MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

We wish everyone a VERY Merry Christmas and hope that you are enjoying your time with family and friends!!

Our Christmas began at 6:30this morning with Nathan ready to get his presents!! We were able to hold him off until 7AM then it was time to wake up Kayla and Emily. Form the second floor Nathan was able to see that there was a LARGE box under the tree and he was SOO excited to get down there and open it!! Fortunately, it was for him which made it even better!! Nathan received a Playmobile Fort Reno set which included Indians and "cowboys" (they were military men). This is what I spent he better part of the morning trying to put together!! He also received some transformers and lots of candy. Kayla received a Cabbage Patch Kid, a cash register and some baby doll accessories (clothes, diaper, cups, bottles, comb...). Emily was given a magnetic matching game that Nathan and Kayla seem to enjoy more than her. Paul got a set of cheese knives and a cheese board, I was given a leather jewelry box and a gift voucher to get a 50 minute massage, which I am VERY excited about!!!

For dinner we went to The Grundmeier's house where Nathan, Emily and Kayla were given more gifts!! Nathan and Kayla were given quillows (it is a quilt that is a blanket that can be folded up into a pillow). Nathan also received a basketball hoop that hangs on the back of the door and Kayla was also given some baby doll clothes. Emily received a shopping cart and some reindeer (or moose) slippers. It was a lot of fun and Nathan and Kayla had a blast running all over the place, up and down stairs, in and out of the house, playing with Rob, Jeff, and Jill.

All in all it was a really nice Christmas we missed our family, and are thinking of you and wishing you a VERY Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Eve

The night before Christmas and the cookies with a glass of milk are on the table. The carrots are in the yard. Nathan has been a ball full of energy today and VERY excited about Santa Claus coming tonight. Kayla on the other hand did not share Nathan's excitement of Santa Claus. She did not want to go to bed and was upset by the fact that a man was going to be coming down the chimney and into her house. Which is a kind of scary thought if you think about it!! Once she was settled Paul and I sat down to bread with oil and vinegar and watched The Muppet Christmas Movie. Then it was time for Santa to come and visit us. Off to bed.....

Christmas Cookies

Nathan and Kayla enjoyed decorating the Christmas cookies for Santa Claus today. I think they ate more of the decorations than they put on the cookie's, but in any case some of the cookies ended up with decorations.

The Wedding

Finally, I know!! I am getting some of the pictures from David and Katie's wedding. The wedding was amazing and we all had a great time it was great to get to spend time with Dave and Katie and be witnesses to the love and devotion that these two have for one another!! We love you both and are excited to have Katie in the family, WELCOME!!!

Kayla at the back of the church REFUSING to walk down the aisle!!

Paul gets some practice walking his little girl down the aisle!!

Mikko enjoys a bottle of wine to herself, Emily helped, that is why the picture is a little crooked

After chasing down Gram and Pop they allow Emily to dance with them!!

Your turn next!!

Uncle John and Aunt Teresas spent the wedding and the reception with at least one baby asleep on them, THANK YOU!!!!

The Rehearsal

Just a few snaps from the rehearsal and dinner!!

Dedicated To Shannon

Here are a few pictures of cousin Shannon from the weekend of the wedding!! Thanks for being our family paparazzi, you are great and I had a lot of fun with you and laughing at you!! I look forward to getting a copy of your pictures!! WE LOVE YOU!!

Shannon began the weekend by dancing the chicken dance with the groom.

The next morning she decided to go for a swim, once realizing that she had no swim suit she borrowed miscellaneous bits of clothing from family members and proved once more why we love her!! At the wedding reception she posed for a few shots with family members and was quick to jump on the dance floor... Shannon being the nature lover and always willing/wanting to save endangered species, she did not hesitate to “save a horse”…..

Tis the Season...

The end to yet another weekend. Nathan has already started screaming about not wanting to go to school and Kayla chimes in right behind him. Today has just been a quiet and lazy day in Spain, we went to church then came home and had a BIG breakfast. The girls are napping and Nathan and Paul are running around playing cowboys, Paul is the “baddie”. Yesterday we put up the Christmas tree and Nathan and Kayla hung the ornaments and Paul and I had to go in behind them and put some of them a bit higher up. Otherwise all of the ornaments would be from 4 feet and down on the tree with no ornaments on the top half. It was fun. Paul made them hot cider and played Christmas music. Then it was dinner at he Grundmeier’s and Nathan had a BLAST running around in their yard and "accidently" throwing the ball over the fence so he would have to chase after it. He could not wait to go back and play some more!!