Here comes Christmas!

There is no doubt that winter is here and the kids are getting excited about Christmas. Here is a photo of the kids in their snowman pj's at my parents house over Thanksgiving. If you look closely you can see that Elli is almost as big as Laney.
November was a good month for us. Mack received all A's on his midterm report and has recently joined the Tramp and Tumbling Team at the gym. He has practice 4 hours a week and loves it! It is so awesome to see your child enjoy an activity that is actually good for them!
Bill continues to work hard getting the basement finished. I added a picture of the screen that he put up for the projector. It is going to be so wonderful! He just put down the carpet this past weekend and the kids love running around the open new space. We can't wait to have family and friends over to watch games or movies or just to hang out by the bar and play poker!

Elli is now starting to say words that we can actually understand. Her favorite words are, Mommy, book, apple, night, bye, and thank you! No Spanish words yet, that we know of. She has also mastered the stairs and likes to practice going up and down them many times.


Here are a few photos of the kids Holiday pictures. It is always a challenge, but Laney is at the age where she can be bribed. So we got a few good shots of her and Mack. This is really the only good one of Elli.

Enjoy!

Fall Fun!

Here are a few photos of my cousins wedding reception. The kids had a great time dance the night away. Mack had fun serving himself and others coffee all evening.
One picture is Elli dancing with a boy. She initiated this dance and they help each other hands and danced as if they knew what there were suppose to do. Laney also danced with this same boy so I hope this is not a pre-view of how it is going to be when they get older. Laney danced all night long and had to be dragged off when it was time to leave. (I don't know where she gets that from...?)


Halloween was so fun for the kids! All dressed up and enjoyed getting candy. This was Elli's first real expereince so she did not get the idea of putting the candy in the bucket for later. She wanted this piece so bad that she just carried it around in her mouth.

Bill is working hard to get the basement competed...updated photos to come soon!

October is Here!

October Is Here!

October is finally here and the weather is changing! Here are a few photos of the girls in there Halloween shirts.


We celebrated my Grandmothers and Bill's birthday this month. In a few weeks we will be taking part in my cousin's wedding up north.



The basement is still a work is progress. Bill spends each weekend and some evenings working hard to get in down so we can enjoy it for the holidays.
Even my brother Matt and friend Matt came to help Bill mix and pour the concrete counter top. Of coarse, we have a fireplace in the basement too. This is a picture of the fireplace with a mantel to soon be attached!

Wrapping up 2008 Summer

The end of summer has come so quickly. We just got the hang playing at the pool and now it is time to start thinking about Halloween Costumes and smores by the fire pit!
Here are a few photos of the kids doing some of there favorite summer activities.

They spent many days with Grandma and Papa up north playing outside and visiting other family members.

Big achievements this summer: Elli is walking almost running, Mack gave up his blanket, and Laney is potty trained (even through the night)! I almost forgot, I got one year older.

We are all looking forward to the fall weather. Mack started 3rd grade and Laney is attending preschool one day a week. Fun things to come!

July 18th - Elli is walking!

Just wanted to share a few photos that capture amazing moments with the girls.
Laney got to experience painting. She did such a great job holding her paint brush and loved mixing the colors up to create a beautiful mess on the paper. She was very focused and loved dong this project while Elli was sleeping.


Today Elli decided that she was done with crawling and started walking all over the place! How can this happen over night? She is so proud of herself and is walking everywhere. Watching the girls hold hands as they walk around is an image that I will treasure forever. Elli will be one year old on Monday so she is right on schedule.


I could not finish this blog entry without sharing a photo of our fire pit that Bill has been working so hard on. It is beautiful and can't wait to enjoy it with my family on cool nights.

July 4th Celebration!

Before the 4th we went to the Symphony on the Prairie with Uncle Matt and Aunt Jodi. Lots of food, music, and of coarse fireworks! Laney and Elli sat quietly and watch the fireworks. They were both exhausted but stayed awake to watch the "stars in the sky".
Then we traveled to Cromwell to spend the weekend with my parents and family. We spent all day Saturday playing the usual "Howell Games". Softball (a short game this year due to Dixie getting nailed with the ball right in the nose and going to the ER), water balloon toss, potato sack race, corn hole competition, and trivia games. We also celebrated Mack's 9th birthday, where he received a Wii from his grandparents, and Elli's 1st birthday.
We all had a great time, lots of sun and swimming and Bill even got to go fishing. It was the best way to spend the 4th of July.