Too Much Fun!

After a few fun filled days at Grandma Sandi's house it was time to go home and play with all the new toys. The fun lasted for several days. Here are a few pics of their new toys and the family fun.

A Cabbage Patch Kid from Grandma Mona and Grandpa Kyle.
A Baby doll that cries real tears from Grandma Lynie and Papa Mike....

One of Tinkerbell's friends from Auntie Lori and Uncle Rod...

Barbies from Uncle Cameron...

Building blocks from Papa Mike and Grandma Lynie...

Monster Truck from Grandpa Kyle and Grandma Mona...

Remote control car from Auntie Lori and Uncle Rod...

Hot wheels from Uncle Cameron...

The unsuspecting Alligator in "Gator Golf"...

I don't think we have to worry about Noah or Zoe becoming the next golf pro.

"Ants in the Pants"....Noah isn't patient enough to learn how to make the ants jump. Thanks for the challenge Grandma Sandi.

Zoe putting together her new Princess puzzle from Grandma Mona and Grandpa Kyle...

"Don't Spill the Beans"...Noah hasn't quiet figured out the object of this game yet. But he gets a good laugh from it.

"Elefun"....catch the floating butterflies before they hit the ground...need to get better batteries.

Christmas Morning

Noah and Zoe were really excited to see that Santa came after all. Dan and I were a little disappointed and didn't get to see Noah's initial reaction. Some how he got up and ran down the hall with out us knowing. I was half asleep and thought I heard footsteps, but didn't act on it until I heard a loud gasp - his reaction to seeing the loot. But he was still super excited when we all made it to the living room.

Before the chaos...
"The socks," as Noah refers to them. I think we could have stopped there. They really liked the Band-Aids, hot wheels, and candy.
Santa got it right this year and brought Zoe her "Whoopsie Doop" and Noah his "Big Garbage Truck." Noah admiring the Transformer his sister picked out for him.

He was really excited about it mini remote control car.

With all the presents unwrapped, wrapping paper put in the trash, and toys put in bedrooms it was time to get dressed and head over the hill to Grandma's house. The kids were good sports about leaving their toys behind and not having an opportunity to play with them. I guess they were really excited to see Grandma , or was it to watch a movie in the van on their new portable dvd player? I guess will never know. We had a few fun filled days with Grandma, Papa, Auntie, Trenity, and Chelsea. The time went by way too fast, but Dan and I really enjoyed the opportunity we had to leave the kids behind and catch a movie. Maybe next time will add dinner to the fun.

T'was the Night (and day) before Christmas...

...and all through the House. We stayed pretty busy the day before Christmas with last minute preparations. At the top of the list was making cookies for Santa Clause. This year I decided to invite their friends (Wyatt, Dayton, and Jenna) over for a fun filled afternoon of making treats for the big guy in red. I need to remember next year not to go so crazy -- I made way too many cookies for the kids' attention span. However, it wasn't as messy as I thought it would be and they weren't that interested in eating as they went. Everyone left with a little plate of goodies for Santa and his reindeer. I think they were more interested in playing with toys than being creative, which was fine by me. I was just glad my kids were worn out a took a nice nap afterwards.
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Noah's plate of cookies....
Zoe's plate of cookies (she ate one)...
We stuck with our traditional Italian Seafood Christmas Dinner, even though we are no longer Italian. I am amazed out how much my kids love seafood.This is how the tree looked before Dan and I went to bed. I think this is the fullest our tree has ever been. (Thanks to all who sent gifts our way!) We were a little crazy and stayed up way too late - we weren't assembling gifts, or wrapping presents - instead we were watching midnight mass, as I had always been curious. Needless to say it was a cultural experience and it was interesting to notice the differences surrounding the Catholic traditions as compared to the ones I have grown up with, including the people officiating the service.

Ho, Ho, Ho!

We enjoyed another fun Christmas Party at the Library this year. It was full of stories, good food, crafts, and of course Santa Clause. However, I need to remember not to take my kids to see Santa twice in the same year. Noah noticed too many differences between the two Santas - he was convinced that the library Santa couldn't be real.

I am amazed at how comfortable Zoe is with sitting on Santa's lap....
Noah wouldn't cooperate as usual, here's the best picture when he was with Zoe....
I finally got him to smile when I joined in for a picture....Thank you Miss Helen for a fun afternoon.

Holiday Treats

Here are the Reindeer Cupcakes I made for my Sunbeam Class.

Too bad I didn't get to enjoy them. Zoe aka "The Puke Monster" struck again. This time I was the lucky recipient. We were all getting up in order to get ready for church. Zoe had climbed in bed with me and was telling me good morning and giving me a hug - when all of the sudden she coughed a little and then started puking all over me. I was pinned down and couldn't move to escape it. It was so gross, I almost lost it. So, I got to stay home with her this week as we thought it would be easier for someone to sub for me last minute than to teach Elders Quorum at the last minute. So, I missed Noah singing and signing in Sacrament Meeting and I didn't get to teach my Christmas lesson - I guess there is always next year.
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Now on to happier topics:

Dan and I have been wanting to do some Christmas baking and deliver plates to our friends and neighbors for years now, but something always comes up and we run out of time. This year we accomplished our goal. We spent an evening in the kitchen together making some fun holiday treats. It was so much fun working together and I think we make a pretty good team. He was the mastermind behind the peanut brittle and candy coal, I tackled the peppermint bark and crunch bars. We also had a lot of fun working together to get everything packaged up. I think the end results were amazing and we finally started the new tradition we've been putting off. We had so much fun loading the kids in the car and delivering the goods. Here is a peek at our efforts, I totally forgot to take pictures of the goodies before we packaged them up so these will have to do.

Start with a Snowman plate, then you add the goodies....

Homemade Peppermint Candy Coal....

Homemade Crunch Bars....

Homemade Peppermint Bark...

Homemade Peanut Brittle...

The finished product - ready for delivery....

I can't believe Christmas is in 3 days. I am happy to report that we are completely ready. Everything is purchased, wrapped, and waiting to be put under the tree.

Cousins

My baby brother and his family came through town this past week. I have to call him my baby brother as opposed to my little brother since he is a foot taller than me. The kids really enjoyed playing with their cousins. Noah also loved the opportunity to show them his favorite place - The Chocolate Store and go on the indoor Ferris Wheel. It was a quick visit and the kids missed them immediately after they left to go to Grandma Sandi's house. Hopefully another year won't pass before we see them again. Here are some highlights of our day together. (Brandon and Melody forgive me if I got your girls mixed up in the photos - let me know and I will correct it.)

Noah and Daddy on the Ferris Wheel....
Adia, Layla, and Uncle Brandon on the Ferris Wheel (our family was the only ones on it so they didn't stop in the right place for a good picture)...

Layla, Cali, Adia, Noah, and Zoe in front of the animal display...

Running in the tent.....

Adia, Layla, and Noah looking through the tent window...

Noah and Adia trying out the kayak....

Zoe and Layla taking a turn....

Zoe trying out the Princess chair....

Adia getting ready to shoot...

Layla and her Daddy shooting...

Adia looking out the window....

Zoe and Cali hanging out in a Blind...

Cali peeking out the door......

Baby Austin

Noah and Zoe really want a baby. They keep telling me that there is enough room in the van and we have a baby seat out in the garage. Wouldn't it be fun to have a baby? How about a boy baby and a girl baby. If only they could understand that both Mommy and Daddy would really like that too, but it is a difficult thing for us to accomplish (a topic for another entry). I have been telling them that maybe they need to pray and ask Heavenly Father about it. So, for the time being this is the closest they are going to get to enjoying a new baby. They were finally able to meet their friends' (Wyatt, Dayton, and Jenna) new baby brother - Baby Austin - last week. Here are some cute photos.... You can just see the joy and excitement in their eyes and on their faces. Thanks Brya for being so willing to share your new bundle of joy with us. We had a few cute conversations on the way home from seeing Austin and in the days since then. I love the innocence and the true determination in solving the baby issue.
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Mom maybe I can wish to Heavenly Father - then you will go to the doctor and our Baby will be ready.....(Noah)
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Maybe we can just take Baby Austin and then Wyatt and Dayton could get a new baby. (also Noah)
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If only it were that easy.