You Better Watch Out...

What a fun week we've had. On Wednesday Cole's class had a show at school. There were several holiday songs and a reading by the kids of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. Cole got a little shy at the last minute, but really did know his lines by heart... On Thursday Hayley enjoyed her class party. It was quite a sugar rush with several cookies and cupcakes for everyone.

On Friday we headed to New Jersey for John's family's Christmas celebration. Hayley ended up being pretty sick all weekend -- but we had a good time nonetheless. It was fun to get to see Gram and Grandad and Aunt Suzanne, Uncle Peter and Cousin Claire.

On Christmas Eve we headed home and had dinner at our house with Grandmom, Grandpa, Uncle Rory, Aunt Rebekah and Cousin Kirk. (Are you keeping count now on the number of people we've exposed to Hayley's germs? But, wait there's more!) Christmas morning we headed to Grandmom's house and then back again for dinner after Hayley's nap. Uncle Doug, Aunt Laura, and Cousins Erin, Alyson and Adrienne came too. It was great to catch up with everyone.

So, by now you can see that Hayley's germs will soon be arriving at your doorstep. We hope you had a wonderful holiday and are well -- in spite of what we've done. :)


Cole and Adam celebrating a job well done after their school performance!

Hayley overdosing on sugar at her class party.

Watching a Year without a Santa Claus at our first Christmas Eve celebration.

Christmas Eve morning and Hayley's all dolled up!

Christmas Eve with cousin Kirk.

Grandpa reads Twas the Night Before Christmas to the gang.

Cole is having a hard time waiting for Hayley to wake up to open presents.

Are you nuts?

Happy Trails from Hayley! See you next week!

The Christmas Countdown in Full Swing!

Not very interesting pictures this week. John was away most of the week in Arizona and we took the opportunity to finish up all the holiday preparation odds and ends. Call it Preparation C...by next week we'll need the Preparation H.

We baked Christmas cookies for our friends on Wednesday and got them all delivered. We managed, after several nights of staying up until midnight, we managed to finish our Christmas cards (I've now watched more Jimmy Kimmel Live than I'd care to admit...). And, we saw Santa at the mall with our friends Miss Marcy and Lily. (Sorry Mom had to be in the picture so it will not appear here...) Hayley did okay with Santa -- but REALLY wanted Mom nearby. Cole did fine with Santa for the first time...and even managed to get in his request for a General Grievous action figure for Christmas. Thankfully I suspect Santa will be able to accomodate that request.

Hope you all have a safe and happy Christmas holiday. We'll have the full report next week!


After a long day of waiting, Hayley and Cole finally get to lick the spoons when we're all done baking our Christmas cookies.

Cole is working hard to wrap his gifts for his family. This one is Scooby Snacks for Sammy...shhh! don't tell him!

Having fun watching TV and playing on a Saturday night.

More fun...

Even MORE fun!

Are we having fun yet?

Can't wait for Christmas! See you next week!

Look out for the 2026 Olympic Gold Medal Bobsledder

Hayley loves to sled! Her preference is on her belly head first. (Should we be putting a helmet on her?) We've spent alot of time since Friday walking up and down the little hill in the front yard. We already knew she was our daredevil child -- now we can add a love of sledding to the list!

Not too much else to tell this week except the two little snowfalls and a fun visit from our friends Lily, Marcy and Stuart on Saturday. We did the Symphony of Lights on Friday night and walked by Santa at the mall today. We're hoping for an actual encounter this week. First time in 4 years.... Until next Sunday!


Hayley insists on feeding herself her yogurt now. Anyone up for a big kiss?

Headed out to take advantage of a little snow!

This looks worse than it is. It's actually Hayley throwing a tantrum because Cole took 2 turns on the sled in a row.

She's not too happy sharing a ride either.

Waiting patiently...again...

Now this is more like it! Hayley loves to sled!

Cole doing the "Hot Chocolate" dance from Polar Express while waiting for his hot chocolate to cool.

Trimming the "not so trim" tree...

Confucious say..."Tree in open field look much smaller than tree at Home Depot." Boy, that Confucious really was wise. We ended up with quite a tree this year. It is in need of stomach bypass surgery. The pictures really don't do it justice.

This weekend we had fun cutting our own tree, decorating, and thoroughly enjoying the start of the season. We're even supposed to get a little snow tomorrow, so we'll be all ready!

Enjoy the pictures...


Good morning! Taking my sippy cup for a stroll...

2004...

2005 -- Still layin' around watching Sesame Street!

Jabba the Tree...

Hanging the stockings by the chimney with care...

A little out of order, but we just couldn't wait to put the star on.

A job well done. The tree is trimmed and they plan to sit here until Santa arrives. Or, at least another 3.7 seconds. See you next week!

Gobble Gobble...

Hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving. We sure did. We spent a couple days with John's family and Cole and Hayley enjoyed catching up with their cousin Claire.

Today was Cole's birthday -- 5 years old now! He celebrated by seeing the new Harry Potter movie and having ice cream cake. Yum. Now he's already looking forward to his sixth birthday.

Hope you have a good week!

Hayley and Baby watching the Teletubbies on TV...

Hayley is quite taken with her older cousin Claire.

Working off some turkey...the kids racing laps around the basement on Thanksgiving.

Even Hayley and Baby joined in.

Isn't this a happy crew?

Happy birthday Cole. He's excited to add a green lightsaber to his collection.

Showing off the red and green sabers. Hayley is using the blue one no doubt...

Here's Hayley's newest idea of fun. Running off to climb the stairs when we're not looking. See you next week!

A day to remember!!!

Well...the party was a hit. Cole will likely remember this one for a long time...at least we hope! He had a great time with all his buddies. You'll see that each Jedi Padawan was ushered in and issued a Jedi Collection Pak (courtesy of Grandmom's sewing skills) for them to collect their prizes. Then, they each had their picture taken with Yoda.

The party included finding gold for Han Solo to help him repay Jabba the Hut, pin the lightsaber on Darth Vader, beanbag blasting of Darth Maul, rescue Princess Leia balloon pop, battle the Death Star (pinata), make your own lightsaber, etc. The party was capped off with Clone Trooper cakes and a battle in the backyard.

Hayley was sick much of the week, but seems better now. Unfortunately, she's passed it on to Cole -- but at least it held off until after the party! We're looking forward to turkey day at John's family's home. Cole hasn't seen cousin Claire since July, so they'll have fun catching up.

Have a great Thanksgiving!


Cole posing with Yoda before the party.

Is this guy desperate or what?

Clone trooper cupcakes!

Getting instructions before battling Darth Maul.

After fighting tooth and nail (a.k.a. using their teeth to pop balloons...yuck) to blast through the evil planets to find Princess Leia, the boys are anxious for the Death Star pinata...

Fighting the Death Star...

Making their lightsabers with some help from Miss Pam.

Happy Birthday to Cole!

The party ends with a backyard battle of good versus evil!

Your Hayley fix...Don't stand between a girl and her tomatoes. See you next week! Happy Turkey Day! Gobble Gobble...