Too Old

Laycee and Logan are growing up so fast. I can't believe that next week they will be 3. So the other day, they were in the bath and I got a chance to see a glimpse of them as toddlers again. Logan, Brielle, and Laycee had a great time playing in the bubbles this day. I know they are almost too old to be taking bath pictures of them, but I wanted one more reminder of how fun they are before they hit my least favorite age of 3! I think 3 is by far worse than 2 and I am dreading the next year lol. So now I can forever remember this most amazing time with them.

Christmas

Christmas eve the kids got to open one present. Joe was working late, so Lynnae brought the kids over to play. Then Christmas morning the kids got up, played with their stockings while I made breakfast, got Dave and my dad on the webcams and started in on presents. These pictures are from Christmas eve because I didn't get around to presents on Christmas since we had the webcams going and passing out gifts ect. But... Haylee got Hannah Montana Twister. This one has a CD and they call out moves and you "dance" on the twister board.

Laycee got what we all now call the "baby daughter stroller". She loves it still and will not let anyone else play with it. She drags it up and down the stairs and takes it to bed with her. She even sets it next to the dinner table. Maybe next christmas I will get her a "baby daughter" care set with a high chair lol.
Logan got a whole bunch of cars. I was trying to branch out of sports balls, so we are trying cars. Not his favorite, but something different.
Trent opened a ninja movie lol. He was disappoint that he picked that for Christmas eve, but I think he was hoping it was a Wii game. I tried to tell him to pick something else, but he didn't.

Mom got a jewlery box.

One of the kids got Kevin a bracelet which only took 2 days to get eaten by MoMo lol.

And Haylee made me a picture frame. I love it!

We had a great christmas and were so thankful for modern technology so we could have Dave there with us. It wasn't optimal and he had trouble seeing, but again, it was better than nothing. On Christmas day, we went to his parents house and really enjoyed hanging out with the family and spending time surrounded with love on such a difficult day.

So Shy

Sometimes Logan can be so shy, or onry I haven't decided which. Anyway, this day there was no chance he was going to let me get a picture of him. So, this is what you get... the back of his head.

Toys

Best thing about AZ at Christmas time is the weather. I rarely have to buddle the kids of up and mostly, it is great to go outside and play! So Trent got to spend some time trying out his new skateboard. I have to lossen the wheels some, but he seems really excited about it. Off to the right you can see Haylee on her bike.

Logan got to try out his riding toy. Although, he didn't seem to love it at first, he does love it now.
Laycee rode her old trike because her power car was charging. And then when Logan was done, she took off on his car.
Even Yuki got in on the fun! She was really good... at sitting there lol.
The summers will again be unbearable and I will probably never get the kids outside, but I was glad to be able to get them outdoor toys for christmas and they had the chance to enjoy them!

Gingerbread Houses

Yes I know I am still blogging roughly a month behind but isn't that the life of motherhood, always running behind. So, here we are posting our gingerbread making day. We bought kits again to see if it would work better than the Halloween ones, and these kids were MUCH better. In fact, the frosting came premade, so we didn't have to worry about the mess from that. The big kids made a princess castle (because it was harder). And the little kids made Spongebob Pineapple.

As you can see, Laycee got it all in her hair. So much for cutting down on the mess right?
We couldn't get it together, so Trent suggested that we "paint" it to come cardboard since that is what they did at school. Let me tell you... genious! However, the sides were still difficult to paint.

Laycee and Logan with their finished product. Don't they look so proud!

Haylee and Trent, dont they look so worn out! LOL theirs was really tough.

It was a really fun night and even mom enjoyed it becuase it turned out to be not as much of a disaster as last time. Next Christmas, we might try a blog vote for whose is the "best"... good think I have all year to think on that!

Today

One of my instructors posted this video today and I thought it was so funny. Today, as the water keeps piling up, (because that's what it does in AZ, pile) I keep thinking back on to those never ending days of rain that await us in Washington again someday. It has poured rain like I have never seen in AZ. Aside from the very first week we lived in AZ way back nearly 9 years ago, I have not seen rain this heavy. The parks are flooded, so no where to play. The yards are flooded, so again no where to play. The roads are flooded, so it takes forever to get anywhere. Today is just a rainy day! Enjoy the song!

4 Months

We are quickly approaching Dave being gone 4 months. I have to say that moving in with my mom was one of my better choices. I have to be thankful that I get to talk to Dave nearly everyday. He almost always seems to be in happy spirits and I definately feel like we are blessed. As I was communicating on Facebook today with a fellow wife of a deployed soldier, I realized that lately my patience is wearing thinner. We made it through the holidays missing Dave but ever so greatful to have loving family to distract us. Thankfully, I am starting a new semester of school in hopes to put off some of the anxiety about him being gone so long. I am also thankful to be here with my mom who does all the chores I hate (laundry and dishes). And as much as I can see the blessings in my life... nothing can take place of the daily interaction with my best friend. Let's hope the next 8 months go by fast!

Christmas Visitor

Meet Little Puppy, Lily or My Puppy. Mom bought Joe's family a puppy for Christmas. She brought it home early so she could start training the dog. Laycee fell in love. She was sad to see Buiscuit ( that is what Joe's family named her) go, but maybe one day in the very far future we will get one too.

Art

I recently picked up some used bingo dobbers and the kids have been using them to make art. They really love it! Here is Logan's proud picture... I love his smile here!

Laycee's lovely art work

Trent, and I even got a good smile from him!

Haylee and her beautiful picture

If ever you ahve a chance, you should pick some up for your little ones... my children LOVE these to make art creations.

Amy's Visit

December brought a few weeks of time to spend with Amy. I can honestly say that I was happy to have her in town while we were desperately missing Dave. So, she was a great distraction. What do we do that is so fun? Oh that is the question, we can spend hours... yes I mean hours together letting the kids play at McDonald's while we talk. Well this particular day we opted for smores in the backyard instead.

I took the boys that night and she took the girls and in the morning, mom made us this YUMMY carmel toast from my childhood, I hope one of these days she writes down the recipe so I can make it for the kids!
After yummy breakfast, we went to the Temple Visitors Center and looked at the nativities from around the world. This was really neat and I really enjoyed seeing all the ways cultures have depicted the birth of Christ.

Again, I was thankful for this time before Christmas that Amy was in town so we could spend time with one another and so I could be distracted from the fact that Dave wasn't here. Thanks for the visit Amy!

Dancing Lights

Snow

Everyone knows that snow is not in the normal vocabulary when talking about Arizona weather. It just never gets cold enough to support snow for one and there is rarely enough precipitation to even rain. So, when my mom told me about "snow" at the outdoor mall in the area, I was so excited. My kids have had the blessing of living in other climates and experience snow. However, I think the warm weather kinda takes a little from the holiday season. So this was fun.

Near the playgrounds, the mall shot "snow" our of 4 machines for 10 minutes every half hour lol. Logan didn't like it.
Haylee on the other hand, LOVED it.

Laycee also thought it was fun.

But Trent he had the most fun of all.

In actuality, the snow was really bubbles. Kind of like foam soap, but it looked like snow and it was a cool evening that night, so it was 10 minutes of feeling what winter should feel like. So for all of you in AZ, check your local outdoor malls next year and enjoy the "snow" with your kids!

Mom's 50th

For Mom's 50th Birthday, we held a fiesta! So, where was music and dancing.

Logan is a real charmer on the dance floor lol.
He even danced with Laycee. The way they have been fighting lately, that is amazing!

Mom with all of the grandkids. We had Mexican food and there was so much of it! We were all stuffed by the time cake, ice cream...

and smores! This was her Christmas present from all of the kids and dad that we decided to give to her on her birthday since it was the only day we would be getting together. I love it. The kids and I have a fire going or cook up smores at least once a week.

We hope mom has a great 50th year! Happy Birthday

Church Christmas Gathering

I suppose you would think if I kept up on blogging, I would never fall behind, but it seems that there is never enough time. But that's ok. The pictures just come and go in spurts. I think it is funny to sit and think that when the twins were little, I was able to keep up on blogging. I would blog every Monday during nap time for the whole week. You would think as they got older, it would get easier. But I really find that the older they get, the less time I have. Anyway, so here I am, playing catch up, yet again.

Dec 12th

The ward held a Christmas party. So we took the kids over there. It started with a yummy dinner. Ham, salad, green beans, potatoes and a roll.

After dinner, they had a variety show. This here had to be one of the best acts.

When it was over, we went to get some ice cream for dessert and to round out the evening of fun. All in all it was an enjoyable evening. We don't know many people there since we haven't been here long. And now that I have a calling in the nursery, I get to meet a whole lot of 2 yr olds and not many adults. But, it was fun to spread a little of the Christmas season over the kids and get out of the house.

Inspiration

I have pictures from the last two weeks I haven't blogged, but I wanted to start the new year off with a little inspiration. I love this song and each time I hear it on the Disney Channel, I love it more. Yes, I know it is somewhat tween style lol, but you can't beat the message. Disney has launched a green project and this is the song they used for campaign advertisement. Aside from the "green" message, it has some other amazing messages. I hope you all are inspired to get what you want out of this New Year!