Christmas with Family!!!

Luke 2 - Uncle Riley as Joseph, Kaitlyn as Mary, and Alyssa as Jesus (and Kevin as the donkey)


Grandma reading The Christmas Orange. Then she shared a chocolate orange.


Without asking or even suggesting, Kaitlyn and Alyssa did a talent show of singing and dancing.

Bryson also took part in the talent show and played the piano.

Kaitlyn and Alyssa got a puppet theater for Christmas. They loved having grandpa and his bear help with their performance.




Thank you grandma, grandpa, and Riley for coming and spending Christmas with us and making it wonderful!

Gingerbread Houses

Gingerbread house making on Christmas Eve with Grandma, Grandpa, and Riley.













Grandma and Kaitlyn were partners. The jelly beans on top are Christmas lights. Kaitlyn made a strawberry garden in the back.




I helped Alyssa but truthfully, if you can't tell, she did most of it all on her own and she was so proud.


Grandpa and Bryson were a great team.

Check out the Christmas tree with the star and the bed and so many more creative ideas.

#4 Purdue

We took Bryson and Kaitlyn to a Purdue's Men Basketball Game!

Chicago with the Prices

The Prices live in Texas but were in Chicago for a few days visiting family. We met up with them at the Museum of Science and Industry. It was fun to catch up on old times from graduate school!!!Julianne, Carlisle, Dacia, Alyssa


Alyssa and Riv

Bryson and Amelia practicing driving a submarine.



Kaitlyn and Frances in the submarine living quarters.







As you stood on the lights it played like a piano keyboard.

Finished Product

We picked up the finished pottery projects - they turned out really cute.




Kariana also made chocolate pretzel snowmen with the kids - they were cute and yummy.

Merry Christmas Kariana

Kariana moves away in one week! It still doesn't seem real and seriously I don't know if any of us are going to survive - we have had so much fun these past 9 months and she has spoiled us rotten. We wanted to do something special for her for Christmas so yesterday the kids and I took her to a pottery place. The kids each painted something that they can keep in their own rooms and then Kariana painted a cookie jar and had the kids put their handprints on it for her to take. It takes a week for them to get fired so I will have to post a picture of the finished products. We love you Kariana!

Washington DC

Kevin had a conference in DC and I got to tag along!!! Thanks to our great tour guide, Brody, we were able to fit in some great site-seeing...

Natural History Museum

Brody and Dacia at the Einstein Monument

World War II Monument

Air and Space Museum

Cupcakes - Long story but I wanted to try the trend of a cupcake shop - Kevin wasn't too impressed and even less when he saw there was a line and that each cupcake was $2.75 but Brody waited in the line (actually several times because we were late) and Kevin didn't even pay for his cupcake. I don't know why I forced him to get one but I did and he did like it even though he continued to make comments. I was impressed though and would even go back!

Thanks Brody for spoiling us rotten in DC and thanks Kariana for spoiling us rotten by watching the kids so we could have this fabulous getaway.