Christmas Eve eve

Still up...as much as I should be getting sleep given the festivities that lie ahead, but after getting our Christmas cards out much later than I wanted and forgot the return address - as well as the year-in-review letter that I wanted to include...I figured maybe one or two people would look here for an update.  Maybe...
So with that, an update!
Grace is anxiously waiting for Santa and Christmas!!! Kellan...well he just wants to take about the lights on the tree and aggravate his sister in any way he can.  Letters went out to Santa a couple weeks ago (and so glad that I had to help write them to get a few ideas) and now it's just waiting to see if we'll get some snow to make it a white Christmas.
The semster ended in its typical whirlwind fashion for me -- I passed both my classes, even the mini-comp final in one of them (super stressful, but great practice for the real thing in a couple months) and got all the vet school stuff buttoned down.  Chuck has stayed busy at the store...as well as with city council, house projects and just keeping up with the kiddos.  We are both looking forward to staying home for Christmas and having a fairly low-key holiday.
I am starting to get sleepy, so it's off to bed and more to come soon!!!

Westside Thanksgiving

The kiddos and I made it to the westside Saturday afternoon for a week of family-time and a DeMeerleer Thanksgiving.  So far there has been LOTS of cousin fun, some baking and a few glasses of wine.  Here's just a few of the photos and videos of the fun!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOZ47U4UJKM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rA9gkTzpxv8

A quick moment...

I am supposed to be doing homework...I have a ton of it to get accomplished in an absurdly short amount of time (& I haven't even been procrastinating...) but I did take some time out this weekend to enjoy and be amazed by incredible family.  There are a bunch of new pictures on the Picasa site and some new Youtube videos as well.  I got to watch one of G's dance classes and got a video of the dance they are learning for their recital in January...as well as a couple videos of the kiddos in their respective swim classes.
So now, back to reality and homework...hope you enjoy these little moments!!!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPc6-nRz8rw  (G's dance video...more on the DemCougs channel)

Oct

 

 

Holy cow...it's been a month, I can't believe it...but time has been flying by.
We've been busy with preschool, dance classes, hunting, Colton sports, grad classes, yard work, homework...you name it!!
Now we are gearing up for Halloween - G has been asking to wear her costume almost daily...at least we're getting our money's-worth out of it!

Blue-ribbons and a W

Well as you might have seen in the sidebar pictures...G showed Princess Fiona this past weekend and it might have been one of the most adorable things EVER!! From her PINK show shirt, belt and boots to a fuzzy, teddy-bear calf...seriously...who is gonna come close to beating this pair in the show ring??

Beyond the fun and novelty of showing her calf, G also REALLY enjoyed riding on the "merry-go-round" (aka carousel), watching the racing pigs and hanging out with her cousin Caleb who came and spent the day!

G showed on a Monday, so that weekend we got to enjoy the first home Cougar game against Montana State.  I'll freely admit, I didn't have high hopes, but the Cougs managed to remember that the point of the game is to have the most points at the end...and pulled off one for the W column.  K even got into Cougar spirit and let me get some pretty cute pictures (more in the side bar album).

Fun, Forks, Fall, Fair and Fotos...

Even though this past weekend was a 3-dayer for most, we extended it to a 4-day getaway to the Westside to visit G/G DeM.  We got some shopping done (me=cell phone upgrade), Chuck and his dad worked on various and sundry projects, I got help learning all about/cleaning/running my AMAZING yard-sale-find serger and the kiddos had a great time hanging out with grandma and grandpa.  We also took a trip to Forks...not for a Twilight pilgrimage (despite ribbing from a few friends!)...but to go to a special beach located between Forks & LaPush.  G & K had SO much fun playing in the sand, tidepools, and hiking in the forest.  All in all it was a fabulous weekend!
Fall has kicked off with school - for me (2 classes, back-to-back nonetheless) and preschool for G.  She is loving it...she really feels like a "big kid" and I am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel!  It also means fair time.  In just a few short days G will be showing in fair for the first time - a Highland calf - and she is pretty dang excited!! Now I have the task of finding show clothes for a tot...hmmmm....

Also, we took a step off the deep end and we are now....suburban owners.  Yup, you read that correctly.  Mom & Dad always told me "Never say never" and now it's biting me in the *ss! 

I also took a sewing class and learned free-motion quilting.  It was incredible!! It was one of the best things I've done for myself in a very long time.  8 hours of sewing, gabbing, and learning...and I walked away actually remembering...yeah!!  Then I came home and showed Chuck what I'd accomplished, he was amazed and somewhat in disbelief...but definitely encouraging!  If only he realized that encouragement may mean many more babysitting hours so that I can work on my projects! ;-)

So we did go and get photos when K turned one...he's a few for now...more "fun" pix to come soon!

Dance recital

Here's the video of the dance recital...it's also in the video bar on the right.
Enjoy! :-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3enS6UwVTo

The end of summer

It's come...the end we've been dreading...the end of summer.  Personally, I think we should be given an extra month since June was pretty much equivalent to March so it really shouldn't count in terms of summer, thus we all deserve an extra 30 days.  Alas...there were 300 DVM students in and out of my office yesterday, so I'm guessing others didn't get my Summer-Extension memo.  Maybe next year?!
So I decided that evening though it's a nice evening out...I'd take some time tonight to update the picasa albums and the blog since I know that tomorrow (when my classes start) things are really gonna pick up and updates will not be nearly as often as I would like...but are they ever??
The end of summer has been busy for us - we've been working hard on projects around our place...taking the kids to the water park...whisking G off to her gymnastics/dance lessons...going on bike rides...canning...yard saleing...working...you name it!!!
This past week G had her summer dance recital and on Saturday we celebrated K's 1st birthday.  A bunch of family and friends came over for BBQ, cake and laughs (especially when the tissue paper was the biggest hit!).  He got some fantastic BOY toys ....a welcome change from playing with so many of big sister's pink toys!
I hope you enjoy all the pictures...check out the slideshows in the right-hand bar...and I'll try to get a few new videos posted soon (they just take so darn long to load!)

More summer fun...

I have added a bunch of new pictures -- rafting, swimming, kids at play, you name it!  I have also added a few new videos to YouTube...you can access them via the YouTube bar on the right.  If you have problems...just let me know!
I can't believe that summer - as far as we are concerned - is over in 2 more weeks.  Then it's back to school, craziness at work for both of us...and well, summer slow-life (haha...like life is ever slow for us...) is a thing of the past.
Until then we are gearing up for K's 1st birthday, G's dance recital and last gymnastics, finishing our deck, a few last yard sales, waiting for tomatoes to ripen and enjoying evenings on the deck.

Long overdue...

Holy cow...I just realized that it's been a month since my last post! To those family & friends who check this regularly to see what's going on with DemCougs...SORRY!!

So what's happened in the past 30 days...hmmm...a LOT.  Some good, some bad, some really bad...but all of it shapes us into the people we are and will become.

In mid-June we loaded up the SilverBullet and went camping at Dworshak for a cousin's graduation party. We had fabulous weather, got to go four-wheeling and out in the boat, play a ton of cards, hang out with family we love but only see a couple times a year...all in all - had a fantastic weekend!  G even went tubing behind the boat...no fear whatsoever on her part (me, terrified!).  She also was the constant shadow of two older cousins but enjoyed the attention from all the cousins who were there! K got some great time in the great outdoors and hanging with Grandma and a couple sweet aunties!!

Another nice twist to the last month was some unimpeded time at home.  We actually got time to work on projects we wanted to work on...painting some trim that needed it, work in the flower beds, mower the lawn, work on the deck, and just relaxing - hard to believe I know, but yes, just curling up and doing some NOTHING! :-)

We also got to go on our first raft trip of the year!!! it was FABULOUS!!!!!!!! The water was high (13000 cfs), the sun was hot and the company was great...I couldn't have dreamed of a better trip! We even got a jet boat trip out of the raft trip! :-)  Then we were home about 30 minutes when we got a phone call no one ever wants to receive.  We were notified about a family member who was involved in a murder/suicide.  In that moment the world stops spinning, pauses, you lose your breath and then the world continues spinning but nothing is the same.
We have tried to get our brains to believe the unbelievable...and while that might never happen, we have at least accepted what happened and are trying to move forward. 

Meanwhile - K is now walking everywhere and can get himself standing from sitting.  He is so proud of himslef and has found tailing sister is much easier now that he's bipedal!  He's also cooing, trying to talk a lot more and the other day he grabbed a toy truck and started making a "vrooming" sounds and since then, he is 110% boy - only focused on tractors, trucks, cars and anything that can be banged into something else for a big noise!
G is still rocking dance - they are focusing on tap right now and working on a routine for their end-of-summer recital.  She is also still loving gymanstics...and I am still convinced this is the most adorable thing ever...she is tumbling, bouncing, flying (like Tinkerbell as she said) and starting to learn about class dynamics, although she definitely has her own perspective. She was having some troubles with cutting in line and trying to get the teacher's attention, so before her last class I reminded her that she needed to listen to directions and not cut in line.  To this she responded..."it's okay, I'll just be first."  Hard to argue & not laugh at that line of reasoning. :-)

So now a weekend to clean the house, get things packed and ready to go for raft trip #2 and Grandma Carol's visit.  Hopefully a new post to come much quicker this time around, but no promises...it is summer after all! :-)