Christmas Pictures

We had such a great Christmas with all of Chad's family here in town. We are thankful that they live within driving distance. (Weather permitting.:) All of the nine grandkids had a great time playing together and it was fun to see them interact as they grow out of the toddler years!

Chad edited and put some Christmas Eve pictures on Philldog Photography website. Check them out; he did an awesome job.

I can't believe Christmas has come and gone so quickly, but it has, so HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

24 1/2 weeks

I was so good about growing belly pictures when I was pregnant with the first two, but this is the only one I have so far of this little lady.:( I figure that posting them will keep me accountable. I don't want her to be left out already; she isn't even out yet!:)

By the way, I am taking any good name suggestions that anyone has! Chad and I are having a hard time finding the 'perfect' name, so bring 'em on!!

It's a GIRL!!!

I guess unless you are an ultrasound tech, you might not be able to appreciate these photos!:) They always look so... well....scary! But we are so thrilled to be welcoming another GIRL into our family this March.:)

Halloweenie

For Halloween this year, Emme went as Stefanie from Lazy Town ( I think it's a cartoon on some weird channel! I'm not sure:)! And Levi went as, of course, SpiderMan. They had such a fun time at the Fall Fest that Calvary puts on at the Fairgrounds, and I like that they have activities to do for the evening! They played bowling, did a cake walk, went fishing, and did lots of other things like jump in bounce houses and slide down huge slides. Here are just a couple cute pics.

Spidey and Stef

Packing up the baggies

Then I got this awesome idea from a friend named Kim Hanson (hi Kim!). At the end of the evening, since the kids have gathered the amount of their body weight in candy, each child packs a baggie full of their favorite candies to keep and the rest of the candy gets collected by the "Candy Fairy." The "Candy Fairy" then takes the excess candy and gives it to Operation Christmas Child to be sent overseas with their holiday packages. In turn, the "Candy Fairy" will leave each child a book or paints or little car or something thanking them! I really loved this idea and the kids were excited to be generous with those less fortunate.

Will

Congratulations to Nat and Adam! William Scott Renstrom born last night weighing 8 lbs. 13 oz. And what a cutie!

I think he's practicing for his hearing test. The little genius.

We love you Will and can't wait to meet you next month!!

ummmm......

The day I gave birth to Emme was in the high 80's.

The day I gave birth to Levi was in the mid 70's.


On the eve of the kids' birthday party this is NOT how it is supposed to look.



Not 27 degrees today.


Oh my, good thing I didn't get ponies this year!





"Something tells me we are not in Kansas anymore Toto."-Dorothy

Emme's Soccer

Here are some pictures of Emme's first soccer game! Can you believe that she is old enough to play an organized sport? Kids can actually start at 2 1/2 years old in this league. There are some on her team still in diapers! What a crack-up.

I wouldn't say that she loves the game (which only lasts 15 minutes), but it's fun to watch her run around, or pout on the sidelines at the very least, like she did last weekend. :)

She does a great job with the drills though!

Em and Pressly, soccer buds

Who let this little guy on the field? Levi loves to think he's part of the team. "Where's my soccer ball?" he says.. We've started bringing a second ball to each game so he can play on the sidelines..he loves it.

Wedding Pictures

Chad has been working feverishly on getting some of Erin and Brandon's wedding pictures ready for viewing. They look fabulous if I do say so myself. You can view the first batch here! Click on Galleries and it should take you right to the wedding section. (And don't forget to comment! It boosts his confidence.:))

First Day of Preschool

My little "big" girl on her first day of preschool! She was so excited she couldn't even eat her favorite breakfast cereal that morning. She acted like a pro when we got to the school; she hung her backpack up on the hooks (never happens at home), found her name and seat and sat down immediately. She didn't even give us a second glance as we walked out the door.:) I'm so glad everything went so smoothly. She was definitely ready for this big step into the world.:)



This 3 mile down the road, 3 hours once a week step into the world.



And not a toenail further.

1+4=5

It seemed only fitting on Labor Day to announce the soon-to-be new addition to our family! We are very excited and our looking forward to this little one joining us in March.

Also in honor of Labor Day, I've seen this fun post floating around from RocksinMyDryer. Play along if you like! I would love to read your answers.:)

How long were your labors?

#1- 17 hours (yikes! I was induced)

#2- 9 hours (mucho better)

How did you know you were in labor?

#1- Doc told me to come in for induction, 3 weeks early

#2- Water broke at Dream Dinners!, 2 weeks early

Where did you deliver?

#1 and #2-St. Luke's hospital, right where the drugs are kept..

Drugs?

Praise the Lamb for epidurals. Seriously. Just in case though, I memorized the anesthesiologist names just in case they jacked it up. That way I could scream at them with more accuracy. Loved, loved, and will love it again with this next one.

C-sections?

Nope.

Who delivered?

#1-My awesome Doc

#2-My more awesomer hubby. (yes, I know that's not a word.) Doc let Chad actually guide Levi out and catch him. What a surreal moment.

Go to Rocks in My Dryer if you want to play along! Happy Labor Day!

She's Here!

Gretchen and Phil's baby girl, Elli Marie, made her grand entrance into the world last night weighing 9 lbs. 5oz. and looking EXACTLY like Gretchen! Go to her blog and check out some pics and say congratulations! Welcome to the world Elli!

The Fair

This past weekend we braved the heat and headed to the local State Fair with our friends the Histands! I love the Fair- the animals, Fair food, rides, and checking out the local night life. Serious night life peeps. Anyway, that will have to be a different post.

As kids, we LOVED the fair. Dad would always stop and check out some new gadget which we would inevitably end up bringing home with us (Living Air Purifier anyone?) or we would watch the waterless cookware demo for a solid 1/2 hour. Anyway, I hope my little guys have such fond memories when they become adults.:)

Owen and Levi driving the jeep. Kelly and Em ridin' shotgun.

"See I think this goat likes me! He is licking my face, eating all of my leftover food!" Levi, 22 mos.

"Hmmm, the quality of this wool is a little shabby; not good enough for me. Thanks anyway."

"Can you give me the specifics on this particular breed Ma'am? I'm interested in getting one for our backyard. Our lawn is a little long. Thankssomuch." Owen, 22 mos.

Perfect dinner at the fair! A Pronto pup corndog, and a nice tall strawberry lemonade. Delish.

Soule*Mama Wannabe

Ok, I'll admit it. I'm a wannabe. I am impressed by a few blogs of people that I don't even know, but have linked on my sidebar. Have you ever checked out Soule*Mama? Her photography is generally awesome, and she always has great handiwork that she is crafting, and well, I could go on! But instead I'll show you pics that I tried to make look like hers!



See how I focused on the plant and not the tomato? I did that on purpose. Yes I did Chad.


Yay! Our first red tomato! We were very proud.


I mean seriously, who takes this many pics of a silly tomato? Again, very proud.:)





I love little feet pictures. And well, Kiki has little feet too, so she's included in these shots.

30

Well, I'm 30 now!! And no, I don't feel old. I think 27 was an "old feeling" for me. Plus, I bought some expensive face cream that I was wishing for, courtesy of some gift cards!, so I will be looking 29 again in no time.:)

My parents came down for the weekend on their Goldwing! Seriously!:) They allowed Chad and I to go on an overnight date which was a real treat. We got to try out golfing (really fun!), Chad bought me a massage, we went out for a nice dinner, saw the Batman movie, and stayed downtown at the Grove. Then on Friday morning we saddled up Jay and Heather's trailer (thanks a million!) and headed up (took 4 hours!) to Yellowpine, ID to check out Idaho's finest citizens. It was more fun just watching people than anything. My mom has quite a few pics on her blog you can check out for laughs. I had a really great time overall just spending time with family. Thanks for all of the birthday calls, cards, and emails yesterday; it made me feel so special.:) I would turn 30 again anytime!