HO HO HO

For Christmas this year we spent Christmas Eve at Grandma C's house. We ate and had a little program and because Kari moved away, our kids had to do the Christmas Pagent all by themselves. It was hard to convince JJ to participate, Kaylee thought that an Angel should dance the whole time, and Audrey wanted Mary to carry the baby around. At least Chris was very comfortable in his role as a babbling infant. All in all it was a good time.

Christmas wouldn't be complete without a picture of our beautiful tree. I think it turned out lovely and Jay still thinks tromping through the forest to find it for $10 was a great deal. I think we might just have to do it again sometime.

Christmas morning JJ woke up first at 7:45! It was so late I contemplated going and waking up the kids because I wanted to get out of bed already! He went out into the living room and then came back into the bedroom and we heard him saying to Kaylee, "WAKE UP! It's a MIRACLE!!! Santa brought you a bike!" Then the ripping open of presents insued. Everyone was pleased with the surprises under the tree. Audrey got a Karaoke machine, I know, what was Santa thinking. And JJ got a new race track for his hot wheel cars. Kaylee also got a Dora tent, which we couldn't get her out of once it was open.

Then we went over to Grammy's house and had brunch and then opened presents and then had dinner and then Audrey and her Piano teacher Sister Wells treated us to a lovely Christmas Piano recital. Audrey played four songs beautifully and then Sister Wells played the Christmas Song for us as a special treat. It was really nice. We stayed up a little late and then headed home.

Another Christmas under our belts. The kids loved it and Jay says that he wants to do it again. But I am happy to put all of the things away and I look forward to taking them out next year.
We hope that you had a wonderful holiday and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Another Loss

Audrey lost her right front tooth last night. Well, sort of. She was messing around with the already extremely loose tooth and it started to bleed but didn't fall out. It bleed all afternoon and finally stopped. Only it started again after dinner. I told her it was time for it to come out (It was hanging by a thread anyway). So I put a TON of anbesol on it, and even though she claimed she could still feel it Jay yanked it out of her mouth. She was upset for only a minute and only because she thought it didn't work.
So last night while she was sleeping the "Tooth Fairy" came again and replaced her tooth with a dollar.
This morning she said to me, "Are you the tooth fairy mom?"
I said, "No, why?"
"Because I saw you take my tooth out from under my pillow last night."
Glup.
"No, I didn't do that."
"I thought I saw you do it."
"Nope. Sorry."
"Well, I guess I must have dreamed it."
"Probably."
"Mom...(pause) Are Santa and the Tooth Fairy REAL?"
"What do you think?"
"Because my friends Sonia and Alex say that Santa and the Tooth Fairy are not real. That it's your parents that do all that stuff."
"Oh."
"They say that only Santa's Spirit is real."
"Huh."
"They say that the real Santa died sometime in the eighties."


Lots and lots of laughter.

"Which eighties?"
"The Nineteen Eighty Sevens, or the Eight Hundreds. I can't remember."
"Oh."

She runs out of the room.
And so on the eve of Christmas eve Santa is tested.
I hope our Santa Spirit is up to the task.

Snow covered Town

I snagged this picture from my sisters blog. This, of course, is only half of the table and I don't think they were all done at this point. They really turned out cute though. Thanks Lauren for the picture!

Good Old Fashion Fun

This year Christmas Cheer seems to have taken a back seat to chaos here. But we have done a few very Christmas things, and I have the pictures to prove it!
JJ and his friend Greyson sang in a CRAZY holiday production for school. I won't go into great detail; but both my family and Greyson's family were happy that we wouldn't have to go next year.

Then we went to see Santa at the mall. He was a good sport. I have a few pictures of Karen (my niece) with the kids but I will spare her family, she looked very, very, very scared and sad. But the kids all did pretty well. Chris spit up on Santa, and Dean didn't try to run away or anything. They were all pretty good sports. When Santa asked the kids what they want for Christmas Audrey said she wanted a dog to which this very good Santa said, "Oh, I am so sorry, I can't bring any live animals on my sleigh." She seemed okay with that, and so was I!

Then we went to my moms and we decorated Gingerbread houses. My mother, in an effort to become a saint, made more than twenty Gingerbread houses, just so that everyone could make one. The kids had a great time and they all turned out fabulous! I don't have any finished pictures because by then I couldn't find my camera. But here is the beginning of the crazy...

Things I still have to do to feel like I am ready...
1. Finish shopping, are you ever really done?
2. Wrap everything that I shopped for up.
3. Mail all of the things that need to be mailed.
4. Sing some Christmas carols.
5. Finally mail out my Christmas cards, we missed last year.
6. Sing some more Christmas carols.
7. Keep the decorations on my tree.
8. Find some Christmas spirit.
9. Take some time to look at Christmas lights.
10. Go to the Temple and look at their light display, followed by a trip to Fentons or Caspers (or both, I don't mind).
11. Take a nap....and then another, and another.

Ice Cream, The Big Slide and First Time Swinging...

A week or so ago we went to lunch with Grandma C and Grammy. The kids got dessert. I think that these ice creams were almost as big as their heads!

Then the next day Jay and I took the kids to the park for some much needed playtime. I convinced Jay to go on the big slide. He thought it was fun. In this picture he looks almost as big as the slide, but don't be fooled. He is far from that.
And on that same occasion Chris went in a real swing for the first time. Here he is with Kaylee showing him the ropes. He was so happy in there he swang for what seemed like an hour without complaint.

Christmas Trees!

We went to Castle Crags to cut down our Christmas Trees this year! It was so fun! My Aunt Sue and Uncle Chris took us and helped us with all of the logistics. The kids loved it and I have to admit I am already looking forward to doing it again! I will post a picture of the tree when it is all decorated. I think that you get the idea from my cool collage (courtesy of Picasa 3) that it was a very memorable experience.

Gobble Gobble

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone. Now on to the next thing. But for those of you that are interested, here is a quick review...
We went to Redding for the weekend and ate great food with family. I made these cute place holders with clothespins and felt. Audrey helped me write out all of the names. The kids had a great time and Kaylee refused to take a nap (and consequently be in any pictures).

And, as always, JJ was a character.

No TV

It was a challenge at first; but now, it's just the way it is. We are not entirely TV free, but on School nights we don't watch TV. The kids were getting crazy, fighting with each other and Jay and I. One night a few months ago Jay and I were talking about it and we decided that we had had enough (or maybe I did...) either way, no more TV on school nights. The kids are not always 100% happy with it, but it has been great overall. They have started playing more and are getting along better. Audrey is reading all the time and getting better every day. Even Kaylee is benefiting from the social interaction. I think that it is great that they are outside playing, even on this gloomy day. Also, they hardly even ask to watch TV during the designated time anymore. Friday we are usually busy and Saturday and Sunday they often go off and do their own thing. It's really fabulous! Try it, you'll like it.

New Link

I found a new link that I wanted to share with you. Of course, as always my links are all listed alphabetically down on the left. This one is a great Family Home Evening resource. I was looking for an idea and found it! Super cute and easy to adapt. Check it out....click here.
Or go here: http://nataliesfhespot.blogspot.com/ .

Chris, all grown up

So lately I have been posting a lot of videos. And I apologize to those whose computers take awhile to load the page...but I have another video to share with you of Chris. He is so cute! He is kind of trying to sit up. He is still too little, but he is also four months old now! And at the doctor the other day he weighed in at 15 lbs! Still small, but he is really getting big.

It's Almost Here!

I was looking for something to blog about. My blog is my homepage and so everyday I see that I am still looking at the same thing. So I decided to go through my pictures and I found these cute ones from two years ago at Christmas. Kaylee is the baby...Audrey and JJ are tiny and Olivia is so cute in her antlers.

Get ready, it's almost here!

Dance Dance Evolution

Kaylee is rapidly progressing in her dancing...

This one is from April of this year.


And here she is in October, watching Dancing with the Stars...
Maybe someday she will be one of these...what do you think?

Gymnasts All over the world... Look Out!

Audrey is doing Gymnastics! Last night was her last class and so I went and recorded some of her moves. I think that she has her cartwheels down; but, her handstands need a lot of work (at least she is not the only one- watch the girl to her left). Keep trying Audrey!

So long ago...

This week my sister posted a picture of our oldest child on her blog from long ago. I had forgotten what a cute little kid she was, because now she is all grown up. I was inspired to find a few of my favorite photos of her from that time when JJ was just new. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Up, Up, and Away

The other day JJ and I were driving and we saw a Zeppelin. It was so cool! I know these pictures really don't do it justice, but it was really big. Pretty neat to see something that for so long was only history and then there it is floating along the CA coast! Of course I tried to explain this to JJ; but, in normal four year old fashion he was unimpressed.

Picture Tag

My sister Lauren tagged me...(refer to my earlier post about how I feel about tag) in a game of Picture Tag. You select your fourth picture folder and then the fourth picture and then blog about it. Here it is! JJ's fourth birthday (kismet). This year he wanted Doughnuts for his "cake" and I found the Scooby Doo candle at the store (his current favorite thing).

If you are up to playing tag (Sue, Kari, or Kelly) then I encourage you to do so. Otherwise I won't think badly of you.

Go TN!

Too bad they were getting CREAMED!!!! Okay, so I have been on an exclamation point kick lately. Sorry about that. Moving on...
On Friday night we went to Terra Nova's last home game. Jay and I (both TN Alum.) were SHOCKED at the changes that have overcome the place. And Handicap ramps were just the beginning. No more old wooden bleachers with the Seniors year painted on them. All aluminum now, new state of the art astroturf field prepainted with a giant snarling tiger and football and soccer boundries. Not to mention the snack shack which would be better described as a palace. The ticket booth was even replaced with a fancy ticket window inside of a more than likely central heated building. Wow.
And we went to see the band play (see third picture down). TN has a REAL band! They performed at half time and everything! They did a great job. And there were Cheerleaders! I could just go on and on. It was like someone else's school.
Jay spent the entire game telling me about when he played on the team. Audrey and JJ took turns taking pictures. At half time after the cheerleaders and the band performed we were treated to a brief sampling of the Ultimate Frisbee team at TN. Yes, I did just say that TN has an Ultimate Frisbee team. What is this world coming to?
All in all, we had a good time. It was fun to talk about the old days, as old people do, to the kids. They asked lots of questions and appeared to be impressed. In ten years they will certainly be saying, "Alright, we already heard this story...so what." So I guess that we had better enjoy it now.

Good Times.
GO TN.

The kids on the aluminum bleachers, they were having a good time, I swear.

The new field with scary tiger and players in uniform.

A blurry, yet very clear picture, of the actual TN Marching Band.

Ultimate Frisbee, and the visitors aluminum bleachers in the background.

Join the Club

Kaylee has decided to start a book club. Anyone can join. Activites consist of sitting on the couch and pretending to read anything that you can get your hands on, in this case she is sampling a catalog from Bath and Body Works. The only requirement is that while you are reading you randomly shout out peoples names as they appear to hold the same role as the ones pictured in the catalog. (i.e. Mom when an adult woman is featured or Audrey when it is a little girl etc.) The purpose of this book club is clearly to make our entire family feel like we could be models since the people in the books are interchangable with us. Thanks Kaylee.

PARTY!

We had an election party of our own last night. The kids colored in the states as they came up blue or red. But mostly they jumped around and we read like twenty books to pass the time between states reporting. Audrey took hers to school today. Chris even liked the party. Pictures complements of JJ. And Kaylee was asleep already.