Photo Friday

I am on a date with Vida right now and Justin is on a date with Jaime.

She took my spoon away and told me to stop eating her ice cream.

Our Thanksgiving Week

We so missed being together with all of you this Thanksgiving week.  And appreciated the texts and photos you sent.  Here are some photos of our week with the Petersen's.

The Petersen children "playing" in the snow.  Can you see the snow?

Chloe decorated the table for Thanksgiving dinner and did a wonderful job

This is just before our first course...crackers, cheese, and deviled eggs.  The second course was soup, then salad, then our turkey dinner......and later that evening PIE of course!

This is Chloe celebrating her snow-womaness!

Lovely children after decorating the tree today!

Look closely....can you guess which are mine and Grandpa's favorite decorations?

And here we go!  Straight into Christmas.....but now, it is so quiet at our house. :(

Vacation Pics

Photo Friday

An Opinion Blog

Giving this a try: http://seasontotalk.blogspot.com

The first post explains why I created the blog.  The second is an opinion blog, which will be the body of the blog from here on out.

I created it because I have a lot of stuff to say, and Justin and I agreed that our family blog probably isn't the place to do that.

Also, I feel pretty insecure about it - stuff like "why am I doing this?" "who will read it?" "what am I looking for exactly?" "why won't a journal do?"  No real answers to those questions.  It's just a place for me to type my thoughts, and I've been drawn to the idea for awhile now.  Enjoy, or don't. :)

Do you Mo?

Every November for the last three years I have grown a mustache. It is uncomfortable, itchy, and for all intents and purposes, distasteful (unless you are Tom Selleck, of course). It has a purpose, though. It is my way to participate in Movember. Movember is a movement to raise awareness and funds for men's health, specifically testicular and prostate cancer. One member of my team lost his father, and another battled his own fight with testicular cancer and won. Growing my mustache is how I show support for these members of my team, as well as for men and families everywhere that battle the fight with cancer.

2011

I know each of you are in different financial circumstances, but I want to provide you the opportunity, if you are able, to donate to this cause. I feel it is very worthwhile. So much so that I go every November with very few kisses from my wife, strange looks from passersby, and looks of distaste from judging folks along the way.

2012

Even if you don't have the means to donate, perhaps you could take a moment and pass the message along to folks you know. To donate, you can go to http://mobro.co/JustTheHutch.

2013

And just for fun, each November we do a photo shoot to further promote the cause. I hope you have enjoyed highlights from the last three years.

2013

Photos

Here are some fun photos from our week.

There was a great science activity at the library.  Joshua answered a question correctly, so he got to go up and help.  The scientist was a silly man and had him wear lots of protective eyewear.  It was perfect for Joshua.

We got our first snow and it was fun to see some of it stick to the window.  It is all gone now and we enjoyed a nice warm day today, but it was pretty while it was here.  

This is Joshua just being Joshua, so enjoy!

Next week is musical week, so that should be fun and adventurous!

Photo Birthday Friday

Breakfast with the family this morning. A few crazies!

Photo Friday

Picking Daddy up from the airport.
Or him picking us up, one of the two.

Dress up from Mom's closet, a daily joy.

Sometimes it's just hard to make it through lunch.

Ordered the Little House series!  Thinking of reading it
to the girls for the next school year.

I made 4 loaves.  Sold one for $5 to a neighbor, and traded 1 to a neighbor
for 1 doz eggs from her backyard.  I was really excited about it!

Pho-toes

okay. you just get a lot of awesome pictures today.
Never fear. It's all makeup. I love my major with a passion.

I did this ALL BY MYSELF! My story was that Patrick elbowed me in the face during the night. Which is almost true. 

I actually didn't do this one. But it's almost all airbrushed, and I LOVE airbrush. An intermediate student did it.

and believe it or not, I'm supposed to be a fairy. What a glamorous fairy, right?!

This was our day on lines. It was awesome.

such a pretty girl.

this one is weird cuz you can see my lipgloss... but you get the idea. 

SO. that's it. and I struggle hard-core with this formatting stuff. But it's all the same, right?

Photo Friday

Jaime has been dressing up to amuse me...in my clothes, Vida's clothes or the dress ups...it's been working.

Photo Friday from China!

I am at the tail end of a trip that has taken me away from my wife and kids for the longest time ever. 17 days. I feel like I have missed a lot of my kids developments, and my wife's (belly) too! It has been a spectacular trip, though I am so excited to come home. Here are a few pictures from my adventures. 

Dad and I drinking some "Old Beijing Yogurt". Good stuff!

A cooking class with Mum and Dad. Dumplings!

I think the was my sixth time to the Great Wall. That is enough. 

The Drum Tower in Xi'an. It was magnificent at night. 

That is one more off the bucket list. The Terra Cotta warriors. Discovered by a farmer digging a well. Got to meet him, too. 

I got to come back to Nanjing. It will always be a special city to me. 

Me and my tired self waiting at the train station in Nanjing, ready to go home. 

I hope and pray you are all doing well. Time to board!

Autumn

Even as the leaves begin to fade and fall from the trees, I thought you might enjoy a glimpse into our beautiful autumn colors.

Photo Saturday

This little boy is just so cute!  I love my big boys, but little ones are just so much more fun to take pictures of!  

Hyrum loves exploring and finding anything he can get his hands on.  This time he found Jacob's hat.  He is pretty proud of himself when he finds a new treasure!

Going outside is one of his favorite things to do.  I hate that he needs shoes and a coat now that it is cold, but he still goes out and wanders with his brothers.  

He makes life joyful and crazy, but mostly joyful.  Soon he will have a little sibling to play with which will be great fun for both him and me!

Photo Friday