WELCOME & CHRISTMAS PHOTO SHOOT

Merry Christmas!

So instead of a Christmas letter this year I invited everyone to check out our blog. I try to keep it up to date (monthly) on the fun happening in our crazy family. I also share many pictures of our kids as they are growing up way to fast. I welcome comments (except about my grammar and spelling)! I hope you enjoy learning all about our family and come back to visit the blog regularly to keep up on our family news.



On to my blog for the today!!!

These are some of my favorite photos from our Christmas card photo shoot! I loved them all! I felt that many of them you could actually see the kids personality in the pictures.

Kenzie & Cameron

Cameron & Calvin

Cameron & Clayton


Clayton & Calvin



Calvin, Kenzie, Cameron & Clayton

Calvin, Kenzie, Cameron & Clayton

Calvin, Kenzie, Cameron & Clayton

Now be prepared to laugh and giggle! I know the kids will be very upset when these pictures make it to their weddings some day but it was Gigi's idea and I loved it! I got such a kick out of this and the kids had a blast with it. Having fun is more important then embarrassing your kids! I hope you all agree!

Elf Cameron

Elf Clayton

Elf Calvin

Elf Kenzie

These are Grandma Grace and Grandpa Dick's GrandElf's!

Xavier, Kenzie, Cameron, Isiah, Calvin & Clayton!

You can just see how much fun they had with this!!!

TREE, SNOW AND MORE!

So since Ben has been back from hunting I have been keeping him VERY busy. We are trying to get out and enjoy the snow and get ready for Christmas too. Instead of writing about it I though I would share the events via photos. Hope you enjoy them!

St. Nick visits us!!! It was a bit early for Cameron as you can see!

Now that December is here Wrestling is in full swing for Cameron. He has practice 2 nights a week and tournaments will be starting soon on the weekends. He is loving it, of course, but he may just be taking it a bit to far! He was showing the twins how to wrestle then took them to change into their "gear". This is what came back upstairs. I laughed SOOOO hard!

Calvin, Cameron, Clayton

Calvin, Cameron, Clayton


Not the best picture of Cam practicing but the start of many to come!
The high socks are his new thing this year!


These are just funny to me. We play a lot of hide and seek now with the boys. Kenzie is learning to play too. Here she is hiding.

See if you can find her!

Ben also had the great idea for us to go to a "cut your own Christmas Tree" place this year. Honestly I thought he was nuts and figured the kids would be whining and we would end up with a ugly tree but I was VERY wrong. It was GREAT!!!!

The family on the way to the tractor ride out the trees!
Cameron pulling the sled

Kenzie laying on Calvin in the sled

Clayton walking with Dad

Santa drove our tractor out to the fields.

Searched and Searched! So many great trees to choose from.

Then Cameron picked one out.

Here are the kids with the final choice.

Clay, Cam & Kenzie, Calvin

Cam and Ben carrying the tree out!

Tractor ride back!

Clayton, Kenzie, Daddy, Calvin & Cameron

Tractor brought us back, had some hot chocolate, strapped a tree to the mini van and came home. It was a GREAT adventure!

Then we got home, got the tree in, put on lights and ornaments and here it is!

THE BEST CHRISTMAS TREE EVER!

At least that is my view!

We are also trying to get out and enjoy the winter fun! I may not like the cold and snow but the kids really do enjoy it! So last Monday mom played hooky from work and the whole family went sledding in our front yard. I laughed a lot!!!! Cameron, as we always knew, loves any kind of sledding or snowboarding. Calvin liked it at times, mostly when he and Cameron took the tubes. Clayton did not like to go on the sled alone, or with anyone else, but did not want to be left behind either. He liked it outside but I think he did not know what to do with himself. Kenzie was our surprise! SHE LOVED IT. She loved being in the snow, loved being pulled around in the sled (while she yelled WEEEEEEE), loved going on the sled with Dad, and most of all loved going on the tube - ALONE.

Dad, Kenzie, Clayton, Calvin & Cameron

Kenzie LOVING IT!

Cameron

After about 45 mins outside the kids were ready for some Hot Chocolate!

Calvin

Clayton

Enjoy the cold and the snow !!!!

We made it!!

We made it through the last 10 days of Daddy being up north hunting. No deer for him or for any of the guys but Dad came home with a very positive attitude because at least they saw a bunch of Doe's this year which was an improvement from last year. While dad was away we got the kids Christmas pictures taken, decorated Christmas cookies, watched baby Kendall, church, packer party, spent the day in the twins 3K class for their first Thanksgiving party, babysat, worked, celebrated thanksgiving with my extended family and Ben's, shopped from 10 pm to 8 am (success with getting a new washer and dryer), came home got 1.5 hours of sleep and woke up to NO HEAT, got the furnace fixed, babysat my nephews, watched lots of movies (well really just a few movies a bunch of times, Polar Express, Elf, and Wizard of Oz (or boz as Clayton says). In the midst of all these things I got the chance to just hang out with all the kids and overall just had fun but man was I thrilled for my husband to come home.

Now that it is Dec. 11 and I never got around to posting this I will be following it up with another one and some pics too.

10 days

I am getting ready!!!! Ben leaves tomorrow for deer hunting and he will be gone until next Sunday. Not this coming Sunday but the following. That is a long time to be "on my own". Now you would like that I would be getting use to it by now but I am not sure I ever will. Each year the kids get older it is easier but for some reason it continues to get harder to to discuss him leaving. I think it has a lot to do with the kids being pretty aware of Daddy leaving and that makes both Ben and I a little sad. It is also an adventure every time and I do enjoy the special time I have with all the kids and some of the fun stuff we have planned. I also want to say I could not really do this "on my own" and Thank God for my super family and for my in-laws as well. They are all very helpful. On that note it is going to be a busy 10 days. November has been crazy so far the way it is. I got to go to my first work conference on the 1st and 2nd in the Dells. It was an overnight thing and I actually learned a ton and had a super time overall. We got to do some shopping - O.k. I did a lot of shopping! Ben held down the fort at home and everyone survived. I may have to find some more out of town trainings to attend!!! Then we squeezed in the St. Peter's pizza fundraiser complete with making and delivering pizzas, Rettler Family Thanksgiving celebration , our newest niece Abigail's baptism, and a weekend trip up North to celebrate Grandpa Gerald's Birthday. I have even found some time to start (literally just started tonight) getting out some Christmas decorations. I am getting excited that Christmas is just around the corner. I get nervous thinking about all the stuff to do but then I realize it will all get done - it always does. And every year it has gotten easier because the kids can and like to help with decorations and making cookies and stuff. It is so fun to watch their excitement. Shopping is getting harder though. The kids have so much already! I am looking forward to my next update about our x-mas picture session, cookie decorating, a couple of Thanksgivings day celebrations and some black Friday shopping all within my 10 days of single parenting. Wish me luck! And not to forget some luck for Ben at getting a big BUCK!

Could not post without a few photos!

Cameron enjoying the new falling snow Up North!

Calvin is working as usual - even in the snow!

Clayton getting ready for his snowball fight!


The partial snowman that the kids made with Grandpa Gerald.
Ok, Grandpa made it and the kids watched.

The kids Thanksgiving Tree project Up North.

Kenzie - I sure hope this is not a vision of what is to come in our future.

I like to think she just missed her princess chair from home and needed a new throne!!!!

Kenzie - Looking good in hats! Having fun!

I am also going to try and make a goal of blogging some of the funny things that get said in this house everyday.

Today it was at dinner when Cal announced that he could not have much soda because it would make him hyper. It was funny. Guess we must have told him that one.

Halloween fun!!!

So we have been having a SUPER October. Last update was after the pumpkin farm. Since then we carved our pumpkins, drywalled the garage, put up shelving units, cleaned out the shed and garage, came up with Halloween costumes (at least for the kids), cleaned the house, finished up Cam's football session, gained another walker (yep, Kenzie is on the move), attended the spooky trail, and threw a little party.

We decided to stay home this Halloween. We usually go up north but for many reasons decided to stay home and because our neighborhood ROCKS for Trick or Treat we threw together a little Halloween party around trick or treating.

So as busy as all of this stuff was it was GREAT. We are just loving all of it!!!! As we roll into November we are looking forward to more craziness around this house. To tired tonight to fill in all the details but I will try for updates soon. It is late and my turkey in the oven is almost done then off to bed.
Woo Hoo. Happy November ALL!!!!

Clay, Cal & Cameron getting ready to carve!

Kenzie is also ready!

Calvin is liking it but would not touch the inside!

Cameron 'The Trooper' dug right in!


Cameron was also a great big brother and did Kenzie's for her too.

Kenzie thought it was COOL!

Calvin was very proud of his pumpkin!

All four of the kids with their pumpkins.

Nice face Clayton!

Calvin and Clayton trying on their costumes!

Cal on the right, Clay on the left.

Kenzie

So glad I took practice pictures of them in their costumes because the party was so busy I totally missed taking any cute pics of the kids in their costumes. This is the best I could do!

Kenzie getting wrapped up during the MUMMY game!

They won!

Cameron in part of his costume during the MUMMY game. He was the grime reaper complete with bloody mask that he wore all of 5 mins and then it was too hot!

Clay (thing 1) Cal (thing 2), Cousin Kaylee (dinosaur), Cousin Lauren (Witch) - Man did they love it!

Ben (also getting mummy wrapped) in his inflatable fat suit thing. Yeah - I found it 50% off at Kmart on Friday night.

Nothing like last minute costumes!

Did not have to many great pictures of the pie eating contest but that was the biggest hit for both the kids and adults.

Hope that we can have a repeat party in the future!!!