Merry Christmas (warning...picture overload)

We have had a wonderful last few weeks. I love, love, love Christmas and the days leading up to it. This year we decided to have an activity for every day in December. Life got busy and there were a couple days we missed, but all in all it was a fun way to enjoy the whole month. Christmas itself was filled with way more presents than the kids needed and lots of food. I still can't figure out why it is so important to ME to buy the kids lots of things. Honestly, they needed probably 1/2 the stuff they got. Luckily we got everything on sale (major sale) or off craigslist so we were able to get quite a bit without taking out a loan. Samantha's favorite toy was her "crawl baby" (a baby that crawls by itself) and these magnetic dolls that Holly got her. No surprises there, anything that has to do with babies is sure to be a hit. Paul's favorite was Samantha's tent/fort combo. Luckily she's willing to share. The day after Christmas we went to the Avs game. Adam found us great seats for a decent price and it was great to get out without the kids all night. The Avalanche won which was a definite plus. All in all we have had a great month and are now looking forward to the sun in Florida!

Sammi's preschool class singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas"

Samantha in her Christmas dress

My Boys

Decorating cookies

Gingerbread Houses

Yes, Paul is eating in every picture I have of him this season.

Tracking Santa on Norad...She was so worried that he'd come that she was going "Mommy, HURRY I have to go to sleep. Mommy...Hurry, he is ALMOST HERE!!!" She was asleep in less than 5 minutes. That was a Christmas miracle.

Cookies for Santa

Christmas Eve (yes, that is a cookie in his hand)

Samantha playing with her magnetic dolls at Grammie's house.

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy 2010!

Guess Where We're Going?!?

So...we told the kids on Sunday that we were going. We thought it woudl be fun to have a treasure hunt with their new luggage and the brochure as prizes at the end. Lauren was NOT into it (she didn't realize the prize would be so awesome) but we finally got them to the end. It took a few minutes for them to figure out we were going to Disney World, but once they did they were pretty excited. Samantha and Paul don't really understand, but Sammi is still SO excited and already has her bag packed (we don't leave until Jan. 6).

Florida here we come!

Visitors

Kim and her family came out for Thanksgiving. It was SO fun for Samantha to have her cousins. She keeps asking why they aren't here any more and if we can go have a sleepover at their house (she doesn't get that it's a 3 hour plane ride, not just around the block).

Sammi and the boys

We went back to Monkey Bizness and had a lot of fun with all the kids there. It was fun to see the adults getting in on the action and jumping too. I think Adam had more fun watching his mom participate than he did watching the kids. It was great to have them out here and we can't wait to see them again!

Oh My

She got herself dressed for bed. Enough said.

Halloween (a little late)

We had a great Halloween this year. We went over to Liberty High School first and they had trick-or-treating down the hallways, plus games. Samantha was nervous to say "trick-or-treat" so she asked the people handing out the candy "will you say trick-or-treat for me. Thanks." Then we went around Kevin & Holly's neighborhood for a little while. Paul figured out that if you bang on doors they give you candy so he was banging with all his little might then yelling. As soon as he got the candy he'd dump his pumpkin upside down to look at all his loot. He had fun but it was a little tiring chasing after him all night. I also couldn't get a picture of Sammi and Paul together, but oh well.

Sammi saying arrgh with her "hook" (aka her finger)

Playing putt putt for one of the games

Paul hugging a pine cone (??)

This was how he looked most of the night, trying to get into more candy

D'oh!

Okay, I realize I have become one of those bloggers who never actually blogs (so can I still call myself a "blogger"...is that even a word?) Anyway. I am making it a not so new year's resolution to get back on track and update all two of you who still read this. You know who you are.

Since September (yes it has been that long) Samantha has started preschool, Adam turned 28, it snowed, we went to the zoo, and probably a lot of other things that I can't remember. Let's be honest, I'm lucky if I remember what happened this morning, let alone 3 weeks ago. So, I will tell you about yesterday. It was a fun day.

Lauren and Caity had school off so we decided to go up to Denver and go to Monkey Bizness. It's one of those places that has inflatables as well as some other fun things to climb on. We stayed for awhile and the kids had a great time. Sammi wore herself out and was ready to take a nap there. After getting home and taking naps Adam and I decided to head up Mt. Herman with his dad, Stacy, and the kids to have dinner. We hadn't been out as much as I would have liked this summer so it was really fun to get up there and have hot dogs and s'mores (first you take the ghram...). Paul was in heaven eating Cheetos and marshmallows to his little heart's content. It was one of the most fun days we'd had in awhile so I'll put up some pictures for you so you can live vicariously thorough me (yes there are a lot). Can you handle it?

The look on Adam's face is priceless

Even my Mom went



He couldn't quite get up by himself, so he's just watching all the fun

So tired

She was a litle nervous to blow out the fire on her stick

Still Around

Not a lot of major things have been happening with our family...thus the lack of posts. We're still doing well and just trying to keep up with life. Adam's Grandfather passed away a couple of days ago, so now we're planning a trip to Utah for the funeral. Other than this, life is pretty much the same. Just wanted everyone to know that we're still around. And, as a bonus, here are a couple old pictures that I saw the other day that just made me smile.

Update

Well, things around here have been busy/crazy. After Malcolm passed away, Stacy and her girls decided to move in with my parents. That makes 9 of us living in their house. It's been adjustment, but so far has been working out better than I would have thought.Adam and I are planning on staying with my parents as well, as long as things continue to work well. We're able to move out, but right now we need everyone here to keep things moving. Lauren and Caity started school down here and seem to be handling everything very well and getting into school. Samantha and Paul LOVE having them here all the time but I'm waiting to see how long they all get along. Things are changing since now they're in more of a brother/sisters roll than cousins.

As if that wasn't enough, we all got sick...with the swine flu. Gross. Luckily, that's over and we're all (almost) back to normal. Hopefully we'll be able to settle into a rhythm and things will feel less hectic soon.

Anyway, that's what has been going on in our lives. We have realized how grateful we are for all of the blessings we continue to receive and all the support we've been given over the last few weeks.

2009 Reunion

I am finally getting around to posting pictures from the 3 weeks my sister spent out here. We had SUCH a fun time with her and her kids...Sammi was in seventh heaven with all the friends. She and Grant got along really well and it was fun to watch them play together. We did a lot of fun things like going to Santa's Workshop, Prospect Lake, the park, hiking, Mr. Biggs, Pirate's Cove (a water park), and probably more that I'm leaving out. I took SO many pictures, so here are a few (and by a few, I mean a lot) from this summer.

For Lauren and Caitlin

For those of you who are not aware, my brother-in-law, Malcolm, passed away Sunday afternoon. He is leaving his wife and two daughters, Lauren (11) and Caitlin (8). I am not sure who reads this that wouldn't get an e-mail, but I thought I'd put it out there anyway.

For those friends and family wishing to make a contribution in memoriam of Malcolm, a trust has been set up for Lauren and Caity. To make a donation, go to any Wells Fargo Bank and give to account number 6453471267.

Thanks.

A conversation between two 3 year olds...

This is what I heard the other night while Samantha and her cousin Grant were having a sleepover. It only lasted until 9:00 and we had to send Grant upstairs or they would NEVER have gone to sleep.

Sammi - "No, no, yes, yes...GO!"
Grant - "No, no, yes, yes...GO!"
Sammi - (while laughing hysterically) "No, no, yes, yes...GO!"
Grant - "Hey, where's my soldier guy?"
Sammi - "I don't know, I will go ask my Mommy"
Me- (from the other room) -"Stay on your bed!"
Sammi - "My Mommy said stay on my bed."
Grant - "Okay"
Sammi - "Hey I'm sayin somthin. Hey Grant! Hey! Take your thumb out of your mouth so we can talk."
Grant - "Okay"

*and now my favorite part*

Sammi - "Hey Grant, do you pick your nose?"
Grant - (while laughing) - "Yeah."
Sammi - (while laughing REALLY hard) "Are you picking it right now!?!"

Ahh...so that's what goes on when I'm not around

The Fourth

It stunk. Really. It was rainy most of the day and the kids and I were all sick. The kids had a pretty good time at the parade in Monument until the rain came and we had to leave. Other than that we just ate, went to get ice cream, and went to bed. It was too rainy and wet to have fireworks so I was glad my kids are still little enough that they didn't miss them. I wouldn't have blogged about it except for the one bright spot...Samantha had a darling little dress to wear. YEAH! Too bad she ruined it with watermelon juice. :)

The watermelon on the right is actually jello, cool uh?

I sure did take a lot of pictures of a not so fabulous day!

Busy, Busy, Busy

Life never seems to slow down, but these last few weeks have been even busier than normal. The kids and I went on a quick trip to Utah to check on our rentals. They did great, but I was still wiped out by the time we got home. It didn't help that we all ended up with colds. In July? Seriously? The drive out went fine, but our way home took almost 9 1/2 hours (versus 8 on the way out) because of accidents, rain, and rush hour traffic. The kids hardly cried, but I still about lost it. Thank goodness we live in the age of DVD players. We had a great time seeing friends and staying with Kim and Brad. I brought my camera but only remembered to take pictures on our last night there (after Adam gave me a hard time) so I only have pictures of Sammi, Paul, and Talmage. Samantha had SO much fun and keeps telling me we need to move back to "Moo-tah" I am not sure that she understands that means she wouldn't see her cousins, grandparents, etc that live in Colorado.

I also decided it was finally time to potty train Samantha. She still wasn't crazy about the idea, but quickly got on board when my mom told her it would be great (luckily my mom is still cool and can influence her. I clearly am already a total loser and have no idea what I'm talking about). One nice thing is that it only took 3 accidents and 2 days (really 1 1/2) to have her done. She still wears a diaper at night, but I'm okay with that for awhile.

The biggest news is probably that Paul started walking...YEAH! He's still a little unsteady and will usually take 5-6 steps, fall, and then crawl the rest of the way. It's fun to see him on his fat little legs wobble around. He is definitely seeming more like a toddler than a baby to me. Sad.

These last pictures are probably my favorite. We go down to my grandfather's house once a week so I can write down his history and eat lunch (it's taking awhile because my kids don't always cooperate). When he and I aren't talking, he's playing with the kids. The last time we were down there Samantha conned him into playing "night night" on the porch. It was funny/cute to see him lying on the ground covered with a chair cushion. What a great guy!

Yes, her blanket is a place mat, and his is a chair cushion