Holiday Lights

Last night we went over to a Kym and Dorian's for some appetizers at their house and then went and walked through the Holiday Lights at The Cove. It was fun to just sit around and talk without having to be all dressed up and making sure the kids were behaved....it was just our family and their family! Kym had some yummy food....quiches, baby potato skins, fruit with chocolate foundu :)

After eating we rode over to The Cove and walked through their holiday light display. They also had some vendors set up inside selling different things and a guy making balloon objects. The kids all got balloon things....Caleb got a gun and a Christmas tree while Madison and Taylor got crazy hats.







The lights were very pretty. They even had some bonfires burning that you could stop and get warm at and even roast marshmallows.







Madison warming up next to the bonfire.


Kaleigh got a puppy for Christmas and her parents surprised her with it while we were at the Holiday Lights. It is the cutest little long haired chiwawa that only weighs 3 lbs. All the kids went crazy over it and Madison informed us that she "wanted a little dog just like that!"

Dear Santa

Caleb brought home the cutest poem this week from school and I just had to share it! I believe this describes just about all children out there!



Dear Santa

I really didn't mean to lock my sister out last night.
Though I forgot to feed the dog, I'm always real polite.

I try to say, "Excuse me" and "Thank you," "Sir," and "Please"
Except sometimes when I'm at school and cough or burp or sneeze.

And Santa, please remember all the books that I have read,
Especially if you should see what's underneath my bed.

I only wanted you to know how good I've been this year,
"Cause if you ask my family, I don't know what you'll hear.

All about Caleb

This post is all about my sweet baby boy. Now don't get me wrong, this sweet little boy has a "naughty" side to him. He knows my buttons and pushes them on a regular basis. But his good side, well at least the last few weeks, has been more visible than his naughty side. He has "stayed on green" all month at school. This is a huge accomplishment as he normally has to be corrected occasionally for talking when he isn't supposed to be :)

He has been so helpful around the house. We have been so busy getting all the Christmas decorations out and up and he was always willing to help. Here he is putting ornaments on the tree.....


With all the warm days we have had in between the cold days, Caleb found time to blow the leaves that fell from the trees finally. He loves getting to use the leaf blower even though he can barely hold the thing :)


He enjoyed his first trip to Fantasy of Trees, well at least that he remembers. He decorated a mini tree to add to our Winter Wonderland scene on our mantel.


He sat on Santa's lap twice. He even got kissed by Santa :)


He lost his 1st tooth on Sunday 12-13-09 (this isn't the best pic but the only one I actually took on the day he lost the tooth).


Today at school he had his Christmas party. They wore their pj's, watched The Polar Express and decorated gingerbread houses. He did a great job on his house. The house even made it home intact. though once home he and his sisters made a slight dent in it :)

Twilight Obsession Continues....

Well I finally jumped on the band wagon and read the Twilight Saga. I waited a long time but finally caved to the peer pressure...actually I was curious as to what all the fuss was about :)

I wish I hadn't waited as long. Those 4 books were great. Twilight was good but they got better with each book. I read all 4 in 5 days. The 1st three took about 4-5 hours a piece and the 4th took about 9 hours which I had to split into 2 days. I sacrifced sleep big time b/c I couldn't put the books down.

I also watched Twilight. I still didn't understand what all the fuss over Edward and Jacob was. Twilight didn't impress me too much but everyone kept telling me that New Moon was a hundred times better. I got a Regal gift card for my birthday so I treated myself to a movie matinee today. There was a total of 10 women in the theater for the 12:20 showing. I LOVED New Moon!!!! It was a great movie, though the book was still better. I think I understand the whole infatuation! I am Switzerland though....I can't pick just one team b/c I like Jacob and Edward :) I will be seeing this movie again before it leaves the theater. I can't wait until the 3rd movie comes out in June 2010!

H2H Christmas Party 2009

Tonight we had our H2H Christmas Party. We have a rather large group, 24 kids and parents to be exact at our party. Some of our bunch wasn't able to be there tonight. We enjoyed some yummy food, great fellowship and a gift exchange where each couple ended up with one "Ho Ho" gift and one "Ha Ha" gift! We had such a great time!

Here is the whole gang...not bad considering how many kids we had in the picture.


Aaron and Coy playing


Mike's "haha" gift was a Potty Monkey which Aaron promptly stole from him!


Cindy's "ho ho" gift of yummy chocolate!


Caleb, Mackenzie and Will getting ready for their gift exchange


Caleb got a toy gun that he was thrilled about!


Sweet Clara


Anna Caroline and Abbie checking out what Abbie got


Mackenzie, April and Coy playing with Josiah's target board!

The Best Santa Ever!

Every year we go and visit the best Santa we have found. He brings his own sleigh and reindeer which the kids get so excited about. He really looks the part of Santa and is so sweet. We enjoyed drinking yummy hot chocolate while waiting to see him.


The kids telling him what they want.


The kids with Santa


The look on Coy's face is priceless! She is thinking "where did they just put me?"


Love the pink bow on this girl reindeer :)


This reindeer's antlers were huge!

Fantasy of Trees

This year we weren't actually celebrating Thanksgiving on Thanksgiving Day (we celebrated with my family on Wednesday evening and celebrated with Matt's family on Saturday) so my mom called to see if we wanted to go to the Fantasy of Trees. Since Matt was going to be watching football we said sure. Matt's mom even decided to go with us.

If you read my blog but aren't from here "Fantasy of Trees" is an event put on every Thanksgiving. It runs through the weekend and draws a lot of crowds. There are all these beautifully decorated trees done by local business's and schools. The proceeds go to Children's Hospital. The trees are even available to purchase. My favorite ones are always way out of my price range, like $1000 and higher!

We used to go to this event but hadn't been in years. The last time we went Caleb was about 6 months old. Pam was feeling pretty good, so we loaded our kids and went down there. It was bittersweet being there...brought back great memories. When Pam was feeling good we did some fun things with the kids :)

These were 2 of my favorite trees.




This was the neatest tree, not sure if it is made with 1 tree or numerous trees


Nana and NaNa posing with the Breast Cancer Awarness Tree (they are both survivors).


The kids decorated cookies....here is Caleb eating his :)


They decorated mini trees...


Caleb seems to be maturing over night....he looks so big here!


There was even a carousel to ride.




Sweet sibling love :)