Three months all around

So Brian and I have been sorting pictures a lot lately--five years worth of pictures is a lot, just so you know. We have been comparing pictures of our three kids. Who knew that the same mold could produce three similar, yet not, cuties? These pictures are of all our kiddos at three months.

Lydia, January 2006

Benjamin, January 2008

Declan, January 2011

House Happenings

I needed to take a break from sorting pictures from the last few months to post here on the blog, so I decided to fulfill the request I had from a friend...namely I have not been keeping you updated with what we have done on the house. There are too many to talk about, so I will tell you about the one I am most proud of at the moment. I will give you a before, during and after recap. Mind you, it still needs a few more things done to it, but (This is for you Elise!)

This poor, poor fireplace. It was completely outdated and very understated. Considering it was the focal-point of the living room, it just didn't work.

Enter in demolition and voila, a blank canvas that was way too over-sized for the room still. We contemplated for over a year before we came up with the not-quite final product.

We added a hearth back in, one that was more fitting the size and has storage for fire wood, lowered the mantle, and added slate ledge stone to the face. It completely changes the look of the room. We hope to eventually add a cabinet above the fireplace that will hide a television. We have seen a lot of great ideas and cannot wait to show you what happens! We also are going to get a flat firescreen that matches a little better.

So, what do you think?

Rewind Part Uno

Thanksgiving

We started our Thanksgiving trip by going to the "World's Largest Pistachio" just outside of Alamogordo, NM. Brian had previously looked up things we could do to break the trip up for little ones, and wanted to stop here. It was pretty funny, but the kids only wanted to "get to Morgan's house!" so we did not stay here long.

We packed up our three kids back into the car and went to Alamogordo, NM to meet Julian and Ashley and their three kids at the Train Depot. (It is a model train lover's haven.) We have actually been there before a couple years ago, but we figured since Benjamin and AJ were not old enough to appreciate it, we went back to ride on the train.

Ben did not heed the "No Tresspassing" sign that was so clearly hanging where a little child could not see it, and hopped over the chain to look at the steam engine. He was pretty sad that all he could ride was a diesel-electric train. (This boy knows his trains.)

This is the best picture I got of Lydia, Morgan and AJ. As you can tell, it was a windy day. Benjamin was sitting by me because he wanted to climb out while it was moving.

Benjamin was enthralled by his experience and he begged to ride a second time.

We then went to Julian and Ashley's house and she and I stayed up waaaay too late trying to prep for the Thanksgiving meal.

The guys took the kids geocaching on Thanksgiving morning while Ashley and I finished up the meal. As a side note, kids love geocaching. Give it a try if you haven't already. Lydia still talks about going "treasure hunting."

Ashley pulled out her nice china for Thanksgiving, and let me set her table...I like to go all out so I was excited that she wanted to use the china!Isn't her china gorgeous?

We were able to go to Old Mesilla the day after Thanksgiving and eat in a restaurant that is supposed to be haunted. There is even a room that the ghost is supposed to haunt that you can reserve to eat in. That might be fun for Halloween, but it could also be kind of spooky dining with an intruder. (What is it about the old Spanish buildings that are spooky in and of themselves, even if they are not supposed to be "haunted"?)We rounded off our trip by stopping at Gran Quivara, the ruins of a Spanish mission to the Pueblo Indians. That is the remainder of a "new church" they were building but abandoned. Those specks in the doorway are Lydia, Benjamin, Declan and me.Benjamin fell asleep at Grandma's house just after we got home. As you can tell, it was a very fun, eventful Thanksgiving for all of us, and I am sure we all felt like this when we got home.