Winter Wonder

WOW - what a January we are having! It seems like Mother Nature is trying to make up for pummeling us at the beginning of fall and is treating us to some beautiful weather right in the middle of winter. On Saturday we woke up to a beautiful 55 degree day with the sun shining and blue skies sparkling. It was immpossible not to think of an adventure that would take us outdoors. One of Peter's favorite places when he was little was the Dinosaur State Park right down the street. Since every kid in our family is independantly mobile at this point (strollers - even jogging ones - are very hard to maneuver along the trails) we decided to check out some of the harder hiking trails. The kids were so excited to be outside and running around together that we ended up having a beautiful family day. Mommy was quick to grab the camera on the way out the door and snapped plenty of pictures - the sun was so bright that I barely had to edit them and there are some really cool effects from the sunlight streaming down. The little girls kept saying that they wished we could go every single day. The big kids can't believe that the trails that seemed enormous and long to them a few years ago are actually fairly small and easily managed. It was a wonderful day topped off with a potluck dinner with Auntie Meghan and Uncle Tim and the twins!

Molly and Annie quickly found this cool rock! Turns out that we had done a phot shoot with a friend on this same rock when Annie was just a year old and we have the pictures on our living room wall - all the kids remembered it from the picture!

Our five beautiful children ready for a hike in the woods.

This picture is my favorite - I rarely get all of the five kids to look at me and smile but they were so excited to be goig on an adventure that they just sat down and smiled!

I loved how the light was shining on Peter and Ellie and they were both very cooperative for a few minutes. Ellie kept kissing Peter on the head after every shot - it was a very sweet moment!

Another one that I turned to black and white - look at the beautiful rays of sun on my gorgeous babies!

Kisses for her brother - I love Ellie's tiny little hands on her brother's shoulders!

Annie Bananie is ready for a walk in the woods - she couldn't wait to find some animals.

Sister Love!

Our big strong men agreed to protect us if we saw any bears.

Molly found us some souveneirs from our trip!

Poor Annie got a huge scratch on her face from the branches on the walk! She was quite a trooper just begging us to not make her go back home yet.

Another one of my favorites! The five loves of my life - they take my breath away each and every day!

Daddy loving on his babies!

Molly found this seat in the woods and asked Daddy to bring it home for her to keep in her room! It was just a little too big for Daddy to carry!

Annie checking to see which path we should take.

Baby girls!

Our twins loving each other and their seat on the log!

Pete found a branch to do some chin ups on!

Running through the paths in the Butterfly Garden.

Annie looks like she is concentrating very hard on running!

Our beautiful girls - the picture is light because of the sun on their backs!

Jumping off the wall in the Butterfly Garden.

Molly caught Bob and I hugging and took a picture of us! We were holding onto each other and smiling about how very lucky we are to be the parents of these beautiful children! What a life we have!

My handsome boy!

Meg, Tim and the babies came over and brought pasta and hamburgers for dinner. We got the rolls, beans and drinks and we had an awesome time together. This might become a ritual if I have anything to say about it. I love having Lila and Brendan here but it is twice as much fun when Tim and Meg are here too!

Brendan loves playing the piano - I love his shaggy hair!

Our handsome boy! Brendan loves the ride on toys and being a big boy playing in the playroom with the older kids. He pretty much runs the place when he is here simply because he has the puppy dog eyes down pat and can get anything he wants from Uncle Bob and I.

Lady Li finally giving in and letting me take a picture!

Lila loves showing off her belly! I love seeing her belly!

Checking out her belly button!

Brendan found a horn to play - good thing we love him because boy did he play loud!

Handome boy - love those tiny little fingers!

Lila wearing her new pajamas from Auntie - love this kid in pajamas!

All in all it was a wonderful day and a great relief to be having some fun outside after a really long and really awful week full of lice treatments and cough medicines.

Our gorgeous girls before getting de-loused! Apparently Lice was going through Noah Webster but Annie had some real trouble getting rid of it. We did the treatment several times and then had to invest in a really expensive prescription treatment. Luckliy Grammy and Papa came over and helped comb out the girls hair. On top of the lice issue poor Lizzie had an awful cold and could not stop coughing. It was a rough week!

Lizzie fell asleep on Grammy while getting her hair combed!

Molly and Annie don't seem to mind getting the spa treatment - or that's what we told them it was!

Lizzie did NOT like her plastic shower cap but she loved having her head massaged and combed!

Finally cured! The binky fairy was coming this week but Lizzie ended up with a bad cold and Bob and I ended up with no sleep so we gave in and decided to wait on the binky fairy!

Ellie is ready for school! She is loving life at Bright Beginnings!

Our beautiful baby girl - she loves her headbands and dresses! Mommy loves how her eyes sparkle when she smiles!

So thats all for now. I am trying to update the blog more often but sometimes we are just out living life and there isn't much to tell! We are looking forward to a bright and beautiful 2012!

GNM - ILY!