Saddles, T-squares, and Sippy Cups

Of course, I picked something crafty and decorative that she could hang on the wall in their new house on the lake.




Pinterest is responsible for the Christmas tree ornaments as well. As a RS Presidency we got together to make ornaments to give to those who serve in RS and those we thought could use a little extra cheer this time of year. Our list had 41 people on it. Overachievers much?


It took us 6 hours. 6 HOURS! We had some dark moments (What?!? We only have 11 done?!?) but we got them made AND delivered!!

How's that for a Christmas miracle?

Since Chris and I have been married we have always lived pretty far from family. Long drives are our norm.  And it is usually us that does the traveling. There are exceptions, of course.

Oh, how we prize the exceptions!  This time we were even so lucky as to have them overlap!

 Stephanie came for visit and you know we have to take advantage. It's only right as her family that we test her handyman skills. Right?!?

This was actually quite the feat that Chris and Stephanie accomplished.  We had a tall entertainment cabinet that I just got to hating and decided it needed to go.  It was so tall it was taking over our whole living room. Chris was sure that it could be cut down and still be useful.  I doubted his chances of success in being able to make all the cuts level and even all the way around, given the tools he had to work with.  I should really give up my Doubting Thomas impression-he comes through every time. Stephanie just jumped right in and was the other pair of needed hands.

Andy came to visit and overlapped with Stephanie.  That was pretty sweet.  All though as parents we still had to get up in the morning, it was with little regret that we enjoyed the late night talking and catching up that seems to happen best in person.

How fun it was to have 4 Williamson siblings together in the far reaches of WI!



 He also stayed over for Thanksgiving with us and headed down to my brother Ian's house, as we have in years past.  And as in years, past I neglected to take pictures as I soaked up the goodness of hanging out with family.

The day after Thanksgiving we headed over to Chicago so Andy could do a little sight-seeing.


If you are a city person, or just enjoy a quick visit (like me:), Chicago does not disappoint!





And the success of Thanksgiving and our trip to Chicago was all due to this awesome guy, who also managed to win over the wee one!

Chris was out of town on his birthday. We are always a sad, whiny bunch when he is out of town. It seemed especially depressing to me to have him gone on his birthday.

We did celebrate for real when he was home.  We are always so excited to have him home again and to wish him another year of happiness (with us, of course)!

 At 13 months, Thea continues to walk to the beat of her own drum.


 And she is so stinkin' cute doing it!
 Which is good for her because otherwise...well, let's just say that being cute is frequently her saving grace!

 Chris instituted "special time" with the kids. He made a chart with pictures from the friend and a spinny arrow that points out turns. The kids adore it!
 Since I am writing this post 3 years after the fact I have no idea if this was Ian's first time or not. But there are pictures so I am posting them. They enjoyed a trip to the Downtown Milwaukee Library.
 It is a pretty cool library and offered a variety of attractions and things to do besides books, though, Ian isn't one to pass those over completely!

The pumpkins got carved.







 and reading!

 I got to chaperone a field trip with Sage's class to the pumpkin patch! We had a great time and the weather was really nice.

 It was a place we had never been to before and it had several enclosed structures with fun activities for the kids.


 An orchard outside was very picturesque with apples and colored leaves and cute kids!
 Sage picked her pumpkin, though it was a tough choice:)

It was a great day with friends and the outdoors!