ask them to do every day before I ask her just to make me happy. (How is that for a run on sentence?)
4.  That Olivia is teaching me how fun it is to be a mother of an 8 year old.
5.  For the hours of fun BR and I have had throwing our kids in the lovesac.
6.  That I am feeling much more patient this year.
7.  That my kids don't fight everyday the way they fought the last two nights.
8.  For Christmas traditions.
9.  For the nights that bedtime goes smoothly.
10.  That my 30's are a time when I don't get as worked up about the things that frustrated me in my 20's.
11.  I can call my siblings and parents anytime I want.
12. Pinterest brings me in contact with so many great ideas about being a better mom.
13.  For nights when my kitchen is spotless before I go to bed.
14.  that I like to floss my teeth.
15.  My parents are coming next week =0).
16.  I had a really, really great childhood because of them.
17.  For My 2 brothers and 2 sisters, and the way I felt growing up in a full house.
18.  We have made good friends with our neighbors.
19.  Our other crazy neighbors finally sold their house.
20.  I have good friends who I love like family.
21.  My kids still laugh when I tease them, or act silly, or tickle them.....
22.  The sunshine.
23.  Sweaters.
24.  My Uggs.
25.  My nice, warm bed.
26.  Books that make our kids excited about reading.
27.  Hearing Olivia play the piano. . . .*one of my favorite things ever*
28.  Watching our kids learn new things.
29.  Our kids artwork.
30.  Exercise.
31.  A healthy body. . . And stable back (knock on wood).
32.  Pictures that capture our life.
33.  Good food (especially when other people cook it for me).
34.  Christmas lights.
35.  Going to bed at the same time as Brad.
36.  Clean, Vacuumed floors.
37.  A vacuum that works really well.
38.  Systems that make keeping the house clean more efficient.
39.  That I am an artist (even if that same creativity makes me flighty, random, crazy sometimes.)
40.  Kind in-laws.
41.  Cousins.
42.  Wool socks.
43.  Organization.
44.  I can play real, fun games with our kids now.
45.  Having Beckham home with me all of the time.
46.  Wonderful, exceeding my expectations, teachers and school system for our kids.
47.  Reading with Gwen.
48.  Cuddles and loves from the kids.
49.  Getting into TV series with Brad and being so excited to watch them.
50.  Saturdays with plans.
|51.  The way I feel when I think of my blessings.

Today I am grateful |November 2012|

2.  For Brad.  I am crazy about that guy.  I feel so lucky to have him and so blessed every time I get to be with him.  When Brad is around, my life can't get any better.  He is so good to me and he is a great dad.  He comes up with great ways to connect with our kids whenever they are together.  Brad is kind and thoughtful.  He comes up with fun things for us to do as a family and he is great at giving each of us sincere compliments.  He loves us and we each know it.  And boy do I love him.  We make a great team, and he means everything to me.  Lucky. me.

Today I am Grateful |November 2012|

1. That we get so much time together as a family in the summertime.  That our time is low key, and that we all work on achieving our summer goals together.  That we have summer family hobbies, and we make a lot of memories.

Halloween 2012

Evening Fires

I can't think of a better way to end a day.

Gnome Catching |Quebec September 2012

The day after the bike race was Gwen's birthday and Brad planned a special outing to the secret forest,  a woodland scavenger hunt inhabited by gnomes.  We wore hats to let the gnomes know that we were friendly, we shook our bells to enable us to find them, and made our way through the forest to find the answers to all of our clues and eventually end up on an island with a small gnome house where we watched a play.  The kids thought it was amazing and Brad and I had a great time too.  Best of all, Gwen felt special on her birthday.  We sure love that little girl!

Quebec City |Summer 2012|

In the first of September, we headed up to Quebec City to watch a cycling race.  The race was structured as a course through the old city that the cyclers repeated 16 times.  We hung out along the course and cheered them on as they road past each of the 16 times.  The kids collected all kinds of free souvenirs (including these blue cycling hats), and we all enjoyed the Quebec apples they were handing out.  I was amazed that we were able to stand right next to the racers at the start and also amazed that we were able to watch some of the best bikers in the world.  The same teams that compete in the Tour de France.  Brad and Olivia even got autographs from some of their favorites, and I was thrilled to my all time favorite, Thomas Voeckler  race upclose and personal.  All in all, Brad and I were thrilled that it turned out to be fun for the whole family.  The whole weekend was perfect, and better than we expected.  

• One of my favorite memories was of a volunteer handing Beckham this Quebec flag, and him immediately waving it proudly and yelling, "GO AMERICA, GO AMERICA, GO AMERICA!"
• Also, Brad asking for water bottles from the Russians
• Olivia getting "Autograph fever" and asking every cyclist around to autograph her hat