Christmas Day

Christmas day, though a blur, was a very fun day...but I am kind of glad it is over. The kids woke up to a bunch of presents from us, Santa, grandparents, and aunties. Even though neither of them got much of a nap, they were fairly well behaved, although there were a few times of mania throughout the day.

Jack's new bike from Santa

Paige's turn

After opening presents, the kids (and Rich) took a break to watch a show called Yo Gabba Gabba or as I call it, "That Totally Cracked Out Show". (It's just a strange show with monster type characters who sing and dance... not my favorite.) Anyhow, Paige must have gotten the spirit in her and broke into dance, which is shown in the next photo.

Even Rich got into the dancing moodPooped

Rich wanted to make a nice breakfast for us (after the dancing, of course), so he made some eggs. However, the only cheese we had was a specialty Cheddar cheese with red wine in it, making the cheese a reddish pink color. We decided it would be fine, but it sure gave our scrambled eggs a festive look!

Paigie and Auntie Chelle (Michelle)"I Love Christmas!"

"Oooh, What's in here?"

Paige attempting to try on Jack's new sweater

Still loves bows

New puppy: Marilyn

So, it was a great day, the kids were so cute, and I even felt a little sad taking Paige's Christmas dress off that night. I'm still glad it's over, though, and we can get back to normalcy

The Day Before the Computer Crashed

The day before my electronic world came crashing to a halt, I was trying to get some cute photos of the kids for our Christmas card. These are just a few of the pictures that did NOT make the card. I finally had to bribe Jack with chocolate to get him to cooperate.

Getting Tired
Stay put, please!

No Rasslin'

This last picture is showing Paige wearing Jack's watch that he got in Florida from my Dad and Donna. The story is that I put the watch on his wrist, he of course lost his mind, so I took him for a walk thinking he would forget about it. Meanwhile, my dad and Rich were out on their golf cart, and happened to be at the end of their street, when they heard a little boy screaming at the top of his lungs. When we finally rounded the curve and they could see who it was having a tantrum, they were so surprised by the reaction and the endurance Jack had. Anyway, Rich put the watch on Paige, and she loved it. So there you go, the watch will not be wasted.Lastly, I don't know why some of the text is underlined and why some is not, but it's just one of the kinks I'm still working out.

Technical Difficulties

When I was trying to print my Christmas letter the week before Christmas, my computer crashed. I lost EVERYTHING! My very dear husband, knowing how important it is to me, put in a new hard drive (and made himself crazy) as quickly as he could. After many hours of getting back "on-line" and restoring my iTunes account (I highly recommend backing up now), I can get on my blog. I don't have my camera software loaded yet, but that is my next priority, so that I can post pictures from our lovely Christmas. I also will send out my Christmas cards, but since all my addresses were saved to our old hard drive, it might take a while.

In spite of these inconveniences, things are good. We have so much to be thankful for, and I certainly do not want to dwell on silly annoyances.

The Family Party

This past Saturday, we invited the grandparents and aunties to celebrate Paigie's birthday.

Really loves the bows!

Mama is so excited about the baby doll

Big brother is lending a hand

Whoops!

AnaLisa just after Botox

Playing together on her new furniture

Lets get the cake going, Woman!

Do I have to eat the WHOLE thing?

More help from Jack

I can share!

I love this!

Can we do this every night?

Want some, Daddy?

Clean up

Sugar Buzz

Favorite gift: a bow

Chillin' with Grandpa and my bow

After the party

Paige's Playgroup Party

The day after Paige's birthday she hosted a party for all her friends at her house during playgroup (there were also non-playgroup friends who came to help her celebrate). The older kids decorated gingerbread men ornaments (or ate the icing for decorating...that would have been Jack). Then there was lunch, followed by playing, then eating cake, followed by more playing, and lastly opening presents.

A little assistance

Happy Birthday Paige!!

Ok, so my birthday wishes for her are a little belated as her birthday was 10 days ago, but hey, we were busy celebrating! (This group of pictures were taken on her actual birthday.)

Loving presents!

Going for a walk with the pretty pink purse

Our visit with Grandma Donna

A little over a month ago, my Donna braved the Colorado weather while my Dad went on a business trip. Colorado can have unpredictable weather in November, so we weren't able to get out everyday...I really hope she wasn't bored! Something tells me that bored she was not, but just extremely exhausted by the end of her trip. (Rumor has it that my children can be a bit of a handful-- hard to believe, I know.) For instance, as soon as she got off the plane, we took her to Madi's birthday party at Pump it Up (inflatable obstacle courses...). She probably didn't plan on negotiating a toned down version of American Gladiator within her first hour of being here. The next big excitement was introducing her to Costco: I don't know how she managed to contain her excitement! We were also able to go to the park where Jack played on the equipment for a little bit, but mostly ran in circles around the playground (if only his energy could be harnessed!).

One morning while I was dressing the kids and chatting at the same time, I found I was having problems getting Jack's jeans on. When I stopped and actually looked at what I was doing, I saw that I was trying to put Paige's pretty flowered jeans on him. He didn't seem to mind.

A Little Princess Time

Someone needs a diaper change

After we dropped Grandma Donna off at the airport, Jack and I were really sad. As we were driving away and I explained that I was sad because I was going to miss Grandma Donna, Jack told me not to worry and that he still loved me. What a guy! When we got home, he got himself into this little toy box, called it a bath and "called" his Grandma.

Overwhelmed!

I have been so busy with Thanksgiving, Paige's birthday (and her parties), decorating the house, and crocheting afghans for certain people that I have been soooooo behind on getting this blog updated. Ugggh! My goal for this weekend is getting out Thank You's, working on our Christmas cards, and getting this blog up to date (oh yeah, and going to the Matrix Christmas party). I will NOT lose my mind! (I guess you can't lose something that has never been recovered, huh?)