Whahhhh - Last riding lesson

A very sad day ... Acacia has decided to take up indoor winter soccer and it falls on the same day as riding lessons. She thought long and hard and ended up selecting soccer for the winter. I am hopeful she will return to riding in the spring! We will miss you Sharon! You've done wonders for Acacia! Can't wait to hear about Star's baby!!

Thanksgivng with the Valentine's '08

Thanksgiving at the Valentine's! How lucky we are to have friends that will include us all around their table! Especially when they already have 15 there to start with!! Thanks sooo much guys!!

A little shampoo ...

A few lessons to be learned about the new Jacuzzi Hot Tub. One - a tiny bit of shampoo - goes a LONG way. Two - you are not supposed to put shampoo and soap in the Jacuzzi. The filter system does not like it ....

The Move? Are you serious? This is it?

Emme and Nono finally arrived ... but the camera disappeared in the move. It was found for this lone shot ... But, at least it's a good one!

Last Day in Lyman

Last day in the old house ....

Chatting with Emme

Just chatting with Emme ... wondering how many more days until they get here!

Trick or Treat! '08

Trick or Treat! Acacia saw this costume and just had to have it. Don't ask ... no one really knows what she is supposed to be, but she has a snugly dress ... coat ... whatever.
For those of you wondering - Chris is a Blue Fury Power Ranger. Not to be confused with the Blue Sea Power Ranger, or the Blue Mountain Power Ranger, or the Blue .... - you get the idea ...
If I did know any better, I would say he knew what he was doing ....

Acacia's Last Fall Soccer Game '08

Acacia's team ended on a great note. Well, great in the sense that they were short players and still pulled off the win! It was a great way to end the fall season. Acacia has decided to give indoor soccer a try this winter. First game (no practices) Dec 6th!!

Chris' last soccer game of the fall

Chris' last soccer game of the fall. His team was ... OK. I was not thrilled with the coach. In fact, I could almost say I could have done better then she did. But, whatever. Chris had fun. Here is his team. There are some definite size variations on this team!!






This photo looks as if Chris just slugged that guy but the truth is the just nailed the ball.

Getting Ready for Trick or Treat at School

Today the kids were to dress up as a favorite book character. They were supposed to bring the book in and explain what they like about the character they picked. Acacia dressed herself as the Ruby Red Fairy and Chris went as Dash from the Incredibles. All the kids at school looked GREAT!

Locks of Love

As you all know, Acacia has loved her hair VERY long. Any suggestion we've made to get it cut has been received with a turned up nose. But, when I informed her of the locks of love program she seemed more willing. After a couple weeks of talking about it, we did it. It was actually a pretty intense situation. She was all ready to have it cut. The lady had it all pinned back and in rubber bands and asked her one last time if she was ready. With a very stern face, she shook her head - yes, and in one very large snip - 12 inches was removed from her head. Her face remained very solid - no smile, no frown, no expression at all. She would not respond to anyone. It was as if she were in shock. Once the stylist was done and she was able to come over and sit with me she fell apart. Crying. Very sad. Everyone is the salon went on and on about what a great thing she just did and how cute her hair looked. We were also just across the parking lot from a Target. So, with the assurance of getting new headbands - she dried her tears and we were off. It really only took her about 30 minutes to warm up to her new hair and now she loves it. Here are a few photos of the short haired Acacia.

Little more soccer '08

Here are some more photos of Chris playing soccer. As you can see, he is more of a ham then a player. His coach is not the greatest. Three of the 5 girls on the team are more there as lawn ornaments and a couple of the guys are just a bit uncoordinated. Chris is totally out of focus and does not listen when the coach talks to him. But, a good time seems to be had by all.

Picking Pumpkins '08

We have only got to go to one pumpkin patch this year since we've been so busy with selling our house and find a new one but we had a great day and the weather was perfect!


Click the link to see a slide show of Picking Pumpkins.

Slide show of Picking Pumpkins '08

Dad and Chris can ride!

Acacia's riding instructor had a family picnic last week end and everyone got to ride! Chris rode the pony that Acacia usually rides. He did pretty well after he realized that he actually needs to tell her where to go. Otherwise, she'll walk up to the fence and stop. They both did some trotting too! Acacia and I got to ride out in the wilderness, you know, since we are so skilled at riding!!


We also got to check out Sharon's youngest! In the photos here she was only about 3 days old!

New Blanket From Emme

Well, this blanket has been in the works for about a year I think now! Seems Emme had a few distractions here and there this past year. But, she still managed to create a master piece! Acacia was just beside herself trying to figure out how Emme got it here. It arrived in the mail and I placed it on her bed still wrapped. When Acacia got home from soccer that night she went up and found it there. She is convinced that Emme had Santa bring it - you know, since Emme and Nono were at the North Pole last year and now have an in with Santa! Makes sense to me! We are going with that!

OK - I used a different software to edit the movie. This seems to be working but you might have to let it play once through to fully load. It seems like it's skipping a little. But, the second time you view it it seems to work fine.