Christmas 2009

Well another Christmas has almost come and gone. It is hard to imagine this time next year we will have a little girl to celebrate the season with. We had a nice holiday as a family. We celebrated Christmas Eve baking cookies for Santa and getting everything ready. We made chicken and dumplings for dinner. Nate cut open our first pomegranate that we have ever bought. It was really good. Thanks PS for introducing us to this wonderful fruit. Nate played music throughout the Christmas Eve service this year. He enjoyed it. We were sorry to miss it. The kids have colds and were in bed by 6:50pm. Nate and I had fun playing Santa after he got home.


Our Christmas sugar cookies. Cooper didn't want to be in this picture, but he helped make, cut out and decorate all the cookies.

Christmas morning didn't come as early as we thought it would which was nice. The boys came down together around 6:45am. Cooper thought it was still night time because it was dark out. I think Cooper was in shock because he wasn't saying much. Charlie on the other hand was whispering quite loudly, "Do you see those, these presents, on and on." It was so cute and then they came to get us out of bed to tell us Santa had come. They enjoy cooking with their new kitchen set with all the food. Nanni and Boppi Stalling spoiled them with gifts. Mom got a rememberable CD with the boys singing and playing instruments. They also picked out some earnings for her. It was amazing that they kept these a secret until today. Megan enjoys her new back massager. Nate likes his new hiking boots, playing play station (when kids go to bed), his new drivers cap and he will be starting voice lessons in a week.

The day was spent with playing doctor (Nate got five amputations), music and cooking. We watched UP. Our dinner was DELICIOUS! We cooked our first ham. We didn't go crazy with all the fixings. The boys loved the sparkling cider and called it pop. We talked about how we celebrate Jesus's birth today with the boys and what the holiday is all about.
Trying out moms new present.

The boys thought this was the best part of the meal. There was not a drop left of the sparkling cider.
CHEERS! We tried to all get in the picture, but we were having trouble so dad and mom took turns. :)

The boys love making forts so we thought they would enjoy this new Cars tent.

The boys like to play cars, especially Cooper. This little structure is fun for them to put cars through and watch them go. The dinosaur trys to eat them as the cars go through it. A car comes out of the dinosaurs mouth below, then hits something, triggering the next car above to go. They have fun with it.

We look forward to Nanni, Boppi, Uncle Nic, and Uncle Patrick coming to visit us tomorrow.

Merry Christmas! Love the Owen Family.

First week of Christmas Break

We have had a very busy week since preschool has ended for the semester. We are trying to keep the boys busy. Sledding was very fun over the weekend. Nanni went home on Monday after Cooper's conference and made it home safely. We enjoyed seeing her. Cooper's teachers had many good things to say about him. They mentioned how he is a leader and has grown in many areas. They go through every area and explain them all with examples. We are very proud of him.

Wednesday we met some of our preschool friends to play and the boys enjoyed that. We attended out last Soup supper/advent service at church Wednesday evening. We enjoyed going to those this year.

Today we went to PS I love You and introduced Cooper. Cooper was able to go to the 4-6 year old classroom because they are on vacation. Both boys had a good time. Charlie colored dad a wreath picture. He seems to really enjoy snack time. We do feed him. :) Cooper made a Star of David ornament for the tree. He wanted dad to hang it up at work so we took it to him after. We will sneak it home to put on the tree before Christmas. Cooper also made a bracelet and did puzzles. He enjoyed it. Today was craft day for the moms. Megan enjoyed hanging out with all the moms and getting to know some of them. She made a glass ball ornament for the tree. She added decorative items in the glass ball to make it festive looking. The last half an hour was music time and the kids all jumped and danced around singing. Our boys participated the first song and then sat on mom and watched for the rest. We did miss the worker guys this morning and he was upset about that. They started on the walls. Here are a few pictures of the progress:


Tomorrow is the Christmas Party at the library here in Genesee. They will be making covered dipped pretzels and having cider, stories and carols. Nate will be taking the boys since I have a doctor appt. I am currently 32 weeks. Getting so close to meeting this baby girl, yet it feels so far away.

Enjoy a video of the boys sledding.

Gingerbread House

Nanni Vicki came to visit us yesterday and is staying for a few days. Today the boys had a fun time decorating a gingerbread house with Nanni Vicki. I think we all enjoyed eating the candy and licking the frosting. Yummy! It also started snowing today and the kids loved going sledding. We have the perfect hill, on the side street from where we live. Nate started them at the top and let them go. The boys loved it. Most of the sledding was done in the dark since it was dark when the boys got up from their nap. Mom and Nanni got the rest of Christmas shopping done today and are ready to start wrapping. We are enjoying Nanni's visit. Hopefully she doesn't get snowed in. We are expecting up to 6 inches by morning and more snow to come.

Nate is concentrating very hard here.

Pre-School Celebration/PS I Love You

Today was a very eventful day for the boys. Today was the last day of preschool for the semester. Cooper's class put on a celebration for the parents and siblings. They prepared all week. They made us invitations as well as the snacks. They were very yummy. Now he has 5 weeks off for break and he is very excited. We can't believe he has only one more semester of preschool left. He is growing up so fast.

Cooper's celebration. Cooper's group teacher was Teacher Alisha and she was fantastic. Charlie enjoyed coming to spend some time at Cooper's preschool as well. We can't believe he is signed up to start going here next year.

Our two little boys.


Today was also Megan and Charlie's first day of PS I love You. PS I love you is a group for moms/children. The children are divided into classrooms. Charlie was in the 2-4 age group. He was so excited. We pulled up and he said, "This my preschool, this my preschool." He loved it. He didn't even get upset when I left him. He made Christmas snowflake ornaments, played in the gym, and had snack time. We had to leave early to go to Cooper's celebration so he missed carpet time, where they read a book. He really enjoyed it. We will go one day a week and it happens to be going on as the same time as when Cooper is in preschool. The moms gather in a large room and do different activities. There is a rotating schedule. So, one week is craft, one week is a program, one is a home project day, and one is a parent group talk day. I met a lot of moms. We had a nice time.

First Day of PS I Love You photo.

Brotherly love.

Charlie and his first craft he made at PS I Love You. He was so proud. he even gave one of them to Cooper. He made two snowflake ornaments.

Deck the Halls 2009

We had a fun filled weekend at Camp Lutherhaven in Coeur d' Alene. We started out Friday evening and it had just started snowing. We made it in time for Hot Cocoa, Carols and Devotions. The boys had a great time playing on the bunk beds. Coop wanted to try sleeping on top, but once we shut out the lights he started climbing down. Saturday we had carols and devotions after breakfast, then the day was ours. Charlie went to kids camp, Coop decided he didn't want to go. Charlie hiked to Homestead, although the staff had to carry him up the hill. His highlight of the morning was going on a firetruck. He loved it they said. Coop hung out with dad. Mom went to a knitting 101 class and started a dishcloth. She enjoyed it. After lunch the boys wanted to do some crafts so they painted a Noah's Ark boat with some animals to go in it, made a snow globe, and some ornaments. The Hay ride and cookie making was also fun.

Coop sat on the horse while they worked on a tire that went flat. Charlie didn't want to get anywhere near the horses. Coop loved it.

Coop decorating his cookie.

Charlie's cookie.

Napping was pretty much impossible. At dinner Charlie was so tired he started to fall asleep eating. We have always seen pictures of kids falling asleep in their food, but we got to experience this first hand. Megan was crying she was laughing so hard. It was pretty funny. After dinner we had another session of devotions and caroling with a campfire down on Lake Coeur d' Alene. It was snowing on us and very chilly, but holding the boys kept up all warm. The skits were awesome all weekend. After campfire we had a talent show. Charlie and dad participated. Charlie was singing Twinkle Twinkle on the karaoke machine and someone said they just had to be in the talent show. Once it was their turn, Charlie held the microphone and smiled, but he wouldn't sing. There were way too many people I think. Nate played his guitar. The next morning we got up and it was 4 degrees, very cold. We had brunch and then worship. As we were driving out of the parking lot there were five deer. We met many amazing families and had a great time.

On the drive home we stopped to get a Christmas tree. It was the fastest we have ever picked out a tree because it was so cold. With the 35 mph winds we about lost it off the top of the van. We made it though and it looks beautiful and has already smelled the house up. Hopefully we can decorate tomorrow.

After we got the tree up we went to the first ever Genesee Christmas parade. There were five entries. :) The boys had fun. Nate and Coop watched from the car and Megan and Charlie jumped out as it started to come. The boys loved seeing Santa on the fire truck. After the parade we went and made some crafts, had chili, hot cocoa, cookies and sat on Santa's lap. The kids couldn't wait. Charlie just cut in front and ran up to Santa. We had to pull him back to stand in line. What a bust weekend. Kids were in bed by 6:30pm.

First look at Santa as he came through the door. Coop asked me if this was the real Santa. I think he is already starting to figure this out. :) Nate said one of Santa's helpers.

The Thanksgiving Holiday

We started off the Thanksgiving Holiday by going to the Locomotive Park Lighting Ceremony and the kids loved it. There were Christmas carolers, dancing, hot cocoa, and then the lighting of all the Christmas decorations. We had a great evening together as a family.
Charlie wanted his picture taken in front of this choo choo train.
All my boys in front of the horse.
The boys loved this train that was decorated. That is a peanut on top and Cooper told us what it was on our way in before the park was lit up. He is such a smart boy. They loved ringing the bell. The park was absolutely beautiful all lit up, but it is hard to see in the pictures we took.

The next morning we got another snow storm and the kids had to go outside to play. We let Coop stay home from Sunday School to play in the snow. First sledding of the year.
Cooper and Charlie getting ready to get a quick ride before dad has to leave for Sunday School.
Look at them go!
After dad had to leave for Sunday School, Cooper took over and pulled Charlie around. What a nice brother. After this they went sledding down the mountains of dirt we have around our house that were covered with snow. Nate took the camera though, so I didn't get any pictures.

After Nate got home from Sunday School, we drove up to Spokane to see Disney on Ice. The kids had a great time. The weather wasn't that great and it was snowing, but we drove carefully and took our time. They loved watching Cars, Lion King, The Little Mermaid and Tinkerbell on ice.
Does Nate look thrilled or what? This was waiting for the show to start. There was a half an hour delay due to technical difficulties.
Lightning McQueen
Charlie just loved seeing Mickey there. It was fun seeing Tinkerbell fly up in the air across a rope just like at Disneyland. The boys had fun catching bubbles and confetti as it fell from above. We had a nice afternoon.

The day before Thanksgiving the foundation for our new addition was finished. Forms taken off and dirt filled back in.

We decided to stay in town this year for Thanksgiving. With Megan being seven months pregnant she didn't feel comfortable traveling. We are thankful for our church family and friends. We had a wonderful evening and a great meal.
Eating away. Pastor made a delicious meal. We brought our famous deviled eggs and a pumpkin cheesecake. It was all delicious.
Me and my cute little boys. Cooper was so helpful and helped clean the table after the meal was complete. After dinner we went outside to enjoy the Christmas decorations. The Deckard's go all out and it looked fantastic. The kids thoroughly enjoyed it as well as the adults.
Derek, Charlie and Cooper coloring.
And this cracked us up. Cooper's Sunday School class made a choo choo train of the 10 commandments and decorated them. If you look at the 6th, You shall not Murder, the kids put a sticker over the not. Careen is sending it into Ellen. :)

We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends.

House Remodel

Well this week has been a busy week at the Owen household. They broke ground on our new addition. They are adding on about 700 sq feet for us. A dining room, extra bedroom (planned for our little girl), and a master bedroom/bath. We can't wait. Thankfully the weather has been cooperating this week for us. Last week it was postponed from snow. The boys thoroughly enjoyed watching the mini excavator come out, mini digger, and dumptruck. They even had their friend Derek over to watch with them. The cement truck was out the next day pouring the footings. Today they are putting up some boards. Not sure what is next. I think pouring cement on the sides. Enjoy the pictures. Our yard is a complete disaster. :)

Derek, Charlie and Cooper watching the mini excavator. They loved this part.

The cement truck getting ready to put cement in the footings. I think that is what they call it. :)

Charlie and Coop ate their lunch on the counter while the cement truck was at our house.

And this is where we are today. Not sure exactly what is next, but I think more cement.

Red Barn Farm

We had a great family outing to the Red Barn Farm today. The kids had a lot of fun going on a hayride, picking out pumpkins, listening to entertainment while we enjoyed molasses cookies and hot cocoa. There were also many vendors and fun stuff for the kids. We even got to enjoy going out for Mexican after. I have been craving it. :) It was very yummy.

Our two little pumpkins.

Cooper picked out his pumpkin right away and even carried it. Charlie of course picked one that he couldn't carry so mom and dad helped him out.

On the hayride headed back to the farm. Cooper and Charlie were both saying cheese here. Charlie was just looking in the wrong direction. :) We had a wonderful day together.

IT'S A GIRL!!!!

We just had our first ultrasound. We are having a girl! We are very excited. She is healthy and everything looked great. We were given a due date of February 15th. She will be born about a week prior because I will be having a c-section. Enjoy the pictures.