December

December is always a fun time of the year for us.

It's filled with St. Nicholas Day, school pageants, Christmas, and many celebrations with friends.

Lordy, Lordy. Look Who's Forty.

Forty means spending time with your good buddy, Rebecca who turns forty six days after you do.  And she's the kind of friend who knows how to plan ahead and have a great time.

The funny thing about forty (at least for me) is the passage of time.  I don't feel like I have one foot in the grave, but turning forty makes me realize the importance of time.  In a superficial world where money and material things seem to matter the most, time seems to slip away.  Time is the most valuable thing because once it's gone, there's no turning back the clock.  Turning forty made me stop and realize I only have one life on earth with just a limited amount of time.  I stopped to reflect on my husband, children, friends, and family and how blessed I am to be able to spend the rest of my time on earth with them.  And I don't want to take any of that for granted.

Cheers to FORTY!

Peter the Masterbuilder

If there is one thing Peter loves,

it's Legos.

Especially Star Wars Legos.

November

November is filled with cold and snow.

It's the beginning of little sun, short days, long nights and a lot of indoor nonsense.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from Katie S. Pumpkins, a disgruntled high schooler, Gekko, Catboy, and Laura Ingnalls.

FOUR!!

Holy cow!

Peter is FOUR!

This kid is strong-willed, to say the least.  He has a good sense of humor, but loves to test his boundaries.  Legos and Star Wars are his favorite things in the world next to his best friend, Stuart.  It's a perfect day if they play Lego Star Wars together.

Happy birthday, Peter-Man!

Cinnamon Roll Saturday

Brian was planning on hosting the monthly Opus Dei meeting our house.  The night before I was making cinnamon rolls from scratch for him to serve with coffee for the men.  I had the two little boys up on the counter watching the stand-mixer spin.  I thought they were so cute, so I snapped this picture: 

Right as I took it, Stuart peeled off one of his fingernails and threw it into the mixer faster than I could stop him.  Right into the dough it went.  If you have ever made cinnamon rolls from scratch, you know how time consuming it can be.  I was already too far committed into the process to do anything about this tiny nail spinning around, so I just ignored it hoping no one would notice it.

Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it), the meeting was cancelled.  We still ate the cinnamon rolls, but with extreme caution. 

The Snake

Today the weather was very nice and warm for October in Wisconsin.  While the boys and I were outside, they found a snake.  Stuart had no problem picking it up and swinging it around, but Peter was a little apprehensive at first.  After a few minutes, he warmed up to it.

I thought for sure this snake would have brain damage after the torture inflicted upon it from these two little boys, but at the first possible second it could, it slithered away faster then a bolt of lightening.

Later that evening, it showed it's slinky self again.  Helen wanted to pick it up, but my oldest son (who has learned to jump into water from over 30 feet in the air and how to extinguish a fire on a boat) was petrified with fear.  I've never seen anything like it.  Quite frankly, it was ridiculous.

"Don't pick it up, Helen!" - Martin

Freshmen Homecoming!

Martin attended his first high school homecoming dance.

Thankfully, he asked a long time family friend, Sophia.  They were one of the first families we met when we first moved to La Crosse.  They had a good time with dinner and dancing afterward.

It will be interesting to see if Martin attends another dance anytime soon.  He learned a lesson in effort, planning, and organizing (and cost!).

Six Months!

Yesterday this little lady turned six months old!

Katherine is half way to one year!

What does Katie-Baby love?

Laughing, peek-a-boo, drooling, chewing on the tags of her blankets, and rolling around on the floor.

What doesn't she love?

Not being able to move as fast has her siblings.

(which is only a matter of time, I'm afraid)

Stu is Two!

Happy second birthday, Stuart!

I can't believe you are already two!

Today was a very special day as you were the center of attention.

Your brothers and sisters love you very much!

The best part?

You took your fingers out of your mouth and started reciting Shakespeare. 

 Breakfast with Mom & friends at McDonald's (who makes the world's best pancakes).

 Presents!

Lot's of Playmobil Roman Solider sets.

Your siblings were jealous.

 Your animal cake.

This was your favorite part of the day!

Everyone singing 'Happy Birthday' and blowing out the candles.

A perfect day for a perfect boy.

I love you!

Random Updates

Here I go again...blog slacking.

So I'll cram so updates in here.

 Brian has been adjusting to his "new/old job".

Martin continues to enjoy serving Mass.

 I did an incredible hike with my friend, Jennifer and her parents.  This pictures shows how out of shape I am as her (almost) 70 year old father wore Katherine on the way down the bluff.

 Helen is in her fourth year of ballet and loving every minute of it.

 Homeschooling Peter is going surprisingly well.  It shouldn't surprise anyone he does well with the scissors, which he views as a weapon.

 His obsession with Legos continues. 

 Helen and I at the top of Miller Bluff.

 Stuart is off to the airport.

 The boys weren't as excited meeting the "real batman" as I thought they would be.

 Zero Cavities.

 Safety first.

 Helen loves her little sister.

Katherine soaking up some Vitamin D.

 She's looking forward to getting out of the States.

Peter and Stuart have been quite the handful.

Helen set up her ow market behind our couch.