Christmas 2008

the girls got snow goggles this year. I think they look like big bugs when they have them on! Wyatt really liked Georgia's pink scooter and Gracie's tinkerbell doll. He's already doing a great job at bother his sisters by getting into all their things!




We made cookies for Santa and Wyatt got to lick his first beater

more sledding

"I'm a little pine tree" song

Georgia's school Christmas program

Some treasures from the old house - Photos for Steph:)

I think Dave's grandpa really liked Coca-Cola. This is an old bottle opener we found in the house.


Two boxes of old ornaments from when Betty was a little girl.


Last night Dave did a final walk/crawl through the old attic and found two boxes full of about 50 brand new model car kits. There are several different makes and models. They are still sealed up in their original packaging!


I love this tree! It has two other pieces and a light bulb that go under it so all the little bulbs on the tree light up when I plug it in. I found this last year.


This old sign is from the 1940's and was discovered during the demolition today after the roof was torn down. It must have been hidden away in the attic.

Demo Day

Today we said goodbye to our old house. Dave's grandparents moved to this farm in 1945 and we believe the old house would have been well over 100 years old today. We had some guys come over this weekend and salvage all the gutters, radiators, copper pipes from the basement, doors, fireplace and various other things to put to good use either by reselling or giving away. We took the rest of the pine doors, parts of the old built-in hutch, hardware off the cabinets to use in our new kitchen and a few other odds and ends. We found all sorts of hidden treasures and buried goodies as we gutted the house. Some include an old Drink Coca-Cola sign from the 40's, a box of vintage model car kits, and grandma’s old handmade toddler potty chair! Enjoy the photos. It was amazing to see it come down so quickly.

Our first family of 5 picture

We used this one on our Christmas cards. It's the fisrt picture we have of all 5 us us that doesn't include someone wearing pajamas! Betty took the photo of us out behind our house on Thanksgiving Day.

Winter Wonderland

I've been letting the girls play with Bounty in the snow out back by themselves. Wyatt is too little so he and I hang out inside the kitchen and watch from the door. He gets so excited just watching his sisters run around. Maybe next year he'll be big enough to join them. They also like to tease him and make faces at him through the door.

Mr. Plumper Dumper

You can see he hasn't been skipping any meals!

Thanksgiving tradition of grave blanket making

We finshed our 3rd year of making grave blankets for the Youngblood/Parr side of the family. We made 7 again this year for Dave's dad, great grandparents, great aunt, grandparents and great uncle. They turned out just as pretty as ever and we are so proud and happy that we get to do this for them. We used the spruce trees from our farm and I handmade the bows and bouquets. We keep them on the graves for about 4 months. Because it is so cold here, they look lovely and festive for months. I've never seen grave blankets anywhere but Michigan.

Wyatt FINALLY gets his first tooth!

It's just a little tiny speck, but I felt it for the first time yesterday. He's such a little sweetie:)

Going through our crates from storage

Dave was in D.C. all week and the girls wanted to make him something special for his return yesterday. Georgia insisted, despite the green frosting all over her face, that she was NOT eating the frosting and only decorating with it!

Thank you Miriam. They finally fit the girls! I've been waiting for this day and they fit absolutely perfect! You are the best and these are so special to me:)


Thanks mom for last year's outfits and this year's jammies. Georgia added the witch hat to her Christmas dress!



We've been packing up all our stuff from the old place this weekend. We are all set to demolish the house in 3 weeks. Yikes! Not enough time to get everything out!! We pulled out our winter clothes since it's been in the 20's this week. Here are some pics of the kids being goofy and trying on everything in each crate. Unpacking sure is slower with kids!

bath time

I finally gave in and let the girls take a bath in our tub. This was a special treat!!! Normally I wouldn't care, but after all the hours Dave and I spent on putting the floors in, I freak out when water gets on them!!! Within 3 minutes, Gracie dumped an entire cup of water over the tub. You can see from the look on her face that she enjoyed every minute of being naught!!

Grandma Laurie's

Photos from trip home to WA

Our last night at moms:(

Roses from Dave and the girls. I was missed!

Afternoon at Aunt Linda & Uncle Stans house. It's beautiful out there!





Out to lunch with Aunt Linda


Wyatt meets Suzie, Grandma Laurie's childhood doll. They became instant BFFs.


Great Uncle Jay & Wyatt

Sara & Sidda

Aunt Sara

Cousins Sidda & Wyatt

Sarah and Jess

Aunt Sarah and Wyatt

Aunt Annie & Wyatt


Sisters Annie, Sara and me