Christmas Dinner with Santa

We enjoyed an early Christmas dinner with Santa and a variety show for entertainment. It was yummy food, great company and a good time had by all!

Karsten with her cousins

So Santa was a big hit...from AFAR-the only thing Karsten wanted from him was the candy cane! She still is not too sure what to think about him.

Tommy was providing MUCH entertainment for all dinner guests as he hit the dance floor with some SWEET moves. Karsten even went out to join him in the action. She mimicked everything he did-all the while sucking away on her candy cane. She ate the ENTIRE thing and we had red drool down her chin to prove it! Also notice that she was dancing so hard that her head band just about popped off of her head :-) She is quite the character, much like her cousin Tommy.

Dinner with the Taylors

One of Karsten's best friends from school is Mason. We have gotten to be good friends with Mason's parents and they invited us over for dinner. The kids had a blast and as we were dishing up dinner in the kitchen, this is what I walked out to find in the dining room! Pure 2 year old antics-they were so funny! (Yes, that is Karsten under the placemat!)

We also brought Dawson along with us to play as his Mommy had her Christmas Party that night. Needless to say, the host's kids went to bed just fine and Karsten and Dawson wanted to stay up and PARTY! This was one of many attempts to get the kids to quiet down. Needless to say, we took a rain check on playing games and will have to plan better next time!

Christmas Tree Day

Today we made the trek in the HUGELY deep snow to go find Christmas Trees. A tradition in our family we chop down Charlie Brown trees that barely can hold ornaments-but they are free and we enjoy it!

Karsten and Mommy were taking a break in the sled while Daddy was getting the tree!

So here is the finished product-see what I mean, Charlie Brown!

Winter Fun!

Here are some fun times that we have had in the snow this winter.

Karsten loves her monkey hat!

Such a DIVA!
Bundled up for a ride!

Karsten's First Snow!

We have had a record setting November for snowfall and bitter cold temperatures-thanks to La Nina and Arctic Blasts! But the fun part is playing in the snow. Karsten is finally old enough this year to understand what the cold, white stuff is. We took her sledding on the golf course behind Chris's parents house. Needless to say, SHE LOVED IT! We think that we have a little adrenaline junkie in the making :-)

We could not stopp laughing with the "weeeeeee" sound that came out of Karsten.

Squeals all around-and check out that smile on the girl!

Mmmmm, this is cold on my tongue.

Karsten has perfected the "cheese" part of taking pictures!

Family Fun!

Gramps, Lala and Auntie Jenn are visiting for Thanksgiving vacation. Karsten is loving the time with them and we are enjoying some good family fun! Despite fighting a cold and a 102 degree fever, Karsten in being a champ. She took a 4 hour nap yesterday!

Watching "A Great Thanksgiving Charlie Brown" with Auntie Jenn
Wearing Daddy's boots!

Reading "Good Night San Francisco" with Auntie Jenn

Hannah getting snuggle time with Gramps and Lala while Karsten gets her horsie ride!

Holy Cold!

We have had record setting COLD temperatures for the past two days with the low last night of minus 12 degrees....buuuurrrrrrr! In spite of the cold we have been enjoying some time outside playing in the snow and shoveling the snow.

Gramps and Chris taking a break from shoveling the driveway.

Auntie Jenn, Richie, Sarah and Tommy during their snow competition.

The girls rocked it and WON!

Silly Karsten

Karten wanted to be bundled up INSIDE the house while watching her show.
Playing at the park-a school fieldtrip!

First Snow!

Well old man winter gave us a surprise this morning and we woke up to the white stuff! It has been very mild so far in October and November and was only rain in the forecast so this caught everyone off guard. Now the front page headlines of the newspaper are reading "Arctic Blast Coming"...

Family Pictures

My how quickly Karsten grows. We had to capture her 18 month pictures-albeit a bit late-and combine with beautiful fall family pictures. Enjoy!