That's a Wrap!

December was a fun month for us.  We went caroling with Kyle's parent's and sister's family.  At the end of the singing Hazel said "Halloween" and went to the person standing at the door, expecting a treat!  She was disappointed and confused that going door to door caroling was not the same as door to door Trick or Treating.

 

We took the kids to some workshops at Lowe's.  They have free projects for kids on different Saturdays.  Dillan made Santa's sled and both of them made an airplane.  Free family entertainment, boo yah!

 

Santa came to our church Christmas party.  Hazel and Dillan waited patiently and excitedly to sit on Santa's lap.  Their moment came, and they ran for him!  2 seconds later, kind of scared, Hazel came running back to me.  No Santa's lap for her!

 

Kyle can only change his health insurance once a year.  So we spent the first week of December figuring out our insurance needs and what each option provided.  What a pain!  It was a really stressful week for me, I don't like dealing with health insurance.  I'm glad it's over and we got it all figured out.  We also got dental insurance, that's new!

 

A vacuum salesmen came.  It had been a challenging day with the kids and Kyle was going to be home late.  He entertained us all until Kyle finally got home.  Then we couldn't get rid of him.

 She has on Dillan's swimming goggles.  Peek-a-boo!

 Father-son bonding, with a vacuum.

 It's snowing!  We barely got enough to go outside and pick it up.  Dillan made "snowballs" by scraping some off the grass and throwing it at me, missing most of the time.  Hazel repeated "snowball" each time she picked up some bark dust (with a little snow on it) and put it in the gutter drain.  And they were cold in less than 10 minutes.

 Christmas morning was so fun.  Hazel would have preferred to play with the first thing she got and stop opening presents.  It was a challenge to rip her away from one new thing in order to unwrap something else.  She got underwear, that's what she has on over her pants.

Our Christmas tree was hand sawed by Kyle at a nearby Christmas tree farm.  It smelled amazing!  Oregon has some unique perks.

 Dillan got a batman costume for Christmas, and he looks legit!

 This was Hazel's big gift from Santa.  "Come on, do dishes!" is what she says when she wants to play with it.

 They all got healthy licorice.  Yum!  Candy first thing in the morning!

This is kind of lame, but we didn't decide to fill each other's stockings until a few days before Christmas.  I was busy with Christmas dinner preparations, and getting things ready for the kids, and getting ready for flying out on Christmas evening, so Kyle did his own stocking shopping with Hazel!

 Dillan gave a present this year to Hazel.  The joy of giving!

 The rest of these pictures all happened earlier in December (before Christmas).

 We hiked to the top of Multnomah Falls.  This is a recess/inlet in the mountainside.  Dillan hiked the whole way up (1.25 miles) and most of the way down, with his Camelbac.  We were so proud!

 The hike was georgeous and peaceful.  For those of you not from around here, that river is the Columbia, and those mountains are in Washington.

This branch was brought in, unbeknownst to me to make a bow.  He's a go getter!  Later that day we had our own homemade bow and arrow that he took with him everywhere for the next week (until it broke).  We got him a toy bow and arrow for Christmas.  The homemade stick and twine one works way better!

 Riding his "dirtbike" (which is my digital piano stand)

Getting along, snuggling = love it!

 I heard a lot of rucus when Dillan was supposed to be napping, but it quieted down, so I didn't worry about it.  This is what I found when he got up from his nap: Dillan in a full snow suit that's too small (size 2T).  He wore it for the rest of the day.

 Skis.  Getting in some practice before visiting Gma and Gpa in Utah for the real deal.

Happy Birthday Dillan!  We don't really celebrate his birthday in December, we do it on his half birthday.  This year we had a family dinner: salad, socca pizza, and beet cake (all Dillan's requests).  Dillan was so excited about the socca pizza, telling his cousins how yummy it was, they thought it was weird, but they ate it!  I loved that he stuck up for his delicious healthy whole foods!

Fun Stuff and a Funeral

November was great.  I got to vote, Dillan had swimming lessons, I joined the ward choir, we watched the football civil war (mostly sleeping through it).  I got to go to Time Out for Women for the first time.  Loved it!  And I think about the things I learned there all the time.  Grandpa Thad Kirkham died.  I was blessed to be able to go to his funeral and celebrate his life.  He was a great man, not great as the world judges, but great through the eyes of our Heavenly Father and his fellow family members.

 Empty milk cartons, who new they were so fun?  She pulls them out of the recyclying bins.

 Doggy was cold and needed a coat.  This is a 3-6 month size pajama dress thingy that I found for him.

 It fits Hazel as well!  1.5 years later, it is no longer long sleeved or dress length.  Hee hee

 Proof that I do have fun with my kids and play with them, I'm just usually the jungle gym.

 We started making fires in our fireplace!  They are so cozy and picturesque, I wish I could curl up in front of it and not get anything done.

 We heard him get out of bed when we were downstairs watching TV, but he didn't come down, so we never checked on him.  Totally asleep on that body pillow in the upstairs hallway.

 Lego siblings!

 We got a reel lawn mower for free!  It was so fun to mow our lawn, and Dillan loved it.

 They are "trappped"

 The many uses of a laundry basket.

 Snuggling siblings watching a show.  Usually they each need their own blanket.

 My Great Grandma Hugo's famous apple pie recipe, with health adaptations made by me.  Thank you to Thanksgiving for a reason to buckle down and make them.  So delicious!

 What a lucky dad

 That's right, Buzz Lightyear lives here.

Family Visits

 October is so fun with the oncoming Fall, harvest, and Halloween activities.  Our month started with Kyle's birthday.  He got a bike and is super excited to ride to work. 

I found a farm where I can get raw milk.  I went on a tour with the kids.  Hazel called everything a dog, then she called everything a chicken.  Apparently she doesn't know her farm animals, especially goats, but I set her straight.

Danny came for a visit.  While he was here we went to OMSI (science museum) and I participated in my first Turkey Shoot.  I've been resisting using a shotgun since I was 12 years old and we started shooting in my grandparents' backyard.  I finally did it this year, and I didn't break any bones!  I did hit several clay pigeons, and my armpit was sore for days after.  It turns out Kyle's been holding out on me. He got 12 out of 12 in the competition; I didn't even know he could shoot!  His gun-toting friends were all shocked as well (because he beat them).

Then Hazel got this crazy virus.  She threw up once each evening, for 9 days.  I was super grateful for the doctor who told me it was just a virus, because the once-a-day thing had me thinking of very creative explanations, none of them good.

Dillan got to participate in his first primary program!  He didn't sing at all, but he felt comfortable in front of the congregation and did a great job with his line.

 Kyle's is the BYU, Dillan wanted a scary pumpkin, then Hazel (she drew the nose herself), then mine (the nose is the stem, so you can only see it's eyes and eyebrows in the dark).

 I separated out the pumpkin seeds to roast later.  She was eating them raw out of the bowl.  I tried one, they are so chewy and fibrous.  And she was just munching away!

Dillan (below) wanted cheeks cut out, then he wanted ears, so we used toothpicks to hold on the "ears" that used to be cheeks.  It turned out great.

One tradition we have is to go to a pumpkin farm each Halloween season.  The kids love to ride in a wheelbarrow, see pumpkins in their natural habitat, and pick out their own.  We carved them a few days later.  The kids scooped out the middle and told me what they wanted their jack-o-lanterns to look like.  They also got to draw some feature by themselves, then I cut it out for them.  They all turned out so fun and different.  And they rotted so fast in our rainy weather!
Next we were graced with the presence of my parents and my sister Shelly!  We had lots of fun stuff planned, most of which was botched by the rain and fog and a closed highway.  But!  We went to Powell's Books for the first time, Dillan got a skateboard, and Hazel got some legos, and we enjoyd playing games together each evening, and swimming in the hotel's pool.  They love their presents, thanks Grandma and Grandpa!  We even went to a skatepark, and Dillan was able to sit on the skateboard and roll down the slopes.

While they were here Dillan got the same virus as Hazel.  I have never done so many loads of laundry in the middle of the night!  I was sure grateful for our own washing machine.  Luckily, that was the end of it--one night, and he was fine the next day.

 Hazel is becoming very musical.  She loves to play the piano (especially after she sees me do it), dance, and sing.

 Dillan's new skateboard, he's totally in love.  This is what he is always grateful for in prayers.

 The kids are sleeping and the visiting adults resting.  We are good at wearing out our visitors!

This is the day before Halloween on the way to the church party/Trunk or Treat.  Dillan was allowed to eat 3 pieces of candy.  We offered him $5 to throw away the rest of his candy.  He loved it, and I loved watching him dump a bucketful of candy into the trashcan.  Candy was such a treat and he bought a Lego Space Rover.  Yay!  I'm excited to continue that tradition.

Painting the House

 

The back of our part of the duplex.  Yeah, Ugly.

Painting the house was a huge part of September.  Pressure washing, letting it dry, picking out colors, masking/taping, spraying, hand painting the trim.  It took 4 full saturdays, an afternoon, and help from the grandparents!  I didn't know what I was getting myself into.  But as you can see, the back of the house needed it, and the front is just boring!  We got premium paint that will last forever, so I never have to do that again!

In September Kyle and I both got Oregon drivers licenses.  Reading the drivers manual was pretty boring, but I learned a lot and passed my test. 

Kyle and I also got callings: I am the Relief Society chorister and on the Relief Society Activities Committee, and Kyle is the Advancement Specialist for Cub Scouts (he buys their patches each month). 

The best part of the month was celebrating my birthday and our Anniversary by going kayaking and going out to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.  Kayaking was peaceful, fun, and interesting.  It was so rejuvenating.  Hooray for 5 years together!  We are happy to meet that milestone, grateful for where our lives have taken us thus far, and excited to live the rest of forever together.

New and improved!  Compare (to above pics), love, enjoy.  All that work was worth it.

 A sneek peak of Hazel's Halloween costume, a hand-me-down from Dillan.