4 Weeks Down 8 to go but whos counting!

So Glen has been gone 4 weeks now.  The time is going by faster than I thought, though it is the holiday season and we are keeping busy.  I thought I would share some of things we are doing to keep busy...

Luke is Planking

Megan celebrated her 14th Bithday

Thanks Giving came and we had much to be grateful for!

 Found the perfect tree for us this year.  This was probably the saddest day for us because this is our funnest tradition with Dad:( Taylor did a great job taking his place and being the man to cut down the tree:)

We wanted to make sure Glen didn't forget we love him:) 

Jessica stole the Camera!!

 Freezing at the Parade of Lights:)

Luke on the float with his cub scout troop:)

Jessica marching with the twirlers:)  She LOVES twirling and is getting good at it too:)

 Decorated our beautiful tree:)

Can sombody please hide the camera from Jessica!!:)  What a Goof Ball!:)

So thats how we have spent these last few weeks...

8 more to go!

Veterans Day 2011

We are so proud of all our soldiers, but today we are especially proud of one very important soldier.  

Glen headed out this morning to Elpaso TX for his 90 day deployment where he will be replacing another soldier from his active duty.  We are so proud of the service and sacrifice our soldiers make for our Country.  This opportunity is going to make our family stronger as we learn to uplift each other and endure with faith this time apart from Dad.  This is going to give Glen some good experience with his chosen profession and make him a better person as he relies heavily on the Lord.  

We Love You!!

We all say goodbye:(  don't look to close at my big puffy eyes, not a good day for pictures)

Halloween 2011

Carving pumpkins, spooktacular dinners, trick or treating and lots and lots of kids:) 

 What more can I ask for!!

SNOW!! 

This is what we woke up to Sunday Morning. Luke and Jessica couldn't 

wait to get home from church to play in the snow:)

Adult Halloween Party

We had a blast!! I always look forward to seeing what everyone dresses up as and let me tell you there are some creative costumes:)

Of course lots of good food and best of all great friends! I have not laughed so hard in a long time.

Katahdin

We had a great time hiking on saturday with friends. It was definately a challenging hike for me. It felt so good to reach the top, I thought we were never going to make it back, it was long and brutal on my ankles. We loved the challenge and learned a lot about what we will do next time because there will definately be a next time:)!

First Day Of School

It amazes me how much these kids change every year. They are growing up so fast:)

The Icing on the Cake!

After my" WOW" morning Yesterday, Taylor got home from school and showed me his ankle that we thought were a few bug bites turns out to be swelling and oozing. So I take him to walkin care to find out he has poison ivy and it is now infected and spreading up his other leg!! All I can say is BRING IT ON!!

Wow!! What a morning!

This story has got to go down in the record books for me. It all started this morning when I was getting ready to take Luke to school. We go to the car where Luke continues to pull up on the door handle knowing that it is locked, I try to get him to stop just by asking first then of course after the 5th time of asking I finally grab onto his arm he pulls away my hand slips off and hits him in the nose. Well that was it it all went down hill from there. He refuses to get in the car so I try to put him in myself, imagine Luke grabbing onto the outside of the car arms and legs wide so he can't fit through the door. Imagine me trying to take one body part at a time and squeezing him in holding him down so I can strap him in his seat belt (I'm laughing now just thinking about it). Finally we're off he's crying in the back "I hate school, I don't have any friends" and so on when I know it's not true, he does has friends. We stop to pick up one of his "friends" for school and Luke won't unlock the door so we can get in, I finally get in and turn to look at luke and see that he has taken off his shoes and socks! So of course they were late! All I could do was laugh the whole way home thinking about what had just transpired.

Megan has taken up photography and I have to admit she's got an eye for creativity.

Just when I thought I was sick of winter and couldn't take any more I saw this while walking the dog. I am amazed at how beautiful it is when the sun is shining (even if its only 3 degrees).

I need to be more grateful so starting today I'm looking for the good in everything no matter how terrible I think it might be.

I love the icicles hanging on the branches!

The Frost!

The snow just sticks to the side of the trees!

The pine needles are a comfy bed for the snow!

Sunday River Part 2

After a dip in the pool we dressed for the weather and while Glen, Taylor and Ed go skiing and snowboarding

Katie and I take the kids ice skating. They skated for 2 and 1/2 hours.

Sunday River Trip!

We started our trip with a dip in the outdoor pool.

The kids liked rolling in the snow and having a snowball fight in the pool.

Katie and I stayed bundled in our coats and gloves and watched for hypothermia!

January!!

I can't believe january is gone. We had a lot of fun this month. The girls had a twirling clinic where they learned all kinds of new tricks and then got to perform at the UMaine BBall game. Luke had a Pinewood Derby race and Taylor had a swim meet all on the same day. Unfortunately I can't be in three places at the same time so I did not get any pictures of Taylor swimming, but he did a great job.

Pine Wood Derby Race. Lukes car is the blue one.