New Family Pics

Man-I tried to have these up a week ago, but my computer hated me there for a minute!
We finally got an updated family pic taken. Thanks to our darling and super-talented friend Camille. I highly recommend her. Thanks friend. See her photos here. Lets just say it is getting to be more of a process with 3! We had to make it short and sweet. 1/2 hr and we were done. Sam and Rees were fantastic. Alex-not so much. (Man that line sounds familiar). I think it must be some 3 yr old phase. I hope she snaps out of it soon...she is such a doll, but she is not fun when she is grumpy! Which is a lot lately! Anywho, on to the pictures. I warn you...there are many.

Just call us the Griswolds!

Well, we headed out for the annual tree cutting last Friday in our sporty minivan. Ha. We generally take old Joe Green (the beat up '79 GMC we love so much). Too much baggage for that this year. So we plopped the lovely tree on top of the minivan instead. Just call us the Griswolds. You should have seen the looks going down the road. I wish I had my video camera.

Tree Permit: $10

Tank of Gas to get there: $30
A grossly over-sized tree atop our minivan: Priceless

I'll just tell you this was, this year was one for the record books! I think I've decided that tree cutting is going to become a right of passage when you are 5. Sam was a champ. Alex on the other hand-not so much. She was bawling after a half hour that her feet were cold...we could only soothe her with lots of granola bars and fruit snacks. Rees hung in there...but what can you do when you are so wedged in your carseat by blankets and warm winter fodder that you can't move an inch...you sleep...(and then bawl you are hungry halfway through the ordeal so that mom feeds you, sitting on the snowy ground, just off the snowmobile path, while people pass you thinking what in the sam-hill was your mother thinking when she brought you with her!) Anywho....another note to self. Cut uphill in a snow year. In the past, we haven't had a ton of snow to deal with. This year...to my waist, at least. We hiked and hiked and finally found a good tree, about 30 ft off the road, and pretty much straight down in spots. And of course when you cut it, it is about twice the height you think it is. So you cut off a little more. And a little more. And then still decide it is too heavy to lug up the hill in waist-high snow. I don't think Jared has had that kind of a workout in ages. We took my sister along for moral support, but between her gimp shoulder (which I'm not sure why we thought she would be in good health-the girl has gone a whole 2 months in the last 5 years without having something broken or bandaged) and me having to stop and take care of children mid-hauling, it was mostly left to the big dog to take care of the thing. Serves him right...it was his idea anyways to cut a 17 ft tree!

We're going to Home Depot next year. All in all-it made for quite the tale that will be heard through the years in the Erickson household. Alex pretty much sums it up doesn't she?

We are all God's Children

Dad prepared a fun little FHE lesson on how we are all God's children and we should treat everyone with respect and love. For our activity we did little people chains and we were to color all the people different. It was fun to see how they all turned out!

Family Resemblance

Well...I always thought the girls were total replicas of their dad's family. Turns out there is a bit of a Williamson family resemblance. (In mannerisms too...man I was a messy kid!) Can you tell who is who? (sorry for the blurriness on a couple).Aren't they so cute
And here's the man...wasn't he a chunk! Sorry honey-we couldn't very well post about me and not show yours for a fair comparison :).

A Little Snapshot

I was taking pictures of a couple things and caught this darling shot of my oldest munchkin. Isn't she adorable. Vivacious, quick as a whip, and an awesome helper. Look at those eyes...and the smattering of freckles on her darling cheeks and nose are one of my favorite things about her. Grandma D tells her they are kisses from heaven from Grandpa Von. That Grandpa must really love her. So do we.

Happy Rainy Halloween!

Happy Late Halloween everyone. It was a bit hard to get all excited about Halloween this year. Over 90% of October has been spent hacking up lungs and blowing/wiping snotty noses. I just want to cry when I see my little munchkins with super red chapped noses and lips and teary, sad eyes. Not only that-the big dog and I both got it too. Wahoo. I'm happy to report we are on the mend though. I hope this is all the sickness that we get this winter (ya right) because it has been about more than I can handle!

As for Halloween itself, it was a bit rainy here (ok-so that's an understatement), but it was a good time. We've dressed up a total of about 10 times now, gone to the Halloweenie Roast 4 times, and changed our minds on costumes double that, but all in all, we had a great holiday.Alex originally planned to be a witch. We got all the necessary costume items only for her to have a meltdown the morning of her Preschool Halloween Party because she secretly wanted to be a purple fairy. So much for my cute witch ideas-but we had the costume, so more power to her. She was as happy as a lark after that.Sam decided she just wanted to wear her favorite pink, princess dress-up and be a princess. Blessed child and her simple, inexpensive costume idea. We pulled out mom's old tiara from the Beauty Pagean Days for the occasion and she was a vision.And there is Rees. Isn't she a doll. The little darling was just too cute to put in a costume (that and I was super lazy). Sorry for the blurry pics. I'm not much of a photographer...but you get the idea.And I had to add these pics just for posterity's sake. I love Sam's sad 'Are we seriously taking another picture' look and Alex's great boots...She looks like she should be in combat with those things. But she insisted...and how can you say no to these cuties.

Day Trippin'

After being cooped up for years (or so it feels) we decided we needed some fresh air. I love the crisp fall air and the great landscapes in our area. It was such a needed escape! We took Sam out on the back road to work on her mad bike-riding skills. She is quite the little cyclist these days.
In the process, we stopped in at a friend's that always does a fun Halloween carnival type thing in their back field for everyone. They have train rides, wagon rides, weenie roasts, and a haunted barn. We got our very own, private ride. My backside will never be the same. I don't know how Jared survived it either. But it was a great time and the girls couldn't have been happier.

Paris Canyon Weekend

Over conference weekend we took a little trip up near Paris, Idaho and did a little camping. It is kind of tradition to take one last camping trip around this time. It sure makes it nice when you have a trailer at your disposal for those chilly nights! Unfortunately about everything malfunctioned on this trip-the heater, generator, battery on the trailer...you name it, we had a problem. It was a trip of mishaps, but we had a great time and enjoyed some great company anyhow! We took some fun little hikes and enjoyed the great fall colors and the crisp air. I'm not the best photographer, so these pictures don't do the scenery much justice (or the people) but I hope you get the picture :).The girls love hiking. Jared happened upon some free camel-back type backpacks and gave one of each to the girls-well..they aren't quite child sized-they are about as big as they are! They look like little turtles from the back. But they adore them and won't leave camp without them!

The Salmon Run

It doesn't officially feel like fall where we are until we make our annual trip to Porcupine Dam to watch the salmon run and see the great fall colors. There is a breed of salmon in the dam called Kokanee Salmon and every year they swim up river from the dam to spawn. They will actually jump out of the water and up the rocks...against the current. And they are bright red, so you can see them really easily-whole schools of them. It is interesting because they work all summer to eat and get enough energy to make this one run...once they make it up river, they will spawn, lay their eggs and die. I know, a bit morbid, but interesting none-the-less. So if you are ever in our area during the middle of September, I highly recommend taking a little drive and watching this great phenomenon!Sam was a little exciting about trying to catch one and took a bit of a dip in the river. Lucky we had a blanket in the car--she donned a sarong the rest of the night.