1.01.2010

five for friday

some random bits of life on this friday that feels like a saturday.

one. happy new year!

we welcomed the new year with good friends, yummy food, card games and of course, rock band!


at 12:15am, ethan walked up to me with a droopy face and his arms up, my signal for me to hold him. once i scooped him up he started snoring on my shoulder within three seconds. poor guy. new year's eve isn't really condusive with a toddler's sleep schedule.


two. i took a self portait with taylor the other day, only to find that he has to scrunch down quite a bit to get both of our faces in the shot.

i swear he grows in the middle of the night and i can't get over how lately he just seems like a giant - especially compared to me.


three. speaking of the teenagers, my boys have been begging me to have an xbox "all nighter" party with a couple of friends. we don't do sleep overs so i wrestled with this request for a while, but i finally caved and said yes. i knew they would end up with some fun christmas break memories and i loved stuff like this when i was a kid. rich got them all set up (multiple xboxes and tv screens) before we went to bed, and when i got up around 3:30 they were still playing strong.

(crappy photo taken in the pitch dark - james is also missing, he had to leave early)
they're determined to play all night, we'll see in the morning how long they actually lasted.
to be fair, allie headed to phil and lauri's for a harry potter movie-marathon with lauren.
update: at 9:30 this morning, they were STILL playing. crazy cats.

four. rich set up skype on my computer so we could chat with my grandpa in alaska on christmas. it was fun to see him, but i didn't think i would use it much outside of special occasions. last night while i was working on some photos, my screen started ringing, it was my mom calling to chat for no real reason. we skyped for almost an hour, it was so much fun.

it's especially entertaining when the video freezes in the middle of a word or great facial expression.
i love technology!


five. said good bye to the soldier brother in the middle of the night tonight, his flight leaves super early.

to be honest, i wish we'd had a bigger chunk of his time while he was here, he's a popular guy you know. still, it was reassuring to see him well and healthy and with his spirit still intact, and to spend christmas day with him. we will look forward to the beginning of summer when he's home again for a few weeks.


oh, and one more thing - a couple of days before christmas i went in to my hair dresser for some fresh color on my sad roots, and decided on a whim to chop all my hair off!

(photos taken at the salon which explains why my neck is all hairy)
i am liking the new style, but am missing lazy pony tail days and brrr, i can't go anywhere without a scarf!

have a great weekend!

12.31.2009

family date night

we got a little christmas cash from grandma and grandpa this year and decided that we would use it to take our family out to dinner. this is something we never do and thought it might be kind of fun. even in the snow storm, the restaurant was packed and of course we had to wait.
here's how my teenagers entertain themselves these days.
we ate steak and ribs at texas roadhouse and everything was great, especially the company, it was so much fun to have the kids along.
they must have put a little something extra in the big strawberry lemonades the kids ordered because photos were a little sillier than usual.
thanks grandma and grandpa for a fun night out!
we love you!

12.29.2009

christmas forget-me-nots

some with photos, some without, and nothing in any particular order, but all things, i don't want to forget....

learning new primary songs to sing to the babe jesus
couples christmas dinner
after the gifts were opened, taylor declaring it, "the best christmas EVER!"
these two cuties who i still have high hopes for marrying

lauri laughing so hard over patsy's travel briefs white elephant gift
the smoking santa statue
the gift table at the thursday girl party

having brandon stay with us while he's home from boot camp
(santa had to leave his hat behind since we didn't have a stocking for bran)

our cards! i loved how they turned out this year

new stockings that i've coveted for years

christmas lights on our house thanks to taylor

getting almost all of my shopping done online this year - i heart amazon
twenty or so rowdy teenagers over for waffles and hot chocolate

little people nativity and teaching ethan about the birth of jesus

the extra long christmas break from school - hallelujah
mom's luminaries in old ball jars - especially the green ones

leah's hidden baking talent

so many lovely happy faces on dozens of cards on our door
(although i should've taken a more recent photo, the number of cards has doubled since i took this photo!)

decorating the christmas tree cupcakes

this funny boy sneaking a taste of the punch

kids in christmas sunday best

three super cute trouble makers


can everyone just smile for the camera PLease!

gingerbread houses with cousins

awesome new boardgames & super hero cape from the fanks
doorbell ringing non-stop with neighbor gifts and friend treat deliveries
addie's (my neice) gingerbread house decor
(isn't this the sweetest thing? i love this)

mom's snowman tree

homemade pajamas on christmas eve

fresh wreath on the door

christmas stories before bed

allie reading the story of jesus' birth
christmas eve family prayer
having to pry the toddler out of bed because the teenagers were chomping at the bit

ornaments hanging from the chandelier

a sweet gift from allie

to: dad from: the kids :)

REAL ribbon on the gifts, i swear i'm never using the curling kind ever again

christmas day rock concert

constant ping pong ball backround noise from the basement
ethan saying, "i asked santa for this!"
grandma singing fleetwood mac
(maybe my favorite memory of the holiday)

christmas day phone calls
and this video: (sorry about allie's obnoxious screaming)

and just incase you didn't catch what all the screaming was about-

merry merry christmas!
if you made it to the end of this post, you must really love us!