Winter Blues

It has been so great to get out on the ice skating rink this month! Kaycee and Jackson are getting faster. We just hope the temps stay cool enough that the ice doesn't melt too soon. I can't believe I just wished for colder temps in February...that's a first!!

IPSSSDR

The IPSSSDR (International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race) came through Lander recently. We loved seeing the dogs and watching the start of the race!! Here are a few photos :)

Lighting up Lander

Santa came to see Lander "light up" the town on Friday!

Jackson was so excited! Kaycee was the last one to visit with him. Since no one was in line behind her, they had a nice 5 minute chat. Santa knows exactly what is on her list this year!

Kaycee, Jackson and their friend Alex as little elves in the snow.

The Hay ride was so pretty with all the snow coming down on us - Fun night out!!

Hills & Houses

Bo up at the Popo Age Falls before too much snow came

Icy Popo Agie Falls

Aunt Jodi's Gingerbread House Party!!

So SWEET!

Sweet 31st!

Ginny Weasley (minus the red hair) and Ninja Warrior!

Trick-or-Treating on Main Street with Shane!

Main Street friends.....

I think this is the first year Kaycee and Jackson brought back more candy than we gave out!! Eeeek!

Not so wee pumpkins....

The kids had fun carving their pumpkins with Kaycee's friend Shane. I think they did a great job!

We gobbled up those pumpkin seeds....they didn't last long.
We picked our pumpkins from the pumpkin patch in Riverton again. After pumpkin picking, we checked out the corn maze. I couldn't believe how fast Kaycee and Jackson figured it out!!

Our little Ninja (Jackson) and his friends Batman (Max) and the red Power Ranger (Finn) running through the pumpkin patch for their pre-school Halloween party.

Wee pumpkins

Jackson decorated this adorable pumpkin (it was a party favor from his friend Shayla). I love it! Reminds me of "The Nightmare Before Christmas".

Kaycee went for a more feminine approach on her pumpkin. The nose is a seashell. Too cute!!
I'm such a nerd for this holiday.

Jason was able to get out and do some hunting again this fall. Talk about an unusually warm hunt this year! He didn't bring any animals back (he helped his friends pack out two elk and a black bear), but he did capture some great pictures. We're lucky to live so close to these places!!

Black Hawks & Werewolves

Jackson is FINALLY old enough for soccer this year! He is loving it and his team "The Werewolves" are having a great season.

Go Jackson!

Kaycee's having fun playing defense this season. Her team, "The Black Hawks" have won most of their games and really move - especially compared to those 5-year olds. Her games are so fun to watch!

Go Kaycee!!

Back to it....

Kids are back into the swing of school! Jackson LOVES his new teacher Mr. Mike (his class has weekly trips to the library and yoga class). While Kaycee is having fun with Miss Franzen's 3rd grade class (they have already been to the Art Center, Swimming lessons and a field trip to City Park). Gotta love those fab teachers!!

Long Time Gone....

Holy cow, I have been horrible at updating our blog! So much has been going on, but since our computer is acting so S....L......O......W (took me an hour just to load these damn pictures...ugh) I haven't been very good at keeping it current.

So, here is my lame attempt to show what the kids have been up to over the 4th. Cousin Riley was able to spend a couple of days with us. We went to Frye Lake to fish - was too windy to do that - so we just looked at rocks and explored around a bit. I love that Riley, she's so funny!

To keep the kiddos occupied, they ran a Root Beer stand again this year. They raked in about $16.00 (thanks to Riley for keeping track of all the dough - I didn't have the heart to tell her that it costs about $30.00 to make). We even ran out of product too, possibly because the kids drank about 2 cups for each cup sold. :) Boy, did they had the sugar high to prove it too.

My parents made it over for the parade. I think the highlights this year were the llamas, a guy riding a cow like a horse and of course being drenched by the fire hoses. Jackson and Jason were the only takers on getting drenched, it was a little cooler than normal this year. Gotta love Lander in the summer!

Happy 4th!

Stick-Headed Stranger

Bo saved us from this stick-headed stranger last week. The 20 minutes of barking at him may not have caused the stranger to run off, but it certainly kept him frozen in his tracks.

Hunter and Jackson didn't find him so threatening. The kids tried to get him to dance a little.

Which didn't work. Kaycee thought maybe he had a tooth-ache.

So she took all his teeth out.

He didn't stick around for long. Guess it's good to have a guard dog on duty...just in case.