Christmas Time

Christmas was wonderful and filled with family and friends. Christmas Eve we headed to Kasey's parents house to spend the day there with a fabulous mexican food dinner in the evening!! The kids had fun playing with their cousins and running around the house. We got home about 10pm on Christmas Eve and got the kids in bed so we could finish wrapping a few packages and we had to put the cookies, milk, and carrots out for Santa on the front porch. So by midnight Kasey and I finally crawled in bed.

I awoke Christmas morning to the sounds of two excited kids. Kaitlyn had already opened the door to see if the cookies and milk were gone. She was thrilled to see there were bite marks on the carrots and half of them were eaten. Both Kaitlyn and Grant were convinced that there were hoof prints on the trampoline and out in the yard. I think those reindeer must have had quite a time playing on the trampoline while Santa was drinking his milk. They loved the gifts from Santa as Grant got a race car track and Kaitlyn got a my little pet shop pet. So about 10:30 we headed over to my parents house for breakfast and stockings. After everyone was there we sat down and opened up gifts. I had more fun watching all the kids with theirs I have to admit. That was the best part.

A few years ago we decided to do appetizers all day instead of Christmas dinner and it works out perfect. No one has to be in the kitchen all afternoon and the day has no schedule. Although Kasey cooked his famous prime rib which was a hit. The kids played outside in the snow on the fourwheelers and the innertube. Of course the big kids were out too! Kaitlyn had a blast for a long time behind the fourwheeler on the innertube. I think her little face was an icecube by the time she finally came in the house. Kasey got both the kids new helmets this year so that worked out perfect.

All in all it was a wonderful few days. We are very lucky to have my parents and Kasey's parents living close to us and we are able to spend a lot of time with them. As the kids snuggle down in their beds last night and I tucked them in I remind myself how blessed I truly am.

Oh Christmas Tree

Up in the hills with Grandma & Grandpa on the Christmas tree hunt

Our cat Diego
His spot under the tree!

So the tree is up, the decorating is done. Yep, Kasey said this year the Christmas tree is the best one yet. Of course we have to leave room for the cat under the tree. Every year our cat Diego claims his spot under the tree right after we get it decorated. He sleeps there every night too in that same spot. Kaitlyn is out of school for Christmas vacation and both of the kids have loved all this snow. Of course with the below zero temps lately I haven't been letting them outside to play in it. So last weekend we finally hit 10 degrees so I bundled up the kids and they played outside for almost two hours on Sunday. Last night they stayed out until dark (which comes fast this time of year). I think my shopping is all done with only one more gift to buy after work and I have the perfect gift in mind.

Kaitlyn's Thanksgiving program

The kids had to memorize lines for their presentation to the parents and afterwards we all got to eat Thanksgiving lunch with the kids. Kaitlyn is very lucky to have an awesome 1st grade teacher.

Thanksgiving

Kaitlyn at Thanksgiving. Pictures with Santa (notice Grant's pants... he played in the mud puddles all the way there!)My girl on the swing Kaitlyn, Sage & Granters

Ryland

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving!! Thursday was Thankgiving at my parents house, Friday at Kasey's parents house in Moses Lake, and then on Friday night we went to Kyle & Ashley's so the boys could go four wheeling. Saturday Ashley and I took the kids downtown to go on a hay ride for their Christimas Kickoff celebration and the kids had their pictures taken with Santa. Friday night we headed home after dinner and ended up blowing out a tire in the middle of the night on the trailer. That was an adventure!! Thankgoodness for cell phones with good lighting on the screen. I happened to get a new cell phone about a month ago that has a really bright light when you first open up the phone. With no flashlight in the car that came in very handy. The kids didn't really like sitting in the car while I was helping Kasey because it was so dark and foggy. But an hour later we were back on the road. Teamwork!! Sunday we just relaxed and didn't do much of anything...

Fall Walk

Kaitlyn had her Fall Walk with her class in November. They collected leaves of different shapes for their art project and a book. It was a very chilly day with a lot of wind, plus Kaitlyn had a bad cold however it was nice I was able to go with her on her fieldtrip.

Snow...??

The first snow flakes of the season were falling this week. I have a feeling that winter is on its way soon. The kids were very excited to see it snowing. It didn't stick around long as it warmed up but it was neat to see.

weekend..

So Friday was Halloween, and this was the first year that I didn't go trick or treating with the kids. My mom took the kids trick or treating downtown after school (and they got their picture taken for the paper!) Then Kasey, Kaitlyn and Grant all headed up to elk camp with Grandpa! It was the weirdest thing ever to have the house to myself all evening and on Saturday. I didn't know what to do with myself. I went to bed early, got up on Saturday and did the usual cleaning and laundry. then what do I do, grocery shopping, then what... after that I was out of my element for sure. Kasey got home about 4pm on Saturday and I was all excited to see the kids. They had convinced Grandpa to stay an extra night at elk camp. So Kasey and I went out to dinner and had a date night. very cool! Sunday Kasey and I just kind of relaxed as it was raining outside but I was still out of my element as a mom. It was like I didn't know what to do without the kids home for the weekend. However, what a special time for them to spend with Grandpa. I remember my days as a kids up at hunting camp with my Dad and hanging out. Still such awesome memories. I just think my kids are blessed to have the best grandparents.

Halloween!

Kailtyn and Grant have been excited for Halloween all week! I spent last night hemming the bottom of Kaitlyn's costume so it was just the right length and she got up at 5:15am this morning! She said she was ready for me to do her hair (I painted it green). I convinced her it was really to early too do her hair and turned on cartoons for her while I got ready for the morning. Her hair turned out a good color green and was right in line with her witch costume. Granters was spiderman which fit him totally as he had a mask on and was running around crazy this morning. Grant has a wonderful Debbie for daycare. Debbie and Cami brought all the kiddos out to my work (and we are a bit out of town!) to go trick or treating. So fun to see all the kids in their costumes. Kaitlyn was going to have Halloween centers at school.

Backyardigan's Show!

My mom treated the kids to the Backyardigan's Live show! It was a total surprise as both of us had known about it for over a month and we just told the kids we were going on a special trip wtih Grandma. On the way to see the show we stopped at the Hatchery to watch the salmon spawning and it was really cool. The salmon were HUGE!!! The kids had a great time watching them swim up the creek and see all the different fish. My mom and I then took them to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch which Kaitlyn said was very "fancy" and she liked the music there. We did some shopping at Old Navy after lunch and then went to see the show. The Paramount Theatre is simply amazing with the beautiful architecture. They had cushions for the kids to put on their seats so they could see good. We were close to the front of the stage so had great seats! It was really a perfect day!

Camera kids..

top view

Elmo and his pumpkin

see the little feet?

Grant's incredible hulk green punkin

Kaitlyn's pumpkin with lots of teeth!

My kids love to take pictures!! Here are some fun pictures they took

around the house.

Kasey's Hunting Trip

Kasey recently returned from week long pheasant hunting trip in South Dakota. Here is a picture from one of the outings. He said he had fun and enjoyed the break from work. The kids and I really missed him as he was gone for a week but we know he had a good time.

I saw this post on another blog and it made me think about my quirks. At first, I didn't think I could come up with 10 but here goes

1. I have to eat a banana in the mornings before I get in the shower.

2. I can’t listen to music on the way home from work.

3. The wrong food texture will turn my stomach. I still can’t eat hamburgers.

4. If I could be surrogate mom I would in a heartbeat. Something about the miracle of pregnancy and the amazing things the human body can do. And that I would want couples who struggle with having kids to be able to.

5. I have to change my pillowcases on my pillows twice a week.

6. I am a list maker. Anything I have to do I will make a list.

7. I have to read US magazine every Saturday morning. It totally annoys my husband for some reason.

8. I am a fan of people watching. I could sit all day somewhere and just watch the people. The details in the way they treat who they are with, what are they wearing, where are they going, what is their story, and who are they. I am a huge detail oriented person. I notice little things.

9. I usually pray for every animal I see that has been hit on the road.

10. I would love to have enough socks to cover 365 days a year. New socks everyday. Heavenly…

Ok so now you know some of my quirky little habits. Please try to contain your laughter long enough to leave me a comment about your quirkiest habit so I feel a little bit better about all of mine.

More Zune Buggy

The Zune Buggy

Sitting on the fence Justin & Dailey

My dad last year made this dune buggy he bought into a two seater for the grandkids. They just love it. On Tuesday Grant finally could reach the pedals and could be the driver! My mom said he had a blast all afternoon. Justin was there picking up Dailey when I got there so we were all out watching. Kaitlyn & Grant call it the Zune Buggy. Kaitlyn was even brave enough to get in and ride with her wild brother for a few minutes.

Carving pumpkins

Look at all of the seeds!
Only a few seeds in mine
cleaning out the inside
Our pumpkins!

On Saturday night we carved two of the four pumpkins we have and took the seeds out for roasting. The kids use a marker to draw on their pumpkins and then I cut out where they have drawn. Grant had a variety of shapes on his pumpkin and kept adding more. Kaitlyn was decided on her pumpkin face and she wanted it to have lots of teeth.

Harvest Fun

I love this picture! You can really see where Kaitlyn is missing her two top teeth!

Spider girl cool snake
All smiles for the camera
concentrating on her riding

Last Saturday we went to the Pumpkin Patch. The kids had fun getting their faces painted, riding the ponies, going through the corn maze, and just all around having a good time. Was a fun few hours for sure. My mom, Becca, Justin, and their girls all went. It was a nice cool crisp fall morning. Perfect for picking pumpins...

Kids N' Dirt

So the trench on our lawn is partially filled in until the sprinkler pipes get fixed. Monday night the kids thought this was great fun. Of course they were both in their school clothes and it was raining a bit. By the time I realized what they were doing they were both too dirty, so I just let them play. My kids are definately outside kids as my daughter is there in her pink tights, her skirt was getting in the way... Yes and Granters is in his camoflauge undies as his pants wet from the mud. He decided he just didn't need the pants on anymore. Afterwards the kids went directly into the shower and the clothes through the washer (twice...)

Thank You Kids

Kaitlyn was a Thank You Kid at her school in September. All grades pick two kids out of each class who are recognized for their good behavior and good choices. Great job Kaitlyn!!

Grandpa Willie's 83rd birthday

A few weeks ago we had my Grandpa's 83rd birthday dinner. We are so very blessed that he lives in Ellensburg and we get to see him a lot. He still travels across country twice a year by himself to go visit his military buddies.

Shovels & Buckets

As we were fixing our back patio Kasey had a load of gravel delivered. The huge pile of gravel was an attraction for the kids to climb, slide down, and Grant even tried to ride his bike down the hill. They both found their sand buckets and I gave them some old big spoons from the kitchen (since one of our dogs chewed up thier sand shovels). They played out there for about an hour and had a great time. Yes, my son is in his underwear... For those of you who know my son I am lucky he has clothes on at all. He is my nudist outside or inside. I actually have to tell him to put his clothes back on.

We also have a two foot deep trench running through the back yard from the house right now. Since Kasey had the backhoe for the patio he decided to put in a frost free spigot in the pasture instead of having to run the hoses out to the water trough everytime. The trench is very attracting to both the kids and the dogs and they want to play in it. He should be able to get the pipe and conduit for a light installed this weekend and the trench will be filled back in. I am very lucky my husband is an ace at home construction projects. He does a great job on everything he does.