Christmas!

We had a very nice Christmas this year. The boys were up at 5:30 am. Seth woke up, ran to "check" and then came back to wake his brother by saying, "Ethan, Ethan! He came! He came!" It was so cute, despite the fact that it was still dark!

Seth had been dreaming of a Foosball table for the past few months. We told him not to ask Santa for it, because it is too big! This Foosball table was a big surprise on Christmas morning! Thankfully, Santa found a mini table that converts to air hockey and ping-pong, too!

Mr. Lego Man and one of his many sets.

The boys were excited to give Dad his gift!

Tractor Boy was one happy little guy!

Seth took a picture of Mommy and EZ opening presents.

Emmy just loved her bike. The boots were also a big hit. She can finally put on her own shoes!

Emmy and E loved their shades!
Then Emmy tried to give her baby a kiss.

He is all about the Legos!

Santa remembered Allie Girl, too!

What a mess!

Seth getting everything he wanted!

Ethan and his Alive Cub. Who'd have known this would have been such a hit!

This final picture turned out a little dark, but I had to include it just to show how much Emmy loves her dog. Allie was in the middle of everything on Christmas (and everyday!).

Santa Visited the Farmer's Market!

Ethan was a little unsure...he didn't know what to say to Santa

Emmy was TOTALLY unsure!

Seth shared his entire list with Santa, in addition to telling him some ideas for Emmy and Ethan while posing for pictures!

It is amazing how siblings can be SO different!

Ethan's Big Performance

Ethan was a proud shepherd in his preschool production of Away in a Manger. The kids were all adorable, and he remembered his one line perfectly! Too cute!

Rain, Rain, Go Away! Come Again Another Day!

We have had so much rain lately. It is great, and we need it, but sometimes the kids just need to go outside and play. After preschool today, Ethan decided to play in the huge puddle that formed in the planter in front of the house! He splashed and splashed, making a complete mess. Dirt and wood chips were everywhere!

After getting completely soaked, it was straight to the tub!

Pump It Up!

The Howell's had a Pump It Up party last Friday night. Great idea Heather! I am all about the weekday birthday parties. Everything worked out perfectly and we all had so much fun.

Emmy loved everything about this party. Here is a picture of the two of us when we first arrived.

At this point, Em was no longer clinging to me. I couldn't believe it when Dad sent her down the slide for the first time. It thought he was going to slide down with her. As this picture shows, I was wrong! She loved it and went over and over again!

Our Wild Man was a jumper. He would fly off the top rather than sliding down on his bottom. Seth was one of the oldest kids at the party, and it showed. I can see how this type of party could get a bit out of hand with bigger kids!

Gavin is 5! Hooray!
Here he was getting rowdy with our two boys in the basketball jumpy. These three have so much fun together!

Seth and Brice in the ring.

The kids had a such a great time jumping and running around with all their buddies. It was wonderful, and . . . everyone slept well that night!

Emmy's First Disney Trip

We love our Disneyland passes! My mom just bought one, too, so now we hope to go more often. Last week, Mom and I took Emmy and E. When we were planning for the trip, Seth said, "I'm not going. Mrs. P said that's what weekends are for!" So...we went without him! Seth was such a fantastic sport! When does this change? I hope he keeps his love of school forever!

The park wasn't busy at all, so we got to go on lots of rides with little or no wait. Emmy's first ride was the Jungle Cruise. We were the first boat of the day. After that is was straight to Pirates of the Carribbean and the Haunted Mansion! She loved them all. We really couldn't believe it. She even danced and clapped at times we thought she might be a little scared.

Emmy loved riding the horses at King Arthur's Carousel most of all.

Ethan had a ton of fun riding the rockets with Grandma.

The kids danced in New Orleans Square.

This was my first visit to Disneyland during the Christmas season. It was so great, and definitely the perfect first experience for Emmy! We didn't last all day, so we missed the parade and lights. Baby Girl was our "timekeeper" and she told us it was time to go! We'll have to catch the parade next time.

We are already looking forward to our January trip. We have reservations to stay in the Disneyland Hotel for Ethan's birthday. We are exited to having Seth and Daddy go with us, too! Emmy has lots to show them!

And the Tree Goes Up!

When we drove up the driveway after a day at Disneyland, we were surprised to find that Dad and Seth had started to decorate the tree! The boys had so much fun digging through the ornaments and finding the perfect spot for each one. It was a fun way to end the day.

Happy guy!

Seth was meticulous with his placement of the ornaments.

EZ Bear reaching to the top.

Emmy had fun taking the ornaments and running out of the room!

Emmy Loves Dad!

Baby Girl didn't want to let Dad go to work this morning.
She snuggled up tight!

Thanksgiving in Glamis

We are so thankful for our wonderful family and friends!

We were fortunate enough to spend Thanksgiving in Glamis again this year. The weather was perfect and everyone had a great time. We arrived pretty early in the week and had this fantastic view from our campsite.

We were the first trailer in the group to pull in. Knowing how
busy Glamis was likely to become, I took pictures of our lonely trailer as we began to set up camp.

Wild Man drove a "kids buggy" for the first time.

The dads raced the 50's around camp while the rest of us cheered them on.

Todd took Grandpa Rick and three of the boys on a super long buggy ride. When they returned, both E and Curran were sound asleep in the backseat!


The boys had so much fun riding with Todd in the buggy. While the ride was fun, they really loved the headsets best of all and took full advantage of their use. Apparently the boys jabbered back and forth until the big dunes came and all became silent as they simply held on and enjoyed the ride.

Curran and E getting silly.

Baby Girl gives her buddy a hug. Who wouldn't want to hug that little guy?!

Grandma and Baby Girl play on the quad in camp.


Curran, Ethan, Seth, Mary, Stone and Kody decorate cookies.

Here we are out on a family Ranger ride.

Baby Girl loved playing with someone her own size. Here, she tries to give Domanic a ride. We love this little guy. Too bad we don't get to see him more often!

EBear and Allie Dog ride in the Ranger. Allie loves to go for rides, but she thinks she is a lap dog! Thankfully, E is a great sport, and a great dog owner. He hangs on to that girl!

Wild Man in a classic "all show no go" position. While he absolutely LOVES going to the desert, he does not want a thing to do with riding. We were there for 5 days, and he didn't ride a motorcycle once. Instead, this guy likes riding in buggies and the Ranger. That's fine by me!