Christmas Time

We spent the weekend before Christmas with the Grillo's up in Mazama and had a fabulous time. So much fun that there is talk of making it a yearly tradition, it was the perfect way to start our Christmas vacation.

Love these two. Very thankful that we have close friends for our kids to make memories with.

A few of my favorite girls. 

Christmas break means Uncle Joel is around a bit more. More uncle time is always a hit with our kids.

We love having Jason and Sue living in town, their new hot tub has nothing to do with it...

Papa has been looking in toy catalogs with Branson helping him pick out Christmas gifts. The only thing that he wanted was this Hot Wheels track. For the past month whenever asked what he wanted for Christmas he would reply "just Hot Wheels."  He loves it and I love how long it keeps him entertained.

Christmas Eve was at Dave and Kathy's. The kids were spoiled with gifts and attention. Wore my little pumpkin right out.

Las Vegas

Last month was FabTech. The largest fabrication expo in North America was in Las Vegas this year. Since it was close enough to make the trip feasible Josh and Dave decided to go, which means that the rest of us got to tag along.

In the airport Branson found this huge video game

The good thing about taking our kids to a place where people usually don't is the special attention our kids got on the flight. Branson got to sit in the cockpit.

We arrived one day early so that we could do the touristy thing before "work" started. 

Quinn wasn't too impressed with the strip.

The two days that Josh and Dave were at the show, Kathy and I did our best to keep the kids entertained. We found an awesome out door playground at a nearby mall that was a good place to burn some energy.

A free aquarium was a big hit too. A diver was cleaning it when we arrived and came over to say hi to the kids. 

The kids most favorite thing to do was to hang out in the hotel. Quinn has all the essentials that she needs in her purse. Her cell phone, sunglasses and tools!

 Our first In-N-Out experience was a success

Just look at her, she loved it.

Garret's popcorn is a family favorite. Much to Josh's delight he got to introduce Quinn to it in Vegas.

Our first night in Vegas Josh had heard that the show 48 hours was featuring a murder that had happened in our area and we decided to watch. Imagine our surprise we we saw ourselves on TV. Here we are with the crew we went to the Apple Blossom Parade with 2 years ago!

Okay...so this post is over a month late, Maybe I will post some Thanksgiving pictures before Christmas, don't hold your breath though...

Things have been busy, but so good. Josh's basketball season ends this week. His last Saturday games are today, to say I am a little happy about this is an understatement. We have our favorite party of the season tonight, I am happy about this too. 

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween, hope yours was as great as ours.

We have been bad parents, this is the first year that Branson has got to participate in any Halloween activities. We always figured he really didn't know so there was no point in spending the money and fighting with him over candy. Last year he enjoyed handing out candy and seeing the people dressed up that came to our house. We knew that this year would be his first year he actually found out about Halloween, but I had no idea how much fun I would have with him.

Cutest little fireman around.

Branson had a party at preschool on Halloween. He went on a trick or treat parade followed by a party at the school

He came home from school with a load of candy.

 Our first stop trick or treat stop was at Papa and Mimi's house. 

Same thing different day.

 We basically let Branson have freedom with his candy, it was very interesting to see how little he actually ate. He wanted it all open and then he just organized it, when he got down from the table I threw it away and he never asked about it again.

We have a turkey in town, it was coming around on a regular basis, but we hadn't seen if for awhile then on Halloween Branson was looking out the window and yelled "Mommy! The chicken is back!"

November 1st. What a day to have a dentist appointment! B was a champ.

He did so well they decided to get X-rays this visit too. It always amazes me how cooperative he is for other people.

 We have made great progress with toothbrushing since his last visit, so hopefully that continues so we can keep reporting no cavities!

Oktoberfest

Forrest and Kati came to visit. It worked out for them to come the weekend of the Leavenworth half marathon, so we all decided to run it. 

Forrest brought Branson a rocket, it was a hit. We heard 3, 2, 1 BLAST OFF a lot!

B took every bit of advantage of having his Uncle and Auntie here and packed their days with fun for him.

Friday night Mom, Dad, Holly and Bryan come and brought Bryan's parents. It was fun having everyone here. 

Auntie Holly is always a hit to have around.

Just a glimpse into my life.

She loves her daddy (and her creepy toy that Papa Dave bought her).

Saturday we did the Leavenworth half marathon. The parents watched the kids, so we could all participate. The course changed a bit since the last time we did it. It had a few more miles of trail running in it. It was beautiful and I actually think I enjoyed it more than before.

With all the wild fires around us last month there was talk of canceling the event, the air quality was moderate two days before the run so they decided to keep it going as scheduled. The smoke put a huge damper on Josh and my training, but we snuck in runs on our weekends when we were hiding from the smoke on the other side of the mountains and that proved to be enough to get us through it.

I made it! Almost...0.1 mile left.

Dad walked back and ran the last mile with me, it was nice to have someone to finish up with.

Branson loved the treats he got to help us eat after the run. 

Look at that face...her sweetness kills me!

Here we are, the runners and the kids.

It was so much fun having everyone here, but the morning after they left we had laundry to catch up on, good thing I had some good helpers.

B got his three year pictures last week. Dakota was a great assistant to her mommy and they were rewarded with ice cream. I seriously love these two and their friendship.

I think she is having a little bit of fun.

Josh has been doing a good job of helping out around the house. He takes the kids on adventures so I can get things done. He took our kids and Dakota out exploring the other day. They hiked down the ski hill and back up, pretty impressive. 

Fall is definitely here and the smoke has cleared so we are making use of every chance we can be outside.

Walks with friends

Multiple trips to the park each day.

Update

Branson started preschool today, I am hoping that him being gone for a couple hours 2 days a week will free up a little bit of time for me to catch up on blogging or a few projects around the house. Realistically it will just mean some mommy/Quinnie time and I am happy with that too.

  

When I picked him up from school I asked him how school was and he just shrugged. I asked him if he wanted to go back again and he said "Yes!" so I am assuming everything went well...at least hoping so.

 Fall is here. Cool mornings and warm afternoons mean interesting outfits. B picked out the outfit that he wore to gymnastics this week. 

Branson went farming with Papa last week. 

When he got home Joel and Sarah were here, the park was the perfect end to a fun day.

 Branson got his first big boy hair cut.

We went to Home Depot to get one lightbulb and had to have two carts. The sibling quarreling has started here.

Branson went to "help" Jason and Sue with yard work. He pushed his wheelbarrow over there.

In the most exciting news of the past week...Holly and Bryan are engaged. They haven't set a date yet, but we are super excited for them.