Christmas Break!

Just a few pictures capturing a bit of our Christmas Break:

 Sleeping in.  I'm not sure how these jokers ended up in my bed.

Time in the snow.

Remember when I thought Pete was teething?

Nope.  Roseola.

Christmas Morning

We had such a wonderful Christmas day celebrating with just us.

In the morning we went to Mass at the Cathedral, then spent the rest of the day enjoying each other's company.  Brian & I cooked a wonderful dinner, we played board games, and we all stayed up late watching Christmas movies.  It was a great start to the season.

 Our Christmas Plant.

 Peter still wasn't feeling the best.

 The Nerf grenade hurts.  Trust me.

Helen could barely contain herself as Brian opened her gift to him.

Travel toletries, which she insisted on giving him.

Sorry! (that I won)

Merry Christmas!

The Logues

2015

Photo credit: Z.G.

What Are We Up To?

Thanks for asking!

We just finished up the second quarter of school (thank God) and are officially on Christmas Break.  Homeschooling is hard.  Getting Helen to sit still is hard.  Keeping Martin out of the refrigerator is hard.  Comforting a baby with three teeth growing in at the same time is hard.  

Which brings me to our first picture:

Poor, Petey.

If you have ever met my daughter, then you know she is a ball of energy.  Some days I feel like I chase her around more than Peter.  

Helen Balboa

Speaking of Helen...she received a very special delivery last week. 

For once, she was speechless and completely awestruck.  

Meet Sally

This doll has become a forth child.  She goes everywhere with us.  And I find she has a nicer wardrobe than most people, including myself.

A new dress made by Helen & Mom.

A few days ago, I mentioned to my dad that I gave Peter his first peanut butter cup, which he loved.  Here was Peter's special delivery:

Grandpa, always over the top.  :)

Where's Martin, you ask?

You can find him on the basketball court.

#43 Martin Jordan

Oh, and just for creepiness, today I walked into the living room and found this:

In case you're wondering, it's a vase with Hulk's head on top, covered by a certain little girl's sweater.  Never a dull moment around here.

The Feast of Saint Nicholas!

Saint Nicholas: Pray for us!

Our Jesse Tree

We aren't getting a Christmas tree this year.

I have a one year old who is into everything, and I know the temptation of a Christmas tree would be a complete disaster.

So, we are working our way through a bit of salvation history with a Jesse Tree.  Helen colors a new "ornament"  each day, Martin reads the corresponding scripture, and Helen puts it on our tree, which is a plant from Wal-Mart.  My job is to make sure we do this everyday until Christmas...

Our tree is up high where little hands can't reach it.

"Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit." 

- Isaiah 11:1

(As you know, Jesse was the father of King David and Jesus is in the line of David.)

1000 Books!!

She did it!

With our forces combined, Helen and I read 1,000 books together.

(we've been working on this for awhile - like three years)

Happy Thanksgiving from Omaha!

Best zoo ever.

Road trips are awesome.

Homeschooling Helen

We are just finishing up our third week in the second quarter.

My goal is to finish the entire second quarter by Christmas Break.
I don't like loose ends.

In the meantime, I would like to share a little of Helen's schoolwork:

First off, this is the facial expression Helen usually gives me when I ask her to practice her spelling words.

 I love Helen's stick people.
Especially when she draws God as a hippie.

Her insects are cute, too.
Note: That is an ant hill.  What did you think it was?

This workbook page was done earlier in the year when I needed to help with writing.
Her answers are priceless.

I think things are coming along nicely.  

Nine Going on Nineteen

Yikes!  When did this happen?

He is most certainly not a little boy anymore.

*sniff sniff*

Halloween Weekend

Here's what happens when the cousins come to town...

 We made The Littles pass out the candy.

 Seven come eleven.

These guys have coordinated costumes before.

 Went trick or treating with friends and family.

 Oooed and ahhed over Pumpkin Pete.

 Let the kids dangle over La Crosse.

But most of all, we enjoyed our family time together!

Happy 1st Birthday, Peter!!

Pete's 1!

Can you believe it?

Me either.

 Dark chocolate cake made from scratch and decorated by Helen C. Logue.

 The beginning.

 The feasting.

The aftermath.

Happy Feast Day, Peter Isaac!

Today we celebrated Peter Isaac's feast day, who was named after Saint Isaac Jogues.  Check him out.  He's a pretty cool saint.

Our family tradition is to celebrate with a special dessert relevant to our kid's patron saint.  St. Isaac Jogues was from France.  The best I could come up with was an apple tart.  

French cooking intimidates me.

Sisterly Love

Helen must have been angry with her brother.

I found this on the table:

So like any mature mother would do, I documented it and tucked it away in a box for her to look at when she's older.  

I'm sure Martin appreciates every bit of this.

Downtown History Hunt

Our city has a 'Downtown Historical Day' in which The Logues participated in the History Hunt.

Basically, it's a historical scavenger hunt through downtown and digging through the library archives. 

Here are some of the silly things we had to do:

I love forced family fun.