I'm feeling a little....

ripe and drained. I haven't had a proper shower since Saturday, gross huh? Although, I shouldn't underestimate the goodness of a sponge bath, it works well in a pinch. Why do you ask? Because Roger found about an inch of water in parts of our basement on Saturday, our hot water heater was leaking. What was so very annoying about it other than the lack of hot water, was that the heater wasn't even four years old. The good news is it was still under warranty. We got a new one for only the price of installation. I'll be thrilled to take a shower later when the water is warm!

For those of you keeping track at home, well really for myself, 2010 hasn't been a great year for household items...

We replaced our fridge in June because it wasn't working. This is the new one.

We replaced our car in August. The old one was working, but needed a lot of repairs.

We replaced our furnace in September. It had been non-functional since March.

And I really hope lastly we just replaced our hot water heater.

Do you see why me and my bank account are feeling so drained? I would be remiss though if I didn't say how truly blessed we are. This has been an overall great year for us. We have learned and done a lot. We are so looking forward to the holidays and the birth of our baby boy (did I mention we found out we're having another boy?) in March.

Halloween

Every year after we do three birthdays in a month's time, it shocks me that we still have Halloween to get through. If it wasn't for Grandma Worth's Costume Store, my kids would go as themselves. The kids love Halloween and chose easy costumes.

Ashby was what she called a black ghost. I'm not sure what that means and honestly it was kind of lame, but she loved it.

Avery was a pirate girl. I thought her costume came together pretty well, considering all the time I put into it (about 30 seconds)

Luke was a cowboy. He was really cute with his hat and stick horse, unfortunately he wouldn't hold either one while we trick or treated. It was really cold too, so he had to wear his coat. He looked like the kid without a costume. At least he wasn't 15 and still trying to pull it off.

We carved pumpkins the night before Halloween. The kids did most of the gutting themselves. I loved this pictured because it shows them all getting in on the messy action!

I really would like to make some cute creative costumes for my kids. Maybe if I get it done in July...

Wolf and Delo

My parents were here for Ashby's baptism and stayed for about a week after that. The visit was as usual, too short. We had all kinds of plans, but weren't able to do as much as we wanted. My dad was sick for the majority of the visit, Ashby was sick too as were Roger and I. We still had fun and managed to cram some fun in with all the germs. We took the girls out of school one day so we could go to the zoo. It was the perfect day, not too busy and not too cold.

The polar bear exhibit is seriously so cool. You can see the polar bears from ground level, but they have this cool tunnel that you can go in as well. The bears were extremely playful and put on a good show. I could have stayed and watched them all day, but the kids wanted to see something else....

There was also a tunnel for shark viewing. Luke was digging it, can you tell?

This is the only picture I have as proof that indeed my mom was here. We had so much fun and were so sad to see them go.

When we were all feeling better, my parents, Luke and I drove out to the Flight 93 memorial. It's about 2 hours from here. A permanent memorial is being constructed, but what is there is truly powerful. Here's the plaque that hangs in the overlook area. The overlook area is where the media and most of the investigative crews set up in the days following 9/11. When Flight 93 struck the ground the plane was upside down and going over 500 mph. It immediately burst into flames and created a huge crater. A few days after, a crew back filled the crater and it became the permanent resting place for everyone on the flight. Only family members are allowed on the ground where the plane actually went down. The first phase of the memorial will be dedicated on September 11, 2011.

Here's the field as you can see it from the overlook. That's memorial construction going on in the right of the picture. If I read the plaque right the plane crashed in the field in the middle of this picture, where the little mound of dirt is. What really struck me about this site is that it is truly in the middle of nowhere. It doesn't have a street address. The passengers on Flight 93 were definitely heroes.

What have we done?

While Kevin and Kelly were here, we gave Ethan a hair cut. While the clippers were out I thought we'd give Luke a trim too. Did you know that even though you use the longest clipper attachment it's still really short? I didn't and was very sad to see all the curls go. The cut is growing on me though and I can be almost sure that the curls aren't gone for good.

The before/during. He didn't mind the buzz of the clippers. I was glad it wasn't as traumatizing for him as it was for me. Yes, yes I know it was my idea, but still...

I didn't take an after picture, but this is about a week later. Sorry about the dirty shirt, he just finished carving his pumpkin, doesn't he have skills?

Ashby's festivities

Ashby's birthday was also in October. She's our big eight year old now. She was baptized at church by Roger on her birthday. We were so lucky to have both grandmas and grandpas here as well as several aunts, uncles and cousins. Do you think I took a picture of any of these guests? If you thought I did because that would be smart, you are sorely mistaken. I was just looking through my October photos and it's horrible. I didn't take a picture of anything. I do know that Roger's brothers Bryan, Richard, Kevin and his sister Karen were here with their families. We had lunch after the baptism at church and I can't even tell you how wonderful it was. We had several friends stay with us for both things and their help and support was truly invaluable. I really feel awful I didn't take any pictures, but it was a wonderful day and I hope Ashby will remember it anyway. One thing I would recommend, don't let your daughter ask you to speak at her baptism because you will be crying so hard it will be nearly impossible.

That Sunday was also our primary program. The girls were so excited that so many family members were here to see it. The program was exceptional and added to the great day.

Here she is before church opening her new scriptures. I like Roger in the apron, don't you? We were shredding pork for BBQ sandwiches. He was smart and wore an apron, I was again unsmart and was already in church clothes while shredding and ended up with grease stains all over my skirt. Do you think I changed before church? Sure didn't. I went with the story that it was water and would be drying any minute.

Before the baptism. I can't believe she's eight. Ashby is such a good girl, she is the best example to her siblings and to her friends at school. I am often struck by her compassion and can-do spirit. Ashby we are so proud of you for making the choice to be baptized. I can tell your testimony is growing each day. We love you!!!

Ashby with her new Penguins shirt. After all the fun of the day, we still got to come home have under the plates, cake and ice cream and open presents. Look, look I did get a picture of a visitor... that's Baby J, Karen's daughter. We were lucky enough to have them stay with us for a night.

Luke's birthday

Lukey Lu turned 2 in October. His birthday was on a Sunday and he decided to come into his Terrible Two's in style. He was really unhappy the whole day. I kept demanding that he cheer up, it was his birthday for heaven's sake, but he didn't listen. We sure do love this little boy though even when he's angry. He's a pretty thoughtful little boy and takes time to figure stuff out. He's our snuggliest baby by far. He really, really loves his daddy (I feel for you sometimes Rog.) He also loves trains and cars.

Was it wise to get him a hammer and something to hit with it? I'm not sure, but so far so good.

He could actually blow out the candles and I actually missed it with the camera, but here's the before.

A happy looking birthday boy. Happy birthday Luke, I love you too!

Avery's birthday

I'm so behind and I really want to remember this stuff, so buckle up, here we go!

Avery turned six back in September. I can't believe it. She is a wonderful girl. She loves school, her friends and anything girly. Again this year, we were driving to Virginia on her birthday so we celebrated a day early. She is rather easy going about things like this and she loves to go to Virginia too.

Avery was the recipient of our first pet. She had no idea and was surprised and excited. It's a beta that I named Casper because no one could come up with anything else...

Getting ready to blow out the candles.

Avery on her birthday in new clothes from Grandma. I love you Avery, happy birthday!