Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas staying here at home. It would be fun to be with extended family, but the hassle of traveling with 4 children seems to override that desire. We loved being together. Hailey and Andrew

Grant playing with all of the cars/trucks that he got. I don't think that he moved from this position all day.


New pajamas

Christmas Eve

We went over to our friends home on Christmas Eve. After eating and playing, all of the children participated in acting out the Nativity. They really got into it and were so cute. It was nice to revisit the true meaning of Christmas.

Let it snow...

We got together with the Bird family to tie dye snowmen shirts. They turned out so cute and the kids had a great time.

All I Want for Christmas...

Andrew lost his second tooth and now has a big gap. I was so excited that I made him sing "all I want for Christmas is my two front teeth."

Here is a special video for Sammi. We love you.

Little Sleeper

I just love this picture of Grant. He loves to sleep with his "buddies" and has to make sure that they are all covered. I have a very similar picture of myself as a child.

Andrew's Birthday

Andrew turned 7 this month and chose to go to Chuck E. Cheese. I mentioned to Chris that the last time we went to Chuck E. Cheese was last year for Andrew's birthday. Chris said, "It's been too short of a year." Anyway, all of the kids had a blast and then we came home for cake (the store bought kind per Andrew's request) and presents. All in all, it was a great day.

Gingerbread houses

OK, I took the easy way out this year and bought a preassembled kit. Loser. But, I have to tell you-it was WAY easier to get those silly houses to actually stand up. The kids loved them and there was significantly less candy in the kit which was also a bonus.

Circus Fun

We took everyone to the Barnum and Bailey circus on Friday. Grant can't stop talking about the elephants and we couldn't believe how flexible the contortionists were. When I grow up, I want to work in the circus!

Pigtails

We've discovered that Hailey can have pigtails even though her is short. She is so happy!

Lightening McQueen

Grant has decided that he loves the Cars movie (after seeing it once). He saw these pajamas and HAD to have them. He wears them whenever we are at home (except when I can wash them).

Pinewood Derby

Given a block of wood and some wheels, Chris and Carter were told to make a car to race in the Cub Scouts Pinewood Derby. He had so much fun. Luckily his car did well (especially since we had a hard time in the raingutter regatta). It was interesting to see how involved the dads all got in the race-it was pretty intense. Andrew can't wait until he is 8 and can make his own car.

Slippery Fish

Hailey and her friend Tessa decided to sing Slippery Fish during lunch. Too cute.

Bucking Bronco!

The kids wanted to play bucking bronco with Chris. They got their cowboy/cowgirl hat and Chris tried to get them off of his back. Luckily their were no casualties.

Mommy points

Chris was tucking Hailey into bed tonight and sang her some songs. They were having a sweet moment together when Hailey said, "Daddy, I need to tell you something." Chris was ready for the big declaration of love when she said, "I like Mommy a little better than you." FINALLY!! Usually my kids are telling me what a great dad they have. Like when Carter gave me my mother's day card this year that said "I love it when Dad makes pizza". Hello-it's supposed to be about me, and he has NEVER (seriously-not once) made pizza. So, I was glad that at least for a moment, one child liked me best. :)

BIG haircut

Hailey decided that she wanted her hair to be cut up to her shoulders. She has asked this several times, but we've always put her off. Tonight she would not be deterred. Chris has been fairly against it b/c he loves her long hair. Tonight, she cuddled up to him, batted those long eyelashes and said, "please, Daddy, can I cut my hair?" How could he resist? So, I felt brave and did it myself. She is pretty pleased with herself and thinks she looks great. I'm glad that she has no regrets, although I must say, it was hard for me to do it. Hopefully one day she'll want to grow it out again. :) Andrew said that we should call her Sarah b/c she doesn't look like Hailey anymore.

Halloween

We had Jack Sparrow, an astronaut with orange hair, Belle, and a friendly dragon. They hit all of the houses around our block and then came home to hand out candy. Unfortunately, we didn't get nearly as many trick-or-treaters as I thought we would and I have a TON of candy left. Bummer.

Pumpkin carving

This Halloween, we enjoyed 68 degree weather-a first as far as I can recall. We decided to carve our pumpkins outside. Hailey and Grant shared while Carter and Andrew shared their pumpkin. Grant had helped me pick them out and was feeling very possessive of his pumpkin. He didn't even want Hailey to touch it. We managed to finish without bloodshed. :)

Lost tooth

Andrew lost his first tooth! Carter didn't lose his first tooth until he was 8, so we were a little surprised. He already has another loose one, and Carter is pretty frustrated with him since he has only lost 2 himself. The rivalry never ends.

Crazy hair day

It was crazy hair day today at school so Andrew went with a red mohawk. Hopefully that is the only time that I'll ever see my child with a mohawk. :)

CRUISING!

Chris and I just returned from a Caribbean cruise with his sister and brother and their spouses. It was so much fun. The islands were beautiful, it was warm, and we had such a fun time as adults. I couldn't believe how blue the water was-it was turquoise and the sand was white. It really was a dream vacation. My mom came to watch all of our kids and barely survived. She returned home today and hopefully will get a much needed rest!

Pumpkin shirts

We made pumpkin shirts for everyone and the kids have been wearing them non-stop. We are ready for Halloween!

Fall Pictures

Here they are in the

beautiful fall colors!

Brothers

Carter, Andrew, and Grant decided to play a new game. It's called "put-the-box-on-my-head-and-try-to-knock-me-down". It's a wonderfully testosterone filled game where they knocked the daylights out of eachother. Surprisingly, no one cried the entire time. I took this at the end of the game, and they all look in tact.

A Girl!

I was so excited when Hailey was born, because I could finally dress a girl. However, she gained an opinion all too quickly. She will not wear dresses or skirts unless it is Sunday. Randomly last week, she decided that she was going to dress up for school. WOW! I was so excited. Isn't she cute?

Thanks Cory!

Thanks to my sister for forcing me to start blogging. I have been extremely hesitant to start due to my lack of creativity and time. We'll see how this goes.