Hey, You're Not Irish, Pt 3

Emily's 9th birthday!

Even though we aren't neighbors with John and Roxi, we still got invited to the party.

Mild February

Enjoying a very warm February!

Happy 2017!

Christmas 2016

Rose sang in the middle school choir for the Christmas special. See her over there on the right? Front row.

This is the first year that Lily did not take out the tree. And this is the first Christmas in our new house!

The morning of Christmas Eve.

We went to the Conrads later in the afternoon and stayed through Christmas Day.

Then the following day we celebrated Christmas with my parents. You can tell Emily doesn't like Christmas.

My dad bought a new .22 scoped rifle, so we went outside after opening gifts and took turns shooting at a cardboard target. That is the easiest gun I've ever shot; it makes you feel like a sharpshooter because it's nearly impossible to miss your target. No recoil, just precision target practice!

One of my gifts this year was this toy airplane that belonged to my Grandpa Nodland in the 1930s. It's in surprisingly good condition for being over 80 years old. It has a really gnarly metal gear wheel underneath with super sharp teeth that a rubber band would have wrapped around to turn the thin metal propellors when the wheels turn. A safe toy for any kid!

Birthday and Thanksgiving

Birthday! At our yooshuwall place.

Thanksgiving! Dave and Daphne joined us right before they moved to Huntsville. Mom and Dad weren't able to make it since Mom was still recovering. Daphne made pumpkin flan with melted caramel on top.

Halloween

Rose and Laura were the Grady twins for Halloween and they practiced speaking together in monotones and walking in step. They wore their costumes to school and the principal guessed correctly who they were! They've never seen that movie (not quite old enough for that yet, heh), but they watched the scene from The Shining enough times to get the part right. Creepy girls...

We turned the car into a shark for trunk or treat. There was a gray fin for the roof, too. The black sheet had an opening in it and kids had to reach through to get the candy.

Emily was Minne Mouse:

Emily looks scarier than the twins:

Pumpkins!