Raber Visit and Snow is Here

My eldest sister Janna drove through the other day with her hubby George. It was so great to have them visit. They had never been to Laramie before so we tried to show them a good time. :) This was the first time they had traveled with none of their children in a very long time so they were in high spirits for the change of pace. We are glad the big fall snow storm waited and came the day after they left. Phew!

Girlie-Q's

Savannah is very full of smiles lately. She lights up for any face and enjoys being held by others besides her parents......thank goodness...(Charlotte wasn't very friendly yet at this age).

Char is getting really good at writing her letters. She saw this grid on one of my friends blogs and asked that I make her one. What a great idea that was.

Our favorite holiday, Halloween is upon us! We are carving pumpkins tonight and all of our decor has been out for a while. Seen here is Charli in her bed with her special Halloween pillow case that Grandma Erickson made for her. (She asked that I get a picture) Also, Char loves to take pictures of her hair because I have started to toy with the idea of cutting her hair for "Locks of Love" but she wants a lot of pictures of it before we go ahead and make the final decision. That is what the top photo is for.

These girls are truly the loves of our lives. Thank goodness for their sweet spirits!

That's What Friends Are For

I love helping my friends and receiving some help in return on occasion. My VERY generous and talented friend made this Maya wrap for me. Savvy loves to just hang out in there. It is very helpful when she is in the "I just want to be held" mood and I have dishes, laundry, etc. to do. Thanks Tamra!!!! Aren't friends amazing?

Ultrasound

Madeline Carol Smith.......we can't wait to meet you!

I cannot believe my baby sister is having a baby.

4 Months & 4 Years

Our little one had her four month check up today. She is teeny-tiny. Only 12 lbs. 1 ounce.....15th percentile. Wow....Char had doubled her birth weight at two months and Sav hasn't even done that in four. One difference is that Savvy hasn't switched to formula yet. Maybe that has something to do with it...who knows? But it is funny to see her still fit into newborn and 0-3 month clothing. :) As for little Lotte, she is still smack dab in the 50th percentile as always. I guess that explains why she has always fit into the clothes that say the appropriate age for her.

Also in the news: My sister is having a girl!!!! Yay. She and Savannah will only be 8 months apart. That will be super fun. I hope to make it out to Mississippi for the delivery, etc. She is due two days after my birthday....March 7th.

Fall Happenings

Fall is here (or an early peak of winter) so that means time for Halloween costume prepping, pumpkin pie and candy! We had a fun Family Home Evening this week decorating pumpkins. Charlotte drew her own face on her very own pumpkin (which gave us a giggle) and Savvy's wee little pumpkin was decorated by her Daddy. I can't wait to buy a BIG pumpkin and roast the seeds.

Another happening this week was little Vannah's first haircut. She did well. These pictures of her doing some tummy-time show the long hairs that were around her ears and some long strays on top. I used the #4 clipper on those little guys and now she looks much better. The shot of her in the bathtub is to show the results....she enjoyed the outcome as you can see.

Hope you are all having a Happy Fall.

Another Fabulous Performance Opportunity!

So this dream I had of going back to school and getting back into music and singing and performing just gets better and better. I was selected to be in the Vocal Jazz Ensemble again this year and we worked our tails off in order to be ready for the happenings this week. Not only did we put on another Vocal Jazz workshop for the High Schools in the Wyoming, Nebraska and Colorado areas, but we performed with an amazing group called the New York Voices. If you like jazz you MUST look them up on their website or on www.darmonmeader.com (he is one of the members who does all their arranging.) We did a Beatles tune by ourselves where I had a solo vocal part. I LOVE this song because my sister and I used to listen to it off my parents vinyl collection....it's "In My Life" (from the Rubber Soul album) and we sang "I Could Write A Book" and "The World Keeps You Waiting" with the New York Voices. They gave us master classes on blending, tone color, scatting, improvisation, etc. Most students pay hundreds of dollars for an opportunity to work with a professional group like this.....but UW just received HUGE grants for these types of events and I am so thrilled to be a part of it.

I wish I could post a video but it is against copyright laws. Bummer. Anyway, I am so glad I am involved in music again. It just fills my soul and makes me so happy. Whether it be classical, jazz, opera, contemporary, etc. it just inspires me. I hope my girls learn to love music also and that I keep them culturally enriched through out their lives with this kind of exposure. If any of you have played an instrument, sang with a choir, danced a recital or just supported the arts etc......GOOD FOR YOU!!!!!

House Fire

The surreal text came on Tuesday afternoon. "The Newcastle house is burning to the ground" I could not believe it but I made the phone call and received the dreadful news. It was real. The house caught fire and what the Erickson family (that I married into almost 8 years ago) raised all their children in, was going down in flames. The fire department even ran out of water! Yikes. We are just SUPER grateful that everyone made it out O.K. and that it did not start a forest fire. I am also glad we live close so we can offer some help. (Adam will most likely be spending any free moments up there for a while) My in-laws have had such a great attitude about the whole thing and I am really proud of them. It cannot be an easy thing to go through (because it is even affecting us so much) but I know we will all get through it together.