{Family Visits, Thanksgiving WA, Baby I, Our Kitties: November 2014}

In November, we had a visit from my Sister Angela, her Husband Grant, and their 6 girls.  We always have a blast visiting with them.  Mark and Grant have known each other since they were babies, so they have a special friendship; and are the reason why Mark and I met each other.

 The kids always enjoy playing with their cousins.

We are loving having more room, for our kids to play; in our new house!

 My big sis Angela and I {I'm 6 months pregnant {in these pictures} with our Baby #6}. {Thanks Ang for taking these pics of me!}

I love when my kiddos play together.  So sweet.

The Kids playing in the snow.  Little man C and Baby H sharing an adorable, sweet kiss.

Here is the Story of how we got our 3 Kittens:  When we were driving up to Washington to spend time with my side of the family for Thanksgiving {we had a great time taking my brother Tom up with us, from BYU}, there were 3 Ginger kittens that were abandoned at my in-laws house in Oregon {we stopped there on the way up from Idaho}.  They are the sweetest kittens ever and are so great with our kids.  The kids loved playing with and petting them.

We thought for sure that these adorable kittens would be gone when we came back from Washington, but when we came back they were still at Mark's parent's house!  Mark's Dad is severely allergic to all animals {but especially cats}, so they were going to have to take them to the animal shelter.

I love Cats, and the kids having been asking for Cats for years, and the kittens were So adorable and So Sweet, that we had to rescue them, and take them home with us to our new house.  

When we arrived up in Washington, we got to see my sister Celestia's adorable new baby girl I.  Our Baby H was so excited to see her, and loved her right away.  She even named her baby doll after her, when we got back home to Idaho.

The Kids were all So Excited to meet their new baby cousin I.  She is a beautiful little baby.

The kids had so much fun playing with their cousins.  I love this picture of Baby H, kissing Grandpa {my Dad}.  So precious and sweet.

Little Miss K loved playing with Cousin A, and Little Man C had so much fun with Cousin C.  Mark holding his new niece Baby I.

The kids enjoyed the Delicious Thanksgiving Food, with Grandpa, Grandma, Aunts, Uncles and many cousins.

 Baby H, liked playing with her Cousin S.  Mark and I enjoyed helping make Thanksgiving Dinner and then eating it together.

We had fun celebrating my brother Tommy's birthday together, with our family.

The Kids had fun having Sleepovers with their Cousins.

The Kids loved meeting new sweet Baby Girl Cousin I, and it made them even more excited to meet their new baby brother in a few months.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving up in Washington with Family.  We had a great November.

{Family Visits, 12th Anniversary, 1st Day of School, Owies: August 2014}

We began the month of August continuing our trip up to Washington and went to see my sister Angela and her daughter {our niece} A in the play "The Sound of Music".  They both did a fabulous job on their parts.  We loved watching them perform.  It was an amazing show.  Angela played one of the lead Nuns {Sister Sophia} and A was Gretel. 

 Our son E received his Bear Badge at his Scout Pack Meeting.  My brother Danny, his wife Jolie and their two kids came to visit us and we had a lovely time with them.  We went blueberry picking with them while we were still up in Washington.  We had two visits to the Emergency Room, to get our daughter K's head super glued and also because our son C had swallowed a penny.  I think we need to put some of our kids in a bubble!  It's so hard to not be able to protect them from everything.  But that's a difficult part about being a parent, I guess.

 Mark and I celebrated our 12th Anniversary in August.  Mark's parents {in Oregon} watched our 5 kids {I was 3 months pregnant with our #6 at the time}.  We went to the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center and saw and learned some amazing things about the history of the Oregon Trail.  It was a lot of fun!

 We tried new restaurants, viewed sites around the area, and had some much needed alone time together.  It is always nice and very important to spend some time alone, away from the kids.  And your relationship and the kids are all the better because of it.

 We also rode the train in Sumpter, Oregon.  It was really fun.  We enjoyed looking at the beautiful views from the historical train's windows.  We had a wonderful time on our anniversary together.  I'm so grateful to have had this incredible man in my life for the last 12 years.  I'm Lucky, I'm in Love with my Best Friend.  Here's to Eternity. 

   Here are our Kiddos playing at Grandpa and Grandma's {in Oregon} and the Park together.  

 Here are our Kids getting the mail with Grandma {Mark's mom} and having fun playing with their cousins in Oregon.

 We had a wonderful time visiting with our Friends and Family, in Oregon together.

 We sure do Love these Kids!

We love going to the Library for Story time.  Before we moved into our house, we lived in an apartment across the street from a library {pictured above} in a smaller town {outside of the bigger town that we now live in}.  My parents came to visit us and helped us pack our apartment up to move into our new house, that we were moving into at the beginning of September.  It was especially helpful with being pregnant with our #6, to have their help.  We loved having them in Idaho to visit us!  It was a joy visiting and spending time with them.

 One of the special things of being married to a teacher, is having them home during the same vacations that the kids get.  School started for the kids and Mark at the end of August this year.  Our son E, started 4th grade, our daughter R began 3rd grade, and our little K, started Kindergarten this year.  Mark also started teaching his 2nd grade class again.  They are all at the same school.  Which is so much fun for us!

{Christmas and New Years Parties; Oregon Visit: Dec 2013}

We drove down through Oregon on our way from Washington to Idaho.  We stopped to visit Mark's side of the family.  The kids had fun staying with Grandpa and Grandma, and visiting with Cousins, and Aunts and Uncles.  Baby H enjoyed pointing to the pictures of our kids with Grandpa and saying their names.  She especially loves to say her own name.  I think it's one of her most favorite words to say.

 We had a Christmas Party with Mark's side of the Family.  I {Elizabeth} am Holding Niece A, while Baby H loved interacting with us; and our Daughter K with Cousin T having fun playing the piano together.

 We celebrated New Years with them also.

Daughter K, Cousin T and Daughter R opening presents together.

We had fun spending time with Family.  We love snuggling with each other.

Mark opening a Christmas Present.  For New Years Eve: We ate yummy treats, snacks and played games together.  Cousin T with Daughter K, enjoying delicious treats together.

Sleeping Sweet C; Liz & Mark Celebrating New Years Eve together

Baby H practicing her walking skills, Son E with Cousin J, and Daughter K's drawing at our Ward's (Idaho) Christmas party.

Daughter R's Drawing, Mark, and Daughters R & K and Baby H enjoying dinner at our Ward (Church) Party in Idaho

 We had a wonderful time at the Christmas party together. :)  There was a delicious dinner and lots of good company.

We loved spending time together.  The kids loved eating the delicious candy canes, and looking at the pretty decorations.