A Wedding

I hope Kaitlin doesn't mind getting a few wedding pictures on our blog.  My sister, Kaitlin, and her new husband, Josiah, were married on January 2nd.  My kids were very excited about being part of a wedding.

You can't have a wedding without a bridal shower.  Kylee did a great job planning a fun shower.  I was glad that I could make it to the shower just a couple of days after having Hannah.

And the infamous bubble gum answer questions game.  That one is always good for some laughs.

My mom made this beautiful t-shirt quilt using Kaitlin's and Josiah's old shirts.  I thought that was pretty awesome. 

They looked so beautiful coming right out of the temple.  We took several pictures and then all the families with little kids left because it was freezing.

Here we are at the wedding reception.  Hay seemed to be the decoration of the night.

Hannah was so adorable in her little dress (and big fluffy coat to stay warm).

They had a father - daughter dance.  I only got a little teary with this one.  I blame all the just had a baby hormones.  My little girls can obviously not grow up and get married and move away.

The cake was really adorable.  They had a glass temple on top.

I love our family.  It is hard to believe how much we have grown in the last 10 1/2 years since we were married.  It was great being back in the temple where we were sealed.

Happy Wedding Kaitlin and Josiah!

Rachel's Birthday

I am so behind on the blogs.  I blame having a baby and then moving and being without the Internet for a few days.  So let us back up about a month and get to Rachel's birthday.

Here is my beautiful girl - all excited to be six!

So I was very, very pregnant for Rachel's birthday.  I did not have the energy to plan a big party at our house.  But McDonald's saved the day.  We invited several of Rachel's friends and got happy meals for everyone.

After eating the kids all played for a long time.

And more playing.  I liked the free entertainment for all the kids.

Then everyone got to decorate a cupcake.

Apparently Rachel really likes Sour Patch Kids.  We also had MnMs and sprinkles and other goodies.

Then Rachel opened her presents and we called it a night. 

I loved, loved this party.  It took very little effort and was cheaper than most of our other birthday parties.  And Rachel had fun with her friends.  So Happy Birthday Rachel! 

First Snow

So a couple of weeks ago we got our first snow in Hermiston.  I am hoping it is also the last snow, but we will see.  We got about three inches - a perfect amount for my kids.

The only thing I like about the snow is how beautiful it is.  It did make the trees out back look nice.

The kids all dressed up in winter gear.  Adam was so excited to be included and get to wear a hat and gloves like the big girls.

Whitney donates her hat to her snowman.

And a baby snowman with a carrot nose.

Adam tried really hard to help.  He wasn't strong enough to push the big snowball though.

And you have to eat the first snow before it gets all stepped on and gross.

I really really love this picture.  Adam loves this toy car and would sit in it for hours over the summer.  So he was really excited to sit there again.  And really sad when it got too dark and he had to get out.

Then we kept with tradition and had hot chocolate after taking off wet things and putting on pajamas.  There is something so wonderful about drinking hot chocolate in your pajamas.

Happy First Snow of the Winter!

Baby Hannah

I know this blog post is a little out of order, but it is the most important and most anticipated.  We had our beautiful baby Hannah Noelle Keeler on December 26th at 11:00 pm.

Hannah's very first picture.

The nurses did all the proper measurements.  Hannah was 7 pounds 12 ounces and 21 inches long.  So that makes her my second biggest baby.  She was not too happy with all the procedures.

Hannah hating the bath.

And then tolerating the bath a little bit.  Doesn't it feel good to be clean?

Then I get a turn with my beautiful baby.  I already love her so much.

Will gets to hold Hannah.  I wonder who she will look more like.

The nurse took a family picture for us.

Hannah has moments of being very alert - mixed with her many many hours of sleeping.  I love holding Hannah when she is alert and so curious about our faces.

We finally got to bring Hannah home on Thursday morning.  She is a good little car traveler.

Hannah, we love you and are so grateful for the blessing of raising you.

Pre-Christmas Activities

We have been doing a few early Christmas things.  Here are a few pictures of us.

So this one isn't really us, obviously.  But we got out our elves on the shelf.  Our elves get into lots of trouble through the month - like playing Nintendo or stuffing each other into the cheese grater.  The kids enjoy finding them.

We made these Christmas trees using a pointy sugar cone, green frosting, and mnm's.

It started off as a preschool craft for Megan's group when it was my turn to be in charge.  Then all the kids wanted to make their own that evening.  So simple and tasty.

This picture comes from going to the Living Nativity.  It was outside of a church.  I think it was good for the kids to learn more about the time of Bethlehem.  We went last year and loved it.  It was good this year too.  Then we got cookies and hot cocoa afterwards.

We have made a couple of Christmas crafts.  Whitney shows off her gingerbread man tree ornament.

And Megan shows off her paper bag manger.

The ward Christmas dinner was delicious.  I think I ate too much ham.  But oh well.

Santa made an appearance after the dinner and music show.  Look at this cute family.

I wanted our children to remember why we really have Christmas.  So we decided to take a tour of the outside of the Columbia River Temple.  It was super cold that day.  But I am glad we went.  It was nice teaching the kids more about the temple and show them where mom and dad were married.  Next time we may come in the summer so we can stay longer.

So it has been a wonderful couple of weeks as we have prepared for Christmas.  I love this time of the year.