Winter Wonderland

This past week we had our first real snow storm of the season. It was beautiful getting to watch it come down and getting to be out playing in it. The girls and Amanda enjoyed making snow castles and then when Daddy came out the real fun began with a snow ball fight. Unfortunately the snow storm came too early in the day and the roads were all clear the following day, meaning no school cancellations.

Ryan enjoying watching the fun from the picture window in the living room.

Kaitlyn having fun with her umbrella.

It's hard to keep all that hair inside the stocking cap.

Amanda is ready for the snow ball fight.

Look out Amanda! This one's coming for you!

This snow ball was heading straight for Ryan and Mommy (who was taking the picture) but was stopped short by the window.

Kaitlyn and Amanda sharing ammunition.

Meghan found a good snow fort.

Bowling

We took the kids for their first time bowling Friday evening. We all had a great time. We didn't do very good but had a good time anyway. Some good friends in our church invited us to go. We had such a good time we hope to go again sometime.


Modeling the stylish bowling shoes.


Ryan and Davney looking on.




Meghan's technique was not too bad for a first timer.



Kaitlyn getting a little help from daddy.


Amanda and her good friend Jean.


Kaitlyn watching her ball roll very slowly down the lane. Sometimes we wondered if it would ever get to the end.


Meghan's technique took a turn for the worse as she adopted the "pitching" style of bowling.

Our past week

We have been busy in the past week and haven' t taken many pictures. We got our carpet stretched and cleaned in the living room. We have wanted to do that for a long time but kept putting it off knowing that we were going to be working in the kitchen and that the construction zone would likely spill into the living room. It is nice to finally have the house back to normal! In fact, Deann has had a surge of cleaning and organizing. Our house is looking better than it has in a LONG time. It's perfect timing as we are looking forward to family gatherings at our house for the holidays!

Ryan looking silly with his backwards winter cap.

Meghan and Kaitlyn showing off their new matching slippers.

Having fun in the bathtub!

Finished kitchen

We finished our kitchen and we are finally getting some pictures taken. We still have some minor detail work to finish but as you can see the kitchen is fully functional. We love it! We are so thankful for how it turned out. We can't wait for Thanksgiving and Christmas to host meals in our new kitchen! Thank you to everyone who helped with manual labor and with creative ideas in decorating!!!




We went from 65 watts in our old kitchen to a total of 705 watts when you count all the recessed lights and the under counter "puck" lights.




We weren't too sure about the sink at first but it was too good of a deal to pass up and now we love it!


We love the openness between the kitchen and dining room now. We don't have to worry about bumping our heads now on the old cabinet above the bar. :)



This picture doesn't show it real well but the pantry is VERY spacious. It has been nice not having to store stuff on the countertop.


Deann's creativity.



Our bar overhangs into the dining room making it a perfect breakfast and lunch bar. We just need a few more bar stools now.

Kaitlyn's Birthday Weekend

Kaitlyn turned 4 this past Saturday. We had a busy birthday weekend. We were invited to the Noe's (a family in our church who live on a farm) for a square dance on Friday evening. Everyone had a blast dancing and trying our best to follow the instructions. Saturday morning, Kaitlyn's birthday, I took the girls to the Truman homecoming parade. They enjoyed collecting as much candy as the could hold. We came back to the house for a "brunch" birthday party. Kaitlyn had requested pancakes for her birthday meal so we chose to have the party in the morning. Deann made a special birthday pancake decoration for Kaitlyn. It was a Belle pancake. We had Grandpa and Grandma, Mike Cleary, and Aunt Melissa over for breakfast. After present opening and an early afternoon nap we went to a hayride/bonfire at another families home in our church. Again, we all had a wonderful time. The kids got to see all the farm animals and enjoyed their first hayride. We had a weenie roast for supper and after dark we went on a treasure hunt. The treasure was a big box of assorted candy. It was a busy but very enjoyable weekend. Here are some pictures from the weekend. Also included are some family portraits that Mike Cleary took of us last week.

Ryan having fun with a Santa hat.




Ryan all dressed up for the square dance.


Kaitlyn is ready to dance.


The girls had fun dancing with some friends.


Ryan getting ready to celebrate Kaitlyn's birthday.



Celebrating Kaitlyn's birthday together.


Kaitlyn and her birthday pancake.


Mommy's creativity on display. A Belle pancake.


Everyone ready to enjoy Kaitlyn's requested birthday meal-pancakes.


4 years old.


Kaitlyn waiting to open her presents.


Ryan was entertained by the balloon.


Mommy and Ryan trying to keep warm.


Meghan enjoying looking at the farm animals with her friends.


Kaitlyn, Ryan, and Mommy after the hayride.


The bonfire before dark.


The bonfire at the end of the beautiful sunset.

Amanda posing with Mike's hat. It's not quite the look we were going for.





This is a blooper pose with Ryan grabbing onto Kaitlyn's hair.