newest family member

Announcing our new pooch, Apollo! Yes, we finally joined the ranks of dog owners. We have been wanting a doggie for a while, and recently Isaac has especially expressed interest in one and has agreed to help care for one. We got the go-ahead from our landlady and found this little guy on Craigslist. His family was moving and wouldn't be able to take him with them.

Apollo is a Pomanauze--a Pomeranian/Schnauzer mix--and full-grown at one year old (9 pounds). He is an ultra-sweet little poochy who loves to traipse and play but is also content to settle down to snug in your lap. He rarely barks and is already house- and kennel-trained. His fur is getting quite long and he's probably due for a trim--but his previous family said they kept it long in the winter to help him stay warm. He is very smart and has already learned how to go to his bed and follow simple commands. We sure love him already! :)

holiday highlights

I thought a nice photo montage could sum up our holiday:

Isaac helped Lincoln and his preschool class sing Rudolph at the Missoula Carousel. And a visit from Santa! We got some amazing gifts from our amazing friends! Thanks, Caitlin and Kath! Link loves his little art set and Ike loves his Harry Potter set. :)

Reading a letter from our very own elf, Nutmeg Jim Christmas Eve is always magical! Isaac got to play the Grinch A gift opened that night: Bob Bear and Bear Burt from Grammy and Grampy Great. Santa came! I made the boys Harry Potter cloaks, scarves, and wands. Here they are casting spells! Hope you all had a merry Christmas and have a happy and healthy New Year!

happy 7

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, IKEY BUG!

We love you so much, big 7-year-old boy.

Snuggin and watching a movie Sharing cupcakes with his class . . . and he gets the first bite!

school solo

not a charlie brown tree this year

One of our most favorite yearly traditions is to hunt for our very own Christmas tree. In past Decembers we have had to choose from a selection of Charlie-Brownesque trees, although we never minded. However, this year--our first foray into Montana woods--we were awed by the selection of picture-perfect trees! It wasn't hard to find one, although of course we still dragged it out for suspense-building earning points (not to mention to burn a few after-Thanksgiving calories ;).

We enjoyed some hot chocolate--still hot--before heading out Num! We found our tree! At Missoula's tree-lighting parade later that night Link was fascinated by the tree! He had quite an eye for ornament placement and kept moving them around until he deemed it perfect (and I didn't even have to reshuffle any when he was done :).

happy thanksgiving birthday

Thanksgiving this year happened to fall on Jed's birthday! (no, not the other way around :). And we were pleased as punch to be joined by Lisa/Jer/Suz/Ani and our Auntie Caitlin. I think Jed is pretty used to having pie in lieu of b-day cake. But heck, why not?

We loved the snow! Made for fun sledding outings and x-skiing in the streets. Gotta bundle 'em up! Birthday pie! Besides, who else gets to choose from four tasty treats on their special day? Cutie girls Cookin' together in the kitchen was the funnest part! And the kids treated us to a special concert. Thanks for coming to be with us, Lisa and fam! We love and miss you guys!

rogers potter

Our last hike of fall mysteriously morphed into a full-fledged Rogers Potter adventure!

(Love this wand shot purely for the motion) Ron and Harry, in the Chamber of Forest Secrets, contemplate their next move Dumble-Dad and Harry decode a message Her-Mommy (Hermoine) brandishes her wand to ward off an attack from You-Know-Who!

halloween-weekend-a-thon madness

Halloween was just one big, fat party all weekend! First the boys had parties and wore their costumes to school on Friday. . . and that night we had a party at our house . . .

Isaac is Kurt from The Sound of Music and Link was a turtle (even though Isaac's pal Clara was a cowgirl for Halloween, for our party on Friday night she dressed like Brigitta from The Sound of Music to partner up with Isaac! :) The kids had a ball wrapping up their parents as Mummies! Here is Mummified Mary wrapped up by Clara and Link. Rick was bound by Ikey and Greyson And poor faceless Aki was blinded by Alex and Grace! I was a kitty (though my tail was misplaced. . .) And the winner for best costume goes to. . . . Yep! You guessed it! We had a surprise appearance by Napoleon Dynamite! (as much as Jed does look like Napoleon, his impersonations are even better!) When Lincoln announced earlier in the month that he wanted to be a turtle, I was ecstatic that he could wear an old frog costume I had sewn for Isaac when he was that age. All I needed was a shell. Thanks to the local Goodwill store, I found a pet bed with a perfect turtle design on the back, and after hastily sewing on elastic bands to go around his arms, voila! (I was pretty excited about it, anyway :) . . . Saturday night was another party at Clara's house! And finally trick-or-treating on Halloween! Phew! The boys and their haul . . . this pretty much sums up our crazy, exhausting, spooky, but fun Halloween weekend!