Cheers!

Here's to a GREAT 2013!!

A Quiet Evening

Our days are so busy that it's nice to be able to have quiet evenings spent playing games in front of the fireplace.

Cousins

Today was our big family Christmas party.  The kiddos were having such a great time that it was really hard to get them all to stand still for a group portrait!

Every Time

It happens every time.  "I'll just sit here & enjoy the fire for a minute...zzzz"

Blizzard

Our girls are certainly brave adventurers.  The wind was blowing that snow hard enough at times to know us over, but we still went for a trek through the dark woods!  It was so quiet and peaceful in the forest and we really enjoyed it.

Grooming Trails

There's my husband, happy as can be, doing something he loves...grooming our ski trails with his homemade drag.  The kiddos are loving the great conditions for skiiing & snowshoeing!  They are spending hours and hours out there trekking through the fields & woods.  

Merry Christmas

Every year we take family portraits in front of my parents' Christmas tree...

And the family just keeps on growing and growing! (There were several missing - we'll catch up with them later in the week.)

Christmas Cookie Tree

 

An Early Christmas

Due to scheduling issues, we celebrated our Christmas with the kiddos today. 

Merry Christmas (a few days early) from our family to yours!

Flooded Brook

This morning we walked down to see how flooded the brook is after all the rain we received overnight.  As you can see, our little brook is a raging river and the rocks that we normally sit on are covered with water.

No electricity? No problem!

When the power went out, they lit a candle & started drawing by candlelight.

Artwork

 

A quick trip into her school gave me a chance to see her creativity!

Soupy Smile

It's that kind of day...cold, wet, dreary, and I'm not feeling well.  Tomato soup for lunch really hit the spot.  When I was reaching for my spoon, I saw this quirky little face and it definitely perked me up!

Cooking Boyz

Homemade sauce on spaghetti with garlic bread. Yum!

Patterns

One of our girls' paper-weaving project...I love the crazy pattern that she created!

1st Meet this Season

Our oldest daughter had her first gymnastics meet for the 2012-2013 season this afternoon.  She did a great job & we are so proud of her for placing!  It's gonna be a great year!!

Parachuting off the tower!

This morning my brother & I took the kiddos hiking on Douglas Mountain in Sebago, Maine.  Yeah, it was only 28 degrees Farenheit, but it was a beautiful day & the physical activity kept us from feeling too cold.  The best part of that mountain is the tower at the top.  The view is incredible!  And we brought a parachute man to throw off the top and watch float to the ground.  You might notice that the toy certainly has Amber's attention...she ended up catching it before it hit the ground!  But, she was a good girl and gave it back to me so that he could take a few more trips. The kids thought it was a wicked lot of fun!

Merry Christmas, West Paris!

This evening there were many smiling faces waiting for us as we drove up in a wagon pulled by Mighty of Stargazer Farms.  Mighty spent the evening pulling folks all around town.  The weather was perfect and we had a wonderful time!

Still a thrill to collect...

Pheasant Feathers

Ready for School

The girls put a backpack on Amber...they would love it if she could really go to school with them.  I think she would love it too!

Rusty Ornament

This weekend I stitched an ornament for my oldest son, featuring his favorite cat, Rusty.  The girls & I even chose the colors of the cat by holding Rusty up to the threads.  As I was working on it, I was thinking about how much my son loves him, remembering when I brought Rusty home & other memories.  Rusty, as a general rule, ignores me.  However, I think he knew what I was doing.  He kept coming over & sitting at my feet, watching me.  It was rather interesting.  I hope he likes the finished project.  I know that my son will cherish it.

To be honest...

Reason #8,642 why the kiddos love living here...

Not only did they harvest a Christmas tree for the living room, but they also each cut down a mini tree for their bedrooms!  They are having a blast decorating for the holiday!!

Focus

How do you help a girl who is struggling with reading, but you're not sure why?  Well, we finally figured out that she just plain couldn't focus long enough because every little noise would distract her from her book.  We have started plugging her ears with classical music, and now she can read and read and read.  Here's the best part - she loves it!!

Never Leave Fire Unattended

 

As if we needed another reason to never leave the fireplace unattended...the glass door exploded!  I'm so glad that the dog wasn't in her favorite napping place and that I heard it shatter, so I could immediately start putting out the fire and clean up the glass on the living room floor.

It's National Cookie Day!

The boys are happily celebrating with warm chocolate chip cookies & milk - yummy!

RIP Bob

During our visit to the Maine Wildlife Park last month, we noticed the their mountain lion, Bob, was in very poor condition.  Today we learned that Bob passed away.  He was 20 years old!

Christma-tized!

Just enough snow...

What's better than making a 'snow angel'? Becoming one!