Arrrgh matey!!!

These kids are so funny and always making me laugh. They put these hats on themselves and wanted to get their pictures taken.

Sledding in Flagstaff

We decided to drive up to Flagstaff for the day-4 1/2 hrs.(yes, crazy) we went sledding for a couple hours and turned around and came home. The last time that we were there was when I was 1 month from giving birth to Cody. We went to the same place which you have to drive a mile on a dirt road filled with potholes. Well, as all of you who have been pregnant can imagine how much fun that was and there were no bathrooms to be found so I had to find the nearest tree ( I don't think I hid very well) Of course, now they have bathrooms and concession stands, go figure. We had so much fun. Even Caitlin was laughing with all the snow spraying in her face and crashing at the bottom of the hill. She kept trying to make the sleds go by herself. She is a brave one. Cameron wanted to take on the big hill with daddy. They marched all the way to the top but changed their minds when they looked down and opted for a smaller one. It's a good thing since somebody got taken away in an ambulance.

Since it is nearly impossible to find winter gear in tucson our friends were kind enough to let us borrow the kids snowpants and sled. Coming from Minnesota, it is so crazy to me to have to borrow winter stuff. Hopefully, I will be on the ball for next year and order early.

Kris had 4 days off of work for christmas and we enjoyed every day with him that he was home. It seemed to go by to fast though. We look forward to having him home for 3 days over New Years.

lunch in the back of the truck stealing props a reindeer

Cameron and I made a snowman together while Caitlin, Cody, and daddy warmed up in the car. I caught him stealing parts from another snowman though. Go figure, it was a hotdog, at least he didn't eat it.

Christmas Eve

Kris' mom and brother came over around 3:30 for an early dinner and some presents and than we had the rest of the evening to ourselves. I thought we would start a new tradition this year of new jammies and a new movie to watch on Christmas Eve. We watched the Robinsons which none of us had seen yet. Cody got sick around midnight and threw up a couple of times. (so much for the flu shot) He woke up fine christmas morning and was ready for presents. Kids are so resilient-thank goodness.

Christmas day

Caitlin and Larry became fast friends while Caitlin was feeding him some goldfish. Cody wanted me to take a picture of his new dinosaur but would not let me get him in the picture.

We got this ship for Cody which he has been asking for months. Turns out he just wanted the sharks from it. Cameron has been playing with it though. Christmas day he played with it nonstop for about 6 hours just putting together different configurations.

We had a wonderful christmas day of pure laziness and just enjoying watching the kids with their new toys. I think we stayed in our pajamas all day.

Caitlin got this doll from one of Kris's clients(and friend) she would not share it with anyone. I asked her if I could see it and I got this look and she took off in the other direction. She definitely loves her dolls. Cody loves anything with teeth. Mostly sharks and dinosaurs. It goes by so fast for all the work that goes into it though. Cameron got this chefs hat and apron from Grammy(made with love) he loves to help me in the kitchen so this was a perfect gift.

Children's Museum

This is the last of our days with Kris home for Christmas. They have a new doctor's office area that they are still working on but it was such fun. It brought back memories for me of the Operation game. I love this giant version. Caitlin loved the baby doll area and we played a few games of tic tac toe and dominoes in the Mickey area.

soccer award

Cameron had his end of season soccer get together at a pizza place and we all ordered the trophies for the kids. When it was Cameron's turn to get his award my little sarcastic boy(hmm, wonder where he got that from) says, "well, what am I supposed to do with this just hold up for everybody to see." Anyways, he was very proud and excited about it. We brought a cake too for the team.

The tree

Well, I decided not to put up our big tree this year. First of all, the cat always eats the lights, surprisingly she is still alive. Second of all, I knew the kids would be attacking the tree this year. So I just had to share our pathetic charlie brown tree with all of you. I was right too. All of the kids have fallen into the tree and Cameron was caught trying to climb it. I just love my little monkeys. Hopefully some day we can do the big beautiful tree again.

Bilberry square

Making reindeer food We went to a place called Bilberry Square today with our friends Olivia and Parker. It is the cutest little place where the themes change throughout the year. They do stories and crafts and activities. We had a wonderful time and we had the whole place to ourselves.

Making elf hats

Caitlin gets stuck

Our very curious 17 month old is always exploring and such a little monkey. The only problem is she doesn't know how to get her self out of a predicament. We have gate in front of our bedroom due to a very old and cranky dog (not the one you see) Caitlin is always climbing up the gate and gets stuck. Mean mommy decided to take a picture and then help her down.

Gingerbread house

The boys made and worked very hard I have to say at their gingerbread house. While displaying their masterpiece on the countertop our dog "Larry" decided to eat all of the gingerbread men from it. We decided to keep it in the oven while unattended. Well, a few days later I turned the oven on and forgot about the house. The icing turned into icicles. Needless to say our poor gingerbread house did not survive for christmas. We will need to have a better plan for next year.

Our family

Christmas photo smiles

As most of you have received our christmas photo by now you can see that I did not go for the smiles this year. I gave up and just wanted everybody looking at the camera. I had even given them some candy in hopes of getting a smile but with no success. Well, now that I have sent out those photos I of course have gotten a great picture of the kids (smiles and all).

Here it is for you all to see, enjoy!!!

Gigglin' Geckos

Every 3rd Tuesday of the month the mall has a program for kids. This month was from a place called party in a pinch and they brought Mrs. Claus and had crafts and stories. As you can see, one of the crafts was making an elf hat.