Christmas

This year we decided to have Christmas at home. This was a first for us in our 6 yrs of marriage. We were excited to have Heather and Steve's family over to celebrate with us. We were able to mix family traditions with both families and it was a lot of fun. I've never had a fancy meal for Christmas Eve so this was a first. Heather was in charge of that so it turned out great. After our meal it was time to read the Christmas story found in Luke. I don't know how people make it through the story with little kids. We tried to make it fun with a little nativity set, but it was entertaining to say the least. Once we made it through the story the kids got to open a Christmas Eve gift of PJ's. Brody was really excited about his Buzz Light Year Pj's, but mom guessed the size wrong so they were a little snug. Grandma saved the day though with Pj's she had made the kids! Thanks mom your the best!
I don't know what we were thinking putting all the kids down to bed in one room. I guess we figured they would get tired eventually. Good thing we had made a decision on when santa's elves needed to get to work so they wouldn't be up all night. Needless to say we ended up splitting up all three kids until they each fell asleep. Santas elves tried working hard, but really one of them did most of the work (love ya sweetie!!) It was a short sleepless night, but was worth it in the morning when we woke the kids up and told them it was Christmas and that Santa had come. They all came running out and each went to their toy Santa gave them except for Zach. He went running to everyone elses toy especially the train set Brody got. It was pretty cute. The day was a big success and I even got surprised by Santa. . . he's the best!!
On Christmas day we headed over to Pam's house to have our traditional big Christmas dinner. The food was fantastic which it always is when someone else makes it, and it was fun to see what fun things Santa had brought them as well. My mom had come to town a few days before Christmas so we were able to spend time with her and loved having her here for a couple of weeks. The holidays were the best and I am so grateful for the blessings we have received this year.

Christmas morning!!

Brody with his Christmas stash!

Brody and his Geotrax set!!

Zach and his Christmas stash!

Brody at his school Christmas program. They sang Rudolph the red nose reindeer and jingle bells.

Thanksgiving

Apparently Thanksgiving isn't a big deal in our family because I don't have any pictures of it. Such a slacker I know. This year we were lucky enough to have Roxanne's family come down for Thanksgiving. It was so fun to have them here and see how the kids have grown. We had a delicious dinner at Pam's house and I was in charge of side dishes. . . how fantastic is that. I had no stress about the main dishes and my house didn't have to be spotless!! Thanks Pam your the best!! : )

Halloween trunk-or-treat

We had a fantastic time trunk-or-treating in our ward. Brody was a cowboy without a hat, but not without a gun! He couldn't get enough of the cocking sound before he got a shot off. Zach was our little batman. He was such a cute super hero I'd let him save me any day. Both boys had a good time Brody was a pro at asking for candy and Zach loved our neighbors wagon. It was fun to dress up and we had a great time dolling Heather and Steve up as well. Thanks for being good sports.

My cowboy and his facial hair!

Brody enjoying his stash of candy!

Batman. . . aka Zach!! Couldn't get him to hold still!

James, Steve, Zach, and Lawrence a guy in our ward. Love when people dress up!

Gotta love Halloween!!

Preschool Halloween Party

Brody's cute little class

My cute Cowboy!!

Standing in line to go trick-or-treating around school

Brody loves pre-school!! Today they had a Halloween party and got to go trick-or-treating around the school. He was such a cutie going up to the ladies and saying trick-or-treat and holding up his bag. It was fun to go into his class and see all the kids in their costumes and how he interacts with them. Well Brody just got home and is excited to show me his stash of candy so I'd better go. Happy Halloween!!

Happy First Birthday Zach!!

Happy Birthday to my little man!! Zach turned the big 1 on July 22nd. We had a little family party for him with pizza, cake and ice cream. He wasn't sure what to do with the candle and all of us singing to him, but as soon as we blew it out and everyone cheered he went crazy. He was laughing, clapping his hands, and kicking his feet. He knew he was the center of attention. . . and he liked it!! It took him a few minutes to get into the cake because he was distracted with the worms etc. Once those were gone he dug into the cake. He liked how it squished into his fingers, but wasn't into eating it like that.

Zach opening his presents!

Zach is such a sweet boy and we are so lucky to have him in our family. He has the cutest little smile and loves to laugh. He started walking at 10 1/2 mo and now he thinks he can run!! : ) He loves balls. . . it doesn't matter what size. He will be in a room full of toys and find all the balls. He is pretty good at walking and kicking the ball too. Maybe he will be a soccer player when he grows up. He is a social eater, but you wouldn't know it by looking at him. Weighing in at a whopping 18lbs and 28 1/2 in tall. Zach is a busy boy for sure I can tell where he has been as soon as I get into a room. He just wreaks havoc where ever he goes it's amazing.
Zach just started giving kisses which I love and is chattering more. He went through a phase of saying MA MA, but now says DA DA instead. Guess that means James will have to start doing everything for him!! : ) He loves to be outside as soon as he wakes up in the morning that is where he wants to go. He adores his older brother and wants to do whatever Brody is doing. They are so cute to watch and get along really well for the most part. Zach is my water baby and loves to go swimming. He doesn't mind going under and getting all wet unlike Brody. Zach brings us so much joy and I'm so grateful he is a part of our family. We love you buddy!!

Funny story

The other day the boys and I were playing in Brody's room. I had just thought to myself that I should go get my phone to check for messages, or in case someone calls. Then I just kind of blew it off and kept playing with Zach. I looked up to see what Brody was doing and he was messing with his door handle and then he closed the door. It took me a second to realize what had happened. Brody had pushed his lock from the outside and locked us in his room. I couldn't believe it. We have the kind of locks that you can put a nail or paperclip in the handle and push the lock open, but do you think I could find any such tool in a room where sharp objects aren't supposed to be!! I was looking at all the toys to see what parts might come off that I could use. I had just washed the shorts I had on so all my pockets were empty. . . well besides lint and that wasn't very helpful. By this time I was wishing I had just gotten my phone when I thought about it. Then I could have called James to see when he would be home. My only other option was the window. It's a good thing we have a one story house, and that I have lots of experience climbing through windows from my college years. I'm grateful to James that he wanted to put a chair in Brody's room, or I wouldn't have been able to reach the top latch of the window. Gotta love short arms and legs!! : ) Anyway, I got the screen out and was way excited to touch the super hot window sill that had been baking in the sun all day to land in the hard packed uneven dirt below. . . with bare feet. Being the great mom that I am I jumped and saved my boys from having to be stuck in a room filled with toys!! : ) Lesson learned, I always grab my phone when I'm headed to play in Brody's room!!

Vegas Trip

We had such a great time in Vegas and want to thank Krystal and Brian for letting us hang with them. We were able to see parts of the strip and walk through a beautiful garden with insects made out of flowers. It was amazing. Brody had the time of his life going from game to game in Circus Circus. We were able to watch a couple of free shows there like a trapeze act, contortionist, magician, all of which were very good. We had a lot of fun and hope to do it again soon.

Zach loungin!

Our fam. . . a few hrs before the trip home.

Beautiful lady bug made out of flowers.

Brody in his Semi at Circus Circus.