Looking cute in the cold

We have had a week of COLD temperatures. The weather can never seem to make it out of the teens. 

These 2 can still manage to look cute though! 

Elizabeth's New Trick-Headstands

I'm sure Elizabeth will want me to delete this photo in a few years, but I thought Auntie Laura might like to see it. 

Elizabeth stands on her head as often as she can. We joke that she does it all day long. She can stay upright without falling for a good minute now. Then, she just regains her balance and goes up again! 

First Snow of the Year

We had a skiff of snow last night so Nathan felt he needed to get shoveling! 

Can you tell it's before 8 in the morning? Elizabeth is still in her jammies and is not naked yet. 

                                                           It was SO COLD.

Elizabeth decided later to eat snow. 

Nathan did not think one hat was enough on this day! 

Playing at Archie and Iver's

The morning after Thanksgiving, we went to play at Archie and Iver's. It had been a rough night at the hotel. Elizabeth decided it would be a good idea to be up from 11-2. 

Archie and Iver showed us their chickens. 

Elizabeth was having an interesting hair day. 

Archie and Nathan in the tree house. 

Nathan and Elizabeth in the tree house. 

Everyone played football. There was a lot of tackling and crashing into the couch. Archie even picked Elizabeth for his team! 

Elizabeth and Iver. 

Elizabeth was a big fan of the huge stuffed bear. 

I tried to take a picture of all 4 kids. Iver disappeared behind the couch and Archie wasn't too thrilled either. But Elizabeth and Nathan are used to my picture requests so they complied! 

Pool Time at the Hotel

We purposefully booked a hotel in Mt. Vernon with a pool so the kids could swim. All through Thanksgiving dinner, all Elizabeth could talk about was getting to the pool! 

Carolyn brought up Archie and Iver to swim. Plus, Grandma Helen and Grandma Pam came to watch. Thanks for taking the pictures Grandma Pam! 

Elizabeth loves her floatie and jumping in the deep end. Here she is in the hot tub with me. I did not leave the hot tub. The big pool was freezing! 

Jeremy and Carolyn were brave enough for the big pool. Nathan loves this picture because he thinks the water looks neat. 

Swimming around with Archie. 

Eventually everyone ended up in the hot tub! 

Our Second Thanksgiving

On Thanksgiving day, we left Royal and headed over the pass to Arlington. Thankfully, the weather was fantastic! No snow!

We stopped for a light picnic lunch at Indian John rest area. 

Elizabeth found a cubby hole to hide in. 

We had fun visiting all the family! Grandma Pam brought a a kit to make Christmas ornaments. Elizabeth chose a pink Christmas ornament. 

Uncle John's yard had some large stumps to climb. 

This particular stumps had antlers on top. The kids were careful not to mess with the antlers. 

She said, "I'm queen of the world!!" 

Then she climbed this stump and didn't know what to say. If she was queen of the last stump, what was she to see about this bigger one? 

Nathan was a tiger in the jungle he said. 

We tried to take a few family photos but there are often people missing. 

Nathan making his ornament with Grandma. 

The completed ornaments! 

A family photo. 

Our First Thanksgiving

We spent our first Thanksgiving in Royal. 

Playing with Pippa is always a huge hit. 

Trying to entice her with sticks. However, she really wanted to go back inside to sit next to Laura. What kind of dog doesn't want to play fetch? 

When Nathan was off in the tractor with Papa, Elizabeth rode around on an ancient trike. 

Then Elizabeth got her turn to ride!

Hugs with Pippa. 

Olive dancing

Eating some Thanksgiving dinner. 

More Thanksgiving dinner. 

Pippa REALLY wishes that plate of turkey was a little closer to the edge of the table.