Camping Trip

It's sad to say that we just enjoyed our first real camping trip this weekend together as a family and summer is practically over. But we did have a pretty good time inspite of the weather that seemed a bit chilly for my liking. The kids had fun painting rocks, riding bikes, shooting bows, roasting marshmallows, and going for nature walks. It was great just to get away from everyday worries for awhile. Luckily, we get to go camping again this weekend. Trying to make up for lost time. :)

Wyatt did pretty good at taking some pics for us.

Our little nature walk on Sunday.

The three stooges. Aren't they cute?!

The kids' proud collection of painted rocks.

Fun times!

Life is Good!

Other than the fact that summer is going by much too quickly, life is good. I can't complain. My family is together and we've made some great memories the past couple of months. I have much to be grateful for. Thank you all for making life worth living!

Isagenix

So Dave and I went on a new diet plan this last month and it worked! In just 11 days I lost 11 lbs. and Dave lost 18lbs. It's great and we both feel so much better physically. My energy level has improved drastically. If you would like to know more about it let me know and you can also visit www.amberhopkins.isagenix.com. It's a real simple plan to follow and is reasonably priced as well.

How was your weekend?

Our weekend was terrible. Just when you think things can't get any worse, they do. I went to mom's for the weekend so that Dave could finish oiling and polyurethaning the railing and T&G in our house. It should have been a nice, relaxing weekend for me and the kids, but it turned out to be quite stressful and frustrating.

Saturday Dave called and said that he had left his oiling sponge on top of the plastic that was covering the carpet overnight. No big deal, right? WRONG! Turns out that linseed oil burns through plastic, carpet, and carpet pad. We had no idea that it would do something like that. So Dave cut the carpet out and now we are left with a big hole. Thankfully it is behind the couch so we don't have to look at it all the time, and I think we have carpet scraps left over to patch it with. So all is not lost.

And to add insult to injury, on Sunday we were driving home and Wyatt starting feeling sick. So we got to Geneva and pulled over so he could take care of business. While we were waiting for Wyatt two cars passed us. The last one must have flipped a rock at my back window and this is what it looks like now...

...it shattered and completely fell out. I was beyond words and couldn't believe it. So we bundled up, turned the heat on high and headed for home. The roads were wet and slushy, so needless to say all the spray from the tires came in the back window and coated our stuff. It's filthy. I felt sick, as you can imagine. But the good news is that things have got to get better from here, right??!!

On a lighter note, I caught a couple of funny moments with Coy on camera. He loves to dress up in gloves and boots and hats all the time. Then he gets on his little wheeler and says "vrmmm, vrmmm." It doesn't usually matter whose gear he has on just as long as he has some. This time he grabbed Kiersten's boots and gloves.

The scratch on his face his from a fall he took off his bouncy horse earlier in the week. Then he put Wyatt's hat on with one ear sticking out...

...I thought he looked like Dopey on Snow White and The 7 Dwarfs. Funny kid. At least we have our kids to laugh at, or I might just cry. We're looking forward to brighter days, and hope they come quickly!

Deep Freeze...

I don't know about your neck of the woods, but it is just plain cold here! It's time for another good snow storm to lighten things up a bit. It seems like everything is just hard and iced over. The kids keep wanted to build a snowman, and don't understand that the snow we have just isn't snowman building snow. So we've been trying to keep ourselves occupied inside, but we're ready for a change.

I found this picture of Dave on his sled last year at Bues Hill. That was a fun time. We need to do it again. On a day when the wind isn't blowing, of course! Hope you're all surviving and staying warm!

Favorite Holiday Pictures

Christmas was a success at our house this year. Santa spoiled our kids and we enjoyed watching their excitement while they opened their gifts. Most of all, we enjoyed time spent together with family and creating memories that will last a lifetime. Here are a few of our favorite pictures.

Wyatt and Kiersten as Mary and Joseph during our reinactment of the Nativity.

Wyatt gave endless rides to Kiersten and Coy on his new Mini Z.


Can you see the grin on Coy's face? He loves the snowmachines.

Kiersten and the latest addition to her baby collection. She's quite the little mother.

Coy's all ready to go to work with his new tools from the cousins.

We hope you all had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and look forward to making more memories in 2009!

In Pursuit...

A couple of weeks ago we went up Grover Park in pursuit of the perfect Christmas tree. You all know how it goes...we could have looked forever.
We knew that the kids wouldn't last for too long out in the snow so we stopped and got out by a meadow and took a little hike through the trees. There were a few that caught our eye, but we decided to take this one. Dave cut it down in a snap and then we stood it up to examine our tree. It was much taller than we expected it to be...about 20 feet tall! It actually reaches the top of the railing in our loft. This was the first time we have had to drag the ladder out to put lights on the tree, and I lost track of how many strands of lights we put on it. I'm just glad we had enough. We let the kids go wild decorating the tree and they had a blast doing it "all by themselves". However, the top of the tree is a little sparse. But it's all good. Having the tree up definately makes it feel like Christmas in our home.

We've had fun watching the kids get all excited for the big day. It's fun listening to them chatter about Santa and seeing the wonder in their eyes. And of course, "Charly" the elf has been watching their every move. We are grateful for the "Christmas Magic" that the kids bring to us as adults. It reminds us of what's important and of the reason for the season. We are grateful for such great family members and friends who are always there for us. Most of all we are thankful for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and the sacrifices that He made on our behalf. We love you all and hope you are enjoying this holiday season! Merry Christmas!