Greg and Holli cooked an awesome dinner. We ended up leaving right after dinner as we were a bit concerned that the melted snow would freeze to the roadways.

Today is Ryan's actual birthday. It's hard to believe that, seven years ago, Bob and I were in the hospital trying to figure out what we were supposed to do with this tiny little guy! Well, "Little Guy" is no longer little and "Little Chick" is almost three! Times flies...it's a nice reminder for us to take time to enjoy the little things each day. That's all for now...see you in 2008!

After all of the Pearcy's left on Christmas morning, we headed over to Greg and Holli's through the snow (they had forecasted a 1% chance of snow!). Ryan and Jordan spent most of their time on the Playstation, while Emmalee turned Holli's decorative reindeer into stuffed animal holders. Rick - sorry your photo is sideways!

On Sunday, Amanda stopped by for a few hours on her way to Texas. The kids were very excited to see her, and, of course, opened more presents. On Monday, we took everyone to the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville. It needs to be recorded somewhere that we were able to get Dad through an air museum in just ONE hour! Amazing! We opened presents that evening as Matt and Val had to fly out bright and early on Tuesday on their way to Wisconsin (thanks, Dad, for taking them to the airport at 4 a.m.).

We had a great time spending time with everyone...the kids thoroughly enjoyed sharing their room with their uncles and Val and then going downstairs for stories by Hop and books by Nana. Nope...it's not over yet...

Christmas, Birthdays, Family, Fun!

Wow! What a weekend! Mom, Dad, Jon, Matt and Val all arrived on Thursday evening. Everyone spent Friday recovering from their trips to Portland; I spent it getting ready for the birthday party on Saturday. We had 24 people at our place for Ryan's 7th and Emmalee's 3rd birthday party. It was crowded, but it was nice to have everyone there. The kids were completely spoiled and it didn't end there...

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Mom, Dad, Jon, Adam, Jamee and Baby Clara came. We enjoyed the company so much! Ryan and Emmalee had fun playing with everyone. The kids sure love Baby Clara, or Baby Quela as Emma calls her. She's grown so much since we last saw her. We're looking forward to Christmas and the kids' birthday party when just about the whole family (both sides of the family) will be here.

Here's what we've been doing...

Whoops! A month has gone by without adding any photos. November went very quickly. Ryan continues to love school. He was tested for TAG last week, so we'll see how that goes. Emma's just plugging along, being a two-year-old-almost-three year-old. She's potty-trained...Yahoo!!! It's nice to have that done with. Our house is empty of baby stuff - no more diapers, bottles, baby toys, cribs, etc. It's hard to believe that Emma will be 3 and Ryan 7 in a few weeks!

Bob is finally slowing down a little at work. He should be able to enjoy a month of weekends at home before tax season starts again.

I've been busy scrapbooking. I finished Max and Amanda's wedding album and just started Rick and Ann's. I've also been volunteering at the school alot, which has been great! It's nice to be able to see what Ryan's been working on and watch the teacher in action. I have to admire anyone that can keep 20 six and seven-year-olds in control so easily!

First tooth!

Ryan finally lost his first tooth. We noticed that the permanent tooth was coming in behind the baby tooth, so he started working on it. On Wednesday, he asked his dad to pull it. If you know Ryan, you know it's amazing that he asked tohave it pulled. He does not do well with anticipated pain! Anyway, he didn't even feel it come out and got a visit from the tooth fairy. As you can see, he was very excited!

It's hard to believe that Ryan is almost seven and Emma is almost three! Where does the time go?! On the plus side, it sure is nice to be out of bottles, diapers, baby food, etc.

Mom and Dad came to visit the last weekend in October. They got to go to Ryan's last soccer game. After meeting, Mom and Dad wanted to take their annual picture out in our backyard, so we went ahead and took some with the kids, also.

Ryan started soccer in September; he enjoyed it so much. He played with determination - you could see it on his face when he ran after the ball. He made 1-2 goals per game, so that made him happy. He got a trophy at the end of October. If you come to the house, be sure to ask for the "touching the trophy" rules! He's very proud of it!

Emma had two costumes this year - a ladybug and a Disney Princess. For the pumpkin party, we chose the ladybug costume. She had a great time flittering around.

Ryan loves the Transformers. Bob save most of his toys from when he was a kid (back in the '80's). He gave them to Ryan when he was about three. He's loved them ever since. With the new movie out, it's easier to find Transformer stuff. He was very excited to be Optimus for Halloween this year.

Photos will come, hopefully

I seem to be experiencing technical difficulties while trying to attach new photos. I'll keep working at it, but please click on "my photos" to view pics from this past weekend.

Pumpkin Party

A couple of the moms (Katie, Betty, Tammarie, Denise) got together and decided to have a pumpkin party for the kids. Tammarie was kind enough to offer her house for the party. We had a great time. We had a potluck, crafts and games for the kids, a hilarious magician, then a bonfire with smores. It was a beautiful evening, complete with full moon. While we were eating our smores, we started planning our Spring event! :)

Fall has definitely arrived! It's a cold, blustery day out there today. Ryan was supposed to have a field trip to the pumpkin patch today, but they canceled it due to the forecasted windstorm. He was a little disappointed, but I'm glad. It's cold! :)

We've kept busy since my last post. The kids most favorite thing to do when Bob gets home is wrestle (spelled it right this time!). As soon as he changes his clothes, he knows that he's going to be attacked...not by one child, but by both. Some may think that Emma's a sweet, gentle, quite little thing. She is, after all, a girl. But, she's been known to make little boys cry by growling at them. She's an expert light saber fighter and can defend herself with her brother. Ahh....can't wait until she's 16.

Ryan decided that he was going to do half of my housework for me so they could fingerpaint. So, he and Emma vacuumed one room and...well...that's all they did. Where did my help go? That's not half of my housework!

Bob was kind enough to watch the kids overnight on Friday. I headed up north with one of the friends to scrapbook. On Friday, from 6 to 11, I got 20 pages done. I was so excited! On Saturday, I think the homemade cinnamon rolls and staying up until 1:30 kicked in - I only completed 10 more pages. Oh well...it was great to get away, spend some time with friends and leave that housework at home! (No, Ryan didn't do any housework while I was gone!)

I guess that's all for now. Gotta wake up Emma and head out in the yucky weather to get Ryan from the bus. I hope that you're all enjoying your day and making it a good one!

Earning their keep

At the Children's Museum

Our artist

Fall is here!

I got to go scrapbooking!

Wrsetling with Daddy

Emmalee went to "preschool" at the rec center for two weeks. Her best little buddy was in the class with her, so she was excited to go...the first day anyway. I was amazed to hear that she had actually cried for me during the class. The last class, she cried almost the whole time. She's always been so easy to leave with anyone...she's just not a big fan of school. At least we've got a few years left to change her mind.

It's been so much fun having Emma home during the day while Ryan's at school. We spend our time reading books, going to story time at the library, mommy-and-me swim lessons, playing dress-up and just having fun. She has such an imagination and lively personality, that no day is boring!

Emma's first day of "school"

It's hard for me to believe, but "Little Guy" started first grade in September. He's been in school a month and loves it. He likes his teacher, Ms. Cobain. He did tell me that she was "pretty demanding." I asked her to keep it up. :) I'm hoping that he'll be challenged this year and continues to enjoy school. It's been so much fun to have him reading to us, rather than us reading to him all the time.

Ryan also started soccer in September. We spend each Saturday morning watch the six-year-olds play; it's quite entertaining! Ryan keeps us entertained by falling on his bum, but continuing to kick the ball; egging the other team on to come and get the ball before he can kick the goal kick; and running with such determination. You just have to see the look on his face as he heads on down the field.

Ryan's first day of first grade

The Transformer and the Fairy

Just trying this out...

I've enjoyed viewing blogs from our friends over in Idaho, so I thought I'd give it a try. I'm not very good at sending pictures to family and friends; this might be the best way to pass on photos of Ryan and Emmalee as they grow. More to come...