LIGHTS again...(and I'm still here)

Finally, an update from me!

Mom, I wanted you to see what we've been up to, so that you could feel as if you were here, or be thankful that you were there...



At work on Monday, things were slowing down around 4:00 and there wasn't really a need for all the nurses to stay so I called Dave, had him get the kids together, and pick me (NOW) so that we could make it to the zoo by 4:00. Timing was crucial because I'm "Frugal", and wanted to get into the zoo with our zoo pass during regular hours so that we wouldn't have to pay separately to see the zoo lights.

WE MADE IT just in time!

The playground was empty for some reason.
Blade went down the slide but I made him stop after the first run because that metal slide, cold weather and just jeans didn't seem like a great idea to me.

Hot chocolate inside however, did sound like a great idea....
The hot chocolate was correctly titled that night, HOT! But at least that made us all sip instead of guzzle.

These heaters felt very nice.

You just never know what shot you will get when you push that button due to lag time, and when I saw this picture after I took it, I actually laughed out loud. The look on Nicole's face is priceless. The boys are intently watching the monkeys, one which pooped and peed (monkey that is, not one of the boys).

The baby snow leoperd has grown alot since we last visited and it was so cute to see him playing with Blade running along the window with him and pawing at the glass at Blade.

Chay's okay! It was a little slippery and with Blade around who knows what happened but, Nicole did have a safe hold on Blade.

I loved the look of this tiger welcoming us to the cat area.

AND Santa was there...

Actually later we walked past a building that was having a "dinner with Santa" and Blade saw Santa and walked up to the window, put his face up to the glass and watched Santa. He so wanted to be inside there and we had to tell him that it was only for people that that bought tickets earlier so that they could have dinner with Santa, and we couldn't buy tickets now, it was too late.
It was a cute picture but by the time I got close enough with the camera, Blade was coming towards me.

This pretty much captures life with Blade.

We couldn't pass up an opportunity to take a picture of Dave with his "favorite" pink flamingoes.
...at least these ones weren't plastic....

see...I DO exist.
I was surprised by the proportions of this picture because I look so "small" next to Dave, and Chay (who is taller than me) is very short in this picture. Well, notice the lean? We were on a downward slope to I don't know where...

For some reason Blade picked up this chunk of snow/ice and carried it around, and wouldn't drop it. Later I saw him licking it! I quickly told him that that snow was dirty and in a zoo, who knows what animal may have peed on it. He dropped it just as quickly.

I actually enjoyed the zoo lights, and was impressed with what they did with the lights. Alot were synchronized so that animals were climbing trees/playing, Santa and his sleigh moved over the walkway, water was moving...the zoo did a nice job.
The zoo was empty when we arrived but by the time we left, it was packed.

One of the neighborhood gifts we received was a Pecan roll from a friend who has a catering business and is of course an amazing chef/cook/baker, and after the zoo, we were just passing it around and taking bites from it. It was sooooo good...mmmmmmm

Wednesday, Nicole and a couple of her girlfriends decided they wanted to dress up alittle and go out to eat. They all looked very nice. I told Nicole that it was such a compliment that she wanted to emulate me so much that she dressed like me, actually wore MY clothing and boots (okay, right now I can't fit into those pants but there was a time...)

Dave bought a new heavy duty shovel and Chay had the chance to use it. It's amazing how at Chay's age it was a chore to shovel and at Blade's age, he couldn't get his coat and boots on fast enough to get out there to shovel.

I told you it was heavy duty.
When we were leaving Costco one day, Dave saw it is someone's chart and was eavesdropping as that person was telling someone else about it. And so that last time we went, Dave had to get one. And when we waiting to get our hotdogs and drinks, a man was eyeing my shovel and I called him on it and gave him the info I knew. He thanked me and I think I sold him on it.

Icing sugar cookies for Santa.

This Christmas we had an elf join our family. Every morning he was in a different spot watching over the kids and then reporting their behavior back to Santa.
We couldn't touch him and that's why Chay and Nicole are lifting Blade up so awkwardly, I guess.

Blade initially name our Elf "Elfie" but later decided his name should be "Fastelf". The book is titled "Elf on a Shelf" and there is a cute story that goes with it that tells about the Elf's purpose. In the morning the kids (okay, Blade) try to locate where Fastelf is and Fastelf watches during the day to see how Blade is behaving and then at night, he reports back to Santa and returns to a new spot in the morning. When Fastelf was in the bathroom, Blade made sure that he always shut the door so that Fastelf couldn't see him in the living room, or any other part of the house.

Koshi got her gift early.

Putting the cookies (3) out for Santa. He ate them all.

Nicole was very happy to get a "real" camera, a Canon Rebel (X10?).

Chay happy about his new phone.

Nicole received this gripper thing in her stocking because when she was little and saw Grandma's she wanted one...she finally got one.

Nicole gave Chay a Disney "Sing it" and the kids had fun with that. They decided that they need another mike.

It was so cute, and sad, to see Blade playing with his transformers by himself. It's times like this that I feel bad that my kids are so widely spaced.

...but then Dave woke up (he's working nights this week) and played with Blade. It warmed my heart to hear him say "this is sooo much fun".

The kids playing Blade's fishing game with tires. All I was hearing was that Chay was cheating...

This year we did something different and had prime rib for our Christmas dinner. It was good. It was like being at home visiting Grandma and Grandpa because they always serve us prime rib.

The kids now playing Movie Scene It, a game Nicole was looking for every time we went to a toy store and could NEVER find.
And did you notice that Nicole was wearing a green blanket in most of the shots throughout the day? I was shocked when I saw her without it. It's an "original slanket" with a pocket like a hoodie and a pocket to slip your feet into. She had been talking about making snugglies since seeing her cousin's blog about making them. She and Chay saw a snuggie and were very disappointed by the thin fabric and cheap quality of it but was very happy and surprised by the thickness and softness of this slanket and the pockets! She may belt it and wear it to school.

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!
Miss you Mom and Dad, wish we could have been there with you for the Holidays.

Let there be LIGHT!

Exciting and... embarrassing, to report that the kids now have overhead lights in their rooms that can turned on with a light switch on the wall! Such a basic thing for most but, Dave and I didn't want OUR kids to take anything for granted and left them without electricity in their rooms for 5 years. No more extension cords going to the rooms...

Nicole just standing in the light taking it ALL in.

Chay and Blade hanging out in their room after dark AND before having to go to sleep.

a double take to see if I could get Blade in focus...not really.

The electricians are still working and by the end of the week ALL extension cords should be eliminated from out living space! We'll actually have more outlets on the main floor than we have ever had in this home.

Chay has been sick since after Halloween and has been hanging out at home recovering. I've also been home sick and wondering if what Nicole had a couple of weeks ago, and what Chay has now may be H1N1. I didn't get the fever so I think I just have a regular flu type thing. But everyone is doing better and will hopefully be back to "normal" soon.

And the weather is so nice here, I love it. In the 60s (you'll have to do your own conversion...subtract 10 then divide by 2?)

Getting ready for the big night!

This year we waited until Halloween Day to put up our decorations...it was a good thing it fell on a Saturday this year.

Nicole was eager a month ago to put up a black light so that the spider webs we planned on putting up would glow.

Nicole did a great job on the spider webs but I didn't get a picture of them...oops.
As it was getting darker, I noticed that it was a bit too dark on the steps and that concerned me so before Nicole and her friend Kajsa ( pronounced "KI sa") took Blade Tricking or Treating, I had Nicole change it back to a regular bulb. (It was much brighter and I felt much better).

And you need carved pumpkins for Hallween....

...this is Blade's all marked and ready for me to cut out...

Chay's and Blade's costumes had a theme.

...it's too bad they didn't go out trick or treating together...

A blur as Blade rushed around the pumpkins.

Nicole and Kajsa also had a theme going.
Nicole was very impressed with their skills in making Kajsa's costume from scratch in record time and wise spending of $14.

Chay's pumpkin snake that he saw on TV (I think) and wanted to make. He did a great job with it and it turned out quite nicely. Yes, I did help but he did most of it, until his hand got tired from using the drill on 4 of the pumpkins.

Chay and his stash with his favorite on top. He knows the routine after he gets home: check the candy and then take a picture...he got his bowl ready for the shot without me having to say anything.

When Nicole and Blade got home, Chay had to tell them about the place giving out the dollar and Nicole and Blade went back out to go to that home. Unfortunately, they must have given out all their "ones" because their light was off when they got there. While we were putting up the decorations Melinda (the one giving out the money) walked by and talked with us and told Blade, "make sure you stop by my place". Unfortunately, a little too late.

Blade was ready for his shot also. His stash is different from Chay's because he went on the "other" side of 15th East.

Blade received one Dove chocolate, and that is one of Chay's favorite, and Chay wanted to trade. He told Blade he would trade a gum for the Dove and Blade willing went along. Well, it wasn't a gum, it was a "cry baby" (a sour hard candy) and Blade just sat there motionless with this look on his face (hmmmm, maybe I should get more of those....).

I hope everyone had a FUN Halloween! From what I've seen so far, Erika and Drew did.