You Pig!

Dad, Mike, Dave, Dave and I all got to go on a boar hunting trip in Gonzales, Texas last week. We called it our Red Neck Adventure. This was the first time we have been together in a very long time. We all had a great time and we all got to fill up our freezers at the same time. I even got to shoot my first boar with a bow.

Here is a picture of the last hog I shot. I shot it at 150 yards while it was at a dead run.

We also got to see some buffalo, elk, oryx, deer and even a zebra. Here is a picture of two elk that we were able to get really close to. It was a really fun trip and it was great seeing everyone.

If anyone would like to come over for some pig, let me know! We have a lot of it!

more hot cocoa please

Here are some images of our latest and largest snowfall in Maryland. We got about 3 feet and there is another storm on its way. We've all been having a great time sledding, playing on the "mountain" right in front of our house, drinking cocoa and playing games.
Our deck looked like the Sahara desert, but with loads of snow instead of sand.

This is what we opened our door up to on Saturday morning.

Steve with the girls reading by the fire.

Alison, Lauren and friend Kailyn playing in the snow.

Steve, Lilly and Bailey went for a little sled ride (this picture was before the storm).

I have been very neglectful for not putting Lauren's 5th Birthday party pictures up. So, here you go- Princess dress up party with lots of pink + sugar + friends = Positvely Perfect Party

The girls all decorated and frosted their own princess sugar cookies.

Lauren is such a sweet girl. She is a little mother to Bailey and Lilly. She has many friends and her best friend is Alison. She loves anything fancy- just like her favorite character Fancy Nancy. Her favorite colors are pink, purple and white. Painting and working with glitter glue are her mediums of choice. We are a blessed family to have such a Lauren girl in our home. We love you Lauren.

Disney World!

This January we went to Disney World and met up with Grandma,Papa and the Moe family. We had a great time despite the cold weather. Here are a few pictures of our adventures with Mickey!

Our family at the castle

The girls in a tea cup

The four cousins. Taima, Sai, Alison and Lauren

Hanging out with Cinderella. The girls were so excited to meet her! They all dressed up in princess regalia. Lilly loves to point at this picture and say "Lalalala" (Translation: Cinderella. In baby babble)

The castle at night. It really was a magical place

We got to meet quite a few Disney characters. Here we are with Woody and Jessie.

We gave the girls each some money to spend at Disney World. This was Lauren's must-have purchace. She looked very cute.

Becuase of the cold weather, the crowds weren't that big and we got to go on a lot of rides.

Grandma and Papa with the Disney grand kids.

Here's Lilly looking cool on our drive home from Orlando

Lauren enjoying her lollypop on the drive home.

Christmas 2009

Here are a few pictures of our Christmas.

This is one of the pictures from our winter snow storm. Supposedly it was the worst storm since 1919. Steve got stranded in Atlanta during the storm and ended up driving all the way back home in the snow storm. He made it back safely and even got and interesting journal entry out of it!

We had our neighborhood Christmas party at our house. Its such a blessing to have great neighbors.

Here's another picture of our neighborhood Christmas party.

We drove up to Massachusetts to spend Christmas with my parents. We even got some sledding in with papa and cousins.

We went to the Boston Aquarium. It was freezing cold outside but everyone did really well. There are seals behind this glass that you can watch swim around. Both Steve and I remember going here as kids and coming here with our kids brought back memories.

Our family at the Aquarium

Alison with a starfish.

Bailey and Steve hanging out with a turtle

Girls night out with sisters and mom

The cousins listening to a Christmas story before bed on Christmas Eve

Cousins- Alison, Sai, Lauren

Uncle Stuart and Christmas Charlotte

Bailey and Lilly on Christmas morning. They found their Santa Gifts right away and immediately took their dollies out for a spin.

Grandma and Papa with all their grandchildren in their new pajamas. Thanks Grandma!

Update!

Here are a couple of cute pictures from Christmas time...

Alison lost her two front theeth! Her two eye teeth are loose and I kinda hope she looses all four. That would look awesome!

Here is a really cute picture of the twins playing dress-up.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care

Stockings hung with little jingle bell tags made by Tracy.

Decorating the tree is always an adventure with toddlers.

Steve and the girls playing in the first snow storm of the season. More snow day pictures to come.

Lauren and Tracy went to a Christmas play with her pre-school class.

Alison had a wonderful Christmas progam at school this year. She was one of the narrators.

For the Christmas card this year I directed you all to our family blog, partly because I'm lazy and thought this might be easier. However, you will get to see more pictures of all of us. Lucky you! We have had a great year.

• Steve- is enjoying his job as a contractor for NOAA. He also is now the Young Men's President in our ward.
• Tracy- had a great time with her friend Elinn teaching a group of children the Sound of Music play. I am loving being a mother of four beautiful girls.
• Alison- is enjoying first grade. She is reading very well and loves playing the piano and doing gymnastics.
• Lauren- is "love, love, loving" pre-school and all her new friends. She also loves being my Mother's Little Helper by helping with the twins.
• Bailey- (18 months) loves her sisters and jumping. She watches closely what her sisters are doing now and is even folding her arms when its time for prayers. She loves hugging Lilly and saying "yaya" when she is excited about something.
• Lilly- (18 months) loves climbing on the kitchen table and dancing. She also just discovered the joy of swishing her hand in the toliet and loves to watch my reaction as I catch her in the act. Yuck- but she sure is cute!

We are grateful for this time of year to reflect on the past year and perpare for the new one. How wonderful it is to celebrate the Savior's birth and his life. We hope you all have a very

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

LOVE, THE LAVERTYS

Sound of Music

My good friend Elinn and I started a class where we taught our children and other children from church and our neighborhood the music from the play the Sound of Music. For three months we practiced this mini-play, where they learned choreography, memorizing lines and a handful of songs. They all did such a great job! We had two performances. What fun it was for me to help with scenery, costumes and put it all together. Here's a clip of the Brunswick Singers performing "Do Rei Me."

You can see the video here

Thanksgiving

We had a great crowd here for Thanksgiving. My grandmother, Aunt Jeannine, Uncle Leon, Heather, her boyfriend Pat, Ned, my parents, Aubs, Stuart, and baby Charlotte were the ones in attendance. Everyone pitched in to help with the feast and we all left feeling full. We felt so happy to have our home brimming with people we love and good food. We feel truly blessed. Here are some pictures to document the day. This first one is of the babies smothering poor Charlotte. They were loving being around her.
Pat, Heather, Jeannine and Ned at our pumpkin themed table. Mom, Aubs and Charlotte at the other little table we set up.

Me with the big spread. Let's dig in!

Mama Jean with all her grandchildren.