Keith Comes to Spend the Evening!

We all had a fun night tonight. It’s midnight and I’m writing about it so it can’t have been too bad. Lynne went out for dinner with her entire research group and Keith came over to entertain the kids with games for a little while and entertained me by being a drinking buddy for a few hours! Thanks for the presents guys, looking forward to seeing more of you over Christmas!

Connor's 4th Birthday Party

We celebrated Connor's 4th birthday yesterday and everybody really enjoyed it. It was one the first times we saw Connor get really really excited about something. Prior to everybody arriving he was giddy with excitement, running around the place going nowhere, but doing so very quickly. Many thanks to all who came on what was a very cold and snowy day here in WL to make it a special occasion for Connor. Anne was kind enough to bake a cake, which tasted great, thank you Anne!

Of course I captured a few photos to remember the day. You can probably tell how excited Connor was, he had this really large smile all day long, I think his cheeks must be hurting today.

Happy 4th Birthday Connor

Tomorrow is Connor’s 4^th birthday. Happy Birthday Son. In years to come you’ll probably not recall your 4^th birthday, but if you ever read these pages be reminded of three things: 1. you were really excited about turning four, somehow you believed you would suddenly be all grown up; 2. at times you are quite mean to your sisters but more often you are a little charmer and; 3. your Mummy and Daddy love you very much. Unfortunately I will not be here tomorrow, I’ll be in Chicago, but we’ll have a party for him on Sunday and I’ll certainly be here for that.

Birthday Pictures

Shown below are a few photos from last night, we had Randy, Lorraine and Kay over for dinner and we celebrated my birthday. We had my favorite dinner, roast leg of lamb with all the trimmings. Yum. Thanks a million Lynne, I love you. My favorite part of the evening however was blowing out the candles with the kids!! Priceless.

Relaxing Long Weekend

It really has been a very relaxing weekend. It’s Sunday afternoon and we’re pretty chilled out here in WL. We put up our Christmas decorations, had Randy, Lorraine and Kay over for dinner, celebrated my birthday, did lots of coloring, had Frida and Anna for a play date, spent a few hours in the park, watched a few movies and read lots and lots of books. In addition to all that, we had a special visitor on Friday; Brooke was in town for the holiday and spent a few hours with us. The kids were so excited to see her after just a few weeks away; they greeted her like they had not seen her in years. It was fun to see her and we’ll do so again over Christmas.

Photos at Lorraine and Randy's House

Last night as the kids were going to bed, I visited Randy and Lorraine who had had a very large family Thanksgiving dinner. They wanted me to take some family pictures, given that they were all together, some from out of town, and the kids were significantly older since they last had a large family picture. I got lots of great shots that I’ll be sharing with them all but shown below are a few.

Thanksgiving Dinner

We had a great day yesterday. We chilled out at home for a few hours as a family before spending the evening with Kaisa, Kevin and family who cooked a fantastic Thanksgiving dinner. Thanks to you both for a wonderful afternoon and evening. As usual I got a few pictures of the children, I have pictures of this crew together since they were six months old and its so much fun seeing how much they grow each year.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everybody. Today we are all taking a little time to spend it with family and friends and to reflect a little on what we are most thankful for. I’m thankful for so many things but nothing really tops my family and their continued health. I hope you all enjoy the day, relax, don’t get too stress out and leave a little room for desert!

Lynne's Research Group

Shown below is a picture from an afternoon in September when we had most of Lynne’s research group over for dinner.  Most were able to come but a few could not make it. Connor missed not having Matt visit but Norbert really stepped up and literally entertained Connor all evening. It was a really fun evening, the kids absolutely loved playing and joking around with Mum’s “students”.  

Relaxing Sunday in a Very Cold West Lafayette

It’s cold here in West Lafayette, winter has emerged; it was 8F (-13C) this morning. Today will be a day for snuggling up at home, reading, hanging out with the kids and cooking this afternoon. Connor is really into helping in the kitchen at the moment. The only problem is that he insists on exclusivity, he does not like it when one of the girls also wants to help. Hope you all have a warm Sunday afternoon.

No Power for almost three days

There have been no updates since Sunday for good reason. We lost power on Sunday afternoon after the storm went through our area and it only returned early this morning. There was lots of damage in our area, but we escaped any serious injury. Many frustrated hours without electric and some perishable items was about the size of our pain. We’re happy to have come through unscathed. Thanks to all of you who help us, we needed that.

Keith, Jie and Jayden

We had a very relaxing evening yesterday with Keith and Jie who both work with Lynne at Purdue. The highlight of the evening however was Jayden, their three month baby boy. Our babies just did not seem that small anymore. How quickly one forgets how small and fragile newborns are. Lynne prepared a great dinner and a fun filled evening was had by all.