Finally New Pic's!!!

Well, its official, It has been three months since my last blogging after a personal promise to keep up on this stuff..oh well. Life is great! Isaac started preschool last week, and since it's special education that bus comes right to our door to pick him up and drop him off. He LOVES it, and has already made some great friends. I have been taking a ton of pictures lately, and am trying to perfect indoor photography. I am lovin' it. My sweet kids are completley used to being dragged in front of the camera by now, and are cooperating so well. Here are their newest pics! Enjoy..

Pumpkin Day!

Halloween came and went in a flash thanks to the new 4 baby schedule. I have to admit that costuming was relished to running upstairs to the dress-up bin 10 minutes before trick or treating began. It all came out fine in the end though. Emmie was terrified, and daddy had to carry her on his shoulders the entire time! It was the first halloween that wasn't bitter cold, so the kids got to trick-or-treat for quite a while. Me and Grandma Flo made sure that all the candy was gone through, and that any candy that was "too good for children" was immediately removed:). We made some fun memories, and the kids really enjoyed themselves.

Welcome New Baby Annelise!

Little Annelise Victoria Hinds was born on October 16, 2008. She weighed in at a healthy (and hefty) 9.1 pounds, our biggest baby by far! She is lovely, and an excellent baby. She is the exact image of her big sister, Mckay. Everything has gone very well, and she is adjusting to super-stardom like a pro. Big sisters and brother want nothing more than to spoil her all day. The labor and delivery went very well, and she was out in half a push! I dilated from a 5 to a 10 in 30 minutes, and the doctor barely had time to get his robe on and catch the little dear. Poor Russell slept until I was ready to push, and then fell asleep again 1/2 hour after the birth. I was extremely jealous. Thanks to the Army pace, Russ now has the ability to fall asleep standing on his head in the subway. Gramdma Flo came for 3 weeks to help with the kids and the house, and what a blessing it was! I don't know what I would have done without her. Running kids to the doctor for flu shots, and baby checkups would have ended in tears. Getting back to a schedule has been very difficult with #4 here, who was the goose that said, "anything after 3 is just the same,"? Baby is doing great, and is definitly a mama's girl that loves to snuggle. We are so happy she's here!

Summer Fun at the Beach

The warmer weather is here in lovely Monterey, and we have had some great times heading to the beach! Our favorite beach is Asilomar, just around the bend from the Pebble Beach golf course. It is more of a secluded beach that isn't well known to tourists. The sand is as soft and white as sugar, and the ocean is clear and aqua. There are some beautiful little tide pools with tons of shells, crabs, and granite rocks for the kids to explore, and occasionally some starfish. Russ went on a hunt for a starfish, and found a large one for the kids to hold and play with. The kids have had so much fun, and so have mom and dad, especially watching the kids play.

Sunny Days

Sunny days seem year round despite some chilly winds, so every weekend we can, we hit the beach! The kids scream with delight at every seashell, sand crab, or piece of treasure trash they find. We have already made some great memories at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Carmel, and Dennis the Menace park. So much to do here! Russell is doing very well with his Korean, despite a rigorous, and exhausting schedule. He is such a hard worker. He often wakes up at 3 or 4 a.m. to do extra study or homework, off to exercise by 5, and usually does not get home until 5, and then still has a tone of homework. He especially enjoys his weekends at the beach, and away from Korean!

Loving Little Hands in the Hinds Home

Hello to all our friends and family! We are all settled here and loving it in beautiful Monterey, Ca. It has been quite a lovely winter compared to our last few chilly ones in Kansas, but we sure do miss all of our family. And to those of you who don't know, we are expecting our fourth little pair of hands in October, and that makes 6! We are thrilled and excited, and know that every child (expected or not) has been such a blessing to our home. We love you all and hope you are all doing well!