Surprise Visit

Grandma Wilson called Saturday night and said

they would like to ride out and see us on on Sunday!

What a nice surprise.  We love when they come.

They made it in time for church and had Sunday

dinner with us afterwards.  The kids played

the piano for them and we had a really nice visit!

Christmas Piano Recital

Imagine 6 little hands working together on one keyboard . . .
it's all about counting and patience!


The kids have been working really hard on a trio for weeks. They finally were ready to perform it at the recital on Saturday. I took a video before we went because the I wasn't sure how lighting, angle or their nerves would be. They did excellent. Enjoy their performance!

"Angles We Have Heard on High"

They also performed solos. Each did a great job.
Madi performed "Away in a Manger"
Gabe performed "Little Drummer Boy"
Connor performed "The Night Before Christmas Song"
Camrie was a very good audience member :)

Wrapping up the Inside . . .

This is several different angles of our new master bedroom . . .

Carpet has been laid and doors have been in put in place. 

Plumber and electrician came any finished what they could

and HVAC also was completed!

Walk in closet.   Sorry it is kind of tricky getting a feel.

Imagine a mirror image on the other side.  My side - Kyle's side.

Pretty basic bathroom - all the essentials.

We opted for one sink and more cabinets

because I always brushed my teeth in

Kyle's sink anyway.  Our shower door

won't come for another week or so.

This is a view of the new bonus room.  I love the

big windows that face west.  They let in a lot of light.

I also love the south facing doors.  I don't have any

windows that have ever faced that direction so I'm

really enjoying the different view from our home.

The kids are having a ball just running circles -

It's something about new territory to discover.

We got the air hocky table a year or two ago, at

RCWilley's as an add on to another purchase.

Now we have someplace to put it.

The finished family room finally cleaned back up!  Ya!

The exterior is coming along also.  The brickers will finish up today.

And I suspect the stucco(ers) will be shortly behind them.  Siding,

facia and raingutter will be finished after that, as will exterior lighting.

As for now, we will really enjoy the extra room on the inside and

worry about the landscaping in the spring.

Dancer #2

Camrie is also a mover!

...and Tuesday was Camrie's turn to show what she was learning in dance...

For Camrie, weekly dance class is really more of a

social experience.  I do believe it is making her more coordinated, but she

really just enjoys being there and having a reason to move and giggle.

Dancer #1

This is my little ballerina. 

She is quite graceful and really enjoys being in the class with her friends!

Monday's class was a parent preview.  We were invited to come and

see what they had learned.  She is learning different positions and

what they mean.She is also learning to choreagraph her own dances. 

She and her friend Abbie, composed a cute little

dance that they performed for the audience.

Wilson Christmas Party

I LOVE traditions . . . and that's why I love Christmas. For me it's all about traditions. It defines who I am and what I enjoy.

We had a great time at the Wilson Christmas Party last weekend. Everyone brought yummy fingerfoods and we enjoyed each others company. My sister from Afton brought the bells and the kids really enjoyed making music. We tried a new tradition this year. Instead of the brothers and sisters exchanging gifts, we all chose some sort of service to render to someone else during the Christmas Season. We each took a turn sharing how our family was fulfilling this committment. It was very special to hear how each family chose to act on this challenge. I love anything that brings the focus back to why we celebrate Christmas.

Camrie's Kindergarten Program

Paint & Tile

Don't ask me why I can't seem to get pictures of applicable people and important events, but again all you are going to see is the finished results.  The addition is coming along nicely.  My dear Mom & Dad came out last week and painted for us.  The results are beautiful.  They even spent the night and trimmed out the doors and window sills the next morning.  And as if that wasn't enough, he repainted some doors and walls that were desperately calling for attention.  I am so dang lucky to have such nice parents.  Thanks Mom & Dad, We Love You!

New paint smells so good! 

Kyle helped our neighbor lay some tile in the bathroom

 and back door area.  It turned out beautiful. 

I hope everthing ties together when it is all said and done!

Beauty is . . .

The theme for PTA reflections this year was "Beauty is . . ."  This theme lent itself well to a whole gaggle of ideas.  Madison loves anything artistic and creative so she had an abundance of ideas.  She entered three different projects.  All were very "beautiful" and two will go on to region.  She wrote words to a song about saying no to drugs.  We collected fall leaves on the way home from Grandma Wilson's a few weekends ago.  She pressed them in a phone book and then created a layered leaf picture and finally she drew a picture of Thanksgiving dinner . . . oh I mean a beautiful Turkey.  She really enjoys expressing herself artistically and she is very good at it!

Way to go Madi and Bekka!

Thanksgiving 2009

Well, somehow Thanksgiving came and went and I didn't take nearly enought pictures.  We spent the first couple of days in Morgan at my parents home.  There was a huge crowd there, tons of food, and lots of laughs.  We had a great time.  Thanksgiving has to be one of my favorite holidays.  The second half of the weekend was spent at Grandma & Grandpa Snow's home and they weren't even around to enjoy it!

We all played games and watched movies and ate MORE food!

Claire did a little reading . . .

Did a little socializing . . .

These girls need to practice smiling at a camera more . . .

It was a wonderful holiday!

Drywall!

This is what the inside of our home is looking like lately . . .

This is our new bedroom . . . bathroom and walk-in closet

This is the bonus room . . .

 I love the big west windows and the south facing door.

We're hoping to have the drywall finished this weekend. 

Clate said he would be ready for paint and tile this week. 

Hopefully carpet will follow fairly quickly because I don't really have

much motivation to pull out more stuff  like Christmas decorations

until a few things get put away!

More on the addition . . .

Since the last time I posted pictures a week or so ago a lot has been done!   Windows and shingles were installed.  Plumbing and Electrical were roughed in.  I think we are ready for an inspection.  I do know that it can't be insulated until it is inspected.  Hopefully soon...

Molly really doesn't like the doors . . .

she really preferred coming and going when she wanted. 

So sorry puppy!

It's kind of hard to imagine . . . but this

is the master bedroom, bathroom, & closet.

This is the view out my window with the new window seat.

The other morning after all the kids had left for school, I could

hear something upstairs . . . sounded like

bang, bang, bang against the window.

At first I though maybe it was a worker, but when I looked out the front window there was no vehicles so I proceeded to tip toe up the stairs.  I thought about calling Kyle . . . but I wasn't sure what to tell him.  When I got up to my room there was a bird knocking himself silly against the glass.  It was a fairly large bird.  I'm not quite sure how he shimmied through the little gap under the eaves, but he seemed regretful immediately.  I had the presence of mind to shut my bedroom door (but not grab my camera) before I proceeded to open the window and shoo him out.  It didn't take long for him to figure out my intentions.  He flew the coop quickly.

We have had several other little blue birds run into the glass down stairs.  It's a race between us and the dog to rescue the bird.  We've had to pry Molly's mouth open twice to get the bird free.  She doesn't hurt them, just runs aways with them.  Kind of a game of keep away.  Naughty dog.

Webelos

Gabe is working on his Artsman Webelos Pin this month.

He had to create 3-D art out of craft supplies.  Once

he got the creative juices flowing he came up with some

really cool designs.  It is a snowball fight

between stick figures.

Connor & Madi also got to create a master piece

toward the end of the meeting.

Pretty creative kids.

Windows and Roof

As you can tell, there has been more progress on

the remodel.  They finished tying in the roof lines

today and layed tar paper down.

It is amazing how a builder can tie in a project so it doesn't

even look like an afterthought . . . good thing, huh!

Clate is having a hard time getting K&K to deliver him

a dumpster.  He hoped tomorrow might be the day!

Can you get a feel for how it is going to look?  Jones' has got

some different grids to match the rest of the house ordered.

If molly is out her kennel, this is about as far as

Camrie is willing to poke her nose out!

Molly is in her kennel most of the day while the workers are here.

So when we let her out she is crazy.  Running, jumping,

rolling in the grass and chewing on anything she can find!