Christmas 2013

Merry Christmas from our family to yours.

We had a very relaxing Christmas day.

We did all of our family traditions.

We loaded up on candy... because we could.

This year we found all sorts of chocolate things Connor could eat.

Here you see the rarely seen and shy mother Kiss caring for her young...

I couldn't resist taking this picture.

When I was younger, I got a large Hershey's Kiss every Christmas.

We discovered Connor could have them and got one for each boy.

The boys sporting their new flannel shirts from Grandma Knapp.

Log Cabin and Stalactites

What do log cabins and stalactites have in common?

Absolutely nothing except for sharing this blog post. :)

A few years ago we made a ginger bread house from scratch.

That's right, walls, roof pieces, all of it.

It was fun but I wanted something a little easier this year.

Graham crackers are easier but Connor is allergic to them.

So we decided to make a log cabin out of pretzel rods and frosting.

I'm going to spill the beans about the ones you see on Pinterest.

Most of them use milk cartons for a base and glue the rods in place.

That's cheating.  I want the option of being able to eat every piece!

It was fun to make but I think next year we will go back to real gingerbread!

I'm glad we kept all of the pattern pieces!

Nolan has been studying caves and other geological wonders God has made.

One of Nolan's science experiments is to grow stalactites!

How fun!!!

It's supposed to take more than a week.

What better time to do this than Christmas break!

We'll try to remember to post more pictures as they grow. 

The boys were also working on some bas-relief (baw-ree-leef) art projects.

They will paint them in a few days when they dry.

Have a Seat

I peeked out the window to tell the boys it was time to start school today...

They were hard at work.

They were making a snow chair!

Of course Casey was there to help.

Connor's chair.

He said they should make a table next.

The Ultimate This and That Post

I'm not sure who got a hold of my camera...

pretty sure Casey's not taking a selfie.

Casey sitting and watching.

This picture makes me laugh.  Those who know me know I'm not fond of cats...

which is an understatement.  So this look on Puppy-cat's face is mutual.

The boys and I visited my dad.

The ornery ones.

Someone didn't hear the "this is the serious picture" announcement.

Connor made a clay bowl for his art class.

We put up our tree the day after Thanksgiving per our family tradition.

Everyone helps out on tree day... Dwayne's job is taking pictures and reaching all the tall stuff.

We put together cardboard houses and added them to our little village.

They were quite simple to put together.

Everything was numbered, so all you had to do was match numbers!

Nolan's group that he built.

Connor's group that he built.

One of our villages.

The tree needs to be refilled.

We'll gladly accept Hershey's Kiss donations!

.. just kidding.

We made felt ornaments.

The boys did a super job sewing.

Connor learned how to sew buttons!

Long Time No Post

It's been a little while since we've updated the blog.

We finally finished sealing our deck.

Only in Indiana can you have fall temperatures warm enough to finish sealing the deck,

snow a week later, and then have tornadoes six days after that!

We have finally finished fencing in the yard.

We heard Casey crying in the middle of the night on a Friday for no apparent reason.

We decided she was lonely and finished the fence the next day.

She is very happy to reside in our yard now.

We got about 2" of snow last week.

That morning we had a "snow delay".

In other words, the boys went sledding before the snow melted...

School can wait.  The melting temperatures wouldn't.

Gotta have the priorities straight!

Nothing like the first snowfall.

So pretty.

So cold & wet.

So nice to dump on your brother.

So nice to make snow angels in.

So nice to come inside.

So nice to have wet clothes.

So nice to have hot chocolate for breakfast!

And on a side note, Dwayne has been sick for several days.

Connor covered Dwayne with lots of blankets and taped this note to them.

Number 19

We celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary today!

It's hard to believe it's been 19 years.

We wouldn't trade it for anything.