Christmas Update

Despite Forrest being sick, we had a lovely Christmas celebration at Dad and Mom's.  (They finished their family room 20 years after beginning the project, spurred on by the need to host due to Forrest's dog allergy at Shaun and Bill's).  Here are a few pictures!

Yes, I did approve of a bounce house.  Being a parent makes you so gullible... 

Can it be?  A new, blue mixer?  Yes, this is what he has been asking for for months.  All other presents were disappointing until this one was opened.

Christmas suspenders?  Yes, indeed.

The grandparents came over for a beautiful, and delicious lunch.

Hope everyone else had as nice a holiday as we did!

Merry Christmas!

Look how timely I am - a Christmas post before Christmas!

I just finished looking at some pictures of Forrest that I took to showcase his Christmas outfit for this year, and I'm having trouble deciding which one deserves the place of honor on the mantle for all time.  Lucky for me, I can post them all here :0)

And just for fun, the last two years:

More Christmas pictures to come!

Cozy

Just a quick picture of one of Forrest and Joshua's favorite activities lately.  Forrest likes helping to make the fire and cleaning up with the vacuum the next day!

Family Pictures

Our less-than-attractive family picture from our spring trip to Phoenix left me dreaming of a better outcome.  At the beginning of the month, I hired a photographer to come to our home, and in the days before, Forrest and I practiced, practiced, practiced smiling.  All that practice and plenty of m&ms, and here we are: lovely family photos.  Hurray!

Select pictures making their way to a Christmas card soon!  

School

Forrest and I have been back to school for about a month now.  This fall, Forrest is attending Little Bluestem Montessori three mornings each week, and I'm lucky enough to attend with him as the classroom assistant.  There are a total of six toddlers, so we stay busy!  The program is such a blessing for our family.

Birthday Wrap Up

Just a few more photos to remember Forrest's second birthday.  We had a family party at the Dairy Queen here in Monticello and then another party in Orion last weekend.  Oh, what a treasured little boy!

Today Joshua and Mark are celebrating the one year birthday of their nerd store.  It's been a busy year for them!  I'm happy to say that the store is doing well, and they're looking forward to an even bigger year two.  Happy birthday Titan Games!

Best Summer Ever!

Yes, I'm calling it.  This really was my favorite summer yet.  Despite the hot temperatures this week, the mums at the grocery store and the turning of the calendar have made me realize that my fantastic summer is drawing to a close.

A few highlights (some mentioned before, others not):

We began the summer with a family vacation to Phoenix to visit Kati.  What an adventure!

Joshua and I enjoyed two trips just for us.  One to St. Louis, with a stop in Litchfield to revisit where we began our married life.  (That's our first apartment in the background, at the back of the brownstone.)  Our second trip was to Branson and Table Rock Lake.  So beautiful and so fun!

We made our annual trip to Wisconsin to visit Joshua's grandparents - such a blessing to vacation with family in a beautiful location.

Forrest and I spent time at Poppy and Gigi's more than once.  It's always a good time there.

We traveled to Indianapolis with Scott-o and Jon G to take in the sites (those being the zoo and children's museum).

Besides these big trips, we also had so much fun around the house.  Early in the spring Forrest and I built what we call our "oasis," a newly-fenced portion of our otherwise unsafe deck.  How fantastic to have a safe place outside to play.  It certainly was worth the effort.  We made several family trips to the pool, ate plenty of ice cream, and enjoyed the mild temperatures.

Yes, it really was the best summer!