My three favorite monkeys. I can't explain how proud I am to hear them call me daddy.

Spencer in the lobby at the Davenport Hotel. It's a nearly 100 year old, world class hotel in downtown Spokane. He and I went there two weekends ago for a special Dad/Spencer adventure. He got some exposure to the world! He put money in a parking meter, he watched a professional pianist playing a grand piano, used a bathroom with marble counters & floors where he got to dry his hands with a linen cloth and told me on the sidewalk out front, "I love down' in town!" (that's downtown for the rest of us.) This picture and the ones to follow were taken this past weekend when Grandma Lu and Grandpa Tom came up for the weekend.

Is it physically possible to be an cuter?

Is it humanly possible to be any grumpier? I call my Sophia little Mussolini. She's got the sweet disposition of a dictator sometimes! Here, at the Davenport, she is ticked because I sat in a chair she had her eye on.

The kids in the Marie Antoinette Ballroom.

The Grand Pennington Ballroom.

Remind anyone of Ferris Beuller's Day Off?

Grandma Lu and Grandpa Tom in the Peacock Lobby at the Davenport Hotel.

My kids are gonna know there is more than playhousedisney.com!

Here's Sophia in downtown Spokane with Grandma and Grandpa.

Madeline and Spencer at the church Christmas concert. The little kids were dressed up like Chipmunks, complete with their first initials. Micah Blauer is just to Madeline's right.

Both Madeline and Spencer did so good at the Christmas concert. Madeline didn't smile much, she takes her performance very serious. She doesn't want to mess up the words or the motions. Spencer stole many hearts. He was so cute with his baggy pants and gigantic turtle neck. He did amazing considering how bad he flamed out at the dress rehearsal the day before. He hung in, sang all his songs and did almost all the hand motions. And to top it off, he only picked his nose once!!

MEMORIES

Ahhhh... sweet little Spencer. Eric Blauer came by the house today and said he had found a disk with some pictures on it from one of their trips down to Oregon. This was in June 2001. They had come to our apartment and we all went swimming. Spencer was not even 1 yet. Wow.

Madeline, Dad and Uncle Neue. Good times!

(If you look at the picture of Sophia below, these two girls are about the same age. They are definately sisters!)

It is often said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, the title of this book says almost as much as that smile.

SNOW DAY!!! WOOHOO!!!

Yea!!!! What I have been waiting for has only just begun! I am really looking forward to many more days of this. It was fun getting Madeline up and ready for school without wondering if school would be closed or delayed. Where I came from the city would stand still and the school bus would stay nice and warm in the garage. This would be considered a blizzard for the Beaverton School District back home.

Madeline and Spencer are totally excited for this! Sophia was having a little harder time adapting. First she was mad because I made her put a hat on and then when we got outside she was angry because the snow was sticking to the toe of her boots. She wouldn't even join her brother and sister for a picture on the way to school. She is too funny! Eventually she loved it so much she didn't want to come in when we got home from dropping Madeline.

Finally! This little girl let me get her picture in the snow. She made this snowball at the school when we walked Madeline there this morning. She also carried it all the way home with her....and man that made for a long slow walk in the snow.  

Sophia..isn't she just so darling? She was out helping Mom and Dad put up the rest of the Christmas lights and outside decorations before the snow. She is such a great helper! 

"Daddy, we love Frosty!" Madeline and Dan went to the store to get only some little nails to finish hanging Christmas lights...hmmmm. They seemed to have found a little something extra for the show this year!  

Grandma Judy and her sisters have been doing some Christmas Shopping! A package was sent to the kids and here Spencer and Sophia are showing off how much they love their new pajamas! Thanks Mrs. Neue and family!  

My lovely wife and I. This was taken at the park right on the Spokane River two weekends ago. My mom, sister and nephews came up for a couple days for an early Thanksgiving visit.  

Auntie April (my little big sis) and her boys Martin and Luke. We really enjoyed having my family up and it was really cool for all the kids too. Mad, Spence and Sophs were so excited to have their cousins up and it was neat for Martin and Luke to see that while their cousins moved away, they moved to an actual house with an address ... one that is reachable by car! I was afraid that until they actually came, they would just think their cousins moved "somewhere, not here, far, far away."

"Hey, who turned out the lights?" Madeline with Destiny Blauer on the bridge near the Spokane Falls a couple weeks ago. 

Spencer and his best buddy Micah. We are hoping that Micah can toughen Spencie up and that Spencer can help soften Micah in return. They are totally different from one another, but both cry at night that they miss the other.