Christmas Countdown

Here's a selection of pics leading up to Christmas day. Its been a lovely holiday season - our first time staying in Maryland! We've been busy with parties including our annual open house and fun outings.

Thanksgiving break

Matt & Joanne made their way through treacherous night-before-thanksgiving traffic to meet us for Ethiopian dinner. We were so glad to see them and enjoy that meal together. Quite a contrast to the traditional turkey meal on Thursday. We loved being with David and the Goeckertiz's.

Voting, Hats, and 7-layer dip

Just a few of the things that have been going on lately around our home. We all voted, Calista plays with her friend Timothy, and she eats!

Halloween Weekend

We welcome fall around here and enjoyed a fun Halloween. The polls came in overwhelmingly in favor of... Tinkerbell so Calista dons her IncrediGirl look at bedtime. Danae's mom visited to attend a music therapy workshop and see Miss Calista.

Calista Can

Calista can do many things. Calista is an independent girl. She is also thoughtful and helpful. These are just some of the things that Calista can do. Enjoy! :) I know we do.

Visiting the PA Norths

We had a fun weekend, we had a busy Saturday morning, went to a ward BBQ in the afternoon, and went straight from there to visit the Norths in Washington, Pennsylvania. Calista had a LOT of fun playing with her Aunt Joanne, her cousins, and Uncle Matt. It seemed like it had been a long time since we had visited them (it was almost a year since we've been there). It was very nice to spend time with them. Calista loved playing on the slide and swings with the girls. The trip was very short, but extremely enjoyable. Jerry even got to go golfing with Matt - and it was fun even though he was very rusty.

Happy Birthday Grandma Peggy

Happy Birthday Grandma Peggy! Danae has sifted through our thousands of photos and collected several to offer to you as a birthday gift. We are so grateful for you, your example, and your love. We look forward to seeing you later this month. Calista will be ready to give you one of her wonderful hugs and kisses.

Playing the Piano

Calista loves to play the keyboard. She definitely knows where the volume control is, and loves to push the buttons, play music, and "rock out". The last two are video clips, so click on the pictures above and go to the Picasa web album and view the videos.

General Conference and Flowers

A bunch of pictures from this weekend. Yesterday, before the first session of General Conference, we ran a few errands stopping at Target and Home Depot. We found more great deals at Target, including a cute chair for Calista (yes, 75% off) for her to use during conference (and more, obviously). While Danae ran in to Home Depot, Calista and I just couldn't just wait in the car, so we got out and Calista had fun running from flower to flower smelling and touching them.

Calista was great during Conference. She especially enjoyed the children's choir that sang during the Saturday afternoon session. Every time they sang, she would run to the computer, smile, and watch intently. She especially enjoyed I Am a Child of God, which she hears Mommy and/or Daddy sing to her each night before bed.

Last night, during the Priesthood session of conference, Danae had a few sisters from the ward over for a "Girl's night". They had fun painting nails, trading lotions, getting haircuts from Danae, and just having girl talk.

Halloween Preview

Vote for which costume you like best (using the poll on the left). IncrediGirl or Tinkerbell?

UMD Farm

Jerry was really busy getting papers ready for a conference last week. This week, although, he has plenty to do, he is adding a little more family fun! Danae brought Calista and Timothy to pick up Dad, and we all went to the University of Maryland's farm. Calista and Timothy enjoyed seeing the cows, sheep, and pigs. (The kids weren't big fans of the big horses.)

Running Around

Calista is an independent girl, who loves to run. We took her to the school field across the street so she could run around. She ran and ran and ran! It was a beautiful fall evening.

We also had a Stake Film Festival where each ward made a short film. Our film won "best acting". There were some other really fun/funny videos. The activity also featured a cake contest. Danae was a runner up for "best tasting" with her Chocolate Bunt Cake with Ganache.

Playing in the Park

Calista loves playing at the neighborhood park! She loves the "wee" (a.k.a. a slide). She is a big girl and can do the big slide all by herself! :)

Mommy took Calista and Timothy on the 8th. And Daddy was able to sneak away for a quick fifteen minutes on Tuesday the 16th, during his really busy week preparing papers for CHI!

Mom and Dad's Shoes

Calista likes shoes. She also loves Mommy and Daddy, and wants to walk like them! She also loves to play with the stereo. Not that I was pleased, but her use of pretzels on the stereo's speakers was very geometric. She also found her favorite way to use the blow-up basketball toy dad got for her.

Timothy & Calista

For Timothy's first birthday, Danae made a photo book of Calista and her best little friend. Timothy and Calista have spent a lot of time together playing. They always get excited when they see one another!

Grandma Fails Visit

Grandma Fails came for a visit. We visited her at Karl and Jolene's home for the 4th of July. We also saw Joanne, Matt, and Co. and celebrated Jojo's birthday close to home. Then Grandma spent some time with our family. We had a fun-filled month.

Summertime Fun

We have had a lot of fun this summer. Calista has enjoyed the "Summer Jam" events, the city has hosted.

Brimhall Family Reunion

We had an enjoyable time seeing so much family this summer at the Brimhall Family Reunion (Danae's family). As one of the assigned photographers, Jerry took LOTS of pictures (yes, even more than usual).