Christmas Peek

I still have to write about Thanksgiving and Ivy's birthday, but I thought I'd throw some Christmas photos up to hold you over until then....

We certainly had a lot to be grateful for this year. The fact that our house worked out is a small miracle in itself. We have felt so good about our decision to settle here, and everything just worked itself out. 

Because of Steve's work schedule we stayed home all Christmas weekend. It was nice for the kids (and all of us) to have some down time and just enjoy Christmas at home. They've been going through a lot these past few weeks as we've been working on the house, moving out of our rental and taking more trips to Home Depot than they ever wanted to make in their little lives.

This was the first year we've been able to put up the big tree since the year Ivy was born. Neither of the girls remember it from that year so they were thrilled to pieces when we got to decorate it.

Then the next day they took all of the ornaments off (within their reach) because they wanted to "start over". All of the ornaments stayed on the floor for several hours because they got "too tired" to put them back on. *Sigh*

I'm especially grateful for this guy. He's been working so hard this year and loves his job so much. They love him, too, and he plans on staying with the group for a while. Hopefully in a few years he'll have his own office :)

Here we are after church on Christmas Sunday. Even though church was only an hour the hairbows (so cute Hillie, thanks!!) still didn't make it through the meeting.

Somewhat normal smiles. Finally!

Callahan Park

Back in October we found this cute little park at the base of the mountain tucked away in a subdivision. It's our new favorite... too bad we'll be moving to the opposite end of the city soon.

Conference Weekend

Here I go... posting about General Conference two months late.

*Sigh*

There has been a lot going on, and with Facebook and how often I communicate with my family I don't really feel the need to "announce" things on here like I used to.

If you haven't heard (I doubt any of you fall into this category... if there are any of you left.) we're expecting baby #3 in June and we've closed on our first house TODAY. I've got the key in my pocket to prove it. I'll post some pictures of the house and such (hopefully before Christmas!). 

Back to conference...just know that real human beings weren't the only ones to enjoy the spiritual messages shared during those two days.

We had a pretty fabulous dinner that Sunday, too. We love roasted chickens. I knew Ivy was a little carnivore, but I had no idea she would pick up a drumstick and go to town on it. (She certainly didn't get that from me. *shudder*)

Speaking of strange eating habits, Ivy has always been the yin to Sophie's yang. Here we have our little veggie girl eating plain lettuce out of the salad bowl. 

Chiro-in-training

Steve's passing on his chiro wisdom to Sophie. First was leg checks on Baby.

Then Bunny. Because, if you didn't know, animals can also benefit from chiropractic. (True story.)

The Steve offered himself as a guinea pig.

After the checks were carefully made,

The adjustment was made. Check out that form!

Reno Balloon Races

Over a week ago you may have heard about the crash at the Reno Air Races. If you didn't, one of the planes crashed right in front of the VIP section. As of yesterday, 11 people have died and over 50 had been sent to the hospital, including an 11-year-old boy from our ward. Pretty scary.

A week or so before that we went to the Reno Balloon Races. Much safer.

Here we are at a bright and chipper 6AM.

The first balloon in the sky!

This was fascinating. I've never been close to a hot air balloon before.

This one was a favorite of the crowd. Only they played the main Star Wars theme when it lifted into the air instead of the Death March. Psh.

It was a pretty fun morning! Was it worth dragging everyone out of bed at 5AM and disrupting their schedule all day (= even more whining than normal)? 

Still not sure...

Children are a Blessing

I love my kids.

They're pretty funny.

These kids are pretty cool, too. Little Samantha was born in August.

And she was blessed at grandma and grandpa's house. (Congrats Michael & Amanda!)

According to Judi, all of her kids came out with spiky hair.  I really hope my next one has it.

Happy Birthday To Us

Happy Birthday to me....

Happy Birthday to me...

(This "cake" was amazing.)

Happy Birthday Dear.... oh yea. US.

Happy Birthday to US!

Summer Catch-Up

The rest of our summer -- in photos.

Flowers that popped up in our yard this summer. It was fun moving in January... all spring and summer has been full of surprises. :)

Popsicles were a daily thing.

Even dad liked them.

One of our random trips to Tahoe.

We're really excited that we didn't have to give up the beach when we moved!

Any guesses?

Hint: The scarf is "hair."

From left: Katie (office assistant), Dr. Jack (head of the Reno office), um...the wolf, Steve, Dr. Cliff (head of the whole shebang), and Michelle (marketing chick)

Last month Steve's office had their patient appreciation picnic. It's kind of a big deal... over 1000 people came. They had bouncy houses, lots of food, face painting, and lots of giveaways. Even the UNR mascot made an appearance.