Missing her brother

Yesterday we came back home from Tulsa. Zach stayed there and then went home with his Aunt and Uncle today to Houston. Last night Isabella went to bed fine, but after about 30 minutes came downstairs with tears in her eyes and said, "I miss Zach!" So, I went back up with her and dressed Zach's Curious George in his pajamas and Isabella put him in bed with her where Zach will sometimes sleep with her. This morning she brought George down with her and sat in the chair where she usually sits with Zach and watched all his favorite shows. I'm glad they love each other so much!

Gingerbread houses

Zach and Isabella had lots of fun making gingerbread houses yesterday at their cousins party. Here are a couple of pictures of their works of art.

Zach was very proud of his. Tonight he wanted to eat it, but after one taste of the gingerbread, he decided to eat pie. :-)

Here is Zachs from the front. You can see the fence of big gumdrops all around.

This one is Isabella's with a snowman out front. Both of them were very creative with their decorations. You can see marshmallows, peppermints, tootsie rolls, M&Ms, chocolate and white chocolate bars, gumdrops, licorice and more. I think they may have eaten as much as they put on...

Thanksgiving

We are in Tulsa at Chris' dad's house with all of the Oklahoma family. I am so thankful that we can be here to play, laugh, eat, sleep, and enjoy one another. I also am indulged in watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. We also averted a potential turkey disaster when the house filled with smoke because the liquid overflowed and started burning in the oven. Thankfully, there is another oven where we can finish roasting the turkey.

Yesterday we had our cousins' party--something we do when all 10 of the grandchildren get to spend Thanksgiving together. We went downtown to a park where Lauren, my sister-in-law/photographer, did a great job setting us all up for the family photo. (Chris can post these later.) Then we went back to Lauren's house, where 9/10 of the grandchildren made gingerbread houses (Beckham, the 7-month-old, was an interested spectator). Lauren and Kim, another sister-in-law, set it all up, and the kids had great fun, although Zach really thought he should get to eat it immediately. After naps, Santa showed up at Grandma Carla and Grandpa Roger's house. Then we cooked out, and this morning the kids all got their gift bags. So glad we could be together.

I am so thankful for our family, for my beloved Chris, Isabella, and Zach, for the privilege of living in this country where we live freely, and for the Gospel that enables each of us to truly live freely.

Isabella's first school program

Last night Isabella's school put on a program in honor of Veteran's day. It was a patriotic theme and they sang lots of songs. The kindergartners were the last to get up and they sang several songs with the whole group. You can see Isabella right in the middle on the front row. She was very excited to get to sing and Zach was very unhappy that he could not go up and stand on stage too.

Operation Christmas Child

This year we are doing "Operation Christmas Child" again. This year we got boxes from Isabella's Awana club and the kids had lots of fun picking out stuff to go in them.

Halloween 2009

Tonight was a very fun night of trick-or-treating. Isabella went as a ballerina and Zach as a pirate. He would say "Trick or treat" when the person opened the door, then "Arrrg!" when he was leaving. It was very cute. Bunches of pictures...

This one is one of my favorites.

Indy is feeling good these days after her surgery. She was decked out in sweater today due to the combination of the cool weather and her recent visit to the groomer.

Fall Carnival

Today was the fall carnival at Isabella's school. We went around 11:30 and had a great time. They sold tickets and then food and activities went for 1 - 3 tickets with a couple of things that cost 4. We stayed for about 2 hours and had lots of fun.

The kids started off with cotton candy. Zach ate all of his but Isabella gave up after about half. I don't blame her.

Zach spent 4 tickets to go in with the animals. They had lots of very cute and friendly bunnies, piglets, chicks and goats. He did great handling all of them.

They had feed they were giving out and Zach had fun feeding the goats.

Isabella got her hair done. It is now pink with sparkles. She felt like that would go fine with her ballerina outfit for trick or treating tonight.

Carving Pumpkins

While mommy is out of town this weekend, we have been having fun. We carved pumpkins last night. Isabella wanted this one to have vampire teeth. She doesn't even know what a vampire is, but she knows they have two big teeth!

Zach was happy to watch but absolutely refused to put his hand in the pumpkin or even touch the seeds. He said it was "way to slimy. Yuck!!"

Here is the other one- stuck in an "Oh!" moment I guess... Isabella drew the concept for this one on a piece of paper and then I did the carving.

Camping

Last weekend we with camping with our friends Andy & Ashley and their kids. We had a great time. The weather was perfect and Indy had fun too. Here are a few pictures from the trip...

The kids really enjoyed playing "dirt."

Zach and all of them enjoyed climbing this tree.

We had a great view of the lake.

40th Birthday Party

Last Wednesday we celebrated Liza's birthday. This weekend she is celebrating again by visiting friends in Boston. Here are a few pictures from the party...

The white short candle on this cake also played "Happy Birthday" over and over again. That, along with the re-igniting sparkler candles made for a fun process of blowing out the candles.

Zach, Isabella and Katie enjoyed the cake very much. We all had a great time.