Fall Hike #2

I organized a 'hiking group' this fall consisting of a few families and LOTS of little kids. Here is a picture of Jeffrey right after he threw up on our first hike. The poor thing was sooooooooo excited to go hiking with friends and he ended up with a stomach virus that morning.
I love this picture of Malia on the trail!

Brooklynn reached the top of the summit!

Great views of the valley!

Having a break before the descent. Granola bars are always a welcome snack.

I'm sure when the weather warms up in the spring we'll start hiking again with our friends!

Glimpses from when we first moved here

I found these on a camera card I haven't used for a year... Jeffrey helping with the watering
The trampoline under the willow tree

Finding a bird's nest

The Game of Life

Our snowcovered view this morning. Brrr. Today's high will be 36! Here is the park behind our house. Over the summer when everything was green, we would ride bikes down an enormous hill. So fun! I was really looking forward to going tubing down it. Last week that little bulldozer in the bottom right of the picture demolished it :(. No explanation from the city at the city council meeting.

So, with all the cold, the kids broke out the game of "Life" this morning. I have a feeling we'll be playing a few rounds today between schoolwork.

Pinewood Derby 2010

The car "Team Jeffrey" built
All the boys in the troop were so excited about this big day! Hours and hours worth of effort was put into building the cars.
Watching the end result

Even though Jeffrey won second place, his car was the fastest 3 out of 4 time in the final round. Great job 'Team Jeffrey'!!!

Family Picture Practice

Tonight I had Malia practice her smile for family pictures this Saturday.

Hmmmmmm. I'm thinking a candid picture might turn out better than a posed one.

A Few Fall Favorite Pics

Such a sweet picture of the girls!
When Cousin Rachel came to visit her sister, they invited me join the fun for an afternoon! We chatted and quilted. Okay, so they quilted. They were quilting together fabric from our grandma and their mom's collections. So cute! They finished the quilt off with a red velvet heart that my grandmother had cut out years ago. I think they could have finished the quilt faster if I wasn't there. I did quit a bit of unpicking. Thanks for letting my clumsy fingers help anyways!

Fall Hikes #1

I took the kids on a hike up the mountains a few months ago. My book said it was a 1/2 mile hike and there was water at our destination. Now that's my kind of hike! Reality: a hiking backpack loaded with a 2 year old makes any hike feel longer...a lot longer. At one point I thought we had taken the wrong trail. We finally made it!

Jeffrey helping with directions. He earned his hiking beltloop for cubscouting this summer.

Taking a break on the bridge.

Stopping at a meadow

Staying on the trail

Climbing on rocks

Crossing the stream

Discovering

Being her cute self

Missing!!

A few months ago we were having a great afternoon, all involved in our own things. I was reading a book and realized that I hadn't seen Malia for a while. I called her name, but she didn't answer. We checked all of the rooms. No Malia! I started to panic and checked the doors, they were all locked. Hmmmmmmmm. More panic. "Malia, Malia." Still no answer. I quickly ran through the house searching room by room, closet by closet. We found her...
...in the shoe closet. She told me later that she was hiding to eat some candy she found!

Jeffrey

Jeffrey earned his Bobcat award for cubscouting. (I know, it was a few months ago and I'm behind.) He's also earned several beltloops and patches. The next award, his Wolf, it taking longer. Hopefully we'll, I mean he'll, have it done by the end of January.

He was also knighted, Sir Jeffrey Knight of Inventiveness, a few weeks ago at his Knights of Freedom bookclub. He is really enjoying the friendship with this group of boys!