I'm finally getting around to it!

OK, after almost 2 months of good intentions, I am finally posting something on the family blog! The past few months have been quite busy, but we've been getting a few things accomplished and having a lot of fun. Greg and I had a great couple of weeks in Vienna, Prague and Salzburg (a million thanks to Mom for taking such good care of our kids!) and we saw some amazing sights. And yes, that is a picture of me standing in front of the house where Mozart was born. If anyone wants to see the pictures from our "Sound of Music" Tour, just let me know and I'll post them separately.
Once we got back in town, Greg and I both had a lot of work to get caught up on. Then we had to make sure all of our costumes were ready for Halloween. We were all pirates, and the children took their roles very seriously. Phoebe got quite upset when other children thought she was a gypsy, Cader wore his eyepatch all day, and Topher just wandered around with his sword saying "Arrgh!" He also learned a new sign on Halloween and started using it in his first spontaneous 2 sign phrase-- "More Candy!" Halloween was quickly followed by Cader's birthday in November. He started announcing to everyone the evening before that when he saw them next, he would be five! He had a few friends over to play and had a dinosaur birthday cake of which he was very proud.
We all really enjoyed Dad and Mom's visit for Thanksgiving. Phoebe and Cader had a great time putting together their gingerbread house with Grandpa, and then eating all the candy off of it. Unfortunately, on the Monday after Mom and Dad left for Portland, I weighed myself at the gym and discovered that I had gained 7 pounds while they were here! It looks like I enjoyed myself a little TOO much.
Now that it's December, Phoebe has returned to school following her November track break. The rest of us are trying to return to our schedules as well (we'll see if going to the gym 5 days a week can help me get rid of my Thanksgiving weight gain before Christmas) and get ready for Christmas. Now that I've done this once, hopefully it will be easier to do in the future.
Love to all of you!
Bekah and family