So here is a bunch of pictures -- highlights from what has happened since Marlow's birthday in July.
My sister Carson came to stay with us and Bailey came and stayed with Kelly. Kelly and Bailey hosted a bingo tea party that we all dressed-up for and made a special cake and other treats.
We celebrated Eliot's 3rd birthday at the neighborhood playground with a few friends. Ever since then he tells total strangers, "I turned three at the park." They then look at me, confused because they usually can't understand him, and I have to explain that he had his third birthday party at the park.
Eliot and cousin Zoe playing when we went down to visit with Joseph's family for his Grandmother's birthday.
For Fall Break we went to visit the Bollman Grandparents and enjoyed things like tractor rides around the property and lollipops on the porch.
One of our favorite events for the year was getting to go on a zipline course in NC. Ezra is zipping by in this shot while the rest of wait our turn on the platform in the trees behind him. My mom, Joseph, Ezra, Asa, Marlow, Eliot and I all did the course which had 11 different ziplines. The owners are friends of my parents and were awesome with the little kids (and the rest of us) guiding us through the course. It was SO fun and I was extremely proud of my kids for being so brave. Keith was super and held Gemma and took pictures for us.
In October we said goodbye to some neighbors who had lived across the street for only 5 months. We were sad to see them go -- they are a great family that we all enjoyed playing/hanging out with. We sent them off with a proper stick and lightsaber fight in the backyard, and a bit of food and fellowship inside with some other neighbors.
Halloween happened. We went around the neighborhood collecting candy ... the usual. The highlight for Ezra and Asa was getting to go in the haunted house that had previously been forbidden. We didn't want them to have nightmares ... turns out, they said it wasn't that scary (yeah, if you wait until you are older).
Joseph's sister Ruth got married. Marlow and Eliot were flower-girl and ring-boy (as Marlow said). It was a lovely wedding and we were so happy to be a part of the celebration ... AND the kids now have another uncle :) Uncle Ed.
We celebrated Ezra's 9th birthday Indiana Jones style. He and his friends were given Marion's diary full of clues to lead them to Marion, who had been captured, and all of the gifts which had been stolen.
Next thing you know it is Christmas. We cut our own tree again (it was a big one). I guess Gemma had already gone to bed when we took this picture.
So here is Gemma looking adorable in her pjs.
A shot of my mom with 8 of the 11 kids in my family.
l to r: Barbara, Kelly, Bailey, Amy, Katie, Michelle, Marley, Carson & Grant
Our pre-Christmas visitors included: my sister Katie and her two boys, my sister Michelle and her two boys, my parents and three youngest sisters and my brother Grant. It was a lot of kids and a lot of fun. We missed my brother Jeremy and his wife Michelle and their girls and my sister Jamie and husband Luke and my brother Charles.
Christmas morning
After Christmas we traveled to visit Joseph's family in sunny Georgia, where you can run around outside barefoot in December. All of his sibilngs were there and cousins for the kids to play with. We spent a leisurly long weekend of playing, cooking and playing some more.
New Years Eve we celebrated with Sparklers
A few days before the big kids went back to school they demolished the gingerbread house, picking every bit of candy and icing off and eating it up. Mmmm (yuck).
