My favorite gifts

We spent Christmas Eve at Len's parents house visiting, eating good food, reading from the scriptures about the birth of Christ, and exchanging cousin gifts. The boys wore their "pajammies" so they could go straight to bed when we got home! They loved their new gifts that night & the next morning. The kids excitment is my best gift- they're a blast! Here are a few of my favorite parts:

Noah's holey grin!

Mack's super juicy kisses!

Sam's puppy dog eyelashes!

(I don't have enough time today to discover why this picture decided to post vertical!)

Isabella's perfect tiny hand, with pink jewelry of course!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas too :)

only 8 more days!

We wish you a Merry Christmas....


We wish you a Merry Christmas....


We wish you a Merry Christmas....

and a Happy New Year!

(Sam & Mack are on the right side of the front row- us bad parents forgot the camcorder & had to use the phone, so the quality is pretty bad! Don't you love all the bouncy feet though! So cute!)

I'm as bad as the kids waiting for Christmas to arrive!!!! I love everything about Christmas- reflecting on Christ's birth, Mary & Joseph, traditions, family, friends, shopping (maybe better said as giving) & eating! I'm especially excited this year because our whole family has arrived. Bella won't have a clue what's going on, of course, but the other kids are looking forward to the excitement & will be hilarious on Christmas morning! There's nothing better than seeing their believing eyes as they see what Santa brought them! I can't wait!!! They also went shopping for each other this year & are so excited to give their siblings each their little dollar store gift! We hope your Christmas is wonderful & full of love.

Real men wear pink...

Christmas fun

Tough boys decorating the tree & showing off their muscles!
(notice all the ornaments hanging to the floor & the top empty!)


Noah at "zoo lights" riding on the carousel. He LOVES snow leopards!


Good friends! Jacob, Zane, Jackson, Noah, Sam & Mack at "zoo lights"


We had so much fun going to the zoo after dark to see the lights (no animals because it was freeeezing!) We brought little caesars, got hot chocolate, cookies & deep fried smores (kinda pukey- the real campin' smores are much better!) Then, we tried to walk off all those calories looking at tons of animal shaped & Christmas themed lights all over the zoo. We went with our good friends, Delinah & her boys. Our old neighbor Jackson came also, but in the car on the way home Len asked the kids if they had fun at the zoo & our boys yelled "Yah", but Jackson said "not really"!!!! Sorry buddy! Not his cup of cocoa apparently! Bella stayed warm at home with my wonderful neice Sarah & her hubby Kevin. It was so fun- we needed to be out after dark to experience some nose nippy temperatures & get in the Christmas mood since we probably won't have any snow this December :(

I only got flipped off once...

Noah & Daddy breaking the wishbone!

Our little family dinner at home.

Mom & her little super shopping pal

We had a very good Thanksgiving this year. We stayed home & had a little family dinner with the kids, who said "Uhhhh gross" to every item on the table other than the rolls! Oh, well- Len & I pigged out & we still are enjoying the leftovers!

Then, the excitement really began....looking through the ads in the newspaper with Len & making our shopping list for Christmas gifts & coordinating with friends about who will shop where! :) We exchanged our lists- I took on WalMart & Shopko, while a friend took on Toys R' Us & Smith's Marketplace & Len stayed home & slept!!!! It was very serious business.

Bella woke up right as I was getting ready to leave, so rather than risk being late or having Len call me in the middle of shopping to say "get home!"- she came with me. We left the house at 4:45 am & were in WalMart by 5:00. They were (somehow) out of carts when I walked in &, so I went to electronics without a cart & Bella's carseat on my arm. I quickly realized this was a mistake because I had to drag this humongous box with another box balancing on top while carrying the carseat on the other arm. I'm SURE I looked like this biggest idiot ever born! I was sweating by the time I got to the register, but I made it out of there by 5:20! Phewww! Shopko went much smoother, but for some unknkown reason, a guy who decided to cross the parking lot right in front of me while I was leaving stopped & flipped me off as I passed! I guess he thought I was too close to him or something! I wasn't even going fast- I think he just wanted to be a jerk, so I waved at him & turned up the Christmas tunes on the radio! I sang my way home trying not to let him get to me (even though it was very tempting to flip him off & then back up over him). Only one jerk was pretty good compared to last year though! Not to mention I didn't get trampled to death like the poor woman in NY. What the heck? Shopping is supposed to be fun right? Anywho- hope you all had a fun Thanksgiving & Black Friday too!

I am going to miss this someday

We're going to be blessing Bella in church in a few weeks, so we had her picture taken today in her blessing dress. This was the same dress I was blessed in many moons ago! I'm so glad my Mom kept it. Bella hated it, even though she looked so pretty! I think it was uncomfortable & there were lots of hanging ribbons to get little fingers tangled in, but she slept the whole time anyway. I actually wanted a pic with her eyes open! Darn it! She is so sweet & cuddly right now, in fact I've hardly put her down in 4 weeks! Len has totally spoiled me by taking a ton of time off work & taking great care of the boys when they were sick. So, then when he went back to work a few days ago...reality hit me hard! I needed to lay Bella down & get Noah off to school, while Sam & Mack were whining for breakfast. Bella, of course, wouldn't have anything to do with her bed because I've been holding her non-stop! It was total chaos pretty much the whole day. After 3 hours of trying to get the baby to nap in her crib, I ended up calling the neighbor & asking if Sam & Mack could come over for an hour so I could concentrate just on her. After 2 more hours, it worked & now she's sleeping in her bed great. Phewwww! It was worth 4 weeks of bliss for 1 super crazy day! I know I will miss the kids being little & the craziness someday!

These are my handsome (& now healthy) boys playing in the snow a few weeks ago. I just like this picture, so I had to add it! Now it feels like 80 degrees outside! I hope it snows again soon after Thanksgiving, so it feels like winter :) What a bunch of cuties!

Blogging to pass the time

You always hear "once you're kids are in school- you're always sick!" Well, it's so true! Unfortunetely, Noah started off last week with what he calls a "scratchy voice", cough & sore throat that he passed on to Mack & now Sam- only their version came with 104 degree fevers! So, Isabel & I have been quaratined to the bedrooms upstairs until Len finally took Sam to the doctor yesterday. He said the doctor's reaction to the news that we have a 3 week at home scared him & now Isabel & I are living at my parents house! I feel like such a slug- having my Mom bring me lunch while I sit on the couch watching daytime TV (which really sucks by the way)! I would usually enjoy this kind of break, but not when I know Len is home taking care of our 2 sick boys (Noah's better now). Thank goodness for great Daddy's! I think Len's enjoying being home with the boys all day, even though it's under yucky circumstances! I can't wait to get home too!