Ginger Bread Builders

I am so glad that we have Jeff and Tara's family! We all enjoy spending time together, and have started so many fun family traditions. This year we spent the afternoon making gingerbread houses. This was something that Brady and Harmoni really enjoyed. I think Izzy liked eating the frosting more than actually decorating the house! What made the afternoon even more special was having Granny Kit over as well. I hope that these are the kinds of things we will continue to do for years to come!

The Advent Calendar

You can spend $50 on a toy that Brady may only play with once...You can spend $1.00 on something that he will love!!! That was the case with this advent calendar from "Jakey". He took it very seriously and wanted to open a door first thing each morning. One night at about 3:00 am he wandered into our room (half asleep) holding the advent calendar in his hands. He wanted to know if it was morning time yet so he could open up another day! I loved doing this, because it was a good way for him to get an idea how long it would take for Christmas to get here. Four year olds don't always understand the concept of hours, day, weeks, and months, but they definitely understand eating chocolate each day! As more doors opened, his excitement grew because he realized how close we were getting to the big day!

Trick or Treat

So here's another tradition in the making! For the last two years we have gotten all of the kids together for a little harvest/halloween party. This year was especially fun because of all of the activities that Amber planned. Brady and I are so lucky to have Amber, Isaac, Anna, Tara, Harmoni, and Izzy in our lives. It is nice that we can all come together as a group and do things. It's a great way to teach all of the kids how to socialize and have fun.


The first project was to decorate sugar cookies with orange frosting, sprinkles, and gummy eyeballs! Tara brough goodie bags fill with skeletons, eyeballs, and all sorts of gross things!



The highlight of the evening had to be bobbing for apples out in the garage. None of the kids had done this before and I don't think they realized how hard it would be. They tried and tried, but none of them were able to grab one. They didn't care, they were having a blast trying. Finally Isaac got one (sort of)! He snuck his hands in when he thought we weren't looking! The giggles and laughter were contagious!


Next we went in for another crazy game. They had to try and eat a doughnut hanging from a string without using their hands. We have a little romance budding among the kids as you can see in the picture below. Isaac and Harmoni!!!! It was such a fun night and I can't wait til next year!

I can't believe he's already four!

Brady never ceases to make me smile! His fourth birthday was no exception. A few months before his birthday, we started to talk about what type of party he would like to have. He quite matter-of-factly told me that he wanted to have a snake party! What was I supposed to do with that? One, I hate snakes and two, what do you do for a snake party? A few of my friends, knowing my dislike of snakes, suggested hiring someone to bring a real snake to the party. I don't think so!! My dad even called one night to find out how I would feel about him getting Brady a real snake for a gift! I really don't think so!!!!! Needless to say, we found a way to pull of a snake-themed party with no real reptiles present!

We had inflatable snakes and a snake cake. Above is Harmoni and me sporting our snake tattoos!


No kids birthday is quite complete without a bounce house. This is the second year in a row that we've rented one and they all love it! We have been lucky enough to have wonderful weather for all but one of Brady's birthdays!

I am very curious (and afraid) to see what kind of party my crazy little kid wants next year...

The Pumpkin Patch

One of the many things I enjoy about being a parent is establishing family traditions. Every October Brady and I go with Harmoni and Tara on a hayride to pick pumpkins. Two years ago we found a really great place to do this called "Linder Farms". At the farm you do everything from picking your own pumpkin to playing in bounce houses! This past year was especially fun because Nate, Jeff and Izzy came too!

When the kids got on this ride the all burst into the biggest smiles imaginable. It was like they were in heaven! I have never seen the three of them this happy at the exact same time!

At the pumpkin patch they have warm, homemade doughnuts! You can see Brady literally shoveling them in! Another highlight is the cow train. Uncle Jeff was a good sport and went on it with the kids.

There is also a petting zoo. They had a little pygmy goat roaming around for the kids to pet. Once we finished looking at the animals it was time to find the perfect pumpkin! Nate helped Brady navigate through all of the bumps and stickers!

Brady with his two sweet cousins-Harmoni & Izzy

Our two families: Tara, Harmoni, Jeff, Izzy, Katie, Brady, & Nate

We all had a great time (even the dads)!

Preschool already?????

Brady is growing up so quickly. The time since he was born has gone by so fast, yet it is hard for me to even remember what our life was like before God gave him to us. This fall he has started going to preschool twice a week at Cloverdale Christian. His teacher's name is "Miss Cindy" and he really loves going. He loves it so much that he sometimes won't believe us when we tell him it is not a school day. Below are a few of the pictures of his first day!

Going to the Cabin

We have had the best summer. Brady has moved out of the baby phase and we are beginning to have some fun adventures together. Nate's parents have a little octagon cabin in McCall and we were able to spend quite a bit of time up there. Our favorite thing to do while at the cabin is go for little hikes and find water to play in. We drive up Lick Creek rode just outside of McCall and explore. Some of the other pictures below are of us at Nate's grandma's cabin in Donnelly. She has lake front property, so Brady loves to go there to play in the sand. We also tried our hand at a little fishing, but we haven't had a lot of luck with that yet! Did I mention how much Cooper loves the cabin? He can sense when we are getting packed up to go and literally races to jump into the back of Nate's Explorer!


Playing on the beach at Grandma Dobson's cabin



Roasting marshmallows and getting sticky hands!





Playing in the creek



Having fun on the trail!




It has been especially fun for me to watch the relationship grow between Nate and Brady. I am so lucky to be married to such a good, kind man. I am even luckier to have a son with him!!