New Years Eve

It was a beautiful, but dusty day in Ocotillo!

How do you Wii?

The kids have wanted a video game forever. I think Seth is one of very few children we know in second grade that has said, "My parents don't believe in video games!" I thought it was cute, but we finally gave in this year (with rules of course!). Santa brought a Wii this Christmas, and the boys are hilarious to watch play it. Some of the games are a bit tough (and lead to tears), but Wii Ski has become an instant favorite!

Christmas Dinner with Grandma Diane and Grandpa Rick

We ended the day with my mom and Rick. The kids should have been starving and exhausted, but they were just excited to be at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Randy settled down for the Charger game.

Emmy showed Grandma the digital picture frame.

Ethan carefully opened up his new skateboard.

Wild Man opened his skateboard and then the two checked out their ramp!

The boys and I posed for a picture and Seth pointed out the special necklace he made me for Christmas.

Emmy ate a dinner of olives and turkey.

After dinner, Randy and Rick watched the rest of the game. Go Chargers!

We put the kids in their jammies, loaded up and traveled home. The kids were worn out and ready to cuddle up in bed! What a fun day!

Christmas Afternoon at Great Grandma and Grandpa English's House

We spent the afternoon my Dad and my grandparents in Oceanside. The kids are so lucky to be able to spend such special occasions with great grandparents on both sides!

Grandpa Jim came down and visited with the kids. We don't get to see him often enough.

Grandma, Dad, Ethan and Ricky

Emmy talked to Baby Jesus.

Manu and his Grandpa Rick

It was so great to see Cayley and Cody. It had been too long since our last visit!

Emmy loved, loved, LOVED her "tea party" and didn't want to share with Manu. She saw this picture and said, "I no share." Then later, "Baby bonked me on the head!" Despite this, they were very cute together!

We had a short visit, but it was nice!

Ethan's First Ride

After breakfast, Ethan was off to try out the new KTM. He was so excited, and he did such a great job on his new bike!

EZ was cheered on by his biggest fan.

Christmas Morning Excitement

It was a perfect Christmas morning. The boys woke up at 6:00 and rushed out to check if Santa had come. It was nice to wake up to their excitement. Randy was out of bed shortly after and went to get Emmy. We all were excited to discover what Santa brought, and then we opened gifts from under the tree.

Dad had a new beanie in his stocking and tried it out in a photo with the kids.

Mom and the kids opened up the stockings.

Seth was so happy with his stocking and some of his Santa gifts.

Princess Emerson got lots of dress up stuff!

Everyone received goggles and we're all ready for the desert now!

I was excited to see the PajamaGram box, but footie jammies? I didn't know they made these for adults! I have to admit, they are comfy, but I'm still not sure about this gift...

Emmy loves her shoes and fancy Cha Chas!

Remember the Pogo Stick? So much fun. Ethan is already becoming a pro!

I'm ready to snowboard with my new helmet!

After a fun treasure hunt, the boys discovered Ethan's new motorcycle outside on the deck!

Christmas morning is so much fun with little ones!

Christmas Eve at Great Grandma and Grandpa Rockwell's

Once again we spent Christmas Eve at Randy's grandparents' house with all of the the aunts, uncles and cousins. It is always fun for the kids to see their cousins at their great grandma and grandpa's house. This is the last time this tradition is going to take place in Ramona as it is getting to be too hard for Grandma to host, so we really enjoyed this special time with family. We had dinner and then it was present time. The kids were so cute waiting patiently for the gifts to be passed out.

Seth was happy with his big box as he waiting for everyone to get a present.

We were so happy to see Hannah, Brooklynn and Melissa who came out from North Carolina.

When it was time to open Sabrina and Emmy opened their gifts together!

Hunter was happy to open a set of cars.

Emmy was such a big girl as she showed off her new sweatshirt with Dad.

The living room turned into a disaster zone!

After this, we loaded up and headed home to get ready for Santa. As always, it was a fun and tiring night.

Christmas Eve with the Rockwells

We spent the afternoon snacking and opening gifts with Grandma Diana and Grandpa Doug. It was an exciting start to two days of family fun, food and gifts!

Comfy, comfy!

All of the kids got new scooters and rushed to ride them.

Grandma Diana played "Spill the Beans" on the rug with Ethan and Emmy.

Seth's Breakfast Creation

Seth loves making his own meals (he calls them "creations"). On Christmas Eve morning, Seth made this delicious treat and then took a self portrait. It was pretty funny when I discovered the pictures on my camera...