Happy New Year!

Of course, I'm late. :) Boy has two months just flown by! It seems like there wasn't enough time for Christmas this year.

Thanksgiving was nice. Just a quiet dinner at Mom's house with Mom, Dad, Kirsten, Billy, and Grandma.

We also went to the Shedd Aquarium to show Ian some really cool fish.

Unfortuately, we had minor tragedies in November as well. Slicky and Treebon, Ian's platys, died. We are unsure of the cause, but suspect the water quality was just not good enough for them. Slim, Bob, and Leopard are the fish we have left. Say some prayers for them! We hope to have the water situation figured out soon.

December was nuts with too much snow and way too much work! It seemed we were always working overtime and weekends that month. Maybe that's why Christmas snuck up on us! Christmas was very relaxed this year. We had Christmas morning at our house and later went to Mom's for the Johnson get together.

January so far is way to snowy and cold for my taste. It seems like I am shoveling every afternoon. And the weatherman says tomorrow will have a high of 1 degrees F and wind chills of -25 to 35 degrees F. BRRRRR. The prediction is that schools will be closed so kids don't have to wait for buses in sub zero weather. Ryan has decided to stay home since he has a dentist appointment anyway. I can only remember school being cancelled for cold once in my lifetime and that was at MTU. The actual temps were between -10 and -20 degrees C and the professor's cars couldn't start. Of course, Ryan and I found out school was cancelled after we had walked to class. Ryan's contact lenses fogged up. I thought my nose would never thaw! Boy, kids today are spoiled. Tee Hee - I sound really old now!

Now for the pictures:

Before the chaos



Chaos is starting



This year's loot :)



Ryan got a drill from Ian and I. Believe it or not, he loved it. I just don't think he likes his picture taken so early in the morning. :)



My favorite present came from Ian and Ryan. Squee!!! I got the Beedle the Bard Collector's Edition. Sooo nice!



Ian played "Santa" at Mom and Dad's



This was the year of the dollies for Paige and Sophia. Here is Paige with her dolly



Sophia with her dolly



Grandpa with Paige and Sophia

Ian's fish

Here are two pictures of Ian's tank and his fish. He has five of them: Slicky, Treebon, Leopard, Slim, and Bob.

Ian's 7th Birthday

Ian's 7th Birthday party was this last Sunday. He had a fish themed birthday since that was our present to him - 5 fish and a tank. He has been really into fish lately. We have a Wii game called Endless Ocean where the purpose of the game is to interact with fish in the ocean and learn their names and habits. He loves this game and now we know more about fish than ever before. Anyway, that is why the fish theme and the fish present. Here are a few pictures from the party.





Grandma and Cousin Paige



Cousins Sophia and Paige helping Ian unwrap and clean up

Halloween ...... BOO!

Trick or Treating was actually this past Sunday from 3-6 pm. That has to be one of the most annoying things living here. Trick or Treating should be on Halloween at night. Who cares if it is a school night or it might be unsafe. That's what flashlights, glowsticks, and parent chaperones are for! Oh well. We still try to make it fun even if the kids can't see the cool jack 'o lanterns lit up. Ian and I paint pumpkins every year too - at least that can be appreciated in the daytime.

Cousin Jennifer's Wedding

This past weekend we went to Southern Illinois to my cousin Jennifer's wedding. It was warm for October, mid 80's. The reception was in a winery on a beautiful ridge with fall color all around. It was great seeing the Hilligoss family.



Grandma Hilligoss and Jennifer



The Wedding Party

It's been awhile coming....

... but I am back to writing on the blog! Sorry it has taken so long. There have been many distractions (camping, school, Wii, etc) but what it comes down to is that life has got in the way. :) So I downloaded all of the pictures on my camera and am going to post a few from the past few months.

Camping at the end of August

We went camping right before school started and it was cooler weather than normal. Great for camping, not so great for swimming, which is Ian's favorite thing to do whenever we get near a body of water or pool. Next year maybe we will go in the beginning of August or late July instead.





Brrr ....



Trying to warm up after swimming.

Prairie Family Days

Ian and I are reading Charlotte's Web so when I heard we were going to have a carnival at Prairie Family Days we were excited. We went early to ride the rides and play the games prior to fireworks. Sadly Pleasant Prairie had nothing like the carnival in Charlotte's Web. There were inflatable slides and mazes but Ian didn't want to go on them. The games were the saddest of the bunch. Old games in rubbermaid tubs that cost a ticket to play. Sadly, Ian played all of them and then asked me where the real games were. We really need to find a real carnival somewhere.

We were done with everything so early that we had to wait 2 and 1/2 hours for fireworks. That tried everyone's patience. The fireworks were good and set to Disney music (always a plus for us). But after all that waiting it didn't seem worth it.