Thanksgiving 2012: Again, Just So Sweet!

Namaste!

Thanksgiving 2012: My Sweeties on their Bikes!

My darlings!

Thanksgiving 2012: My Wild Ones!

Here they are! My little herd, a few weeks before the 4th herdmate arrived!  Namaste!

Thanksgiving 2012: My Beautiful Clara!

At Thanksgiving, Clara had the most adorable cowgirl outfit and the sweetest most beautiful smile.  I just love this little Annie Oakley!

My Little Chefs, Again!

They were just too cute, so here's another photo of the happy little pastry chefs. They thought breaking eggs and using the mixer, and filling the cones, and decorating was too fun!

My Happy Chefs

When we went back to Rhinelander, mom had set up a wonderland for her grandchildren.  The girls had presents of dolls, outfits, and special princess beds.  And mom had purchased them chef's aprons and hats and helped them with the fun task of making cupcake ice cream cones which the girls loved, loved, loved!  They thought the task was truly brilliantly fun.  So, here are photos of them working hard!

Happy Dancing Boy

This summer after teaching my two summer classes, I went to visit my family.  Elena brought Emma, Clara and Stephen to visit mom and dad, so I tagged onto that trip.  We went and stayed at the Kalahari in the Dells and spent two days at the Noah's Ark Waterpark which was a real blast.  And then we went home to Rhinelander to hang out for awhile.  I love my nieces and nephew and baby Stephen thought I was cool because I could act so silly.  Anyway, the very first few moments I saw them at the Kalahari hotel, I had a good good laugh.  They'd been traveling by plane all day and then took a 3 hour car ride, so they were pretty wired.  The first thing Stephen did to unwind was dance and rock out to the music on his little fire truck.  What a rockin' boy!

My Girls Waiting to Open Presents!

Here are my girls, waiting to open their Christmas presents. They were so excited. Little Clara got a Dora the Explorer backpack "pack pack" and was so delighted to pack everything she owned into it. Do you see what Emma is sitting on? It's a pair of cuddle duds. One Christmas, she and I slept in the same room and she woke up and grabbed my cuddle duds and made them into her safety blanket. She wore that pair out, so her mom had to buy her a new pair. And when she gets tuckered out or overdone, she wraps them on her head and ties it with a bow under her chin -- kind of like Nora Charles with her headache ice pack! Cool girls! Totally cool Berg girls.

Merry Christmas, Off to the Pageant!

I just arrived home today after a wonderful but whirlwind Christmas adventure at Elena's. Here's a photo of my nieces and nephew moments before we left for church. The services were a wonderful singing pageant and my Emma sang and danced beautifully. Today I came home and settled my animals and went to the stable to meet my farrier. Rick and I had a nice conversation and I chatted with many St. George friends, including C and K. C rode Violet and it was just wonderful to see Miss V happy and moving forward and light and joyful. C rode her "on the buckle" and you could just see my red girl's contentment. She even jumped some combinations and then got pampered and groomed by her two talented new friends. Violet is really loving her new life, I can just see it all over her! She is happy happy happy with her friends and life and job!!!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Many blessings to you in the coming year!

Baby Stephen! Taking a Break at the Children's Museum!

On the Saturday after Stephen's birth, mom and I took his sisters to the wonderful Pittsburgh Children's Museum. They spent a morning and early afternoon, playing with water, visiting Mr. Rogers' neighborhood, painting, and preparing art work, lunching, and listening to a storyteller. We had a great time and then returned home to enjoy their new brother!

Baby Stephen! Sister Tweaks his Hat!

I love this photo. Here is Clara, holding her baby brother while her sister adjusts his little hat. Emma is always careful to have a fabulous hat or tiara on, as you can tell by her fairy godmother hat here, so I am sure she wanted her brother to be absolutely comfortable and snappy in his little baby cap.

Baby Stephen! Sweet Kiss from Sister!

I love this photo. Here is darling Clara, giving her baby brother a kiss on his second day of life on this earth. This photo is about the fourth in a sequence. She just rained little careful soft gentle kisses on her brother. What a good sister! Namaste!

Baby Stephen! With my Favorite Girls!

Here they are, meeting baby Stephen, in the very first few hours of his birth, the morning of the 18th. The girls had already given him very careful, loving pats on his head and praised his handsomeness and now are smiling with delight for the camera!

Florida '08: Mom, Clara and Me

In this photo, we had spent a long day at a park and Emma was deep into a much-needed nap. But our little Clara was ready to stretch her body, and swim, run, and play. So, we took her to the pool and then to a jungle gym. I just love my girls! Elena is taking this photo!

Florida '08: My Favorite Curmudgeons!

Okay, I really dig this photo taken at the Epcot Center. Our little 2 year-old girl would be a real trooper and put up with our long days, early starts, late evenings, lack of naps. But every once in awhile, she would handle her business and just declare a personal time out. She carried her trusty blanket for just that purpose. Here's a photo of her and my dad, such cuties!

Florida '08: Our Brave Clara!

Clara is just a little girl, only 2 years old! But she's such a brave creature! She bolted away from us to climb this super tall slide and then slid in this enclosed twirling twisting slides which was at least 2 stories high. And you can see in this photo that she thought it was great fun! She was brave about climbing, sliding, swimming. She's our little natural athlete!

Florida '08: Mom and Her Girls!

Here is a photo of my favorite ladies by far! They are sitting under a palapa roof on a beautiful morning. They are very happy!

Florida '08: Enjoying the Animal Kingdom!

Here is a photo of my family on a really extraordinary beautiful sunlit morning in Florida at the Animal Kingdom Park. We got up early in order to have breakfast with Donald Duck, Goofy, and their pals. And then we were going to take a tour of Africa, ride a train through the jungle, visit animals on a nature walkway, and play, play, play, play in a big jungle gym area known as the Boneyard. We had an exhausting, drum-beating, skirt-swinging, dancing day. And we slept as deeply as we could for our naps before jetting off to the Magic Kingdom for the 'Not so Scary' Halloween! A big day!

Florida '08: Giggling in the Morning!

Here is a photo of my mom and her grandchildren. She could not be happier. Her girls just saw a savannah full of African animals and she knows that they are happy and ready for a day of adventures!