christmas highlights

Christmas was wonderful.
It really was.
We are still in recovery mode though.
I haven't blogged.
I haven't taken down one decoration or ornament from the tree.
The house is a mess.
But we have been spending money.
Our microwave died two days before Christmas.
Our dryer broke two days after Christmas.
But that's just life, so back to Christmas morning.
No surprise that ours started early, 1:30am and then every hour after that until six.
I absolutely love how excited the boys get but a little sleep would be nice.
Cody even told us on one of his trips back to his room he saw a man's shadow downstairs and knew that Santa was here!
Finally it was time to race downstairs to open presents.
The kids passed right by their Santa gift, a new Ruger .22 rifle (thinking it was for Heath) and headed for their stockings.
We took turns opening our presents and there was nothing but smiles.
a new XBox360 for Heath
a Kindle for me
a 973 piece Police lego set for Cody
an art case with extras for Luke
a marble maze and Halo figurines for Ryan
and so much more.
My favorite though probably the presents the boys bought for Heath and I.
A Willow Tree statue, bath salts and a #1 Mom sign for me.
A fishing tackle bag, ammo box and electric coffee mug for Heath.
Then time to pack up and do it all over again at my parents house where it's the same each year.
All sitting in the living room, opening presents (starting from youngest to oldest), going around and around until the presents are gone. It only took us two hours this year, I think that might be a new record!
Once again, nothing but smiles.
Dinner was great (ham and potatoes) and the dessert even better (homemade apple and peanut butter pies).
Having the whole family together was the best part of all, it was a wonderful day!

Merry Christmas

Right now the boys are sleeping soundly all together in one room.

Tomorrow morning can't come soon enough for them.

They are so excited!

Today the boys and I headed to Emmett (Heath had to work) to hang out

with Grammy and Papa.

Luke had a loose tooth all week but after having a discussion with the neighbors

he decided it was best to wait until today the 24th to pull it.

Why?

That way the Tooth Fairy and Santa would both have to come for a visit!

The only problem, Luke was pretty nervous about getting his tooth pulled out.

After some bribing and money ($5.50) from Papa, he finally let Papa pull it!

This is our very first Nativity Set and I just bought it this year.

The kids love it and so do I.

The kids put on a little play for my parents today.

While I read the Christmas Story out loud

the kids acted out the parts with the figurines.

Ryan was Jesus, Mary, Joseph and a donkey.

Luke was the shepherds and the sheep.

and Cody was the Wise men, camels and Star.

Then it was time for Christmas Mass where we met up with more of the family.

The children of the church acted out this story once again

and reminded us the best present of all to receive is Jesus!

Merry Christmas

gift exchange

Monday night was our gift exchange day with the girls.
I'm not even for sure when we first started exchanging gifts with them but
we have done it for a few years and it seems to be a new tradition now.
They are the only friends that we buy presents for
I guess because they are more than just friends to the boys, almost more like sisters.


It was a Lego theme this year, since that is what they are all into these days.
Abigail and Ashlynn bought the boys each a Lego ornament that you put together
along with the new Lego movie (the first ever Lego movie on DVD as Cody informed us)!

The boys bought the girls each their own small Lego set, an RV camper for Abigail and a dog house with dogs for Ashlynn. Once we spotted this (create & color castle) in the sales ads Heath knew he wanted to buy it for the girls. It was something more so just to annoy Jason and Amanda but I think the idea backfired because I'm sure it kept the girls quiet and busy for hours, they just had to put up with a bulky cardboard castle in their living room.

This is a new ornament that Amanda found for us at Crate & Barrel.
I just love it! There is another someone at our house who loved it too,
maybe even more so because his eyes got huge when he saw it.
I hope that means he is really going to love one of his Christmas presents
(just a bigger version of this!)

To end the evening I had a special suprise for everyone.
It was a video of all the kids since they first became friends up until now.
This is a project that Amanda and I have been talking about for awhile now,
but something I didn't tell her that I had even started working on. (a hard secret to keep)
It was so fun watching all together, the kids thought that they were real movie stars!
What a special night it was.

new traditions

We are doing a few new things this year when it comes to Christmas.
First of all, we are buying just three presents each for the kids and each other.
Amanda did this last year and I loved the idea.
The three gifts of course representing what Jesus was given on his birth from the Wise men.
Don't get me wrong, three gifts is still plenty when you see the amount of presents the boys will have to open from all the family on Christmas morning.
But, it does make you really think about what you want to get them because you want each one to be special and have some meaning.
Secondly since we thought the boys might be able to figure out their presents a little easier this year we wanted to try something new. It's something my sister always does with her kids (using different names or code names on the gift tags) so they won't know until Christmas which presents are really for them. The great thing is they get to shake each and every one of them wondering if it's theirs or not.

Our three code names are Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Reindeer and The Grinch.

This is one group that my sister had used in the past and I thought it was perfectly fitting for my three. Of course each of the boys took a guess at who they thought they were. Cody asked if the names matched their own personalities while Luke was adamant from the start that he was The Grinch! When we asked Luke why he would think that he simply said, "Well I hate everything, my favorite color is green and I'm mean and nasty!" We just had to laugh, poor Luke and his attitude doesn't always show the great and awesome kid that he really is. Of course we didn't make him The Grinch because we knew that would be everyone's first thought so we made him Frosty instead! Ryan on the other hand is just for sure that he is Frosty because he loves snow just like Frosty does but instead we made him The Grinch. That name has been fitting to him lately because he has been in quite the mood. Of course that leaves Cody being Rudolph which nobody has picked for themselves to be but if you ask Cody he would say that he is probably Frosty.

Oh what fun it will be come Christmas morning when they find out the truth!

Shhhh don't tell....

not so funny

This was the setting.
Cody, Luke and myself in the doctors office.
We were there for a follow up appointment for Cody.
The nurse came in to ask a few questions.
He asked if Cody was allergic to anything.
I replied, "No"
While Luke replied, "He's not allergic to alcohol."
I look at Luke and say, "WHAT?!?"
Luke says, "Well he's drank alcohol before, remember when Uncle Matt gave it to him?"
I don't know what to do or say at this point.
I'm embarrassed because I feel like I have to explain.
I'm shocked because Luke opened his big blubbering mouth.
I'm laughing because of how horrible this makes me and my family look.
I say to the nurse, "Can we just forget about anything that was just said?"
He replies, "Oh we all have one of those uncles!"

sweet stuff

Saturday was our annual Candy Day

but I haven't been able to blog about it yet

because I'm still in a sugar coma.

I ate 8 sugar cookies yesterday.......

We all came with our cookies and candies ready to share,

made a few extra things, had soup and bread for lunch and

then decorated sugar cookies.

Mom and Nicole baking away...

Hailey and her friend Tori

Summer and Ryan working on the soup.

Ryan loved helping Aunt Summer cut the vegetables up with a butter knife.

See his lovely assortment in the measuring cup?

We decorated and decorated and decorated...

The kids all loved the sprinkles, frosting and icing (maybe a little too much.)

This is Ryan's cookie that he made for Santa (lucky guy)!

While Heath, Jim and Tucker went out Christmas shopping for us girls,

my dad and brother helped down at the church and then showed up before lunch.

After playing with the boys and getting them all loud and crazy, they decided it was time to take a nap.

Us girls didn't get that privilege though,

we sorted, packed, delivered and cleaned instead.

Then we all loaded up and headed to the movies.

It has been many many years since we have all been at the movies together

(and really we weren't all there because we were still missing Brooke).

We watched The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

which everyone enjoyed.

Then if that wasn't enough we all loaded up again and headed to Famous Daves

for dinner, which everyone really enjoyed.....oh so yummy.

By the time we were done there it was nine o'clock and we were all exhausted!

We all loved this day!

Fa-la-la-la-la la la la la

This was the week of Christmas programs.

Heath took three days off from work just to hang out with us

which included attending the boy's programs (this was a first for him).

Ryan's program was on Wednesday.

I love the kids at this age, they are so precious and funny.

Ryan would sing the songs barely, sometimes remember his hand movements

and other times just flip his tie up over his head.

My favorite song the kids always sing is called, Song of Peace

So sweet, isn't it?

During the program they showed a video where they had asked the kids questions about Christmas.

Miss Michelle had asked Ryan, "How does Santa get down the chimney?"

Other kids had been asked this question too and a lot of them responded with short answers like, "he jumps".

Ryan however had quite the explanation:

First Santa hangs on the brick

then goes down the chimney

then he puts out presents

the he says HO HO HO

then he says MERRY CHRISTMAS

then he goes back up

then he goes to anudder house

and anudder house

done!

Luke's program was on Thursday.

Thankfully it was a new program this year, one that I hadn't seen before.

"How the Grinch Stole Christmas"

Luke is never too excited about being in front of a crowd but he did great.

He sang along to all the songs, had big hand movements to the music and

even waved a small little wave to me!

Luke was one of the many Who's that lived down in Whoville.

He didn't have any solo speaking parts but he did have to memorize a few

paragraphs that he spoke with a group of kids.

He really did amazing!

It was great that Heath got to experience these programs too

even when they feel like they go on and on and are never going to end!

Grammy was able to come to this one too!

Cody's program was on Friday.

The Ballet of Idaho has been coming to their school once a week to teach

the third graders about dance and ballet.

I have no pictures to share because we didn't make it to his program

(I feel really guilty about this).

First of all, Cody asked us not to go because he was fine with us not being there

(which really wouldn't of mattered because if I could of been there I would of been

no matter what he said) and

secondly Ryan had preschool that started at the same time and I was really wanting to

try and finish the Christmas shopping while I had no kids with me.

I had Cody share with us some of the things that he had learned instead

and it all worked out in the end.

What a week it was!

winter wonderland

Matt had a plan.

Chili and Snow sledding.

Sunday with the family.

It was the perfect plan.

But first Matt wanted to play with the snow blower

that was all good until he got the snow blower stuck

then he needed some help

Time to play.

There were many trips up and down this hill.

Unlike the rest of us, Ruby never seemed to get tired.

There was lots of sledding

and tube riding behind the four wheeler

and snow fights with Uncle Matt

and snow fights with Papa

and snow fights with brothers

and snow fights with mom
Do you see Luke and my dad back there talking while

Heath and I are trying to get our picture taken?

See the snowball going down the back of my sweatshirt,

apparently that's what they were talking about.

It was cold.

Now do you see Cody coming up from behind?

Heath tried to help some but they still got me!

Of course there were many photo ops too.

then it was time to go home and warm up

with some hot chocolate and apple pie

Ryan loves it that Grammy has her own Nintendo64

and Cody loves it that Uncle Matt wanted to talk about Legos

and talk, and talk, and talk.

Great Plan Matt!

hustle and bustle

What is wrong with me?
Do I have too much on my mind?
Too many things on my to do lists?
I don't know but it's not good.

Today I lost my wallet in the parking lot of Barnes and Noble.
Thinking back I remember telling myself when leaving the store
you should put the receipt back in your wallet and the wallet back in your purse,
like I normally would do, but I didn't listen to myself.
Thinking back I remember someone honking their horn when I was getting in the truck,
but I just thought they were locking their doors, not knowing they were probably trying to get my attention.

I realized my wallet was gone while trying to do a return at Walmart and the clerk needed to see my license. When I couldn't find my wallet, I panicked but was still able to somehow remember my license number to finish the return. I knew it had to be at Barnes and Noble when I couldn't find it back in the truck. On my way there, I called and put a hold on our bank card and Visa and just prayed that somebody good had found it. Once in the store I found the clerk that helped me and thankfully he said that Yes, someone had found it in the parking lot and returned it to the store.

After returning back to Walmart to finish my shopping I loaded Ryan and the bags in the truck and returned the cart. Once I got back to the truck I heard someone say, "Miss" and I turned around to see that I had forgotten Ryan's jacket in the cart and the man was bringing it back to me.

I am so thankful for the complete strangers that helped me today.
My day could of turned out a lot different if they hadn't.
Now I just need to pass it on.

Ho Ho Ho

Saturday we visited the big guy

even though the kids did not want to.

They were reluctant to go and talk to Santa

but I wanted a picture, so they did.

They each took a turn telling him what they wanted.

Ryan asked for Transformers,

Luke asked for Halo action figures,

and Cody asked for Legos.

So what do you think, have they been Naughty or Nice?

This picture just cracks me up!

Less than three weeks to go, can you believe it?

fresh start

I was so excited for this morning.
December 1st starts the real countdown to Christmas
something the boys have been looking forward to.
There were many things that we were starting today
not only did we have the chocolate candy advent calendars
but I also had the LEGO advent calendar as a surprise for them.
Last year we received The Elf on a Shelf as a gift so the daily hiding of the
Elf that we named "Cotton Headed Ninny Muggins" from one of our all
time favorite Christmas movies "Elf" started today.
We are also going to read the book "What Color is Christmas" again
and following along with the daily bible readings and
lastly I wanted to teach the kids the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:10-15).

Now if that didn't sound like enough fun,
it was also a SNOW DAY!
Hooray for that and the nine plus inches of snow that we got!

Well I wish that I could say the day went as planned but with some
cranky, ungrateful, moody, disrespectful, bratty kids, it didn't.
They were sent to their rooms by 8:00 am
while I went to take a hot bath and read a People magazine.
A couple hours later we started our day with a fresh start and new attitudes
to enjoy all the snow with some of our best friends!

(So happy that Amanda had her camera out today!)

The rest of the day still had it's ups and downs
and like Cody said, "maybe today was just one of those days"
but thankfully tomorrow is a new day!

Thanksgiving Day

I love thanksgiving!

I love the family all being together

I love my mom's dinner

I love the smells from the kitchen

I love being warm in the house

I love the cold winter weather outside

I love the conversations

I love the excitement of Christmas coming soon

I love looking through the sales papers

I love us all working in the kitchen together

I love the kids playing with their cousins

I love cuddling up and taking a nap

I love that the kids asked to stay the night and my parents said yes

I love that Heath and Tucker braved the 18 degree weather to stand in line

four hours at ToysRUs for a good deal on video games

I love that my Dad made Luke's day because he told him he could have 7 pens

from the junk drawer that Luke had been going through all day

I love that Ryan only wanted to stay the night if his brothers were staying too

and when he asked me, "Are you going to miss me mom?"

I love watching Christmas Lampoons Vacation

I love how giving my parents are

I love that they took my boys Christmas shopping the next day to buy

presents for Heath and I, so far no one has told

I love the laughing and how funny the family is

I love celebrating Matt's birthday because I think he is such a great brother

I love that when Matt got down his Lego's from when he was little, Cody could

hardly contain his excitement and talked about every Lego fact he knew

I love that we called to talk with Jim and Brooke who we were missing that day

I love that my first ever Pecan pie really did turn out and it was good

I love that we stuff ourselves silly and that my mom makes HUGE portions

so we all have enough to take home for leftovers

I love sharing Christmas ideas and talking about our upcoming candy day

I love our family traditions

We have so much to be Thankful for!