Christmas 2006

Merry Christmas everyone! We went to see Santa as you can see in the picture. Megan and Declan were both talking quickly to let him know what they wanted for Christmas. I'm not sure Santa could catch it all. Everyone is off school or work until the new year, so we're enjoying some time all together! Declan already had his school Christmas program and Megan's is tonight. We hope everyone has a very Blessed Christmas and happy new year!

Halloween 2006

The kids really enjoyed Halloween this year. Megan dressed as Anakin Skywalker, and Declan dressed as Jango Fett. We went to all the houses on our street saying "Trick or Treat, Please". They had fun seeing what all the kids in the neighborhood wore as costumes.
For Halloween/the Barnyard Bash at their school, they dressed as farmers.

Pumpkin Patch October 2006

We went to the pumpkin patch in Celina TX today to pick out the pumpkin we will carve for Halloween. We all went on a hay ride. Megan and Declan went on a tractor ride and also got to feed some farm animals. It was a beautiful day for pumpkin picking!

Megan's 5th Birthday

Megan started her 5th birthday with a round of presents from all her Grandmas and Grandpas. Afterwards, Megan had decided she wanted to go bowling on her birthday, so we went to Allen Bowl after breakfast. Her party was on Sunday. There was quite a crowd: Pat, Christa,and Jake Louthan; Ken, Julie, Riley, and Ayden Riggs, Wes and Eowyn Dautrich; and of course Mama, Daddy, and Declan. Megan's chosen theme was Star Wars (big shocker). The kids had Darth Vadar masks and of course there was a Star Wars cake. The last picture here is of all the kids at the party. There was no way to get a shot of them all looking at the camera, so here's one that had most of them looking the right way :-)

Walt Disney World September 2006

We had another great trip to Disney World in September. We stayed in the Boardwalk Villas which is within walking distance to both EPCOT and MGM Studios. The kids dressed up as Cinderella and Buzz Lightyear one evening. They also took their first ride on the Haunted Mansion ride. We got to have lunch with the princesses in Cinderella's Castle and met Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater from the Cars movie. Grandma and Grandpa Ihle and Grandma Betty Bates joined us during this trip. We had a wonderful time and are ready to start planning our next trip.

First Day of School 2006

Here we are on the first day of school. This is Declan's very first day to go to school. This is Megan's second year. Both kids are attending Our Savior Lutheran pre-school and pre-K this year. They are both very excited this morning and are ready to get to school.

Declan's 3rd Birthday

We had Declan's 3rd birthday party a few days after we moved into the house. Our friends, Cheryl and Pat, brought their kids, Jake (4) and Christa (2) to celebrate. Declan also received a lot of great birthday gifts in the mail from all his grandparents and aunts. I can't believe he is already 3!

Texas

We're finally settled in Texas. We spent about 6 weeks in an apartment and moved into our house on July 7th. The kids are getting used to the heat (temps in the 100s) and love the community pool and beach club. They start swimming lessons on Monday! Here they are at the front door with boots and at least one hat! The second picture is our new place.

Holidays in Alabama

We drove down to Alabama the day after Christmas and got to spend part of the holidays with several members of my family. On the way home, we stopped to see my friend, Tricia, and spent time with her, Gordon, and their new baby Morgan! Fun was had by all!