Truly an angel!

Although Evan is a real life angel every day (or at least ALMOST every day!), he got to dress and sing as one in the Christmas pageant this year at his school.

All of the kids were as cute as can be - I couldn't have asked for a better birthday gift than to see how precious they were!

Trick or Treat!

I really think Braden should have been Robin....
But I guess it just wasn't grisly enough for him!

I stayed home (close to the toilet), while Batman and his entourage cruised the neighborhood looking for criminals and terrorists.

The Happy Couple!

Aren't they sweet?

Meet Mrs. Nista!!

The proud papa, soon to give away his daughter.
The ringbearer with Aunt Nenny. He took a spill down the steps during his trip down the aisle, but was such a trooper and kept on going!
The beautiful bride, very calm and controlled - no hysterics (even though she forgot the marriage liscense)!
Mom and daughter before the big event. The only tears almost shed were when I realized that my camera ran out of batteries right before the wedding! So all I have at the moment are these before shots. Not to fear we have all important moments recorded in mulitplicity, we'll just have to wait a bit for access to them.

An ode to my waffle

Oh, at the start of my day

When I just want to play

Nothing makes me feel so great

As a waffle on my plate

Are you ready for some futbol?

That's right - Evan is following in daddy's footsteps (or cleatsteps?). Both boys started their soccer seasons this past weekend, though I'd be hard pressed to choose who looks cuter in their soccer uniforms!

One last summer fling

We headed out to the botanical gardens for one more dose of summer fun before school began! Man that boy sure is a northener!


































Evan and Margaret are taking in the romantic scenery from the treetop lookout.... look at that grin!

Boys best friend

Evan and "Som" .

I'm ready for my close up

The many faces of Evan!

Kate and Evan

Mommy's playing with her new camera! It seems to make uploading pics to the blog much faster, so I hope to add more frequently :)

The Dynamic Duo

Wonder twin powers - activate! Cousins Ashton and Evan had a ball running around shooting at each other this summer in Florida. I just figured out how to use our new scanner so I could upload this photo from Aunt Jennifer. Great pic, eh?

Braving fears

We had a fun time with Grammy at the children's museum. Evan has been afraid of this mouth tunnel every time we've gone and no amount of convincing or cajoling on our parts could get him to go in. Sure enough, he made fast friends with a 5 year old today, and when the boy ran into "The Mouth", Evan only had about 10 seconds of hesitation before he followed him right in and was immediately having the time of his life. The power of peer pressure can be amazing (and scary - if it's not GOOD pressure)!

How do porcupines make love?

Have you ever seen juvenile giraffes head butting each other in the legs? It was muy interesante! Thankfully, Evan seems not to have inherited his uncle's hunting genes, and at the zoo today didn't seem to feel the need to kill any of the helpless creatures :) His favorite today was the baby porcupine. It was adorable and even seemed cuddly, though I wouldn't want to hug too tight!

Pasty white dudes

The heat index was about 110 today, so we went to the river to cool off with Scott and Aunt Nenny. Evan was a very impressive rock jumper and showed off his new swimming skills, while the rest of us wished we had a nice cold beer! If we got some speedos on these guys we could pass for Europeans :)

Hemingway in the making?

Evan wrote his own name for the very first time today - all by himself! The E and V are pretty clear on the top, and then the a and N are underneath. I didn't even know he had done it, he was playing with a friend and I saw it after they were done. I was so thrilled! These little tiny moments can fill your heart to overflowing! Whatever did I find exciting before I had a child?

Sleepovers

For the past week or so Evan has been waking up in the middle of the night and dragging all of his "sleeping friends" (Elmo, Bear, and Buppy) into our room because he is "done with his bed". We finally gave up, tired of having to wake up ourselves to try and convince him to go back to his bed, and set up his little Elmo couch in our room. Now he comes in silently, goes straight to the couch, and goes right back to sleep. Perhaps not the best solution in the long run - but you know how much I value my sleep! Besides, one of these days he won't even want to be near us, so we're relishing the fact that he wants to be close. What a cutie!

The next Partridge family?

Braden's extended his teaching repertoire to include the drums! We are now the proud owners of a shiny new drumset, and here is Braden's youngest student :) You can imagine my joy! Actually, Braden really enjoys giving guitar lessons, and I know it's a great thing to have Evan exposed to music early. I just need to find where I put my earplugs....

Relaxin' in the pool

Evan made a splash in swim lessons this summer! He started off very hesitant but willing to try, and is now a master swimmer (at least for a three year old!) Here he is floating on his back :)

Evan's First Camping Trip!

I'm so excited you've visited - what a great way to share moments with those far away, especially of the little ones - who change everyday!

We went on our first camping trip and had a great time, even though torrential thunderstorms and leaking tents forced us to sleep in the back of a stuffy car! Aunt Nenny is busy playing with our friends' daughter Maddie, who looks unaware that she's about to be attacked!