I'm dreaming of it

It's been snowing since 10 or 11 pm last night. Constant snow. We have a foot or more piled up on our deck and steps and driveway. It's supposed to keep snowing until 6pm tonight. Here's to a White Christmas! :)

Thanksgiving

This year's festivities took place in Denver with the Barrand family. We had lots of fun doing sports activities, playing boardgames, going Black-Friday shopping, and eating.

We also took some great photos with Celeste as our photographer. For those that don't know, every year the Barrand family does a crazy family photo. We all get dressed up to theme and take a photo for the Christmas cards. This year was Circus themed. We got some good pics, and Celeste has a lot of post-processing work to do.

Here is a sneak peek:

Isn't Celeste so hot? And my kids are super cute!

We went to Gettysburg last weekend, and had a try at being confederates.

I love this doughy boy. Brooklyn never had rolls of fat like this kid.

All Hallows Eve

What do you do in the Fall?

Hunter asks "What do you do in Fall?

Celeste says, "Well you can visit with family!"

"Ooo that is exciting." Hunter gasps

"Or just try to imagine that it's warm, and go swimming." says Celeste.

It's all about the computer

I'm figuring out things with a imaging software. I tried fixing this first photo that was over exposed.

Just added some color to these ones.

Smoke Free

We spent last weekend house sitting for a friend so we could run an OZONE GENERATOR to try and eliminate the smoke smell from our house. Even though the EPA discourages the use of these generators and discredits their ability to successfully remove odors, I have to say that it totally worked! We just made sure to air out the house before coming back in. But it's so nice to have a fresher smelling place. The kitchen has a lot of wooden cabinets which we think have absorbed a fair amount of smoke. So there's still a very slight smell in the main level of the house, but the rest of it smells SO MUCH BETTER! It's amazing the difference. We can actually smell our fresh clothes after a wash.

Anyways, so that's been our focus this past week. For the next two weeks I'll be out of town again on business so Celeste will brave it alone. Luckily I get to come home on the weekend. Otherwise things are pretty mellow here. We're sad we aren't going anyplace exotic for the holidays but we're super stoked that Mom is coming here for Halloween, and that Mom and Dad are coming for Christmas. And of course, we're excited to see Austin & Sarah and their new addition in February.

An Apple a Day

Some day I'd like to be a fancy photographer, so I saved up my birthday money and got a expensive SLR camera. It just came this weekend. So for my first attempt- we headed to an apple orchard.

Final Summer Adventure

The Grandparent Barrands came to visit for four fun filled days. Us Baillios had to keep up with their fast pace as we dragged our two kids around the state of Maryland.
Fort McHenry

Inner Harbor of Baltimore and eating in Little Italy.

The whole gang came to see Celeste's play at a elementary school. Don't have any pics, but will have some soon. The best part of the week for Celeste was the Dolphin Show at the aquarium. She only cried 5-6 times. What amazing creatures!
We raced of to Washington DC.
The most thrilling part of the week, is we joined the March on Washington. Nothing is more exhilarating then being in the capitol of your country and walking down the street protesting the government. We could be killed for that in other countries! We were at the tail end of the parade but there was a TON of people there. We didn't bring any signs, but we found some ditched ones, so we picked them up and began to march.


Battle of Antietam. Mom wanted to see reanactors so bad, she talked about it all week. When she finally met one, she found out, why the magic has worn off for us in Maryland. The are everywhere! And they Talk!! and Talk and Talk!! They love to tell you about the time period, their clothes, their guns, etc. etc. Although very cool, sometimes annoying. Mom wanted him to pose in a picture with her, but this guy just kept talking about the fabric of his uniform.
Hapers Ferry
Brooklyn's Dinner

If you come visit us, we promise you an adventure too!

Usually I Hate Crap Like This

This is Brad. Normally I don't do these things. But since two brothers did it, I decided to do it too. It is interesting where we overlap and where we differ.

Red = Did It
Blue = Almost Did It
Black = Never Done It

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning (Why is this someone's goal?)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb (Does a baby goat count?)
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice (We took the boat taxi. It's basically the same thing)
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (Depends if you count Louisiana or France)
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (Emphasis on the Had)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant (I bought a homeless dude some food at a convenience store once...)
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Ok - I got the camera to work. 2 posts in one day.

While Brad was away on business for two weeks in the desert, testing programming codes and being bombed at.......... I got to go see my family in Colorado. It was a blast! It was the first time we've been all together since my sister's wedding 4 years ago!





I've also started doing preschool with Brooklyn and Hunter. He grows so fast!!!
Just kidding- that's one of Brooklyn's friends- Quincy.



I'm so sorry Brooklyn- you got my stringy, wild hair.