holed up

Life has been a blur lately. rush - rush - rush. This weekend was different. We got a snow storm and below zero temps that would keep any high energy canine and small child inside (or at least outside for a short time). It was good to be able to say that it was not safe to go outside of our house or in a car and just be a family together in our home. Murf might have something different to say but then again nobody can here him anyway. The kids had fun getting christmas projects done and destroying every inch of our home. Nothing that I am aware of was broken but Gabe did take a dry erase marker to the wall while I was in the shower and Frannie was watching him in the play room...We survived otherwise.
Halloween was really fun for the kids and again I only took them to my work building to trick or treat. It is a lot for them to get drug around and put through the paces with the other kids. I have to keep telling myself that Frannie is only 4, not 8, and that she is still sensitive like a little kid to craziness. Gabe really had a great time and got right into the action so he'll be ready to head out with her next year. As long as he has his sister he can do anything.
Other than that, we are trying to find a bigger home with quiet surroundings and are getting things ready to move. More updates next post!

Mummies work is scary!!

Fairgrounds duck pond

crabapple tree in the snow with frannie buried in the background trying to walk around the yard

Hi-ho, Hi-ho

Hot Springs and Falling Leaves

Things around here are starting to slowly slow down (slowly being the key word). Lou is home a little more predictably now and we are starting to feel like a family again. We are taking time to enjoy local hotsprings, do a little work around the house and getting ready for winter, snuggling up and reading books and making time for craft projects and canning. Fall is here!! Fall does mean soccer for frannie so we have had fun taking her to practices and games and watching her feel proud of herself for helping her team and scoring goals. she had a great soccer season. Whats next? No plans that we know of until we decide to stop house hunting or buy a new one. Everything is up in the air for a short while but that is okay-we can deal with anything.

The kids are doing great! Gabe is dancing, talking more, being destructive and learning how to feed himself. He has another ear infection so we are taking him to Missoula to get his ears looked at to see if we need to have tubes put in. Maybe if he gets them he will sleep at night, maybe....

Frannie has been the best 4 1/2 year old ever (so much better than 4) and her language and motor skills are exploding (yes that is possible with her) and she seems to have turned into dr. doolittle. she has been trying to keep ants as pets and has been even naming them and feeding them. mostly she calls her ants Eli. She is doing great with her chickens and wishes she had more. She wants to make her dog cookies and sell them at the farmers market (she loves the farmers market). I have to remind myself that she is only 4 a lot of the time.



Me with my team receiving an award from the Governor-can you find me?



Gabe likes horses too!

...and books

First dip in Boulder HOt Springs

Remember when she was a little thing doing this?

Frannie 'saved" this dragonfly from the water. She is really into bugs right now

Tools!

Mans/families best friend- Murf Buddy

temper....temper



Frannies first picture of me



and then she took a picture of me and sweet Murf

MOVIE - Hope you can get it to play

See ya soon!!

Far Behind

Is summer really over?? can it be? What will it be like now that we arent suffering from heat and smoke? oh wait, we still have the smoke and the afternoons are mid 70s-80's. yes, this is really how our Fall begins.

The summer came and went and will be forever etched in my mind. pictures and happy times were not plentiful but we tried to enjoy the moments of the summer that we did spend together and enjoyed watching our children grow.

Gabriele has turned the corner on his baby days and now is turning into a little dude. He has a budding vocabulary, knows how to flush and pee, throws tantrums and balls and loves to make us all laugh. He was nothing like he was in July and in a way I miss that so much. Things will be fun and we look forward to all the adventures that come along with a little little boy.

Francesca is also turning some corners. It seems that every half way mark in age allows her to be human again. The f-ing fours made us wonder what had happened to our daughter and how we could give her back to the aliens. Now that she is four and a half she can be reasoned with and is agreeable. really...All the changes from this summer have taken a toll on her but she seems to have come around again. She scored her first goal in soccer and has been doing great creating and drawing and writing. I guess that the 4's  can be fun!

Lou was in AK with his father fishing this month and hijacked the camera. no recent pictures but here are a few that got left behind. I'll start taking pictures again this week and get everyone updated!

Shifting the Sun

A poem by Diana Der-Hovanessian courtesy of Alicia Stickney

When your father dies, say the Irish,

you lose your umbrella against bad weather.

May his sun be your light, say the Armenians.

When your father dies, say the Welsh,

you sink a foot deeper into the earth.

May you inherit his light, say the Armenians.

When your father dies, say the Canadians,

you run out of excuses.

May you inherit his sun, say the Armenians.

When your father dies, say the Native Americans,

he comes back as the thunder

May you inherit his light, say the Armenians.

When your father dies, say the British,

you join his club you vowed you wouldn't.

May you inherit his sun, say the Armenians.

When your father dies, say the Armenians,

your sun shifts forever

and you walk in his light.

Missing you dad, but looking forward to shifting the sun and inheriting your light.

Jon van den Steen Arthur June 27, 1943-August 16, 2012

(sorry all I have on my computer is a silly picture, but its nice to remember him as being this way)