"Your last post was in May?"

Ok, so maybe we've slacked a little on our posting, but hey, it's been a busy year. Actually, the real problem has been that Emily has completely hogged the computer this entire year, but now that she has completed her degree, I can once again waste endless hours sitting in front of this monitor. And, hopefully, I can use a couple of those endless hours each week to update this wonderful and often-visited blog. Enjoy the past 8 months of our lives.

In June, we spent a week in Carmel, California with the Hastings family. One of the highlights was the day at the beach playing volleyball, exploring the rocks, and having a bonfire.


We also enjoyed the long and very tiring bike ride to the Lone Cypress. The boys had it easy in the back, although they really didn't enjoy the ride once they woke from their nap.

Our community hosts a pretty big party on July 4th each year. They bring in a bunch of blow-up toys, have pony rides, a hot-air baloon, and some free food. Carter had a great time, even though it was raining for most of the time, and of course, Brandon slept through most of it.

In July, we spent a week in McCall, Idaho with the King/Thomson family. We stayed in some nice condos, went rafting every day, and spent a couple of days at the lake. Brandon loved getting to know his cousins (especially Landon) and playing at the park and the beach.

It was great for Emily to be with her family, and Carter enjoyed playing frisbee with Grandpa.

On September 20th, Brandon turned one. He loved the baloons, which filled the entire living room, and the soccer ball cake Emily made him (really, though, was there any doubt?).

This fall, we signed Carter up for some swimming lessons. He started off quite slow and a little afraid of the water, but warmed up to it rather quickly. It was nice that their was one instructor per child in the class.

Halloween was quite fun for us this year, except for the candy that just wouldn't go away. Carter really got into it, Brandon surprisingly had a good time trick-or-treating.

We had a little pumpkin carving contest at the house, and I'm pretty sure I won, although I should probably lose points for the facial hair.

Ok, that gets us to December and I'm running into some technical issues. I'll post some pictures from Carter's birthday and Christmas next week, as well as some other pictures of our boys.