MERRY CHRISTMAS, last year and this

Christmas 2010: Four Staubs
Christmas 2011: Five Staubs

Bedtime...

Just before bed, the girls love to read books...



Gabby waiting for Mer to get out of the bathtub. I think she is a little tired...

Sleeping Beauty?

Well it doesn't look comfortable to me, but whatever works...

Fun with friends

My girls look forward to Wesley and Drew coming a few days a week. Here's some pics of the kids that I've taken since August.

Oh little girls!

Summer's over, but it was great while it lasted. Here's some pics showing the two little beauties that I got to spend everyday with. -Kelli

Brewfest 2011

So we had this idea for a party: everyone bring different kind of beer (or wine) and we did a taste test to see if there were kinds of alcohol out there that we'd like. It was a hit (I think) and we had loads of fun. Couple the drinking with appetizers and Apples to Apples and you're sure to have a good time!

Aaron spent all afternoon arranging his bottle cap collection in this way.

Women snacked on appetizers and tested eight different kinds of wines on the patio while the men tasted twelve different kinds of beer downstairs.

These were our game winners.

A pic of us quick before guests arrived.

Goober...

Meredith, I must say is a lot like her mother - fairly even-tempered and usually easy to deal with. (Sometimes she whines a lot when she gets hungry or sleepy.) Gabrielle is just a goober. I hate to admit it but she is exactly like her daddy. That is scary. These pictures don't do her justice. Just trust me...she is a lot of fun, but a handful for sure.

Picnic!

Finally the weather in Wisconsin is nice enough that we can eat outside on our patio. For a while there we though summer was never going to arrive. Now that it has, it seems like we eat outside more than we do inside. Our girls love to eat on their picnic table.

Strawberries!

So last weekend we tried to pack as much stuff as we could into one weekend. We went to Cedarburg for their annual Strawberry festival and came home so inspired, we had to find a farm that we could pick our own. The girls loved it! Meredith kept asking if she could eat the berries that she picked and had to show me every one. As you can see, we came home with quite a few. We already know that we will go back and pick more!

Our "flowers" are growing...

Choo! Choo!

Here is a picture of my girls riding the rails in our neighborhood. Meredith just loves going to do this and it was Gabby's first time!

Daddy's second Marathon

Last week Saturday I was in a chilly Duluth, MN to run the 35th annual Grandma's Marathon. (That's 26.2 miles of fun) On the drive up we stopped at the Leinie Lodge and sampled some beer. Awesome. The three of us, (Rob, one of our pastors, Craig, a good friend from church and I) ran in the race. It was a fun weekend! The best part for me was finishing 52 minutes faster than my previous time! I am now officially a marathoner in the 3 hour range. I can't wait to do another one!

Operation Basement: Complete!

Finally done! The project began in November and was finished in April. Not too bad considering we did most of the work ourselves, we have jobs, two kids and not too much money. The result is awesome! We love the space! Now there is a guest bedroom that is bigger and better than ours, and a great big play area for the girls!

Basement work...

Little did we know that finishing a basement and doing the work ourselves was going to take a few months of work, a lot of money, and some cases of beer...However, here is the progress...







Our "contractor" - Papa Gehrels




Our Interior Decorator

Everyday life with Gabrielle...

So since Kelli's last post of everyday life with Meredith, everyday life with Gabrielle has changed quite a bit as you will see.

Dr. Gabby? I think I would feel ok about having a kid who makes enough money to support me.


Nothing much happens at our house without a thumb in the mouth.


Getting into everything...


She loves to "get stuff out of the fridge"


Trying to watch T.V.


Playing with a "baby"!


Scaring the crap out of mommy and daddy! She can go up but not down!