With the first snow of the 2010 winter season falling quietly from the sky, Heather and I set off dark and early to the hospital.  Who’s bonehead idea was it to be at the Hospital at 5:30am for a 7:30 appointment?  The roads were a little slick, but when you have precious cargo on board, you take your time and make sure everyone arrives safely.  We parked, got checked in, got prepped and were ready to go by 6:15.  Being left alone in a labor & delivery room awaiting the birth of your little girl makes your mind wander.  What will she look like, how much will she weigh (we have a tendency to make big babies), will the surgery go smoothly,etc.  Before long, Heather was wheeled off to the OR, and I was once again alone.  What felt like the wink of an eye, we heard the first cries of our little girl.  Along with all the OR staff talking about how big she was, and taking bets on her actual weight…more about that below.

Flash forward an hour or so and Heather’s still in recovery doing well and was reuinted with our newest gift.  All the family is on pins and needles to hear the news.  In keeping with tradition, we kept the name a secret during the pregnancy.  Big sister Savannah wanted to be the one to tell the grandparents her little sisters name.  So Grandma Doris brought the kids over to the hospital, momma and I gave her the name and she quickly helped Daddy make the necessary phone calls to spread the word.

I remember when there was a huge phone tree and father’s were frantically making calls to great aunt Gerdie, strange uncle Joe, weird cousin Larry, etc.  A few simple keystrokes on Facebook and those across the country who were waiting to hear the news get their wish.  Sure it’s a little impersonal, but we made calls/texts to the immediate family members and let technology take care of the rest.

Without further delay, Heather, Savannah, Trenton, and myself would like to introduce you to our third and final bundle of joy.  Joining us at 8:15am on Saturday December 4,2010, tipping the scale at a humble 10lbs, 6oz and measuring 21 inches long.. Miss Aspen Irene Horton!

Much like her big sister and big brother, she’s been quite the mellow child spend most of her first 24 hours asleep.  She’s nursing well and has passed all her tests with flying colors.  Even her sugar tests since she was such a large weight baby.  We’re hoping to be home sometime Monday afternoon or early Tuesday so we can get back to our ‘regular routine’

Another school year is underway and Savannah couldn’t be happier.  She’s starting Kindergarten this year.  With all the talk and concerns about public schools in our area being in severe financial trouble, and the ones that ultimately pay the price…our children.  We did some serious thinking and made a decision that we feel will benefit our children in their years of education that they have ahead of them.  We’ve enrolled Savannah in parochial school.  She loves her teacher, she loves her school, and she’s beyond excited to go to all day kindergarten full time.  We’ll see how long that lasts in the teenage years!

After a much needed vacation, we’re back to the daily grind.  This year we spent a great week in Asheville North Carolina taking in the sites.  We were smart this year and brought baby sitters with us in the shape of Grandma Judy & Grandpa Dean (j/k).  The kids had a blast on our 8 day trip and are still recovering (as are we).  We spent two days checking out the Biltmore Estate and property.  Another day going “about 10 miles” up the Blue Ridge Parkway to Mt Mitchell, and other days doing various other stuff in the area.  Here’s a few pictures, more in the Photos section.

Back to school time has once again arrived and it’s a joy when kids are at the age where they LOVE going to school.  I think Heather and I love it more because it gives us a little break from Mrs. Chatterbox! (j/k, we do miss her when she’s at school).

Just because school has started, doesn’t mean our camping season is done though.  On our last trip to the Dell’s area, Savannah was so excited because we picked her up from school with the trailer and left right from there.  The trip was a bit of an experience, we had a tire blow out on the way up to the campground.  A short little delay to change the tire and we were back on our way.  The kids had a great time camping in the fall.  Fall camping is the best!  The crowds are gone, the prices are cut in half, and the fall colors are beautiful.

We have one more trip for sure on the schedule, but if the weather holds out, we might try to go in early November before we close up the camper for the winter (boo!)

After a much needed vacation away from work, Heather, Savannah, Trenton and I are glad to be back home after taking a 9 day trip out to the Black Hills area of South Dakota.  We camped the entire trip and had a great time doing so.  We took three days to get out there so Savannah & Trenton (and us) weren’t suffering through marathon driving days.  We camped in Welcome MN, Oacoma SD on the way out to the Black Hills.  We camped 4 days in Custer just outside of Custer State Park, and then took three days go get back home.  Stays included Mitchell SD and Winona MN.  We took a ton of photos of our trip and have them posted in the photo section.  Below are some highlights of the trip and places we visited.

Kids enjoying their toys in the car

Wild animals at Custer State Park

Mt Rushmore

Crazyhorse Monument

Wall Drug…yeah I know..ya gotta stop there at least once in your life

The Badlands

Corn Palace in Mitchell SD

All four of us had a great time, we saw some pretty amazing things, and had a great chance to focus on being a family again and let the worries of work fall to the wayside.