Friday, December 31, 2010

More Christmas Eve Pics!







Christmas Eve!











Didi and Papa spent the night at our house to help celebrate Christmas eve and experience the magic of Christmas morning. On Christmas Eve, we thought we'd try something new and had fondue for dinner. It was actually quite yummy. We also made cookies and had a cookie-painting party to decorate. I think the adults enjoyed the paiting even more than the kids...according to Maya...we all "got carried away". Later in the evening, the door bell rang and maya and kai discovered a package laying on the doorstep. It containted new jams (a pair each for Maya and kai) and a lovely poem from Elfie...our resident elf who has been residing at the Marten household for the duration of December. This was his second year with us so he's becoming quite the member of the family. We ended the evening with leaving reindeer food on our front snow covered yard, and preparing Santa's cookies and milk. Unfortunately, Cheeks the cat stole a couple of sips of Santa's milk. Don't worry, I poured Santa a clean glass of milk before his arrival.

Tracking Santa!


Thursday, December 16, 2010

Cookies with Nanny!




A Chat with Santa!











Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving!











Keeping up with a fairly new tradition, we once again ventured to Michigan to spend Thanksgiving at my parents' cottage. We were warmed by the heat of the wood burning stove and enjoyed beautiful naturesque views from the simple, quaint, two bedroom abode.

Our Thanksgiving feast was lovely (thanks to my mom). I was in charge of the pre-dinner snacks (hmmm...is somebody trying to tell me something about my cooking?). After dinner, Dom offered to do all of the dishes by hand (there's not a dishwasher at the cottage!) and recruited Maya and Kai as two eager helpers to be the "dryers".

The kids played endless games with their DiDi and Papa and even put on a 30min+ production of Annie. Kai made quite the turkey out of playdough and Maya and Kai completed a masterpiece on the old-fashioned lite brite (you know the one...we all had it growing up ...after 30 minutes of use it was hot enough to start a fire...but amazingly, never did).

Anyway, overall a very memorable Thanksgiving.

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Kai's Jack-O-Lantern!











Maya's Jack-O-Lantern!











Monday, October 25, 2010

Spider Man and Annie!







Sunday, October 24, 2010

The Pumpkin Patch Halloween Party!




Tonight, we had a great time picking the perfect pumpkins, jumping, eating a yummy halloween feast, and dancing with friends.

Thank you Eric and Kristi for a fun and memorable night.

Thanks also to Kristi for the beautiful photos of my adorable Annie and handsome Prince Naveen.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Halloween Happenings!







Tonight, we went to a neighborhood costume party. Dom and I actually dressed up as a 1920's flapper/gangster pair. Maya pulled off an awesome Annie look-a-like and Kai was the handsome Prince Naveen. We had a great time celebrating with the neighbors.

A Wet End to Fall Soccer!


Today marked the end of Maya's fall soccer season. It started to rain 10 minutes before her game and continued to rain for the entire match. The kids seemed to tolerate the weather much better than the parents on the sidelines.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Roller - Skiing!




Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Donut Eating Tinker Bell!


As I walked into the kitchen today, this is how I found Kai. When I asked what he was doing, he simply stated that he was Tinker Bell eating a donut.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

A Neighborhood Halloween Preview!




When the kids went out to play today, they quickly realized that all of the kids were sporting halloween costumes. They raced inside and put on costumes of their own. Funny thing though...Halloween's not for another two weeks!

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Fall Fun!







Tuesday, October 5, 2010

A Stab at Manual Mode!











I was inspired by my friend Marti's blog to try a new mode on my camera. Since I began using my new camera last Christmas, I have mostly been an auto, Av, or self-portrait kind of photographer, always skipping over the big "M" on my wheel of choices.

Today, I told the kids that they had to help me to be a better photographer...that today I was trying a new mode on my camera and that they, of course, would need to be my subjects. After a few grunts and groans, they reluctantly agreed. Well...I had to promise that they could play with the neighbors across the street if they helped me take just a couple of good shots. Bribery always works.

Anyway, I really had no idea what I was doing, but I think I got a couple of good photos. The one of our cat eating grass is a bit freaky if you ask me. Her exposed teeth make her look vicious. She actually is a wonderfully sweet cat.