KETCHUP.... er, Catch up

It looks like it's been a few months since the last time we posted anything on here. The kids keep growing like weeds, and we keep trying our best to keep up with them. We hope these photos will give you a taste of what we've been up to since our last post.

Happy New Year!  Here's Jake with Budd and Maggles, tired on New Years morning:

Maggie is now 7 1/2 months old, and about to crawl.  This is our favorite picture of the month:

Each year the Portland Zoo goes all out and Boeing sponsors "Zoo Lights." Basically, when it gets dark, the entire zoo is laced with Christmas lights. We only have a couple photos, but trust us, it's awesome:

Here are a few shots of our little Christmas together:

We got DUMPED on which made for a VERY white Christmas this year. It was actually really awesome to have over a foot of snow again (a big part of us really misses Rexburg!).

We LOVE the fact that we finally have AWD - 

it makes driving in the snow SOOOO much easier!

Looking out at the back patio - the big bump is a snow-covered flowerpot.  

We like how this photo shows how deep the snow was.

Budd turned 3 on November 25th.  We did a Cars movie theme for his cake, and of course he wanted to make sure he was able to drive his cars on the cake instead of eating it:

Budd finally decided to potty train in October, and it was a snap getting him to do it all by himself.  He is so proud and loves his Thomas the Train underoos:

Halloween came and went quickly.  We had Bob the Builder and his friend Wendy, and little Maggie was an ear of corn while we were the Farmer and his wife.  Here's a photo of the kids during our Playgroup Halloween party.

Toward the end of October we took a trip up to Washington to visit our good friends the Dormans (some of the best people you'll ever know). We spent a day playing around in Seattle, near the Space Needle and Pike Place Market, and then spent the rest of the weekend with them near their home in Puyallup. Washington is beautiful and it was fun to catch up after what seemed like forever.  We hope to be able to do it again soon (hint, hint!)  Here are some photos of our trip:

1st Day of Preschool

Today our little girl had her 1st day of preschool.

Livin' the Dream

Well, not sure there's much to say here other than, "what else matters?"

Stand up if you're cute

Maggie is so much fun. Here are a couple of photos of her looking roly-poly in a little pink sweater that Aunt Donna gave her. We've also included a short video clip of her standing on Daddy's hand. What a fun little cutie we have!

 Daddy having fun with his little sweetie.

So Chubby!

Jesse, does this ring a bell?

Maci's Birthday Party....and the coolest cake ever!

Again, we've waited too long to post up some of these fun pics from Maci & Naomi's Birthday party.  

As some of you already know, Maci & Namoi have their birthdays only 3 weeks apart, and living so close to each other has allowed them to become quite a team - and somehow they've managed to figure out how to get away with being mischievous and curious...and cute.  I think it's because they've learned how to show their dimples when they smile.  

Anyway, they both asked for a princess party, so naturally there had to be a castle cake.  Here are a few shots of the them at the party, having a blast.

"Make a wish!"

Notice cousin Abigail's little hand...ready to help with the decorating?

Beth had a lot of fun making this cake

In this one, we caught Maci licking her hand, sticking it in sugar, and then licking it off

SEE?!  Those smiles can get them out of anything!

Maci's 4th Birthday at the ZOO!

Shame on us!...waiting over a month to post pictures of our sweetie's 4th birthday adventure at the zoo!

On Maci's birthday we decided to go the Portland Zoo. Daddy took the day off work and we invited the Forrey clan. It was quit the trip with so many little rascals running around, especially Jacob and Camden. I think the ratio between parents/grandparents vs. kids was even and it was a good thing too. Anyway, the kids had a blast.

Jacob, Naomi, and Maci in front of the Bears

Mommy & Maggie

Naomi & Maci on the Zoo Train

Lunch time at the Bird Show

Jacob shows us the way to the Polar Bears

Silver Creek Falls

We had a little family outing to Silver Creek Falls this evening (the kids are in training for their first real backpacking trip). After seeing the falls, we ran across some deer that happened to be eating a little dinner about 10 feet off the trail. We stuck around for at least 10 minutes watching them and snapping a few photos and video clips (many of which didn't turn out because it was too dark). Anyway, here are a few fun photos:

"A-hiking We Will Go!"

Cheese!

Sillies

Peek-a-boo!

Two deer