Blizzard and lots of fun

We ended up getting around 20" of snow during the blizzard that trapped me at the hospital during one of my weekend shifts. I'm glad that weekend is over and here are some pictures of us digging out.

Our trash can is there to the right of the shed, coved in snow.

Brock liked to help shovel.

Daddy had to plow a path in the backyard for Henry. He couldn't make it through the snow.

You can see out backyard here, the grill, table and chair (and anything else that's in our backyard) is now covered in lots of snow. We'll see those things again in March!

Rayna LOVES her baby dolls. All of them must have diapers and they get changed often.

How funny is this photo??? They were all playing on the couch having a blast and I just happened to snap this photo when everyone looks quite off guard.

Brock, giving himself a "carrot" for a nose from his snowman sticker book.

Daddy made a tasty breakfast for everyone a few weeks ago. Here are Grandpapa, Oliver and Brock.

Mommy and Rayna at Edenborough Park.

Wintertime fun

Putting lights on our beautiful tree.

Brock was a blur putting ornaments on it!

Rayna inspected each ornament carefully prior to putting on the tree.

Looking good Brock!

Sledding in the front yard.

Christmas Tree Shopping

I forgot that this silly blog loads the pictures in the opposite order of how you choose them...so, with that in mind, this is the day we went to a Christmas tree farm and cut down out own tree. It was about 17 degrees out and very windy. Rayna fell asleep in the car and slept in the sled the entire time. She woke up just in time to put the tree on the sled. Brock kept picking out trees that were short. He didn't want anything to do with a tall tree. I have a video that I tried to load earlier. I'll try again.

Our visit to St. Louis

We went to St. Louis for Thanksgiving this year. We stayed at my Mom's house. While we were in town we were able to spend time with all of my family, my dad and step mom and my two sisters and their kids. In the photo above, we are at my sister Sherry's house. From left to right: Noah, Josh, Christian, Mikey, and Jake.

Grandpa Juan took Brock for a ride on his "tractor".

Playing in the backyard. It was warm, almost 70 degrees.

Mom, Rayna, Josh and Brock on the porch swing.

Garlic toast

Jen was making dinner in the kitchen and Brock and I were sitting in a chair in the family room reading a book.
Jen says: "Daddy how many pieces of garlic toast do you want?
Dad " Two pieces"
Brock says: "Mom I don't want any pieces of garlic toast"
Jen misunderstood Brock and says: "How many pieces do you want Brock?"
Brock with no hesitation says: "I want 5 pieces"
Jen: "I think one piece is better"
Brock: "No! five pieces!"
Jen: "You can have one"
Brock turns to me and says: "What is garlic toast?"

Saint Louis Zoo day

Soccer and fall fun

We did a lot of yard work to prepare for Leif Erikson Day. Here are a few photos of the kids outside while I was raking leaves.

Brock started soccer a few weeks ago. He is doing great. He needs to work on a few things...no hands on the ball and no pushing.

He must be the only lefty in this group.

Rayna uses a spoon

This was the first time Rayna used a spoon by herself.
It was on Labor Day, 2010. She had been using a fork for at least a month.

We did go fishing that day with

Brock while Nana stayed with Rayna.

Rayna got this tutu and headband for Christmas last year. This was the first time I put her in it since she's been walking and she really enjoyed dancing around her room.

She is a climber. This is how I found her the other day.
She can also climb into her high chair unassisted. I don't remember when Brock first did that...it's probably in an earlier post. I should go back and see.

This is how her hair looks after I take out her pig tails.

Brock...what a good looking kid! I love you buddy.

Lightning McQueen

Brock loves the movie "Cars". He makes pretty good car sounds with his throat. Please don't pay any attention to my horrible singing and focus on the B-Man. Enjoy

Block party 2010

Last night was our annual block party on Aldrich Street and Brock and Rayna had a blast. Josh donated quite a bit of gear for the event. There was a band and Rayna and Brock danced the night away. The outdoor movie was a huge hit. Brock wanted to watch "Up" with the rest of the kids but he decided before it was over he needed to come home and go to bed. Here are some photos taken from Josh's cell phone. Rayna insisted on wearing the toy stethoscope all night.

Off to the Fair!

Brock describing the Great Slide

Dads 25 pullups

State fair see you there.....

Winding down the Fair

Rayna takes up fencing and we go to the splash pad