December

Hey family! Sorry I did not get December done yet but I am getting sleepy! Pics of Christmas and the latest and greatest K baby coming soon! :) Good night!

Late November - Keven M visits!

Keven popped in for a few days after Thanksgiving,

and we really enjoyed his visit and hope he comes again.

Thomas latched right onto him, of course...

Keven and Calvin went to Vancouver for a day to

check out some of the Olympic venues. This is the

speed skating oval, currently open for public skating.

We decorated the banket with Christmas carol stars.

Courtney lined them up on every windowsill she could reach while

Leshia was cutting them out. Today I found another

ten in my bedroom behind a side shade that had been down for awhile.

This window seat gets a lot of use from the little

people. This is also Thomas' newest cheezy smile.

On the rare occasion he doesn't shut his eyes.

Betsy Ross

November - DH Thanksgiving

They set a very pretty Thanksgiving table!

Uncle Jim ready to open in prayer...

Following are pics of the cherished DH tradition of

building "gingerbread" houses after the dishes are done...

They have been doing this since Calvin's cousins were about

John's age. Now they are in college or in their thirties...and

still loving it!

This picture was taken after most of the "gingerbread" houses were built.

It was a tough year as most of our graham crackers were

cracked out of the box. This is the time that the "grownups" come

to watch the last ones finish up - that way they can snoop candy!

John and I made an animal cracker zoo this year. It was

waaaaaay easier than a house!

This is the first year Calvin made a house, mostly

because someone had to help Thomas :)! He had a lot

of fun and Thomas just thinks "his" shack is the best

thing ever. He won't let me move it from his bedroom!
Every day we have to fix the mailbox - it falls over...

This photo will show you that C's cousins are

truly crazy. Yes, that is a Dremmel tool being used.

They are a very competitive breed!

Molly always works slow and her house is always the best.

This year she made a Christmas tree out of green chewing gum cut in

triangles, pasted on an icecream cone. It was amazing.

Uncle Jim is admiring Benjamin's post-modern cube...

He gave up on his rather ambitious plan to build a suspension bridge,

which had thread and everything! It collapsed :(

November - Random Photos

More proof that my husband is a really good daddy...

Calvin & "Kuip" talking MI football, what else?!

Thomas' first "shave" - he loves it now!

John eating a whole stick of banket - he sold over 20

on his own. He tripped on the sidewalk with the sample while bringing

some money back to the house and was devastated...

until I told him he might as well eat it! He is just like his daddy!

Here is Leshia during banket-paste making day#1. We

did 50 pounds that day. We ended up selling 945 sticks as

a school fundraiser. Different moms made all the ingredients

before hand, and then we got together in a school kitchen and

rolled them out on two separate nights...It was a lot

of work but so much fun!

November - Momma Chair is DONE!

This pictures are mostly for Lois,

who understands my obsessions...

Never thought it would take this many years,

but hey, it's me you're talking about :)! I just love it!!!!

My teacher at the upholstery school said it was about 120

years old, based on the spring construction. Tying

springs is pretty fun, pleats are a PAIN!

September - Flashback to Warm Beach

I published a post about Warm Beach earlier...but I

did not bring my camera down to the mud flats for

obvious reasons. Here are some pics that Rev. took

and handed out later - pretty much no one dared

to slime a preacher with a camera :)!

Can't get a cooler principal than that!

They run and slide and then do full body facials...

It is a tradition that a first-year chap has to get muddy.

It was the best, slimiest, most fun ever!

The strangest thing is that it all comes out in the wash!

They like to see who can get the muddiest...

Afterwards we washed off in the ocean - the tide came in and

a few hours later the entire area was under water and we canoed

over it and out into the sound between the mainland and Camano Island.

Late October - Football in the Backyard...

For some reason, John is really into footfall right now.

It might have something to do with watching all those Michigan

games??? Calvin is so good with the boys, he plays with them

outside all the time. John decided he needed to "upgrade" to tag

football shortly after this, 'cuz he saw the junior high played that way.

A quick rest after a tackle...

Thomas has no clue what he's doing. He also has no socks.

But he is happy as long as Daddy knocks him over!

Late October - Chris & Tanya Came for a Visit!

Okay, I am trying to get my blog in better shape

by having it be chronological from top to bottom.

What a pain!

Chris & Tanya came down for a few days to take

in a U2 concert. Altho apparently Vancouver's

roads are not ready for the Olympics...

Thomas adored Uncle Chris. He pretty

much talked his ear off. Chris did not seem

to mind too much!

I just had to throw this picture in, bc

she is really just a little too cute for her own good!

Mid October - Pumpkin Farm

Yes, I know, you saw all these photos on Dwight's

blog two months ago. Oops!

Thomas was mad the whole time we were

in the pumpkin field because all he wanted was
to ride the RED tractor/trailer, not the green one we

came down on. It was a lot of fun having him around.

Wishing I could toss T in bed...

Mid October- our favorite painter...

We hired out all the scary high parts to Dwight. You can see how much he appreciated this. Pretty much he thinks all Washington houses are retarded because we all use wood trim. Next time we build we will be sure to consult him first :)!
















Here is Dwight in our bonus room, spraying our back and side exterior doors...four years after we moved in!


I may have been gushing a little too much about how I loved the color.










If you look very carefully, you will see my art studio and the guest bedroom. My dream space. I love coming up here.

Early October - Back Yard Baseball

After baseball, the boys climbed the bails. Thomas was hilarious and

didn't come down until we had walked all the way back to our house,

up the stairs, and closed the door.

I was a little freaked out how independent he is getting!

One of the most incredible sunsets of the summer...

John's a tooth short, in case you have not noticed...

John...

Thomas...always one pant leg in his boot!

Much of the summer was spent painting the house - all our paint failed and

was covered by warranty, but we still had to do the work :) We are almost done!

I can't resist pictures of Baker...

Our neighbor put in a baseball diamond and invited all the neighbors to use

it any time we want. Calvin and John have put in lots of time down there,

and lately Thomas has been tagging along also.