Grandpa Miller

Grandpa Miller and Grandma Lu stopped by for a visit right before bed:

 

Santa left us a remote control helicopter to share. Dad and the kids got a kick out of it.

 

Christmas Day Fun

The kids LOVED running around at Grandma and Grandpa Ellsworth's house:

Owen got a bloody lip on the slide. Daddy was so proud.

The girls spent HOURS running around with Lindsay and Anna.

Climbing trees and picking oranges

Christmas Brunch

Emily and the kids enjoyed Christmas brunch with Aunt Allison, Aunt Kristi, Aunt Rachel, and their families. (Scott had to study.)

One of our Christmas highlights was meeting cute Miss Ruby for the first time. :)

Christmas Morning

Santa found us!

Christmas Eve

Our Christmas Eve was a little non-traditional, but given the fact that we'd just spent the past four days on the road (preceded by packing and finals and all sorts of other craziness), it was just right for us. We had Christmas Eve dinner at Waffle House, and then we went to see the lights at the Mesa Temple:

This kids loves jalapenos. He tried one of Daddy's and was hooked. :)

This is where Scott proposed to Emily. 7 years later...

Road Trip

We left Toledo on the afternoon of December 20 and spent four days on the road. We spent the night in Effingham, Illinois; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and Albuquerque, New Mexico. We got in to Mesa around 4:00 p.m. on December 23. These kids did a great job:

In our hotel room in Effingham.

Pictures

For Emily's birthday, we got pictures taken of the kids at JCPenney. Adorable, right?

Bass Pro Shops

We went to Bass Pro Shops with our cousins yesterday. Unfortunately we didn't get to see Santa because the line was so long. Maybe we'll try again on a weekday this week, if we get around to it. We'll see.

In line to ride the carousel

Heidi loves her new cat that she got while she stayed in the hospital.

My best attempt at a cousins' picture. :)

Thanksgiving

I thought it was too cute when this little guy climbed up into a chair and sat himself down at the big people table.

Look at all the yummy food! (And that's only half of the table.) :)

Our cute little sickie, home from the hospital. :)

These kids sure are going to miss each other when we move. Moving away from these guys is probably the thing we will miss most about leaving Toledo. :(

 

Poor Kid :(

Heidi started vomiting on Saturday and couldn't keep any food or drinks down for a few days. Monday night / Tuesday morning we started feeling especially concerned, because it was obvious that she wasn't getting any better. We called the pediatrician's office first thing Tuesday morning, and they told us to take her to the ER.

In the ER:

The doctor decided to keep her overnight, so they moved her to a private room on the fifth floor of the children's hospital:

The Child Life team at the hospital was really sweet and gave Heidi the stuffed kitty, pillow case, and a few other things to make her stay more enjoyable.

Today Heidi seems to be doing a lot better, but she still isn't interested in eating or drinking anything, so the doctors decided to keep her a second night. We're really hoping she will be released in the morning so we can make the trip to Jeff and Sherry's for Thanksgiving.

Day 2:

Here she is sharing her graham cracker with her Jessie doll that she got for her birthday.

Thanks for keeping her in your prayers! :)

Bowling

We went bowling two weeks ago on Veteran's Day. The pictures were taken with Daddy's phone, so they didn't turn out great.

Glasses

Owen sure looks cute in Daddy's glasses. :)

Daddy Daughter Dates

These pictures are from September, but I'm just now downloading them from Scott's phone:

For Heidi's date they went to Shops at Fallen Timbers (an outdoor mall). They went to Barnes & Noble and saw the fish in the koi pond.

For Lizzie's date, they went to Downtown Perrysburg, got some sorbet, and went for a walk down by the Maumee River.