July 4, 2012

This year we were able to go up to Republic to spend the 4th with John's parents. We had a really nice and relaxing visit. Mr Baby had fun spending time with his grandparents and I actually got to work on my cross-stitch for four uninterrupted hours, it was lovely. We canoed on the lake, hiked a bit, watched fireworks off the back deck, and ate way too much ice cream!

Easter 2012

Easter was crazy this year! We had just brought Mr. C home on Wednesday and had Jane staying with us to help with the transition. Then on Saturday, Natalie and Nic brought the girls over for the weekend. They had spent the previous week in Oregon with their friends and came up to see us (the baby, really) on the way back home. We had fun, but it was too quick.

The girls just wanted to do this:

Aunt Natalie just wanted to do this:

We did manage to dye eggs and do a few hunts at the park down the street. The girls came to church with John while I sang in 8 services that morning. It really was crazy! Thanks for visiting, you guys.

Christmas 2011

We had a fun Christmas Holiday this year with my family in Billings. We drove out on the 23rd, taking all three furry children with us. I was shamefully remiss in taking pictures after Christmas Day, but we were so busy having fun that I didn't have time to grab my camera.

We went to Christmas Eve service at Faith Chapel, where John & I were married. Not that you'd recognize it now with the new sanctuary and confusing tunnels of kid classrooms. It is nice to see that the church is growing and doing well.

Christmas morning we went over to Natalie's to meet up with Nic and watch the girls open their Santa gifts. We also made vegan pancakes, which was a new and slightly odd experience for us. Hemp milk is really watery! The girls made a haul, not that we expected anything less. Bella wanted everything Hello Kitty and pretty nearly got her wish, including a Hello Kitty water cooler (who knew?) and a GIANT makeup pallet. Alana said her favorite gift was the Rock Picking Field Guide that John and I got her and she had to take Uncle John out the next day to find her first rocks.

 Bella opening presents.

 Nat and Tony after the hurricane of opening.

On Monday after Christmas we drove over to Bozeman to check out the set-up for John's class that he will be teaching. We had fun wandering around the SUB and feeling old as we talked about all the things that have changed. Then we went to my current favorite yarn shop, Stix (where I ran into a friend I hadn't seen since college), and went out to see John's former advisor, John Miller. After that we drove to Three Forks to see Dad & Reba. We were so excited for our dinner reservations at Sir Scott's Oasis. We had a really nice time visiting with them and there just wasn't enough time in the day.

The rest of the week was spent visiting and just enjoying being together. I got to go to lunch with Nic and fabric shopping with my Mom. John and I got one-hour massages from Natalie (her Christmas gift to all of us) and hung out in the hot tub for way too long. The girls spent the night three or four times at Grandma's so we got to see a lot of them. They are so wonderful! I just love them!

We drove home New Year's Day, loaded down with presents and very rested and grateful for our long break.

The doggies, however, were VERY sad to leave their most favorite place...The Backyard.

But we'll be back again soon.

Gigantor

As soon as I had my Christmas houses set up, Icky was right in the middle of them. He knocked over a tree I had set up for the town square and took its place. We've been laughing at him because he reminds us of the giant from Mickey's Christmas Carole, strolling around saying "Fe, Fi, Fo, Fum", except this giant just says "Meow".

Thanksgiving 2011

We had such a fun time in Republic for Thanksgiving this year. For the first time in 10 years, John and his siblings were together at the same time, the last time being Joe & Josie's wedding in Three Forks. We couldn't believe it had been that long!

In order to take some of the load off of all that cooking, we divided up the meals and each made or brought food to share. It really helped and was fun to have everyone's input.

Audrey helped me make the pumpkin pies.

We finally got to meet Jesse and what a great kid he is! We also met Miss Dahlwinnie, who is now 18 weeks old, and Thomas was so fun to hang out with.

Audrey thought it was great fun to feed me fruit from one of her Memory cards.

Of course, our meal of choice was pizza. We really missed our pizza machete after only one week of use!

Friday morning we went over to Grandma & Grandpa Large's house to meet up with some of the rest of the family.

We had a great week with the family and so look forward to spending more time together now that we (mostly) live closer together. We love you all!

Our Thanksgiving Weekend

We had a very quiet Thanksgiving this year. John woke up sick on Tuesday morning, putting the kabosh on our IHOP/Harry Potter date. (We still haven't seen it, so don't tell me anything!)

Wednesday I got off work early and went home to catch up on all my TV shows and knit some stuff.

Thanksgiving day John was finally able to keep his food down, so we went ahead with preparing our dinner. We had Cornish Game Hens, mashed potatoes, peas, and salad, finishing with Southern Pecan Pie for desert. The pie is a Lady & Sons recipe and boy is it sweet! John really liked it, but Pumpkin Pie is still my favorite. I was able to finish all but one Christmas gift after dinner as we listened to The Carpenter's Christmas album. Best Christmas album ever, in my opinion.

Friday I finished up my Christmas shopping before going to the Wong's for another Thanksgiving dinner. John was still down so I went alone. I made Pumpkin Pies for the party, which are the best ever! Later, we watched the last of The Lord of the Rings while eating more pie.

Saturday I had an early rehearsal and late concert. We spent 3-1/2 hours waiting to rehearse and then sing 5 minutes at the end of the concert. The upside was that we were hidden backstage and didn't have to wear our concert dresses! Somewhere inbetween rehearsal and the concert I dragged out all the Christmas decorations and slowly started putting them up.

Sunday we were tired and lazy. John finally felt human again, so we went over to a church close by to get our tree. It's a really nice White Pine, so soft and homey-smelling. I had another concert in the afternoon and then came home to a long bath and home-made pizza.

Today it's back to the grind of reality and the beginning of Christmas Concert season.