Birthday, Visitors and Pre-Christmas Week

Winner winner, chicken dinner!

Liam shot hoops for hours. It was hilareous to watch.

Bentleyville-We stood in line to see Santa for all of 10 minutes before the kids said they wanted to skip it and see the lights instead-WooWhoo!! Fine by us :)

Mrs. Claus had NO line and gave away candy canes....all they really wanted!

Connor and Lilly

Happy New Year!!! Didn't think our lives could get much busier but the past two weeks took us by storm :)

Dan and I both had the chance to help out in Connor's class, Monday before Xmas, during his holiday party. We made cookies, xmas cards, reindeer necklaces and Santa ornaments. It was so fun to see him in his classroom setting.

Dan was off the past 2 weeks!, and took the chance twice to model clothes in a local clothing store's window during the lunch hour. There was even an article in the paper-he now thinks we should move to NY to advance his career-HA!

Tuesday our dear friends from Tulsa-the Wings- came to stay with us for a few days. The boys adore their girls and loved the opportunity to play "girle" things like dress up...but we did manage to skate outside too. It was three busy, loud, fun filled days and we cherish the time with them.
Thursday after Connor's last day of school we headed to the Edge Waterpark to celebrate Liam's birthday. We asked the Mays to join us, becuase this prego lady can't go down any slides!!, and all involved had a BLAST! Over 2 hours of splashing, dunking, sliding, shooting hoops, climbing and laughing....it was awesome! Friday morning Jim and Kathy came to help out and it was fantastic again :)

We camew home Friday at noon and got ready for his party Friday night at the Heritage Ice Rink with friends and family. Open skate was great then we had cake and presents after to end the evening.

Saturday we spent the day cleaning, reading books and skating out back before heading to Jim and Kathy's for supper and desserts by the fire. We were home and tucked in bed early in anticipation of Santa's arrival :)

Christmas morning we opened gifts with the Mays here. They wanted to see what all the paper tearing, kid screaming, box throwing excitment was all about....and I think they got their wish! The boys loved sharing in it all with them. I think we'll have to make that a tradition!

This past week we spent every second together-skating at the rink or out back, playing with new toys, going to the aquarium, visiting friends, getting ready for Juna and hanging out at home. It's been fabulous having Dan home to help clean, cook, hang out and organize before the babe arrives. Wish that could be permanent ;)

We brought in the New Year low-key style. Stayed in out jammies all day, spent the night in the basement by the warm fire, skating out back, hot tubbin' and in bed early. Perfect!!

Have a Happy and Blessed New Year!!

Brrr....

Lately, the temp in our house has been close to the temps outside without the wood stove going...brrr! We finally paid a guy to finish it for us and are thrilled with the outcome. Now that the stove is going its nearly 70 degrees in the house, with the furnace off, and I am much more prepared to face the cold, winter nights-ahh!

Know what that is.....HOCKEY HAIR!!!

Connor at his school program.

Connor was invited to his first friend birthday party. Jake(birthday boy), the one on the right, is in his class and it just so happens ALL 6 of the kids sitting here are on the Piedmont hockey team. What a fun group of boys!!

Santa(aka Uncle Mike) always makes a visit to Grandma and Papa Doyle's house before Christmas. He hands out candy, balloons and toys to each of the 12 grandchildren. Our boys were ecstatic!!

Evening skates in the backyard

Happy Holidays!

So rare that we get a decent family picture. My auntie can work wonders.

Enjoy the holiday season!!

A picture glimpse into the past month...

Three Spooks

The boys had a great time celebrating Halloween this year. I have had my decorations up since the end of Spetember so getting into the spirit was no problem. We've made several trips for pumpkins, created spooky projects to hang up and even handmade our costumes this year. (*I've been reading the Harry Potter books to C & L, just #1, 2 and 3, and they are obsessed!!) So Connor was a Harry Potter quidditch player, Liam was a Draco Malfoy quidditch player and Novak was the Golden Snitch(thats the little gold ball the quidditch player chase around on their brooms trying to catch).

We attended the 'Scarium' at the Aquarium Sunday morning for an hour of treat free prizes and seeing lots of spooky reptiles. I take the boys there about once a week so they're comfortable walking around on their own exploring :)

We squeezed in a hockey practice(imagine that!!)in the afternoon before rushing off to our nephews birthday party at 4. We got lots of cake and ice cream, present opening and cousin play before heading to Hogwarts Halloween-an entire party dedicated to Harry Potter lovers!

It was incredible!!! There was three floors of recreated scenes from the movies-Gryffindor's common room, the dining hall, Hogsmeade Village with shops galore, Gringotts Bank and a horse drawn carriage. We all had a blast searching the "castle" for new rooms and participating in all the fun activities. Dan and I even wore costumes to join in the fun :) It was great.

Yesterday at school Connor's teacher completely decorated their classroom and planned a morning party with parent volunteers. Dan spent the morning making crafts with the kids and passing out candy. Then the kids got into costume before an afternoon parade. It was so cute seeing all the kids march around the gym together.

After school we headed to Dan's parents for the annual Halloween pizza party with all the cousins and then trick or treating to all the homes Dan used to go to. We came back up the hill for 2 more full hours of trick or treating...the boys walked the whole time and loved it! We ended up with pounds and pounds of candy, which we willl discard soon!, but it was worth it to see them all laughing and running from house to house together. It's one of our favorite holidays....we're already looking forward to next years fun-filled holiday

**On a side note, 4th pregnancy is going well. I am in my 27th week right now with only 91 days left(my phone app says so). Time flies. So far things are going great and the boys can't wait to meet little Miss. Juna(as they have named "her" and call her all the time).

Feelin' good at 30!

I can't help but end this weekend feeling so blessed! Friday night Dan threw me a surprise birthday party to celebrate my 30th. I have been saying for weeks, "nothing big...let's not draw attention to it and I won't feel 30!" So much for that approach.

I came home from night from my "surprise" massage he had scheduled to 30+ of my friends and family screaming "SURPRISE!!". It was overwhelming to know that many people came to celebrate and share in my big day. I gave a round of hugs then went to my bedroom to change...and my parents and sister Mary, with her hubby and little Claire, were in there!!! SO AMAZING!! We partied the night away....it was way better than doing nothing at all :)

Saturday was Novak's first hair cut :) Neither of us cried and he looks adorable.

We hit the Lakewalk then enjoyed the day together before all the guys went to the Bulldog game and the ladies laid low at home.

Everyone took off early this morning. The boys are already asking when our next Omaha trip is because they all miss baby Claire!

Turning 30 didn't sound too fun but as I reflect on the weekend I'm overjoyed with where I am in my life at this time:
My husband continues to shower me with love and affection, like he has from day 1

My children love me, hug me and make me smile daily

I have a beautiful, round belly filled with our fourth healthy babe

My youngest is potty training with great ease(thank goodness!)

Best of all I get to stay at home to raise my children(what I always wanted to do!)

I can't believe I'm 30! That's the old age your older sisters and brothers are right?! Well, not anymore....but if life is this good at 30, then 30 ain't that bad!

They've taken flight!

My sister gave Connor 5 live caterpillars for his birthday. We have watched them crawl around, slow and cocoon, wait while they changed, hatched, gained their color over days and days, fed them and are now watching all 5 fly all over the cage. We let 2 go tonight, Connor was sobbing because he would miss them so much, and they stayed in the yard long enough for us to follow them around and take pictures before venturing off. Amazing gift Knutsons!! Thank you so much :)

We're adjusting to the schedule of school. I posted some 'first day of school' pics. Connor is settling in and Liam and Novak are enjoying the individual time with me.
Our quick trip to Omaha was fabulous. We said our sad goodbyes to my best friend, and Connor's godmother, Erin who will be leaving for Afghanistan in a few weeks. We will miss her terribly! We also spent tons of time snuggling our newest neice Claire. Connor was a big helper; feeding her, holding her, watching diaper changes...hope this babe in belly is a girl bc it looks like I'll have a helper :) We also went bowling and played arcade games, attended the "loud, Jesus church" as the boys called it, shopped for clothes, and spent time with the cousins. Dan won the tourney he was playing in with my dad. The long drive home(we got home at 4am on Sunday night) was tough but worth every minute!! Can't wait to go back :)

CHEERS!

Heres to our best summer to date!! We had so much fun laughing, splashing, chasing, tickling, tubing, golfing with, sunning, pitching to, traveling with and making sweet memories with our three boys this summer. Their willingness to try new things made each new adventure that much more enjoyable. They are becoming the best of friends and its amazing to think in a few months we will be blessed with another giggling bundle of Doyleness! A few pics from the past few weeks of summer:

Our mental health week...

I love Liam's poses in this one!!!

Rockin' the aviators!

IPad obsessed :)

With the van packed full last Saturday we headed South in anticipation of house swapping with friends for the weekend in the cities. We were heading on to Okoboji late Sunday afternoon. Plans quickly changed when we realized my newest neice, whom I hadn't met, would be in Albert Lea for the evening. SOLD! We drove all afternoon and arrived in time to snuggle on her before bed. After the quick visit we continued the trip onto Okoboji, IA to stay in a relatives cabin for the night. Arriving at 11:30pm to a less than 400 sq. ft. "cabin", with my sister, her husband and their three kids already sleeping, made that night not too restful.

We caffeine blasted the no-sleep induced "hangover" and took the kids to Arnold's Park amusement park all afternoon. Things started out slow, not knowing the kids daredevil tolerance, but they quickly rose the bar by riding rides even I would not go on....over and over again! We finally peeled them away before supper to officially check into the Mansion(as it was titled) at the Village West resort on Okoboji's west lake.

The first half the week was spent with Claussens(3 boys), Wellwoods(newborn), my parents, my neice(12) and nephew(10), and our family in a large cabin(the Mansion!). We rented boats and jet skis each day, played putt putt to our heart content, made quick visit back to Arnold's for a few missed rides, spent hours on the beach making sand castles and swimming, took walks, played yard games, played at the park, swam in the pools....it was glorious! Each night we feasted on deliciously prepared meals then stayed up late chatting and playing cards.

Thursday the Claussens and Wellwoods left and the Knutsons(4 kids) and my brother Daniel arrived. Those days were filled with fishing(my sister caught a 36 in. Northern Pike!!), smores making, driving range visits, more putt putt, another visit to Arnold's Park, even more hours on the beach(I read while Dan played with the boys, bless his heart!) and the notorious visit to Rocket Park.

It was incredible to be staying with so many people in one cabin but have things run so smoothly. The kids were great, making memories with their cousins all week, and soaking up the "no schedule" lifestyle. It was fabulous to be completely in the moment the whole week, not worrying about anything but relaxing and enjoying my family!

We hope this trip makes the books next year. Dan and I have said several times, "That was the best vacation!" and we hope to do it again!