Merry Christmas and Happy 2011!
Dan, Kristin, & Norah
Friday, December 24, 2010
Sunday, December 19, 2010
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care...
Since it's been a VERY long time since our last post, here's a quick summary of what we've been up to...
Dan ran a half marathon in early November, finishing in 1:30:54, which was 50th place overall (out of over 1200 guys) and 14th place in his age group. He was pretty excited about his time and Norah and I were glad to be able to cheer him on at the finish line!
Good job Daddy!...Happy Birthday!
Dan ran a half marathon in early November, finishing in 1:30:54, which was 50th place overall (out of over 1200 guys) and 14th place in his age group. He was pretty excited about his time and Norah and I were glad to be able to cheer him on at the finish line!
Good job Daddy!...Happy Birthday!
The next week Dan and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary and Dan's 31st birthday. Norah was happy to help her Daddy with his present and candles (and of course, the cake).
We had a very special Thanksgiving this year since Judie and Mike were able to come out for a visit. Norah loved showing them all of her toys and books and enjoyed lots of good play time with Grammy and Grandpa. Dan made a very impressive turkey, and with everyone else helping with the side dishes and appetizers, we ate quite well! Since the weather was pretty rainy for most of Thanksgiving weekend, we had a pretty low-key time (no Black Friday shopping this year), though we did enjoy watching Notre Dame beat USC (finally) in football. It was a great visit and we were so excited to have Judie and Mike make the long trip here!
We had a very special Thanksgiving this year since Judie and Mike were able to come out for a visit. Norah loved showing them all of her toys and books and enjoyed lots of good play time with Grammy and Grandpa. Dan made a very impressive turkey, and with everyone else helping with the side dishes and appetizers, we ate quite well! Since the weather was pretty rainy for most of Thanksgiving weekend, we had a pretty low-key time (no Black Friday shopping this year), though we did enjoy watching Notre Dame beat USC (finally) in football. It was a great visit and we were so excited to have Judie and Mike make the long trip here!
Giving thanks for all our blessings
Now we're busy getting ready for Christmas. We got our tree a couple of weeks ago and- with Norah's help- put lots of lights and ornaments on it. (Of course, all the fragile ones went on the top half of the tree while the hardier ones went on the bottom.) Both my mom and Judie were nice enough to share our childhood ornaments with us, so our tree tells quite a story of 31 years of Christmases. It's really fun to see all of our handmade ornaments, as well as those that were given to us by grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, and friends throughout the years. We look forward to adding all of Norah's ornaments as the years go by!
O Christmas Tree... Hanging the first ornament
Dan is almost done with the fall semester of classes, with just one semester to go before graduation. (Almost means that there is still a final project to turn in, though Dan assures me that he is "nearly" done. It just wouldn't feel like the end of the semester with out some good old fashioned procrastination and stress!) This semester was another busy one, with two regular classes, a final project, and an independent study. I can't say enough how glad he (and all of us) will be when he is done!
Now we're trying to finish our last minute Christmas shopping. I am lucky to have two weeks off work this year, which has given Norah and I some good time to shop, work on projects around the house, and play. Dan still has to work for a few more days before his Christmas vacation (long weekend) starts.
Enjoying the leaves last weekend
The real story of this weekend has been the rain in Fresno. Usually we are thankful for the water, but this weekend's downpours have caused some issues around our house. We have a new indoor water feature- a babbling brook running through the heating ducts in the foundation of our house. I'm sure that the peaceful sound of running water that starts every time our heater kicks on will soon be replaced by the unpleasant reality of a repair bill, but for now Dan and I just put out a tarp and sandbags (thanks to the Army for Dan's sandbagging skills) and are waiting for the rain to stop. Oh the joys of homeownership!
We hope that everyone has a very Merry Christmas and look forward to seeing or talking to many of you before the new year!
O Christmas Tree... Hanging the first ornament
Dan is almost done with the fall semester of classes, with just one semester to go before graduation. (Almost means that there is still a final project to turn in, though Dan assures me that he is "nearly" done. It just wouldn't feel like the end of the semester with out some good old fashioned procrastination and stress!) This semester was another busy one, with two regular classes, a final project, and an independent study. I can't say enough how glad he (and all of us) will be when he is done!
Now we're trying to finish our last minute Christmas shopping. I am lucky to have two weeks off work this year, which has given Norah and I some good time to shop, work on projects around the house, and play. Dan still has to work for a few more days before his Christmas vacation (long weekend) starts.
Enjoying the leaves last weekend
The real story of this weekend has been the rain in Fresno. Usually we are thankful for the water, but this weekend's downpours have caused some issues around our house. We have a new indoor water feature- a babbling brook running through the heating ducts in the foundation of our house. I'm sure that the peaceful sound of running water that starts every time our heater kicks on will soon be replaced by the unpleasant reality of a repair bill, but for now Dan and I just put out a tarp and sandbags (thanks to the Army for Dan's sandbagging skills) and are waiting for the rain to stop. Oh the joys of homeownership!
We hope that everyone has a very Merry Christmas and look forward to seeing or talking to many of you before the new year!
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Halloween!
Finally- the long awaited Halloween pictures! Sorry for the delay- we've been offline the last few days as we switched internet plans.
Halloween 2010: Norah is a little lamb
Norah had a fun Halloween- after some initial skepticism about the costume. I think some of the fuzz from the hood got into her mouth at first. (If you look closely in the pictures, you can see that it got all over Dan and me, too!) We went trick-or-treating at Grandma and Grandpa's (and a few other houses on their block), since most of our neighbors didn't have their lights on. She got the hang of trick-or-treating pretty quickly, and loved looking at all the pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns at everyone's houses. She was even nice enough to give all of her candy to her Daddy! Maybe next year she'll get to try some of it!
Are ewe kidding me?
Halloween 2010: Norah is a little lamb
Norah had a fun Halloween- after some initial skepticism about the costume. I think some of the fuzz from the hood got into her mouth at first. (If you look closely in the pictures, you can see that it got all over Dan and me, too!) We went trick-or-treating at Grandma and Grandpa's (and a few other houses on their block), since most of our neighbors didn't have their lights on. She got the hang of trick-or-treating pretty quickly, and loved looking at all the pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns at everyone's houses. She was even nice enough to give all of her candy to her Daddy! Maybe next year she'll get to try some of it!
Are ewe kidding me?
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
To the Fair
We took Norah to the fair a couple of weekends ago. While she was pretty uninterested in the art and textile displays, she did have a lot of fun seeing all the animals up close. We stayed away from the rides this year, but Dan did get a chance to get his corndog and funnel cake. Lucky him!
Firetrucks and Farm Animals
Norah and I have been going to Mommy and Me gymnastics since August. She really enjoys the class and the chance to play with the other kids who are in it. In the process of taking the class, we have realized that we have a bit of a climber on our hands. Norah gets to try out new things at the gym, but then she practices them on pretty much every piece of furniture at home. There might be a bit of a genetic connection in this trait, since I've heard her Daddy was quite the climber, too. She is turning into quite the independent big girl!
Firetrucks and Farm Animals
Norah and I have been going to Mommy and Me gymnastics since August. She really enjoys the class and the chance to play with the other kids who are in it. In the process of taking the class, we have realized that we have a bit of a climber on our hands. Norah gets to try out new things at the gym, but then she practices them on pretty much every piece of furniture at home. There might be a bit of a genetic connection in this trait, since I've heard her Daddy was quite the climber, too. She is turning into quite the independent big girl!
Look what I can do myself!
Monday, October 11, 2010
Norah's Pumpkin
So many to choose from!
To help get ready for Halloween, Dan, Norah, and I headed to the pumpkin patch on Sunday. She got to pick her pumpkin out of the field, so it took us awhile to find the perfect one. Of course, we got a little side-tracked checking out all the dirt clods, pumpkin vines, and various other weeds. (Norah was really interested in all the dirt, but as soon as it got on her hands she would wrinkle up her nose and frantically brush her hands together. Dan blames me for this. I don't know what he's talking about.)
After harvesting our pumpkin, we got to take a hay ride around the farm and see some farm animals. Norah had lots of fun!
We walked way out into the field to find our pumpkin... then Daddy cut it off the vine and we carried it back to the car
Friday, September 17, 2010
A Busy Fall
September has brought beautiful weather to Fresno, though some days are still hot enough to swim. Since it's never too early to start embarrassing your kids, I thought I would share these pictures of Norah in the pool. She's grown a little bit since last summer:) After her swimming lessons at the beginning of the summer, she has loved being in the pool. Now we've packed away our pool toys for the season, so she'll have to wait until next year to practice her swimming skills again.
Summer 2009 and 2010
Dan and I are working hard to get our yard under control- a project that has been ongoing since the spring. Weeds have overwhelmed the lawn and flower beds (I guess that's why we shouldn't have ignored our yard last summer!), so we spend our "free time" on weekends trying to reclaim those spaces. We also recently started a bathroom remodel on all of our bathrooms. The walls had strange texturing when we moved in (along with colors that were not exactly our style), so we brought in some professionals to re-float and paint the walls. Even they are having a tough time removing all the old texturing, so Dan and I are glad we didn't take it on ourselves. Next up- new mirrors, faucets, and towel bars. As with all of our projects, we tend to move pretty slowly, so it may be Halloween before we're done with everything!
Finally, the Irish football season is once again underway. Dan's Saturday class is getting in the way of his ability to watch the games, but luckily he can catch up online when he gets home. (Of course he would never consider watching the game during class- he is much too responsible for that!) Norah has her own version of "The Shirt" this year, so she and her Daddy had matching outfits on to celebrate Notre Dame's first game. So cute! Love to all!
Go Irish!
Summer 2009 and 2010
Dan and I are working hard to get our yard under control- a project that has been ongoing since the spring. Weeds have overwhelmed the lawn and flower beds (I guess that's why we shouldn't have ignored our yard last summer!), so we spend our "free time" on weekends trying to reclaim those spaces. We also recently started a bathroom remodel on all of our bathrooms. The walls had strange texturing when we moved in (along with colors that were not exactly our style), so we brought in some professionals to re-float and paint the walls. Even they are having a tough time removing all the old texturing, so Dan and I are glad we didn't take it on ourselves. Next up- new mirrors, faucets, and towel bars. As with all of our projects, we tend to move pretty slowly, so it may be Halloween before we're done with everything!
Finally, the Irish football season is once again underway. Dan's Saturday class is getting in the way of his ability to watch the games, but luckily he can catch up online when he gets home. (Of course he would never consider watching the game during class- he is much too responsible for that!) Norah has her own version of "The Shirt" this year, so she and her Daddy had matching outfits on to celebrate Notre Dame's first game. So cute! Love to all!
Go Irish!
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