The faces of Scoots

No, please don't scold me..I didn't do it.
Anything? Food? Toys? Love?...

Come closer...I want to smell you...

Luke Daniel

Finally I got to hold and smooch my little nephew, Luke Daniel. He's so adorable...He likes to dance like his aunt Natty...Here he's doing a jig to an Irish tune....Watch and giggle

Family Time

Last week was kind of like the calm before the storm. By "storm" I mean the new turn my life has taken, from which I have a bit of "whiplash," metaphorically speaking. In a period of about 3 weeks, I went from being done with school to starting a masters. Anyway, before all that started we went to see our Pagel family up in Iowa. Burr. Chill. It was pretty cold.

So, yes we got a dog. I had been persuasively encouraging Ryan how cool it would be if we had a dog...I didn't really think he'd catch on, but all of a sudden we found ourselves lookin for puppies on the internet! As my mom would say, I guess I "put a bee in his bonnet." :)

Allison came over and helped me give Scooter a bath...we had fun hanging out...us girls had to stick together! (Scooter included).

I think Ryan had been storing up most of his competitive energy to spend at home playing Settlers with the boys. I'll have to learn I guess. I had fun just spending time with the fam...great conversations and stories with Kim and Sharon, lunch with Loretta, ice cream with the boys, helping out with Jason's apt, singing with Jon, (as well as throwing snow in his face after he pushed me), watching Cars with Josh, and of course, giving hugs to everyone!

Ryan told me one morning after he woke up (at 11:00)..."I like coming home...it's just relaxing and I don't have to do anything." I agreed. Except, oh wait...I asked for a dog and now I'm getting up early to take her out in the sub-freezing weather and trying to watch her like a hawk because she's not fully housebroken! I guess I got what I asked for. I'm just preparing myself for motherhood. :)
It was pretty awesome. Sharon kept us supplied with whatever we wanted in the kitchen and it just felt like home.

Red Rovin' Rough Ridin' Rootin' Tootin' Boot Scootin' lil Hot Dog

Meet Scooter Pagel! She's the latest addition to our family. She's quick, curious, fearless, and hopelessly devoted to ME! We got her here in Iowa, so she's enjoyed meeting all the boys and Sharon. She's eleven months old and still very puppyish...Here are a few pics Kim took.

Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving was a blast...Especially with all of the babies. They were surely the little princesses of the entire time. If any one of them let out so much as a whimper, they were immeadiately on somebody's hip or in their arms. The schedule was strict---eat, take a nap, eat, play a game, hang out, eat, watch football (mostly for the guys...Although I did watch a game that was very exciting!) Here Princess Livvy Bug is enjoying her Auntie Natty.

We spent a lot of time just hanging out. This was after Daniel and I went running...Of which Daniel said was just "culturally wrong." I don't see what's wrong with a little exercise on Thanksgiving Day!

Snowfall was a great surprise...The kids (and me) got so excited!

Dad built a nice fire in the wood stove. He actually had his sons-laws gather the wood outside....

Zoe and Ellie are the best of friends! They share their toys very well (most of the time) :)

This is our bird, enjoyed by all, along with many gluten-free sides for Caity, Al, and me!

Wow! Now here's a sight...Daniel and Ryan setting the table...10 places!

Here's Olivia...She's wearing her new bib, entitled "Baby's First Thanksgiving."

Here's a clip of the chaos of playing "apples to apples," a game of comparison where each one sumbits a noun to fit a particular adjective. Here, the word was "smart" and Cherith was the judge. She suggested that there should be a card with her name on it...Everybody here is pulling for their own card, especially Daniel, who submitted "Darth Vader." Observe how he is impersonating Darth Vader...He does the impersonation once, everyone laughs...He then finds himself so funny that he does it over and over again. Caity ends up winning.

The girls had fun together also!

More about Lord's Days

And the fun continues. Little Elaina Grace and her parents, Todd and Anna, came to our house for pork roast in the crock pot. She enjoyed herself so much that she fell asleep in my arms. She, too, like us experiences the weird biological phenomenon of Sunday comatose naps! What a doll. Ryan, again videoed me without me knowing it...

I love Lord's Days Too!

Lord's days are so fun...especially when 3 out of my 4 siblings come with their cuties! I think I had a jaw ache from clenching my teeth so hard (cause that's what I do when something is too cute!) Anyway, after enjoying the rich spiritual supply, we also love to enjoy our physical supply!



Here, Johnathan is cleary ecstatic about the 3 deserts he's about to enjoy with his childhood friend, Troy Talent

Here are 2 of the 3 super-moms in the family...Uh Daniel, where were you? Just kiddin.