Happy 8th Birthday Joshua!

So hard to believe our first-born turns EIGHT this year!  I do believe that the three weeks between Kayla's birthday in November and Joshua's bday in December are the longest ever . . . Joshua is ALWAYS counting down the days!   It was fun to have everyone over after church and just chill!

Mama's sad try at a Mario cake . . . one of those times that a $20 cake from Dillons would have been well worth it:)  It's about the thought, right????

So many fun gifts . . .this cap gun has gotten MUCH use in the last week:)

And so have the walkie-talkies!  Thanks to the mild temps this week, there have been MANY impromtu "cops and robbers" games this week with the neighbor boys . . . even 

when it's dark after 5:00!  

Kayla and a neighbor girl delighted in "practicing" their songs this week for the school holiday program on the swing set tower -- complete with choreography!  I hope I never forgot these days!

And of course, a little climbing the tree action!

Kayla at her school holiday program this week.  She was VERY VERY VERY 

excited about this event!

Just waiting to see Santa afterwards!

 Could she be any more intent?

Thanksgiving in WI

We had a great week in WI over Thanksgiving break . . . so blessed to have family that we love hanging out with!  Tyler showing Grandpa the finer points of playing the DS . . .

 One last story with Grandma before bed . . .

Uncle Mark and Aunt Ayuna got us some sweet tickets to Discovery World in Milwaukee -- 

super fun day outing.

 It was fun watching the divers in the tanks --

Kayla trying out the "bed of nails" . ..

Yep, she survived!

This was a gerbil wheel thing that used the energy created to somehow pump gallons of water????  (I'm a musician -- not a scientist!)  It was a good little workout!

Joshua on the flight simulator . . .

 As has become tradition, we celebrate J's birthday a little early when we're there for Thanksgiving . . .

 Score -- legos!

 The weather was beautiful so we had some fun, spontaneous, outdoor time!

A modified game of "memory" with Tyler and Grandma!   A great, much-needed week before coming home and diving in head-first to Christmas Light Show stuff at church!

Discovery Center

 Last week, we had a chance to visit the Discovery Center as a family -- the weather was great outside and we had a lot of fun inside . . .Tyler always hits the car first!

Gotta get those lug nuts on nice and tight:)

The nicest thing about having the whole family go????  Not trying to keep a 3,5 and 7 year-old entertained in the wood-working center yourself!  It was great to have Daddy along!

Miss K hard at work . . .

Chef Tyler and his helper, Kayla

 It was the first time we hit the outdoor learning area -- they had a really cool treehouse built around an old, established tree . . . really fun!

They also had a bike bath with different kinds of bikes . . . this one had no pedals -- Tyler didn't know what to thing of a bike without training wheels:)

And this bike was different too . . .

Happy Birthday Kayla!

 Well, our little girl is 6 years old!  Wow!  We partied it up for several days . . . she had her "school" birthday on Friday, she opened her gift from Grandma and Grandpa Nelson on her REAL birthday (Saturday), and we had her "family" birthday today after church!

So exciting to open the gifts . . .:)  A new necklace, a new lunch bag (she asked me THREE times before she went to bed tonight if she could have a "home" lunch tomorrow . .  . wonder why????!)

Sporting the new boots . . . so many nice things from family!

And a bike from Mom and Dad!  This is her first "non garage sale/hand-me-down" bike, so it was a pretty big deal!  It's a bit big for her right now, but she did great riding it this afternoon...so I think when summer rolls around, she'll be good to go!

She had requested a Hello Kitty cake . . .

And the happy spectators . . . Grandma and Tyler . . .

Halloween 2012!

Just gettin' started . . .

Oh yes, the "guts" are the best:)

The finished product!  Actually, there was a commendable amount of group effort
this year -- much more so than in the past where Bryan was the prime carver:)

Our church's Trunk or Treat

Just waiting for the candy . . .

Joshua and Mrs. Myers -- his teacher from school who goes to our church!

Down the slides!

In a princess costume, nonetheless:)

Halloween parade at school today -- Kayla concluded that it's no fun
walking long distances with high heel shoes:)

Mr. Batman himself:)

Enjoying the goodies at school!

Kindergarden fun!

Wrap the mummy -- 2nd grade style!

Tyler didn't get the memo that picture taking was supposed
to be fun . . . this is what the first 20 pics looked like . . .

. . .  and this too . . .

And finally we eeked out a good one!  And yes, Miss Kayla had a change of heart after school and decided to be a chef for the festivities tonight:)  It's ironic because MY mom always talks about how we
would get inspired after school to have  "second" outfit for trick or treating:)

On the move!

Baby Westin (aka Mr. Pirate) joined us -- Carly reminded me tonight that the first time she went trick or treating with us I was pregnant with Tyler . . .wowza:)

Cool Sunset!

By the end of the night, Tyler had ditched his Thomas hat, his Thomas
costume AND the pumpkin container:)