Memories of 2006

Well, it is almost 2007. My girls tried to stay up...they made it until 10 o'clock. We played many rounds of 'guess who' and 'apples to apples'. Although I think dancing with the flashlights and duck, duck, goose were the hits of the night.

This has been a year for many firsts...mostly Sam reaching various milestones. I think it is easiest to see Sam growing from month to month, but as I look back on my many pictures I realize how much Hallie and Abbi have also grown. These are just a conglomeration of photos that give a snapshot of our year. We hope that everyone has a memory to smile about and wish you all a Happy New Year.

Intriguing

It is always fun to explore a house other than your own.
Sam loves buttons...especially ones that do something. So you can imagine what a wonderful find the answering machine at Nana and Papa's house was. He spent most of his time pushing buttons and listening to messages over and over! For the most part he was a lonesome soldier, but he did recuit his cousin Madyson for some of the fun.

Welcome Macee

Macee Genevieve Hartvigson

Aunt Julee and Uncle Matt welcomed Macee into their family December 20th
(she picked a great month!)
She is a cutie with lots of blond hair. The girls were so excited to hold her...can you tell by the smiles?

Silly Sam

These are random photos of Sam over the Christmas vacation. He was quite in his element with all the attention from grandmas, grandpas, cousins, aunts & uncles. And with all the sugar and lack of sleep...you can just imagine how adorable he was!!!

(taking his clothes off [with help from Dad] and throwing them around the room)

Riding the dump truck....it goes great on wood floors with a push from sister!

Enjoying breakfast...the way Grandpa and Dad taught him!

Lights, Camera, Action

There are no formal actors or actresses in the family....but somehow the tradition of a "Nativity" play has stuck. The children look forward to it each year, as do the adults (no laughing!!!) As the amount of children increases, the adults are contemplating playing the audience! Over the years we have almost collected enough bathrobes, headbands, shawls to outfit the various parts.
And of course we always follow the adage
"that there are no small parts, only small actors" - Best Christmas Pagent Ever

Joseph

Our Photographer

Mary, Joseph, Shepards, Wise Men

Backstage

Shepard Director

Angels

Girls Night Out

What better time to get dressed up and go to the Ballet. The chosen production was 'The Nutcracker'. My girls have been looking forward to this outing for awhile - (so we have read and watched many versions of The Nutcracker...the favorite being Barbie's version)
We had a lot of fun, both big and little girls.

Getting Ready

Hot rollers


hairspray

more hairspray

a little lipstick

lots of smiles

three
beautiful princesses

and

five hotties (!!)

Ready to go

Waiting anxiously for the beautiful ballerina's to appear on stage.


Enjoying Gelato at a quaint little cafe....thanks Aunt Jessica! The girls thought it was very yummy - especially the cute little flower cups it was served in.

Dancing firefly

We enjoyed watching the play that Hallie has been working on. She was a firefly that danced beautifully. She was even brave enough to remember her lines without any problems. We have been blessed to all know the songs as she practiced them faithfully (with the CD) pretty much everyday!

Way to go Hallie

All Aboard!

We traveled to Hood River for a trip on the Polar Express. The girls were very excited, and Sam was glad to just get out of his car seat. We rode the train (somewhere) to Santa's workshop where he hopped aboard and visited with each child on the trip back to the train depot. The elves even sang Christmas carols with us on the trip back. It was lots of fun...and we have a bell to prove that it was the "real thing"!







Sam very much enjoyed the train ride (including the cookies and hot chocolate). However, Santa was not his favorite part. The girls were a little disappointed that he wasn't as excited as they were.











One last visit...just to make sure he really knew what to bring!

As exciting as a train ride is, it is definitely better if you get your own seat!

Look!
(can't remember what he was pointing at...probably lights or food)

Little Miss Grownup

Beautiful Pose
(Abbi thinks it is funny to make silly faces when we take pictures now!)