Christmas with the Fab Four....

The house was all cleaned, the food was prepared, baking had been done and the cast of characters was returning for Christmas! Our children Tim, Mike and Chelsea with all their clan is coming....I can hear them on the rooftop.  Or maybe it's coming down the driveway....car 1, then 2 and 3!!


 

Chelsea and Bryden

Mike, Lori, Bailey and Emma

Bryden was still excited from his birthday and knew what opening gifts was all about. 

Sweet little Emma, patient and enjoying it all.

And then Santa Grandpa came in....

Paw-Paw and Cooper...

and hugely funny ones!  Getting 4 children to pose before church is a challenge! 

These 4 year olds responded well to  bribery....

and we finally got this shot!

After church, we had a bite to eat, put jammies on and commenced gift opening.

Bailey with treasures...

and me with mine!!

Bryden with a new toy...a recording microphone!  See videos below.  He "sang" that loud in church too!!! lol 

Bailey's expression just makes me laugh too!

Again, we tried to get them all in a cute pose.....

while going through this!!

These two year olds (one soon to be....) looking very innocent!

and again finally got this shot that I like.

Duex!!

 Ah, yes.  It happens to the best of us.  Turning another year older....Bryden turned two this week.
 I remember my mother got the biggest joy from celebrating all our birthdays in the best way she knew how and all those memories from special celebrations come flooding back now as the grandchildren celebrate theirs. This one started with a small family party at our house...

 with gifts that he really enjoyed opening with his mother Chelsea.  He is understanding what it's all about which is fun to watch.

 This was one of his favorite gifts...a guitar!  He sings which is SO funny to watch!!

 Friend Emily came over to serenade him too!!

 Today began with a breakfast with Santa.  This was the new word of the week and I laughed each time he said it!

 All the little ones in our family were at Chelsea's house then to celebrate again with a bigger par-tay.

 Miss Emma in her winter outfit...

 Cousins....I love the look on Bryden's face as he shares his chair.  A minute later he pushed her out and wanted it to himself...but I captured this sweet moment first...lol!

 A tender moment between Uncle Tim and Bailey.

 Mmmmm!  The birthday cupcake!!

And Cooper getting ready to go home in his great hat saying good-bye!!

The best part for me was knowing they all will be back in just two weeks for Christmas!!

Seasons turning and things that I am grateful for...

 This afternoon I took some pictures of Bryden and then mail came with some photos of the girls.   These pictures all made me smile, shake my head and go "awww" respectively.  Funny, I recently heard a statement about having grandchildren that said something like, "when you have grandchildren, your heart is taken out of your body and you see it grow legs and walk around".  So true!  Whenever one of my children calls with stories about the grands, it lives in my brain for a while.  Tim told me some about Cooper this week that we talked about for two days!

This first pic I took of Bryden watching cartoons on TV.  He gets such a kick out of them and laughs!  That makes me laugh!!

 Here, he has discovered the Fisher-Price creche that I just got out with the Christmas decorations.

 Contemplating his "boots".

 Bailey's pre-school picture!!

Lori took these photos of the girls in fall leaves.

 Emma discovering...bugs??

Just a sweet one of Bailey....

                                                              Emma....ha!

  and my fav!!!!

Lamenting....groan!!!

 Are there times that you think doom hangs over your head?? (It does over mine lately). After last summer when Larry fixed the washed out bridge and repaired a lot of erosion that had occurred over years, we sighed thinking that things would remain that way for a long time.  Wrong.

 Yesterday we had rain almost all day, but when exactly all this damage occurred is a mystery.  It was dark when I left this morning for work and I did a big double take when I got home!

You can see in the above header picture of the grandchildren that things were good last September so this is going to be a big project again.  -sigh-

 If you put a few years in between repairs....it can be worth it, but too often is a real pain!  We have always loved living by the creek but this just isn't fun.

 Yuck!

 Double Yuck!

At least Larry's little bridge survived, he and Bryden built it.  He was proud it survived....almost makes one want to laugh.  No, really I'm shaking my head, how does that happen??

What happens when Grandpa changes a diaper....

This weekend Bryden stayed at our house overnight.  We get such a kick out of the way he is learning to talk and the fun, really cute little personality he has.
  While I was cleaning up from dinner, Larry offered to do his bath and get him ready for bed.  I said "OK, great!" and continued my tasks.  I could hear them having a ball and put Bryden to bed when it was all done. In the morning he called when he was awake and I took him into my bathroom while I was getting ready for the day.  I looked at his left leg and said "what's wrong with your ankle??"  He said "boo-boo?" I said "you hurt yourself?"  He said "Des"  (Yes)  I felt it and thought a sock must have gotten into the leg of his PJ's during laundering.  Then I thought.......and felt.  No diaper!  Ha!  The whole thing was wrapped around his ankle....lol!  I laughed so hard and then ran to get the camera. 

Scoobie, on the other hand, runs and hides when Bryden comes.  He's getting old and doesn't have that same high energy.  His fur is getting thinner and he gets cold once in a while. (shivers)  I found a couple of sweaters on sale and bought them even though I have always thought it silly when seeing dogs dressed up.  Now I'm one of them...I think he's cute!

No Tricks, just Treats!!

Our annual "Treat Night" with the girls was tonight and it's a treat for us for sure!!  It begins with pizza unlike any we have in our small town!  A great place just down the street from Mike & Lori has deep dish pizza only to be rivaled by that we used to eat in Chicago...yum!  Then the girls get dressed and off we go!

 This year Emma was a fish and Bailey was the Queen of the Sea!

 An excited one at that...ready to go see her kingdom!

 The next few pics were taken by Bailey, our new budding photographer.  We have to giggle a bit at recent pics of Emma...she is so fair that she "glows" in many pictures. 

 Bailey's pic of her Aunt Jamie and Uncle John....

 and one of her grandparents...Lori's parents.  Good job Bailey!!!

 One of us with the photographer...

 and bidding goodbye to the men in the family as is our tradition.  The guys stay home to hand out candy while the ladies forage out.

 The girls with next door neighbor "Strawberry Shortcake"!

 Collecting candy and being polite.  I was surprised at the great idea many had of putting an outdoor firepit  next to their chairs as they handed out candy.  It felt good and smelled so good as we walked down the street.

 Bailey ready to "treat" all night....

while Emma was ready to head home to bed to dream of all her candy!