Earlier this month...

 Francis' favorite spot lately is on top of the kitchen countertops.

 

 See!  He's such a happy guy!

 

 But not when he's told to stay away from the knives.

Why do little people love all things dangerous?

 

 View of the lake on  the day of the big snow...

 

and two days later when the ice had made its appearance.

Ah!  The joy of a really good marble run.

Marianna's activities while we try to keep the patch on her eye.

The thrill of pink boots and a whole lot of snow.

 

A quiet afternoon of art

(obviously pre-snow by the view from the windows).

Franny's 2nd favorite activity...

taking cushions off the couch.

Uh-oh.  Mom's coming!

How about this cuteness that Matthew cooked up?

He just wants to listen to Suzuki piano music,

 like every other kid in this family.

The headphones were a little too big but it's 

nothing that a washcloth and some ingenuity

can't fix.

Sharing our Thanksgiving...

 

Some people get way too excited about cranberries.

 

The Feast is ON!

 

Thought Johnny was gonna dunk his head in.

 

Little kid bubbly.

 

The rare opportunity to sit together as a family.

 

Some took to the ice...

 

to wear off all the extra calories.

 

 

Some went out ice fishing...

 

 

and a few went into a turkey-induced coma.

(Actually, she was sick.  Very glad we were home for the day.)

 

A game or two of Life and some Bible Trivia...

 

and the morning after.

(Ugh!)

Chris and Jillian's Wedding

Marianna's godmother got married last Friday night, so we partied down...

 Tried to get a picture of Marianna dancing with Joe K.

 and Jillian's little sister, Clare. Both little girls are marathon

dancers.  I'm pretty sure they never left the dance floor.

 

OK, maybe just a break for a picture with her Jillian.

Did I mention the reception was at a classic car showroom?

The ultimate man-cave.

 





A couple more pictures right before we hit the road.

Every little girl dreams of being the beautiful bride.

 

Fun shot of the bride and groom.

What a great couple!

 

Harvest Theme

A few weeks ago we had an all out apple week...

I knew it was time to start using up apples from our trees

 when I noticed that the fruit flies were holding a convention in my kitchen. 

Yuck!

 

We made apple juice and applesauce...

 

we dried apples...

 

 

and we ATE apples...

 



 

until they were all used up.

 



When the hunting's good...

 

Andrew has been asking to go hunting ever since goose season opened.

Joe K. made it a reality last week.

5 AM is a little early for this photographer so this is all I got...

 

 

Then while Joe was still cleaning ducks, 

 

 

Andrew managed to shoot a couple of squirrels

right behind the house.

 

 

Success!

Way to show those big guys how it's done.



All Hallow's Eve

 

Here's a bit of our celebration yesterday...

 

 

Marianna was supposed to be Blessed Imelda Lambertini.

 

Since that was quite a mouthful to say, she called herself Blessed Yoda.

 

The rest are St. John Paul II, the Archangel Gabriel and

St. Cecilia, respectively.

 

 

Not only did they come up with their own costumes,

 they also did their own pumpkin carving.

 

 

Matthew did the UMN emblem on the side of his pumpkin.

(Stephen may be gone but he is not forgotten!)

 



Then we all trouped out to our parish cemetery for Mass.

The youth put candles on each grave.

It's really awesome...

 

 

and CHILLY, too!

 

 

Then we partied (and warmed up) in the church basement.