Christmas 2013

This year the family spent Christmas at our home in Des Moines.  My parents, Lynn and Steve, flew in from Las Vegas to help us celebrate.  We had a wonderful time, it was hard to narrow down all of our photos to fit them into this slideshow.  Have a blessed year!

This picture slideshow customized with Smilebox

The Addition is complete...almost!

Our addition has been almost complete for a few weeks now but with the hustle bustle of the holiday season, it has been hard to find time to post the updated pictures.  Take a look!  The only item left to complete is the barn door slider to close the new pantry we had built in our kitchen.  More pictures to come when that gets installed.

In the meantime, here are several photos to showcase the additional square footage built onto our home!

Links from previous blogs to see the progression:
The Addition 10/5/2013
The Addition -- new pictures  10/27/2013

The exterior, it's cold out now!

The family room with a view into the new hallway.  So seamless!

Another view of the new hallway leading into the addition of the main level
master bedroom, bathroom, and covered deck.

The 12 foot sliding glass door leading onto the covered deck.

One of two ways to enter into the bathroom (this view is from the hallway).

Inside the bathroom

Shower with travertine tiles, an entrance to the bedroom is to the left.

The bedroom (Drake's), a walk-in closet with a window is in the 
background which is great for all the kids' toys!

The covered deck at nighttime.  We have a flat-screen TV mounted above 
the fireplace when the temperature is above -4... sadly when I took this 
picture it was -10, so we had to take down the TV for a few days.

The covered deck from the other side, showing the walnut slab bar top.

The covered deck during the daytime.  The TV is back up!

Kirsten's Christmas Concert

Kirsten had her first Christmas concert at her school, Des Moines Christian.  Daddy got her a beautiful orchid for her great performance!  We are so proud of our little 4 year old.

Alexa dressed up for the night, too!

Family photo with Santa

It is an annual tradition for us to visit Santa while we are in Minocqua, WI for Thanksgiving.  Drake has no problem going right up to Santa and telling him exactly what he wants to Christmas.  Kirsten and Alexa are a bit more hesitant... Kirsten is getting better and more brave, but still is a bit uneasy.  :)

Gobble, Gobble

The Guthries headed up North to Gordon's parents house for Thanksgiving.  However, this year was extra special because the Ball family was there, too!  The last time we saw all of them was before Alexa was born in May 2011 at Kirsten's baby dedication.  It was great to see Megan, Shawn, Taylor and Hailey, plus the cousins had loved seeing each other.  We have so much to be thankful for, amen!

Hailey (5), Kirsten (4), Taylor (7), Drake (8), Alexa (2)
The Cousins

Drake, Hailey, and Taylor having a push up contest.
The judges were Kirsten and Alexa.  Hailey was our winner!

Nana reading her grandchildren a story.  They all loved it!

Guthrie Family Photos 2013

We took family photos last August and I just realized while creating our Christmas cards, I forgot to post our pictures!  Last year I took the kids pictures for our Xmas cards, but we needed an updated family photo session because Alexa has grown so much since the last session we had when she was only a few months old.
I look forward to our annual family photo session, although the preparation can be a bit stressful... Several months beforehand, I start thinking about when?.  Our outfits, work & school schedules depend on it.  Once that is decided, it's on to our wardrobe!  My focus always starts with Gordon's shirt, always.  Take a look at previous posts--his shirt selection has always been my inspiration for clothing the rest of the family!
This year we took our pictures in August, in a new location at a park in Ankeny, a city north of Des Moines.  There are so many good ones and I wish I could post them all!!!

Kirsten's 4th Birthday Party!

We celebrated Kirsten's 4th birthday like Royalty with a Princess Party!  One of the best things about the party were the attendees, which included "real" Princesses.  Ariel, Rapunzel, and Tinkerbell helped Kirsten and her 10 little friends have a wonderful time. I took so many photos that it was hard to narrow them down! Check out the slide show below:

A digital slideshow by Smilebox

Happy Halloween 2013

Halloween 2013 was a lot of fun for Ariel, Sophia, Skeleton, and we can't forgot Prince Charming and the Enchanting Princess!

We all got dressed up this year!  Drake was a skeleton, Kirsten was Ariel from the Little Mermaid, Alexa was Sophia the First, and as you can see from the picture Gordon and I are royalty!

The Addition -- new pictures!

3 windows have been installed on the front of the addition.  2 are in the bedroom and 1 is in the closet.

Link to see the previous phases of construction:  The Addition

Here it is!  The new hallway from our family room into the addition.  The covered deck is on the right of the hallway, the new bedroom is on the left, and a bathroom is at the end of the hall.

Close up view of the sliding glass doors.

Construction is still underway on the covered deck, but you can see the frame of the fireplace along the back wall

View from the opposite side of the covered deck

the new bedroom

It's Pumpkin Time!

This year the kids wanted to paint their pumpkins instead of carving them.  Drake went for stripes, while Kirsten and Alexa went for an all over paint effect. :)  Kirsten's pumpkin has an Easter egg feel and Alexa's has a lot of glitter with a smiley face on it.  Gordon and I went the traditional route and carved our pumpkin :)