Holidays in Bismarck (12-13)

We got to open presents and spend the day at Grandpa Curt and Grandma Marilyn's house, even though they were gone on their Great Loop trip. Mike, Andy, and Kiren were there, so the kids got to hang out and make some memories!

The Smith house was quiet compared to the Redding house - everybody was back for the holidays, which meant 9 grandkids and 19 total people in the house. It was crazy and chaotic and wonderful!

The families took turns being in charge of dinner, and there was lots of movie watching, game playing, and cribbage. We also all went sledding together in Spencer and Tara's backyard. We tried to caravan to Grandma Peggy's house, but the weather was bad: very low temps and terrible visibility, so we had to turn back. The little kids had fun taking baths together, and the bigger ones had fun sharing toys, reading, and playing dress up.

 

Do you want to build a snowman? Not only did we build a snowman, but a group also went to see Frozen in the theater. The songs from that movie were definitely the soundtrack to the holiday vacation, thanks to Malaya and Indra!

Rowan's First Haircut (12-13)

I finally convinced Chris we needed to trim Rowan's bangs and cut off her mullet just before we left for Bismarck for the holidays. We put her in the tub and I cut frantically while Chris did double duty taking pictures and using his phone to distract Rowan with videos.

 Rowan was a little impatient, but overall it was fairly painless. We kept a little blonde curl for the baby book, and gave Rowan a bath. Her haircut was a little crooked but looked very cute!

Thanksgiving (11-13)

This year for Thanksgiving, Chris and I split up: I took Cook and Ama to Bismarck to spend the break with their dad, and he hosted the Smith family in Minneapolis. Everyone came and stayed here except Andy and Kiren (Andy had a last-minute work conflict so he couldn't come). So Rowan got to be the only kid and get all the attention for Thanksgiving~!

Epic Fort Building (11-13)

One weekend when the kids were all complaining about how bored they were, I handed them a pile of sheets and told them to make the coolest fort they could possibly build. They spent hours working on it, and then hung out inside of it for the rest of the day! 

Halloween 2013 (10-13)

This year we celebrated Day of the Dead with sugar skulls and chocolate skulls (milk and white w/coconut). We also made our first ofrenda, and it was very lovely. Next year will be even better when I am more prepared.

We carved pumpkins that we grew in our garden. Carvers were (from L to R): me, me & Ama, Ama, Cook.

Cook was in charge of making the graveyard, which we decided to put right in front of the lilac this year so it would be easier to see - it turned out amazing, and he added lots of creative flourishes like a skull with a sword sticking out of its mouth. It also had a ring of lights around it so it glowed at night - we got lots of compliments on it. Nice work, Cook!

Cook used this new awesome cloak that we got at the thrift store and accessorized it to be a vampire hunter.

Ama picked out matching blue butterfly costumes for her and Rowan - they looked so great together and we got lots of AWWWW's when we trick-or-treated. Rowan was a champ. She didn't really trick-or-treat, but she did make it all the way around the block with Ama, and she yelled, "Ween!" to everyone we saw.

Ama Reading to Rowan (10-13)

Rowan likes to "visit" Ama while she is reading at night, which basically means that she snuggles next to her and plays with whatever toys or babies are in Ama's bed while Ama reads. Sometimes Ama reads out loud to her. It is very difficult for Rowan to focus on her own bedtime routine when the Ama temptation is right around the corner, and we've learned that it's usually just easier for everyone involved if we let her sit in her bed for awhile.

Cook 13U Sibley Soccer (9-13)

Cook played soccer for Sibley again in the 13U age group this year, and he had an awesome team with great coaches - it was a rough season, with 100-degree weather, 30-degree weather, rain, all kinds of crappy weather, but he really honed his skills this year and is turning into a strong soccer player. Spencer would be proud!

Gma and Gpa came to a few games, and they had so much fun it got everybody fired up! Ama was in soccer, too, and she did a great job powering through a difficult new challenge. In the end, I think she sort of liked it. Unfortunately, we forgot to take pictures of her at games. Maybe next year?!

Rowan's Interesting Head Fashions (9-13)

The other day Rowan put a whole sheet of stickers on her head. She has always liked to put things like scarves, other people's clothing (especially underwear), and dish towels on her head, and "hat" was one of her first words, so it's no surprise that her flair for fashion focuses mostly on her head. Maybe someday she will be a hat designer.

G & G Visit (9-13)

Grandpa Steve and Grandma Mary came and stayed with us for a while in September. The weather was still really nice, so we tried to get out and do stuff with them. We went to an apple orchard one day when the kids didn't have school, but Ama had a fever and felt really crappy so we didn't stay long.

The apple orchard farm had a river running through the middle of it and kind of a park where we sat while we ate apple treats: apple donuts, apple turnovers, apple juice, and apple slushies. We took a hayride tour through the orchard, and got to listen to live music while we waited in line (the line took a long time, because one of the tractors got a flat tire!!)