Micah starts preschool

At the beginning of January I put Micah into preschool.  A friend of mine runs it from her home.  The other boys also went to her preschool from January to May of the year that they started kindergarten.  Micah was excited to go.  I was worried because I did Joy School with him the year before and he wasn't happy at all about going to that.  Thankfully he has enjoyed preschool and is usually happy to go. 

He did not want his picture taken on the first day so this is the best I got:

Micah was very excited to come home on pirate day and show me his hat and eye patch:

At preschool he got to "walk the plank":

For President's day he came home looking like this:

Brooklyn has missed her buddy.  She spent a lot of time following me around and asking if she could watch tv.  She is extremely excited to start preschool next year.  Here she is trying on Micah's hat and beard:

January

For New Years eve this year we went to the church for a while.  They always have a family dance.  They also have lots of snacks and a bounce house.  The kids thought that was fun for a while.  Then they were ready to go home.  We went home and watched a movie and played a game.  Then it was time to count down.  We did one of those Netflix countdowns and then yelled "Happy New Year".  Everyone made it till midnight.  Then we all went to bed. 

Next in January comes my birthday.  Well actually the kids go back to school, and then its my birthday.  Reed and I went out to dinner at Jakers and then we went to the movie theatre to see the new Star Wars movie.  It was a fun evening.  I told Reed that I couldn't remember the last time we did dinner and a movie. 

Reed and the boys made my birthday treat: trifle, with chocolate pudding and strawberries and whipped cream and angel food cake:

 

It was delish!:

And here are some random pictures from January.  Brooklyn got a Anna piggy bank for Christmas that she got to paint.  She had so much fun painting:

This is serious work:

Here she is concentrating on her work:

She didn't worry at all about mixing the colors:

This January we hit a milestone: we don't have any children in the nursery.  We had at least one child in the nursery almost continuously (there was a 2 month break between Conner leaving and Micah starting) for 8 and half years.  Craziness.  I was excited but a little sad too - my kids are growing up so fast!  Here is Brooklyn, all ready for church.  She has enjoyed Sunbeams for the most part although she does still miss nursery a little bit (it doesn't help that Reed and I are in the nursery):

 

 

Christmas Day!

Christmas morning came early, as always.  I think the kids slept until just after 6 am.  Then we gathered everyone up and went up to look at the stockings and presents. 

Conner is happy about the straws he got in his stocking:

Micah got Legos galore:

Alan showing off his new tie:

chocolate!:

Brooklyn got her own Legos.  The set included a slide and a cat, which she was really excited about:

Love this picture.  Alan and Conner checking out their new game:

The kids drew names for Christmas this year.  Alan and Micah got each other.  Here they are giving each other a hug after opening their gift from eachother:

And Conner and Brooklyn got eachother's name.  Giving a hug:

Conner got a watch:

Reading a new book:

Micah loves Legos:

Brooklyn got some nail polish in her stocking.  She was very excited to put it on, but as soon as it was on she wanted it off - oh well:

Conner working on excavating some crystals from a block of stone:

Grandma and Grandpa turned their garage into a fun room.  There were darts and we set up their old table and played table tennis on it:

Then Uncle Andrew set up his American ninja course.  The kids had a blast trying to get through it.  Here is Conner trying to swing from one stick to another:

Alan giving it a go:

It was a great day! 

Christmas Eve

For Christmas this year we went to Grandma and Grandpa Bassett's house.  It was very snowy there, which was a lot of fun, but it made it hard to get to their house.  We were driving up their hill late at night on the way there and got stuck.  The hill was so icy that after we put the van in park and got the boys out and sent them up the hill to the house the van started to slide down the hill - with Brooklyn still in it.  Reed and I raced to get back in and stop it.  We finally got turned around and made it up the next time.  The snow did make for some fun times though - they hooked the sled to the back of a vehicle and pulled the kids around:

Alan, Micah, Breven and Becky on the sled:

Becky, Breven, Micah and Brooklyn:

Not sure how the littlest one ended up in the back with everyone using her as a back rest but she enjoyed it:

Alan in the front:

Being pulled around:

Then that night we made gingerbread houses.  Everyone gathered around the table:

Brooklyn's finished product - the roofs were tricky and we decided she didn't need one:

These two made an a couple of elaborate houses.  I love this picture:

Kyla's house - I like the skittle flower garden:

Conner with his house:

Micah's house:

Jacque made an awesome monster truck:

Alan's house.  Almost to good to eat - almost!:

Cousins:



Then we got ready for bed and tucked the kids in.  There were high levels of excitement but finally everyone settled down and went to sleep.

Pre Christmas Visit

The weekend before Christmas Grandma and Grandpa Pitcher came to visit.  It was very snowy so they went out on the island with the kids and had a snowball fight:

Alan taking cover behind a bush while Grandma throws a snowball at him:

Conner and Grandpa:

They dropped off their Christmas presents for us and we decided to let the kids open one of their gifts while they were here.  Here is Brooklyn opening her present:

It was a stuffed animal dog that kind of looks like my brother's dog Ace.  So she named it Acee and it sleeps with her now and protects her from bad guys:

A thank you hug:

Micah was next:

A new game:

Conner:

He got a telescope:

and a book that tells about the constellations:

Alan:

Alan got a backpacking backpack:

It fits!  Now he and Reed are planning a backpacking trip this summer:

Thanks for the visit!