Greyson the Helper

Our son keeps a very close eye on everything Stephen and I do and he has become a big helper. One of his favorite things is doing dishes with my while I cook in the kitchen. This always ends with Greyson dumping a cup of water over his head or taking a very wet wash clothe and cleaning his face. He also helps Stephen make a fire and loves to blow through the glass or hand Stephen small sticks to put in. The other night we were going to paint our wall and set out all the equipment before putting Greyson to bed. He knew exactly what to do and set to work at it.
Then just this weekend I set up the nativity that I grew up playing with. I didn't model this behavior, he just set to work moving the shepherds, wisemen camels and sheep all around. It was so fun to watch him do something I had spent so many years doing too.
Our little boy is growing into quite the helper.

Gus and Greyson

Greyson and Gus have always been quite the pair. Greyson can do just about anything to Gus and he just roles with the punches (sometimes literally). Anyway, here are a few pictures from greyson and gus being so cute!

Christmas Tree Shopping

Every year that we have come down for Christmas and every year growing up we always headed out to our pasture to select the perfect Christmas tree. This year we had plenty to choose from and I think it was the fastest we ever picked out trees as well. Greyson had more fun this year being able to walk around in the snow (or waddle, with all the layers of clothes). Anyway, we got a great tree and it only leans a little bit in the stand and it was free and we don't have to store it:)

Happy Birthday Stephen

Well there is a new addition to the Wellensiek family, Doc. He is a very cute and smart little yellow lab. He and Greyson have a lot of fun playing, well really Doc just tackles Greyson, but no complaining from the little guy. There have also been a lot of cranes out our back door and around in the fields nearby our house.
Stephen celebrated his 29th birthday and we of course celebrated with the traditional, all homemade german chocolate cake. Greyson could hardly wait for Stephen to get home that night!

Thanksgiving Fun with Family

As with everything else this year we had an extremely different Thanksgiving. It was my first in 7 years being home and really those 7 years went very fast. We had a good time visiting family in Fremont and Iowa. As well as getting in on my dad and sister's favorite shopping day of the year. It was great I stayed at Jill's house with my mom and watched the kids. Of course a HUGE highlight was beating Iowa. That was very nice:)

Greyson Dancing

Deer Hunting

Well deer hunting is much different in the lower 48, but of course Stephen was still excited to try his hand at it. He only had the weekends to really get out and thankfully the last full day of the season he was able to get us a very tasty deer. He has a great story if you're ever interested in hearing it.
So we now have some deer meet to go along with our beef and salmon in the freezer. Thanks to my husband for not only working everyday, cutting wood to keep us warm but actually bringing home the bacon, or deer sausage oh and of course being an incredible dad and husband:)

Chopping Wood = Warm Home

As the cool fall winds started to blow Stephen and I knew that the fire place in our home was not very efficent or pleasant to look at. We decided to put in a wood buring stove insert. It has been incredible and we love how warm and cozy it is to sit on the couch at night and enjoy it. Most days it heats our entire house (unless it's negative 4). We set our thermostat at 60 and let the wood work.
Stephen is also my champion. He and my dad spend almost every weekend cutting wood to Greyson and I can stay warm all day long. We do really enjoy it though and it's always nice to work for your warmth.

Greyson's Toy Room

Since moving into our house at the end of August we have done a lot of work. I don't think Stephen and I knew all that we were getting into and are still getting into. Many days we think that owning our own home is very overrated, but the more work we do the more home like it feels.
Greyson has gotten a great deal with this move. He actually has a toy room/area. Stephen and I love it because while we can see him all the time, it's like he's down in the basement. We can close the door and forget about the mess if we want to.
Anyway, it was amazing what a little paint, some new carpet and take things out could do.

Happy Halloween

Greyson had tons of fun this Halloween. We headed to the nursing home my mom works at and visited a lot of the residents and of course ended up with much to much candy. We also made a trip to great grandpa and grandma Westings home. My grandpa had just broken his thumb the day before. Greyson was very interested on the hard item on his hand.

Fun with the Foreman Family

It was such a great blessing for Greyson to get to spend some time getting to know his cousins that live in South Africa. Every time he'd see them it was hugs all around. In October we made our final trip to Fremont to see the SA Foreman family before they headed back for another three years.
Here are a couple of pictures, one with the grandparents and the other with one set of Greyson's great grandparents.

Trip to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park

In the middle of September Stephen and I had a long time friend from Kodiak come to visit, Andrew North. It was nice catching up with him and when it came time for Andrew to leave we made the long trip (more boring than long) to Denver to drop him off at the airport. Because it was Stephen's fall break we were able to keep driving and visit Estes Park and the Rocky Mountain National Park. It sounds crazy for us, but we hadn't been camping once all summer and we were long overdue. We enjoyed two nights in the tent and one full day of hiking.
We of course decided to take a nice hike to a lake. Over 10 miles later we made it back to our car. While at mile 7 and 8 we were wondering why we had decided to do this, Greyson, Stephen and I all had a wonderful time and it felt so wonderful to be out doing what we love so much.
The Rocky Mountain National Park is so incredible and beautiful especially in the fall with all the leaves falling. This is something we will do again for sure!

Nebraska State Fair

The last time I attended the Nebraska State Fair I was showing sheep. So needless to say it was very different and much cleaner this time around. Stephen's family came out on a Sunday afternoon, spent the night and we all left in the morning for the fair, but not before Stephen did some fishing with Lucas and everyone headed out for a canoe ride.