Cookies before Bed? Yes, please!

Making cookie dough with Nae cuz that's just how we do bedtime in the Voelkel house.

My Breakfast Date with Daila

My breakfast date with Daila. Good times at St. Louis Bread Co. :-)
I love my girls.

Our Valentine from Daila

‎"Mom Dad both. Happy Valentine's Day. Everybody's favorites. (Pink for Mom) I love you. I like you guys. (Blue for Dad)"

Yeah . . . We're everyone's favorites . . . jealous?? :)

2011 Voelkel Family in a Nutshell

For Ben, the countdown has officially begun! He will finish his BS degree in business at UMSL next semester. He is currently making plans for his MBA pursuit. Ben continues to manage IT teams at Express-Scripts, but has recently moved into the quality assurance department to increase his leadership opportunities. His home improvement project this year was replacing our old retaining wall. The new one is gorgeous! I’m so grateful for Ben’s skills and work ethics. He amazes me.
Linda was hired as a full-time preschool teacher on Oct. 10th. Presently, I have 7 kiddos in my class, ages 3, 4, and 5. I love teaching early childhood education! We get to bake and cut and make gooey scientific concoctions… We count and sort and color and read… And every new experience is miraculous in their eyes.
Anna started middle school this year. She turns 12 this June which means she gets to go to Girls’ Camp with the young women at church this summer. It’s an exciting transition and she is looking forward to that adventure. She continues to play the piano and violin and excels in academics.
Janae is enjoying 5th grade. She also plays the piano and violin, but expresses a desire to switch to band next year. (She’s mentioned wanting to play the guitar and trumpet.)
Daila is doing very well in kindergarten. She is excited to enter the world of words and is thrilled when she can read a word on a sign at the mall. She loves to draw and write and has even tried writing a note to a boy at school: “FrenD or grlFrnD”.

In July, we were able to attend a family reunion in Yellowstone. What a wonderful reminder of what our Father in Heaven has blessed us with; this beautiful earth and a wonderful extended family! We wish you joy and laughter this holiday season and throughout the New Year!

These photos from our Yellowstone trip made the "Christmas Card" cut.

I got a good deal on cards from a website so I had them specially printed. Kinda fun to see how they turned out. And so professional and fancy looking too. :)

(with our tag-along buddy in the background . . . Kaylun Rice!) :)

Santa Visits Overland

Santa's Coming to Town

Santa!?! I know him! I know him!

Santa comes with the local firetruck. How cool is that?! Can we manage to put any more kid-cool icons in one place!?!

Daila gets a bunny and candy cane from the Big Guy. She's been good.

Anna and Janae also get stuffed animals and candy canes! Look like it was a good year in the Voelkel house.

Mr. and Mrs. Claus in their sleigh.

Ben said Santa was flirting with me. Such a jealous guy. ;-) Didn't help that Janae confirmed his suspicions by saying she saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus underneath the mistletoe last night. It was a losing battle for me with that kind of eye-witness evidence.

Daila and Janae show off their goodies from Santa.

I love Overland's tradition of Santa's visit. They just cruise around the neighborhood honking their horn and the kids come running out. So fun.

Happy Holidays to you all!

Clowning Around

Does this picture really need any explanation? lol

Did I mention Daila likes to pose?

Favorite thing to read these days?....Toy catalogs. Girls are putting together some formidable Christmas lists.
Okay, this one isn't silly, but aren't they adorable? I love it when they decide to play duets together whether it is on the piano or violin or a combination of both.
Personal favorite:

I'll try to upload the video of their performance...it's priceless. :)

A New Ride

We all love Dad's motorcycle. :)

But we recently said goodbye to Lola. :( I was sincerely sad to see her ride away with her new owner. More than I thought I'd be. (She wasn't my bike, afterall.) But I'm really going to miss her. *sniff sniff*

However, now we can say hello to our new friend:

I remember the first time I rode Lola. I was so nervously perched on top. I'm grateful for everything she taught me about speed, balance, and turns. And most importantly to relax and enjoy the ride.

And I'm very grateful for the comfort of a cruiser with a sissy bar (despite the terrible name--I ain't no sissy). It sure is fun riding with Ben on this new bike. I'm in love. (Sorry Lola.)