VetMed raft trip 2011

Fun times on the Lower Salmon River!! It was a beautiful closure for me and my 6 years with the College of Veterinary Medicine. Thanks so much for the fun, sun and of course, for bringing the Cougar flag!

VetMed raft trip 2011

We had an incredible 5-day float with 17 DVM students/partners and 3 faculty members. The sun was shining & hot, the water was cold & running fast and the waves & rapids were gnarly!

Here's the link to the pix: VetMed raft trip pictures

G's ABC dance recital

Graceful Grace



The moment before the fun begins....



Click on this link to see grace in her winter recital...she is in the front row on the far end.

 Grace winter recital

Grace's Point of View

For Christmas Grace got a pink digital camera. These pictures are her perspective on the world! Click on the picture and it will link you to her point of view.

The Aftermath



DemCougs Christmas 2010

Well, Christmas has now officially come and gone and the 4 of us survived...for the most part.  K is in the background having a tantrum right now from lack of sleep/battles with sister over new toys/enough juice & sweets to kill a small rodent.

While Christmas Eve was a late one for us, Christmas morning G & K actually slept in until 730-ish...which might lead you to believe that we slept in also...but NO.  I was up at 6am and that was that.  So, last minute cleaning, starting on some of the days cooking, hot water for candy cane green tea (a new favorite thanks to my awesome sister) and Sirius Christmas music.  Finally, once everyone else was up and at 'em...it was time to see if Santa came & what he brought.  Grace was tickled pink to get the Sleeping Beauty doll and mermaid Polly Pocket that she had been asking for (it's because Santa got her letter - according to her).  Kellan got a CARS chair kinda like a pink one his sister has, but when it bucked him out twice in a row...he wanted nothing to do with it.  He also got a light up spinning wand that was a big hit.

Later that morning when the family arrived and we'd stuffed ourselves silly with Smoky Chicken, rice, stuffed peppers and more (yes, we went nontraditional thanks to a communication snafoo between me and my sister) we relaxed in the living room and let the chaos begin.  All in all G & K did very well and got some cool stuff that they have been playing with non-stop since the wrapping paper hit the floor.  Chuck and I were also blessed with some great gifts from our family - but the best was just seeing and spending time with all our family...especially Chuck's parents who were able to come over for the weekend.  We also trekked out to Uncle Jim's house to see some extended family, witnessed some killer karaoke and the first half of the Coug game.  Although the Cougs ending up falling to Butler...we all agreed they were going to have a great season!!

G picking out our Christmas tree & LOVING the snow.



Not quite Rudolph, but you're getting the idea



Really Mom...bows on my head??



  

 

Loving his tractor & horses



 

Grace & her Aurora

 

Our family is close but also quite spread out and our thoughts always came back to those who were too far away to be with us in person, but they were definitely in our hearts as we celebrated the season marking our Savior's birth.  Hopefully all of you had a great Christmas as well and remembered the true reason for the season!!  Blessings~~  

Karaoke queens




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).