Trip to Phoenix--January 10

Dano hooked us gals up with some tickets to Phoenix in Jan., they were cheap, Cetera had school off, and I needed a vacation--so off we went!

We love Uncle Dave! At Dave's house. Thanks Dave and Garrett for hosting us, and for all the yummy food!

The girls and Grandma.

Dave has 8 dogs--5 of which are chihuahuas. Pikachu is by far the favorite (and the tiniest), which is why the girls felt it necessary to constantly tote the poor little thing around. If a girly was awake, then Piki had a ride.

We love Uncle Dano!

Dave and his tiny new car that is very fun and very fast.

At the Phoenix Zoo. I love having 65 degree weather during January.

Weeze, Dave, Bubbers, and the baboons.

More baboons.......er, girlies.

Camel rides were all the rage. Look at the handler--it's clear she enjoys her job immensely.

These guys were my favorite. I had to include them cuz I thought they were pretty awesome. I call my kids monkeys all the time, but these guys were a lot more calm and quiet than my girls.

Loving the Komodo dragon.

And Dave loves it too. :)

New Year's 09

Our New Year's Eve was rockin' as usual. We went sledding during the day, and came home and had a big old pizza party, with lots of snacks and soda.

Then we thought we'd let the girls try and stay up until midnight, and sleep out in the loft in their sleeping bags. We didn't think they'd make it, what with all the sledding and eating. We thought they'd be lucky to make it until 10 p.m.

What actually happened was this:

We started a movie......and the next thing we knew, we were being shook awake by the girls, telling us in our ears, ''that ball is dropping, it's midnight!"

Turns out, they were pretty tired.....this is what they looked like the next morning. I don't know what happened to their sleeping bags during the night. I just thought they were so cute all snuggled up to each other. :)

Stuff we did during the holidays- 09

We had so much fun having Cetera (and Dad for a few days!) home. Aislyn and I didn't know what to do with ourselves, since it's usually just the two of us kicking around.

The girls got a whole mess of messy creative stuff that they just adore for Christmas. Here's some fun stuff they got from Grandma and Grandpa. Weeze got foam and Bubbers got a little tea set she could paint.

Out helping Dad scoop the driveway....sort of.

Sledding. The pictures are lame and pre-sledding, since Spence didn't think it would be wise to take the camera up the hill with us. Blah.

I hate putting in the pics of myself, almost as much as I hate actually having them taken. BUT, I feel that I want my children to know that, yes, your mother WAS there at this event, or this activity, and that they should know what I looked like (hideous or whatever) at the event. SO, I include them. But I don't like it. Just so you all know.

Ice Skating Dec 09

We took the girls ice skating a couple times after Christmas.This was our first try, on Uncle Jared's bday. It was a scary type of fun--you know, after watching Jared's friend split her chin open, and seeing a few other kids bleeding and and crying--you start wondering what's going to happen to YOU. But they had these great little 'skate aids' for the kids, which look like mini-walkers, and help them keep their balance. Fortunately for me, we had two kids that needed help, so I benefitted from the mini geriatric assistance, but all under the guise of helping my little one. 

Here they are....ready to bust out some teeth on the ice!

Modeling their walkers!

We only got one skate aid in the beginning so Spencer (the more proficient of us two) helped propel Cetera around the rink.

Karlyn, Bryce, me and the Weeze with her walker. She tried so hard to keep her little feet under her while I pushed. When she'd lose her balance, she'd just hold on for dear life and let her legs drag behind, laughing the whole time.

Taking a break with Dad.

Cetera finally snagged her own walker and she zipped off. She just loved it!

We were lucky and had no broken teeth, noses, or chins that day. The girls had so much fun, and couldn't wait to go again. Spence, master rollerblader, looked pretty hot out there skating. :)  I did pretty ok, thanks to Bryce's assistance! In fact, I didn't even biff it until my husband skated up beside me (all fast and looking swell) and took my hand. I grinned up at him, relaxed a bit, and went splat on the ice. :) But, thankfully, only fun was had that day, and no stitches or bandaids. :)

Christmas 09

I ran to sit in front of the tree so I could get the looks on their faces when they saw all the treats from Santa in front of the tree. Look at their angelic little faces! Christmas is funnest with the little peoples. It just makes everything about the season exciting and fun. They are wearing their new little robes (Christmas eve presents).  They FLIPPED when they got them and wear them all the time. Score for mom!

 Stockings

Cetera reading what Santa wrote back to us on our Christmas letter to him.

Not sure why Spence looks so thrilled....he loves singing out of the hymnbook(!).

Weeze's present from Santa, her VSmile thingie.

C's Santa present.

And *sigh* Daddy's present from Santa.....the-present-which-must-not-be-named.

More posing.

Cetera gave Weeze her princess doll from Disneyland, and Weeze gave her major squeezes for it. Precious!

Santa left the girls a big present out in the garage....and Spence got the hugs for it.

Sporting the new princess duds from Grandma and Grandpa.

This year we really tried to have the girls choose what we could do for those around us, and think of others at this time of year, rather than focusing just on what they wanted. The moments when they felt that joy of sharing with others, and seeing it on their faces really is what made our Christmas 'season' special.

Our Christmas day was wonderful, especially for me, since I got to stay in my jamie's, and eat the junk from my stocking all day long. :)

Cousins for Christmas Dec 09

Chris and Celeste come down right before Christmas each year (well, so far--let's hope we can keep doing it!!) and we have a little party time with all the silly kiddies.

This year the kiddies wanted to perform for us. Here's the first number, leapfrog off the bench onto our stomachs!

A moving recitation of "The Night Before Christmas" by Bubbs and Weeze. (C seriously has it memorized. We heard her reciting it in the car, and thought she was reading it. Aislyn knows large portions too.--We have a dvd with it that they have OBVIOUSLY watched a few times).

I believe they were singing ???

More singing?? (This is what happens when you post it a month after the fact).

Love you chillies!!