Happy Thanksgiving!

Everyone pitched in to make this family holiday wonderful. Tommy brought home a great turkey centerpiece for the table. Madeline was in charge of the AMAZING orange rolls! Clara kept Emma busy while all the cooking was going on.

While waiting for the big meal the kids had some down time to relax and watch a movie or two...

Emma, however, chose to use this waiting time to get geared up for Black Friday shopping :)

Once everything was ready we were all able to enjoy a great meal!

Election Day

On Tuesday, November 4th, it was about 75 degrees here in Appleton, Wisconsin. Not sure how THAT happened, especially since the following weekend (today) we had snow! Emma had a great time in the leaves in a short sleeved shirt with no coat. Any time that child can be outside she is one happy camper- oh and THANKS Helaina, for teaching Emma to go down slides FACE FIRST!

Happy Halloween!

We really wanted to dress Emma as a lion because her attempt at a roar is a hoot! But all the fluffy lion costumes were about 50 bucks! Not Happening! So we settled for a ladybug. No roaring, but still pretty darn cute!

Fall on the Farm

One beautiful October Sunday we met up with the Sanofsky family at Mulberry Lane Farm. We spent 3 hours petting pigs, goats, sheep, rabbits, chicks, and more! The kids all had pony rides- NOT a treat for Emma! They all got to milk a cow and we enjoyed a hay ride. We also learned that the Tom is the least intelligent creature on the farm. Interesting....



The kids all picked a pumpkin from the field to take home to remember the busy day. We all had a ball I and would HIGHLY recommend a visit to Mulberry! From 18 months to 13 years old, all the kids had a ball. We parents got a kick out of it too!

Just Because

Please, PLEASE note the hair "pretty". We are trying so hard to convince Emma that she should leave them IN!!!

First Day of School

8th grade, 4th grade, and 3rd grade. Interestingly enough, Madeline was just in 3rd grade when I first met this crew! Time flies when you are surrounded by people you love! (oh, and 5th grade again for me!)

.....3 Months later!

We had a fantastic vacation in Idaho. It was amazing for all of our Wisconsin family to meet the clan in Idaho. It was an event that I was not sure would ever happen. I am so grateful to all who helped make it possible! Especially Grandpa and Grandma Cunningham, Uncle Garth and family, and the Pond's who let Tom, Emma, and I "camp out" at their gorgeous home while the kids roughed it at Warm River. What a thrill, start to finish!

We had 10 days to check out the mountain west, so we took in as much as possible. Roaring springs, Twin Falls Temple open house, Yellowstone Park and Old Faithful, and, of course, the Cunningham family reunion. Every minute was something new and exciting for the kids to soak in and we made incredible memories with our family and friends.

We have nearly 350 pictures and almost as many little videos. If you want to see more, search tommytrc on youtube, or check out our family photo website!

*sigh*

I know, I know, I am way behind. Tom's storm videos don't show the kids and I understand they are what the public REALLY wants to see. We begin our journey to Idaho in about 3 hours, so I will try and update as the next adventurous 12 days take shape!
Thanks for being patient

Rain & Hail!

I got a new Flip Mino camcorder the other day...in preparation for our Idaho trip. Here are some great shots I got with the Mino of a storm we just had.

Party Like a Rock Star!

Friday, June 27 we attended an amazing little fiesta with the Flores family and about 200 of their closest friends! Savannah Flores celebrated her Quinceñera and she was absolutely beautiful. For those of you who may be a little culturally challenged- a Quinceñera is a traditional Hispanic coming out party for a young lady turning 15 (Google it!). It usually has a ton of great foods, billions of children running wild, a piñata or two, and, of course, a ROCKIN’DJ! This event was all it should have been and more! We had a ball, especially Emma- who can dance with the best of ‘em!

Thank you, Grandma!

We knew Sarah was going to have her baby in May so we planned for Grandma Cunningham to come take care of Emma until I finished school. What a treat that was. Emma and Grandma certainly created a bond. And I don't know who had more fun with who! They took walks together, read books together, rocked together, and even went to the chiropractor together (well, I drove).
It took Grandma about 2 days to completely throw out her back from lifting Emma. So while her visit was filled with a lot of pain, discomfort, and ice packs, we know it was filled with more kisses, hugs, wind chimes, strolls, and love. We were so blessed to have Grandma here and we look forward to seeing her- and grandpa- soon!

(the Emma-Grandma gallery is quite extensive, so if you want to see more of their time together, go check out the pictures at the Clifford Gallery link on the left!)






Licking the beater! Yummm! Nothing like baking a cake with Grandma!














Cleaning out the cupboards...










Time with Grandma was not ALL fun and games. Time had to be made for piano practice!















Okay, so maybe it WAS mostly fun and games!


























Mmmmm, sticks!

Shopping with Grandma!

Sing a Song for Emma!

And then she was ONE!

Emma was SUCH a good sport on her birthday...
The night before, her beloved babysitter Sarah had decided to have her own baby, Henry. So Emma started her big day at a brand new babysitter- THANK YOU JOANNA! That certainly upset her little applecart. Then, to shake things up more, her daddy brought her to mommy's classroom and Emma spent 30 minutes partying with 19 adoring 5th graders. I was so blessed to have an entire class that just loved all things Emma. Once we got home and Dad came with Madeline, Clara, and Tommy, we had about one hour to eat dinner, open gifts, have cake, take a bath, and get everyone to the Mutual.
All Emma really wanted was her 3 B's- bath, binky, and bottle! She was a little trooper!
















The kids were GREAT with Emma and she was given some very thoughtful gifts. Thanks, guys!

Like mother (and father) like daughter, I guess!

Go team!

Not sure if Emma really knows or not, but she is a Northwestern-er at heart! Go Mariners!

FINALLY!

We began to wonder if Emma would EVER give up her stroke-victim army crawl! Once she figured out that the correct form is actually faster-- there was no holding her back!

March Madness?

March was a busy month, but we tried to take things nice and slow and only eat soft foods, as Tom turned 40. It was hard on him, luckily his back didn’t go out and we have yet to schedule hip replacement surgery, so really, he must be doing GREAT for his advanced age…

Seriously, can anyone make green beans looks cuter? I think not.

Easter

Easter was a big Sunday, with new shoes and socks with ruffles that lasted, oh about 10 minutes! Emma wore her beautiful Easter outfit from Great Grandma Nadauld. She looked darling but she was NOT too impressed. Maybe the shoes were a little tight, maybe the ruffle socks weren’t her style, maybe she was just worn out from putting on a dress AND a coat. Who knows. Oh well, it’s never too early to learn that we must suffer for beauty! Easter is the perfect day to learn such a valuable lesson.

Emma on the go!

Emma loves that we finally have a rug on the hard wood floors so that she can move around a little more. Even though she isn't cruising on all fours she can still get around pretty well! Funny how the things she heads for are the things we have to tell her not to touch... She is a good sport, though, and just smiles and moves on!

What does HE do all day long?

So we all know I spend hours and hours working on this blog. I mean having to pick from the gazillions of pictures to decide which ones to post is tough work! So, knowing that I slave for hours over that task, many people ask the burning question, "What does your charming and intelligent husband do all day long?".

Well, ask no more. Here is the answer...


I understand that after viewing this, your next burning question will be, "How many computers does that multi-tasking man HAVE in his office?".

Answer: I have no idea. I am not allowed in the "man-cave".

Is it Spring yet?

I think this is how we ALL felt after January finally ended...

Girls will be girls.

Emma's first hair accessory. Not really needed, I just put there because I could. She had no idea it was there, it fell out after about 13 seconds, it didn't match the outfit, but- hey - Mommy loves this kind of stuff! Can you even see it?

Bubbles

This particular picture is just getting thrown in because it is CUTE!

Children's Museum

What is a family to do on a snowy day in Wisconsin? Well, go to the Children's Museum, of course! We have had record snowfall this year so it was a great afternoon to hang out inside! Tommy, the paleontologist, found a dinosaur skull, Clara climbed up and down and all over the place, Madeline made sure that Emma didn't miss a thing, and Emma debated whether she looked better in the pilot hat, the fireperson (see how I was all politically correct there?) hat, or the doctor's cap! She went down her first slide and played in the fountain in the water room. Whew, what a day!

Happy Birthday, Clara!

On January 26th Clara turned the big 9! It was clearly a Hannah Montana birthday! She was given wonderful gifts from wonderful people and had a fantastic day. Her mom made the BEST birthday cake after the, always yummy, cheesy rice with ham!

Backtrack!

Blue Harbor Resort!


I guess we have to all the way back to Christmas vacation! This year the Clifford Clan packed up and went to Blue Harbor Resort in Sheboygan. It was a gorgeous location right on Lake Michigan. We spent three days and two nights enjoying the indoor water park and other activities. We even invited the Sanofsky's to come play with us for a day!

Emma LOVED her first water experience and was a great little floater!

Madeline, Clara, and Tommy were wonderful helpers and they had a blast exploring the park.

One of the highlights was the pirate ship that would dump 1,000 gallons of water on anyone who would dare stand under it. Tommy let us know that you have to hold up your bathing suit with TWO hands when the water dumps!

For the full two days in pictures, click here:
http://gallery.mac.com/tommytrc#100381&bgcolor=black&view=grid
and here:
http://gallery.mac.com/tommytrc#100389&bgcolor=black&view=grid

Pinewood Derby 2008

What a year for Tommy. He was supposed to race with his Pack in Little Chute and he got the flu. Thankfully his cub master said "Race anyway!" He finished 2nd. He then raced with the pack at the Appleton 1st ward and came in 1st. Wow what a week.