Sledding... Finally!

We finally got some snow, so the boys couldn't wait to go sledding.


This is Cole - I barely got any pictures of him because he was off by himself just sledding away. He quickly figured out which sled was the fastest in the deep snow and managed to keep it away from the older boys!



Robbie giving Reed another ride. Reed wasn't crazy about the wind and cold so he wasn't out there for too long... next year!



Robbie battling 4 little boys.





I love this picture of Jack!



No wonder Reed wasn't crazy about being outside - we let him get sprayed in the face with snow.



My little snowboarder, Braed.



Bryan and Reed



Luke! Love this pic, too!

Wiley's 8th Birthday!

It's hard to believe that Wiley is already 8 years old. We celebrated with the family during breakfast at M & M's (new header picture and wouldn't ya know it... Braeden is distracted!) He rec'd his bicycle that afternoon so Robb could get is assembled and we could take them to the high school to go riding.

WooHoo!! A bike!



Assembling the bike... there really wasn't much to it except for attaching the handlebars and pedals.



It was about at this time that we realized we hadn't fully explained (or really explained at all!!) the braking system. Ryan took off running as he came down the hill.



Whew! Crisis averted! Here's Robb giving him the details.



No problems with those brakes at all!



Robbie and Bekah gave him an Action Bible (basically, stories of the Bible told in comic book form.) He loved it.



And last, but not least... blowing out the candles on his coffee ice cream dessert. A little boy who likes coffee ice cream? Yeah... poor guy, he's been around A LOT of adults!

Ryan's Home!

Well, this is what it looks like when you haven't seen your brother/son for a year. Ry, we're SO glad to have you home.



Naturally, it takes about 20 seconds before wrestling ensues...



We decided to surprise the boys. Robbie picked them up early from school and told them that Ryan wasn't home yet. Needless to say, they were thrilled to see him. The screams and shrieks were probably heard next door!







Not really sure what this is, but I guess it's just my boys being boys.



Next, it was Dad's turn.





Finally, Kellen arrived and it was so crowded with all of us here, that I couldn't get a decent picture. But, the smile says it all.

Live Nativity

Tonight, we visited the Live Nativity, put on by Valley Church in Granby. Bryan, Kate and the boys went with us.

Here are the boys, following the wisemen up to the stable.



We got a little extra time with the wisemen because they were the 2nd shift, waiting to take their place.



Reed was more interested in the horse during the shepherd's story.



Here's the shepherd, telling his story to the kids. He was very animated.







Up at the stable, they had a really cute donkey, but my picture didn't come out. :-(



Baby Jesus was a doll, and believe me, the boys noticed! (Although a lady behind me said that they did use a real baby last year.)

Hello, Christmas Season 2010

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone and we turned the page to Christmas. We usually go get our tree the Sunday after Thanksgiving and this year was no different. The weather was perfect.

And, here we go...



All the boys really wanted to do was play tag around all the trees.



I think we may have found a keeper!

Carving Pumpkins

Yeah, I know it's a little late, but thought I would upload a couple of these. Usually Robb is in charge of the pumpkin carving, but it was Halloween and we were running out of time! (I think he was out riding.)









Thought the look on Braeden's face was typical. He had a lot of fun being a pirate.

October Riding

A few pictures from the back of the bike.


The shade tobacco fields in W. Suffield -




One of my favorite farms in Granby.

First Day of School

Well, another "first day of school" came and went on Aug.31st. For Wiley, it was the first day of 2nd grade and so far he's been enjoying it! That's quite a relief for me, as I thought his enthusiasm would only last for a day or two. Wiley is a good student, but in the past he despised going to school. Hopefully, this new trend will continue, but I'm not holding my breath.



Here's Braeden, ready to board the bus! As you can imagine, he was thrilled to finally be a "big kid" and be on his own. Over the last year, he would tell me that he didn't want to go to school because he didn't want to leave me alone! (If he only knew...)



Here comes the bus!



We've all settled into this new schedule. I'm still adjusting to 4 hours to myself. You'd think I'd have a list of things I've wanted to do for the past 28 years, but to tell you the truth, this free time has slipped up on me and I find myself wandering around the house thinking that it's awfully quiet.

Summer VACA

Well, once again, Florida has come and gone. It was a great 2 weeks with a total of about 45 family members. I love the sense of history at Hacienda Del Sol - I can't believe that the first time I went, Robbie was 9 months old! The weather was perfect, not a single drop of rain during the entire 2 weeks! I still can't believe that! Of course, I have too many pictures to post on here, I'll let you know where I upload them.