The Hunters

My hubby just returned from an 8 day elk hunt (a long 8 days I might add!) Unfortunately he didn't get an elk but he did get a nice beard.

It was freezing where they were hunting and it looked like this.
The boys went hunting with their Grandpa, Uncle and Aunt and they had better luck and shot 2 squirrels.

So no elk dinners but we have squirrel. Oh yeah I can't wait:)

Christmas Pictures

I wasn't sure they were going to be able to get a picture where all three kids were looking at the camera with a decent smile, but they did! My boys are sooo hard to take pictures of now. So if I were going to send out Christmas cards (which I probably won't get around to) this would be the picture, so pretend I mailed it to you and enjoy the picture and Merry Christmas:)The baby was wonderful for the pictures.
She just kept smiling and laughing and was her usual sweet self. Sometimes I still can't believe I have a little girl, especially one as cute as her! I'm not at all biased...

She quit smiling for Santa, though. I guess he is kind of a scary looking guy for a baby:)

We are getting into the holiday spirit around here. We went to zoo lights last week which was fantastic as always. This week is the light parade and gingerbread house making. If you haven't tried the Dairy Queen candy cane blizzard you really should, it will definitely put you in the holiday mood. I think I am addicted, is it weird to think about a blizzard all day long??!!

Necklace

I forgot to mention in my last post that the necklace the baby is wearing is a Baltic Amber teething necklace from Inspired by Finn. It is suppose to help with teething problems and I do think it is helping! The baby has 4 teeth now and she was absolutely terrible for weeks with the first ones, like non-stop screaming and waking about 10 times at night. She is about to get 2 more teeth and she is still pretty happy and not having a hard time sleeping at all anymore. It could be coincidence, but I'm not going to take it off to find out:)

11 Months Old

I am going to miss my baby as she is quickly becoming a little girl.

She has so much to say now and likes everyone to listen to her.

When I Grow Up...

I want to be a husband. It would be so wonderful to get up and only have to worry about getting myself ready and going to work. I would then come home to dinner that I didn't have to cook and a pile of dishes that I didn't have to worry about. No worrying about bills, grocery's and cleaning house. Yep, that is what I want:)

I was reading a Thanksgiving book to my kids the other day and it was discussing how on the first Thanksgiving the women were busy cooking and serving while the men played games and talked. That is basically how it is still for the holidays in my family. By the time the holiday gets here I am exhausted from staying up late or getting up early to cook something and then having to clean up.

It got me thinking...I'm sure that there are men out there who do cook and clean but I don't know many! It seems that even when the women make money they are still expected to do all that as well. I'm also sure that there are women out there who truly enjoy cooking, cleaning and laundry, but I am not one of them. A dirty toilet or a huge pile of dishes has been known to make me cry. I've told my husband many times that once our kids are a little older (and can behave going out to eat) I will cook maybe once a week. No cooking= no dishes=heaven.

So, since becoming a husband isn't an option maybe my wonderful husband will be nice and get me a regular housecleaner for Christmas to clean up after his messy children and offer to pick up dinner on the way home from work occasionally. Maybe, Please, Pretty Please!!!

Big Green Tractor and the Zoo

We went to the zoo last week and I am so impressed with what they have done to the farm. It was closed when we were there a couple of weeks ago and they have done a lot of work. There was grass where dirt use to be and there are better toys and the playground is shaded now!

My Little Man sure does love his cousin and she loves him too. He was more than happy to share a tractor with her! I can see him in a few years singing to a girl riding on one of his tractors: I'll take you for a ride on my big green tractor, we can go slow...

They have a cow in there now that you can milk and water squirts out. Big Man talked for the rest of the day how he could milk with 2 hands. That was my favorite part of the zoo. I'm not sure why but I just think a milking cow is cool...maybe it is because I feel we have a lot in common as I feel like a milk cow most days:)

My niece reminds me of a posing model in this picture. She is too cute and very photogenic when she wants to be, the boys not so much usually!

My sister took this picture and told me: See they really do love each other. It is nice to have pictures where they look so nice and loving with each other, since most days it is the complete opposite when they are together. I will say that they are getting along much better lately so maybe there is hope for them!

My nephew just cracks me up all the time. He always has this big smile and the most hilarious laugh. You just can sit and laugh together, then he spits up everywhere and laughs some more:)

The baby obviously didn't do anything cute or funny since I have no pictures of her at the zoo. She just hung out and took in the sights. She has a few teeth working their way in right now and is not sleeping well and is just generally cranky. She did have her check up this week and she weighs 21.7 pounds and is in the 50% for weight. I can't remember her height but she is only in the 25th percentile for height. Her head is in the 95%, but with her mound of curls it looks even bigger:)

Rest of Halloween

I know...finally I'm getting around to posting the rest of the Halloween pictures. Here is Big Man and his costume for Awanas. Anyone guess what Bible character he is? If you guessed Goliath you are correct. I told him Goliath was not a nice Bible character and he certainly wasn't a hero, but that was who he wanted to be. I think he looked pretty good! His blood looked redder in real life.

The obligatory pictures before trick or treating.
The girls were both little ladybugs, but the baby's antenna's would not stay up.

The following is why niece is never happy to see the baby! My little girl is forever poking her cousins in the eye.

Ready to trick or treat!

They had a great time and got tons of candy. The only thing they wanted to eat were chips and a piece of gum when they were done, though. That night at about midnight Little Man woke me up crying at midnight and was upset and said he didn't know why. So, I was just laying with him when he sat up and threw up on me! I would have blamed the candy except he didn't eat any. Anyways, we had the stomach flu pass through and now we have another cold or allergies passing through right now. I have not felt normal in over 3 weeks! I have bought every supplement that is suppose to boost the immune system and am hoping I don't get sick again for a while because I have a lot to catch up on!