O Christmas Tree!

Saturday, December 6th we made our annual trip up past Idaho City to the Boise National Forest to cut down our christmas tree. Since moving to Idaho almost 5 years ago- the christmas tree trip is one of our very favorite traditions. We listen to christmas music in the car, we take hot cocoa, sandwiches, and popcorn to eat, and hope that there is enough snow to go sledding. This year there wasn't much, so we stopped at the top of the hill for some sledding fun. Richard managed to get three kids and himself down on two sleds at once! We are excited to be celebrating this special time of year. The kids are finally learning how and why the Christchild is so important in our lives. Steph is sad that this is her last Christmas having a baby of her own. Clara will just have to get used to being hugged and snuggled all the more. She is growing up so quickly and loves her brother and sisters. Lucy is loving all the christmas lights and says, "whoa, more lights" when we are driving at night. Her jibber-jabber has all but vanished and sentences are now her norm. Steph will miss the music of her "baby-talk" too, but there are too many blessings to count, so on we go. Have a happy holiday season. Enjoy the pix.

We Gathered Together

What a fun November we had. Lu turned two, Jake turned six, cousin Brooklyn was born, and we had a full table for Thanksgiving. So many blessings! Life just couldn't get better. We know we are so lucky to have four beautiful, healthy children, a warm home, Richard's job, and family and friends who love and support us. Enjoy the pictures and thanks to all those who showered Lu and Jake with the fun gifts. We love you.

A Happy Halloween

We had a grand Halloween with our Stormtrooper, Alice, Raggedy Ann, & Kitty Cat. I hope you enjoy the pix. We are finally getting into a routine as we have ironed out all the wrinkles in our new schedule with kindergarten, pre-school, ballet, doctor appointments, and of course fun! We have had a beautiful fall this year and have enjoyed the colors, but not the allergies! Our annual trip to the pumpkin patch was fun- next year Shan & Dan will have a little pumpkin of their own to bring along too. We are so glad they are close by to join in our traditions. We have so much to be grateful for. I'll post more soon...

It's Autumn Time!

Summer is gone, school has started, and there are still piles of laundry, hmmmm. I sure could use a trip to my Grandma's- she always helped me fold the never-ending piles of clothes. She passed away this Sept. 11th- it still doesn't seem real yet. I'll miss that good lady. Good ol' Gram. Anway... here are some more pix of our little family. I took Jake to Oregon for his 5 year old trip (a West family tradition, before kids start kindergarten) and ended up taking Hannah with me to California for Gram's funeral and a quick trip to Disneyland (for her 5 year old trip, though a little premature). Wish we could have seen all our friends and family- we miss u. I'll try to keep you posted. Have a happy fall, y'all!

Where Did Summer Go?!?

Seriously, where has time gone? The summer ends tonight with a camping trip up in Garden Valley for the Ward Campout (pix to be posted later) and Jake starts kindergarten on Monday (sniffle, sniffle). I can't believe it. Here are some pictures of all/some of our summer fun. Hope everyone is well and we'll post more soon.