Happy Holidays!

Hello, friends and family. Long time, no blog. The whole Marsh clan hopes all is well with you as the holiday season kicks into gear. The boys went to Union Station and got to ride in a king-sized version of the electric train that circles the Christmas tree. How cool is that? They definitely dig trains. That is encoded in little boy DNA, right?



While winter is certainly upon us, it was a pretty mild November. We got to do lots of leaf raking, playing in the leaf pile, leaf re-raking, and playing in the new leaf pile. To their credit, the boys did their part to re-rake the leaves after they had flattened the piles from jumping in head first.

It is high time we pay homage to the little red wagon. Our wonderful neighbors the Shumways offered this wagon to us on long-term loan when we brought the boys home last year. It has taken them everywhere. They are pictured above in the wagon waiting for the Old Fashioned Christmas Parade to begin. It is a Lawrence tradition, and consists of horse-drawn carriages from across the state and beyond. The boys loved it, and the wagon logged yet another memorable outing. Thanks, Shumways!

Here's the fam, pictured with (great) Grandpa Jack. He's not just great because he is Mummy's Daddy's Daddy, he had a career as a train engineer for Union Pacific. The boys think he is pretty cool, and like imitating his gruff voice. Thankfully, they rarely imitate his unwillingness to smile for the camera. :-)

This swing is so big, we have to hold hands to stay on it! The boys are growing and growing. It has been fun to begin referencing things from a year ago and comparing their development, both physical and behavioral. We are enjoying their growing excitement for the holidays, and remembering that they didn't even understand what we were talking about last year. They knew that they weren't supposed to touch the Christmas tree, but not much more...

We'll leave you with one of their new favorite activities, constructing architectural masterpieces with their lincoln log set. Conner could do it all day, we think. They both share pretty well, which we realize is a blessing. It is one of many things we are thankful for this holiday season, as we celebrate an extraordinary year in our house. Happy Holidays!