November and December

We jumped right into November, loving all of the leaves that the trees around us provided....and also the fact that we are not required to do our own lawn maintenance this year! The kids played for at least an hour, building leaf piles and then plowing them down.

It is only natural to want to see if you can bury yourself with a large accumulation of leaves like this. Here Peter emerges....

Two beautiful belles, Elise and Gracie.

A quick, but wonderful trip to Texas was enjoyed. The sweatshirts were from the pride of a Papa, they boys enjoy wearing them to match each other.

We still can't believe it, but Josiah turned 7 years old!! Here Elise is pictured with the Yoda pinata that we made to enjoy at Josiah's party.

Josiah tries it out, and adds the essential light sabor.

Getting ready for the big moment, ready to blow out the candles on his R2-D2 ice cream cake.

Promoting peace, Jedi Josiah and Yoda:

School continues to be enjoyed, for some reason I just love seeing them all read together!

Go Mimi, Go! Another blessed year for my mom that we were able to celebrate at 'home'.

The first portion of Michael's school break was spent in California visiting our great friends from Spokane. We had a wonderful time with them, and we loved just hanging out.

It ws so special to see all the kids together again, and how easily they got along. We made cookies and decorated them like professionals!

The kids also enjoyed rock'n out together.

When in Northern Cali- it is a shame if you don't take time to go to the Jelly Belly factory...mmmm.

Here is a duck and pond crafted entirely out of Jelly Belly's... Grandpa Myers, I like your ducks a lot more than this, but it could be worth a try. I would be willing to eat the colors you don't need out of every bag:)

All decked out for Christmas, the giant Jelly Belly welcomed us.

As a tradition, Elise and I have attended the Nutcracker Suite together for the last 3 years now. I Love it and so does she. This year we were accompanied by our great friends and it was spectacular!

This is the two of us after the evening...we even hit Mc. D's for a healthy dinner!

On Christmas Eve eve, we exchanged gifts with our friends, here Elise poses with her godmother Mary Jo and Mia.

A trio of friends.

For Christmas Eve we went on a trip into San Fransisco. We stopped for lunch at Muir Beach, it was a sight. I kept thinking that at any moment I would spot the pirate ship from Goonies coming around the rocks!

We had such a nice barefoot afternoon on the beach! The kids enjoyed building things in the sand and running up and down the waves of foam.

Josiah and Mia enjoying a rock seat at Muir Beach.

Practicing his tae-chi on the beach, Titus is also thankful for the restful day on the sand.

This was a beautiful spot to find overlooking the city and the Golden Gate bridge!

This is the first time any of us had walked on the bridge. It was a bit chilly, but we got thre right before sunset so the hues were amazing!

We got this great shot up on a wonderfully winding road by Muir National Forest.

Back "home" Mimi taught Elise some of her skills of fashion and sewing.

Elise loves opening presents!

It sings, and it blinks, what could be better?

Titus just is into tearing paper, this is the perfect time to enjoy that skill!

Josiah hosted his first art show in celebration of the semester's work he had accomplished. We had drinks, snacks, and awards for people to place on their favorite piece.

Our city received a wonderful, light, powdered snow... and a lot of it. Here our good friend Niccy takes Josiah and Elise down the hill. The kids later went to a huge hill in our area that was quite steep. The city provided hay bales at the end of the run so that people would crash into them, rather than the reflective pond at the base of the hill! They loved it!

I can't believe how quickly time is passing, but they say time flies when you are having fun. It seems like every day here is filled with joy and thankfulness, and a lot of fun!

Octobuuurrr...

Here is the outline of our October, a little bit of everything going on.

Josiah is learning how to write ordinal compositions, or instructions to do a basic skill. So here we are learning how to make pizza according to Josiah's directions. It turned out tasty, one explicit instruction he had said, 'Add pepperoni, and then add a lot more!" Peter was in charge of spreading the sauce on the foccocia bread.



Elise managed the task of slicing the olives.



Another school project involved the characteristics of light. After learning about how light travels, how shadows are produced, and what light sources are, we spent some time conducting a shadow puppet play. Peter and Elise sit in anticipation for Josiah's skit.

Can you guess who these two puppets are by their shadow?

None other than Lucy and Charlie Brown and dog Snoopy. Our good friends have turned us on to the Peanuts cartoons and comics, and so Josiah did some of his favorite skits and comic strip reenactments. We all laughed at his production.

Outside of school we have been having some fun as well. Michael's 31st birthday was celebrated by us hosting a game night. We played cranium and a few disguised guests arrived. Below are Anna Marie Presley and her fourth husband Michael Lockwood.

Next we have "The registrar and her husband....uh- I think his name is Matt."

James Bond and his Russian beauty snuck into the night's activities.

Queen Mary and William also made a royal appearance.

One of the interesting elements of still going to college at this age is that intramural sports are still a regular part of the population's lifestyle. Jumping in the air to dodge an incoming missile, Mike, the 31 year old, is about to pummel his opponent with a rubber bouncy ball in the Saturday dodge ball tournament. Needless to say, his team took first place.

Peter is ready to go out for our daily walk. I never know who is going to accompany me, but it is always an adventure.

A personal adventure I had was excavating some ancient bricks from this old apartment that the Seminary is tearing down. I had put together a treasure hunt for the campus and decided to use these crumbled bricks as the location markers. A friend and I braved the rubble around 11 at night and had a fun time scavenging and being sneaky as security, locals and cops drove by the building. It reminded me of high school adventures to the old bridge in Manitou.:) You are smiling if you have been there.

Octoberfest was a wonderful event as always! Each year at the sem, they hold a party that is fun for the entire community. Mike enjoys a few minutes with Titus in the large baby bouncer, friend Samuel crawls over to join the fun.

Anne and I raced in the challenge course. It was so much fun!

Mary, Anne and I standing with some of our kids before the festivities.

Titus is bundled all up to keep warm on such a cool night. He also enjoyed the pretzels, as you can see in the pictures.

After many really rainy and freezing days, the sun broke free and it warmed up again. Finally the Indian Summer that we had considered lost. We spent some extra time outdoors to soak up the last rays of the year. Peter is just hanging around after school... note the brilliant red leaves. Since this picture was taken, all the leaves have transitioned, and most have fallen! It makes it hard to find lost light sabers in the backyard!

Oliver has been enjoying balance and coordination skills with keeping all the Lego's on the edge of the couch, and then he collects them and drops them in the play toys area and creates a tower.

In addition to Dodge Ball is the Intramural Football season. The kids and I love to go and watch the games being played. Observers are in for a competitor's treat. Here, the kids help Mike to do some pre-game stretching.

Michael's team took on the other undefeated team, which happens to be our good friend's (also named Michael) team. Our team came out on top this game!

This is Josiah's pumpkin that he designed. I like the teeth, it may have even been a self-portrait for him. He lost another tooth this week by falling out of a tree and them having me remove the tooth the rest of the way!

Titus Ray was a valiant knight this year. He walked around like he owned the place (he does that most places). However, his stomach was growling like a mid-evil dragon, and so he and Daddy went in the gym to enjoy the football game on the large screen and the chili cook off together.

Elise chose to be Ashoka, the female Jedi who was a padawon to Annakin in the new 'clone war' series. This girl could sure win a duo!

A proud pilot, Josiah used some of his dad's name badges and patches to complete this uniform. Doesn't he look sharp?

Josiah and Elise pose together with the pumpkin man and scarecrow. By this time Titus was inside and enjoying his second bowl of chili.

"All hail the Queen!" Again the queen arrives in her regalia, and knight Titus is there to protect her. Halloween night, 2009

Samuel, the Lion had us all over to his den.

Ten Points if you can guess who Michael is dressed up as! I still think he looks handsome!

Elise had asked me to dress up as one of Pad Mae's hand maids. I complied willingly to this request. (She also has asked to name our baby Leigha, if it is a girl. This we have openly rejected, but she believes that is what the girl's name should be.

On Halloween, the children dressed as the Star Wars cast. (Although Josiah was technically a ninja, not a Jedi.) Oliver is Yoda, Peter is Luke, and Elise is Ashoka. Titus just enjoyed the ride and the warm blanket he was covered in.

Another fun filled month for our family! And now we enter the more 'busy' months of November and December. I can't wait!