Santa Claus Came to Town!!

I don't think Santa held a match to grandparents this year! My kids sure had a great Christmas. My mom was able to spend it with us, my dad sent gifts, and we even got an extra day of Christmas with Marcus' parents yesterday. Phew!! I'm Christmased out. We definitely made it last as long as possible and had a GREAT time doing it.

Austin's class had a Christmas party and they did a little skit...Austin played Rudolph. His teacher read a little story and every time she said "Rudolph" Austin said "My nose glows!". It was adorable!!

This was what the kids woke up to Christmas morning. No, I didn't not put all those there...my mother was in town and my dad sent a couple. Santa brought them each two gifts plus filled their stockings and we got them each a couple necessities. It just piled up in that little corner.Austin was in HEAVEN!! I almost had to tie Cali up because she wanted them so badly...this picture doesn't do her excitement justice.

Even Peyton got in the Christmas spirit. Her pj's say "my first christmas"...love the hat?Merry Christmas....morning gorgeousness. ;)This was my favorite moment of the morning. Austin had asked for a new pair of Sketchers, but in his letter to Santa he changed it to "the fastest shoes you can find". When he opened these he shouted, "Yes, the fastest shoes in the world!!!" Priceless.Now this was Christmas with the McCabes yesterday. The kids were in and out all day playing so my s-i-l and I put out a platter of veggies with dip and a platter of apples with caramel...the kids devoured them!! I guess we could have made sandwiches, but they filled up on veggies. What more could a mom ask for? One fun thing at Grandma and Grandpa's is going fishing in a nearby pond. This is a little trailer that is pulled by a fourwheeler. These kids loved it!

None of the pictures turned out very well, but you get the idea. Cali pretty much does it all by herself and usually catches the most fish. The dogs are just an addition to the country scene. The man sitting is Marcus' dad and my two are the closest with cousins back by grandpa.

It was a great day with family just visiting, playing and eating....that was pretty much the theme of the season for us! I'm not complaining...

Fishing and Festivities

We tried to make the most of a dreary, foggy weekend. Marcus started it off by going fishing Saturday morning and brough home a bunch of different fish.

You can tell how drizzly it is outside...I can't even get a clear picture! It was misting and foggy all evening. This was at Marcus' parent's Ward Christmas Party. They got to go on a hay ride. Can you see Austin and Cali sitting with Grandma? (right in the middle of the pic)Peyton and I had a good time visiting and eating...she even snuck in a little nap. A lot of friends and family haven't seen her in a while so she got her fill of different sets of arms.Like I said, we tried to make the most of the drizzly weekend...but my hair sure didn't enjoy all our outings!!! Good thing it's dark. ;)

Surprise!!

I was able to take a special trip up to Oregon to visit a friend and her family...I surprised her for her birthday!! It was awesome! I flew up there with my little buddy Peyton. I don't know who everyone was happier to see, me or the baby. It was a pretty short, but VERY sweet trip. I left early friday morning and got home tuesday evening. She had no clue and the long day of flying with a baby was TOTALLY worth it!!! I got to visit with lots of good friends, but there's never enough time. I really miss living in Oregon, mainly for all the wonderful people, but the scenery isn't bad either. ;)

Stephanie's the one on the left eating her cake and visiting with friends at her "surprise" party!!

A group shot of most of the people that came to the party. (Stephanie and I were setting up cameras with little girls!!)

Peyton was very much a favorite of Stephanie's 6 kids...she barely left their arms. I got to spend lots of time simply visiting with my Wonderful friend and her beautiful family. I really had a great time and wish it wasn't so long between visits and so far to travel.

This is Stephanie's youngest who had her the most and was bummed she actually had to go to school the monday I was there...so sweet!!!

This is the youngest boy (3 boys 3 girls) and he was actually taking a break from his video/computer games to have a little "baby" time. They ALL love babies....especially mine. ;)I do have to say that I did miss my little ones and honey and most definitely my own bed. ;)

The last day and we saw Santa eating lunch...more for my amusement than hers!!

Thanksgiving Trip

I took way more pictures during our trip to California, but unfortunately, they weren't on my camera! And I would have taken a lot of pictures of the process of cooking on Turkey Day, but I was the one doing most of the cooking. So I guess I'll just have to tell you about our trip to visit my family in words instead of pictures.

We were there for a total of 10 days. It always starts out a little slow and seems like it's going to be the longest 10 days EVER, but after about 2 or 3 days everyone started showing up and hanging out a lot more and the rest of the trip flew by. We got there on the Saturday before Thanksgiving and stayed till the Monday after. We stayed with my Dad and Step-mom and my baby sister and a brother that still lives with them (for now). My sister's still in high school so she had school Monday and Tuesday, and my Dad had to "work" and get food for the week so he was pretty busy. My brother that lives at home is a Police Officer and works nights so he slept most of the first couple days. I have another brother that lives in town, but his kids were all still in school, as was he, so we were bored. ;) But then came Wednesday when everyone was off from school, work, and my sister and bro-in-law came into town....let the festivities begin!!

This is my cop brother holding Miss Peyton and my neice Isobelle who couldn't get enough of the baby. (in the background is my bro-in-law)This was the football game at the park. We used to all play football in the street outside the house, but there are just too many off us and too many little kids, so we opt for the park. This pic includes (from left to right): Natalie (my big bro's chick), the two little boys are my nephews that belong to my bro next to them, the big black mass is my bro-in-law, the head behind him is the cop bro, and off to the right is Marcus.Halftime!!! I guess I have to suffer thru at least one picture of myself...Miss Peyton didn't like the sun. (I like the cuddling couple behind me!!!)
All (but Peyton) vegging after the game. Guess we wore them out!

The main events of the week were eating, cooking, eating, playing, eating, and sleeping. Oh, did I mention how much freakin' food we had?? We actually had to throw away food after everyone left! Every night was something different and I think I gained all my baby weight back!! But what a way to go. ;)

And the Winner is....

Austin!!!

He got three awards at the assembly and he was even named "Student of the Month" for November!! That's my boy.We had a little too much fun at the awards assembly.
These are the three awards Austin got..."I Have Pirate Pride", Perfect Attendance, and Fantastic Report Card.

This wasn't at the assembly, but I have to put this sweet picture of Cali chatting with Peyton. It was so sweet and Peyton sure loves her big brother and sister!!

Marcus is on an Elk hunting trip in Arizona so I'm sure we'll get some fabulous pictures to share soon.