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. 

Sophia with her Grandma Lu. 

Home for Halloween!

We had an opportunity to go home to Aloha for the last weekend in October. Dan will be starting a new job this November 15 and also because of uncertain how the weather will be by Thanksgiving and Christmas we wanted to be able to take one last trip home to see family and friends. It was a really packed weekend but so much fun. We arrived Friday night and stayed with my parents. This allowed us to surprise some of Dan's family. Saturday night was an 80th birthday party for Dan's Grandma Hailey. We were able to make it and spent a good time visiting with grandma Lu's family. I also got to spend a great deal of time with my sister Christy and my mom.

I am not sure if you all know that the "French family" really went through a tornado of changes this last summer. My sister Jenny and her family sold their home and moved to Australia for 2 years. And Christy and her family moved in from Gearhardt on the Oregon Coast to Portland. And of course we moved to Spokane. My poor mom and Dad! At least one of us three girls is there. All these moves and changes made it impossible for Christy and I to ever have time to see each other or let alone talk! I literally had not seen or even talked to her for about 2 months. It was good to get home and just talk with my sister. I have really missed her. Luckily Jenny and the kids had some time to come up and have great visit before they went down uder! Jenny and Jake have a blog site now for all there Austalia news! www.aussieniesen.blogspot.com

The goodbyes from familyand friends whether coming here or us going there has been more tearful than I ever thought. I have come to realize that it is because the time we spend together has so much more quality than when we were all near each other. It has been a wonderful emotional ride for me. Bittersweet but so good for the heart. I am looking forward to having Dan's mom, April and the boys come up this weekend. The kids are really excited. I am sure that we will have much to journal about the cousins along with some pictures!

Well, I thought I would start trying to take some time to actually talk to you all as well as having pictures. Good bye for now.

Care Bear Sophia, Spiderman Spencer and Cinderalla Madeline had a good year this year. Since we got to go home to Aloha for Halloween Madeline was in heaven to be able to trick or treat with her cousin Grace. Spence and Sophia had a few run-ins with high school aged monters and wanted to quit trick or treating after about 10 houses. They then helped Grandma French pass out candy. It was a lot of fun. Such a fun age!  

Every year for the last several years we have always brought our kids to trick or treat at the Neue's house. We stay long enough to play and have a good visit. Scott is such a good friend to us and truly loves our kids as if they are his nieces and nephew. He will always be uncle Neue to them. Just as Gene and Judy are another set of grandparents. We love you very much Neues!  

The kids are having a good time visiting with Scott's mom, Judy.  

Grandma & Grandpa come to town...September

Our most fun outing with Grandma and Grandpa. Manito Park. This part of the park is a huge flowering garden that mirrors one side to the other. . ahhh...I love my mom!

This has got to be my favorite all time picture. we always call Spencer "little Rod" after my dad. So it is really special to see these two in a picture like this one. Here we are crossing the tiny little creek bed in the Japanese Gardens

Here we are..the girls...waiting for the boys in the park restroom behind us. How is it that mom and grandma managed to get the girls in and and out in a flash while dad and spencer are still in there?? 

The kids loved the duck pond. Some nice girls next to us gave the kids some bread to feed the ducks with them. They had a blast!  

Here are a few pictures of our Little Spencer. It seems that the girls get a lot of attention so we are going to show him off for a moment here. Spencer and mom at a park in Newberg Oregon in June.  

He is such a joyful little guy! 

the birthday party gang! Big sister Madeline, Cousin Grace, Friend Hailey Patershall, Friend Olivia Jacoshenk and Cousins Ben and Rachel. The were just stepping out of the creek for the picture.  

The birthday boy. This was his 4th birthday party near the end of July. Spiderman was and still is the boys most favorite hero!