Christmas eve

Christmas Eve we normally just hang out as a family, but this year we decided to get together with family that was in town.  We went over to Debbie's house, sang songs and ate lots of yummy treats.  It was fun!  I think the kids had a good time. 

As usual it was hard to get a picture of Ethan.....he always hides behind his hands.  But we got sneaky for this one. He and Payton were hiding behind the piano where they were probably texting each other. :)

 Will and Jack are best friends (according to Will) :)

 Debbie, who always plays so well...and using her beautiful new baby grand.

Bill and Nikki have GREAT voices (and Cameron too)

Nate just LOVED to sing!  He is probably our most naturally musical kids. Of course he had to park himself practically on top of Easton (his COOL older cousin, who has more musical talent than all of us put together and 3x over)

 

Emery and Abbey!  What awesome little girls.  They are so much alike and get along so well!  They were dancing to Rudolph.

Halfway through singing I realized Ethan had disappeared. Smart kid....went and found the football game.  

 

And I only add this video because Josh cracks me up!

Piano recital

Emery and Nate had their Christmas recital.  For Nate it was the first time he played for anyone.  Poor little dude was so nervous, he played the wrong song.  But he fixed it and did very well. (this is the fixed version)  And for some reason I didn't get Emery's.

Halloween? Really?

Halloween?  Really?  That was 3 months ago..... We've done so much and so little in that amount of time. 

I'll start off with Ethan's birthday.  And yes we have a teenager.  We are getting old.  Ethan got a cell phone for his birthday and hasn't put the thing down since.  He also confessed he doesn't like cake.  Which was fine with me, cause I didn't have to bake!  So we got a pile of doughnuts and stuck some candles in them. 

Halloween

Yay Halloween! One of my favorite times of the year! I love getting dressed up and seeing all the effort other people put in to great unique costumes. I saw a lot of good ones this year, they gave me good ideas for next year!!

This year Emery was a vampire, Nate was a clown, Will, Batman and Ethan at the last minute decided it was still cool to dress up, went as the Phantom of the Opera.
The kids had their usual parade at the school. Josh showed up and Will was so excited he ran out of the line and jumped in his arms. I'd say that worth the drive/leaving work.

The kids went trick or treating with our usual crew. I sometimes think these guys are my second family. They had fun, got loads and loads of candy, of which I am slowly confiscating.

Ethan went alone with some friends this year. He came back saying it was the best Halloween ever! He didn't even care that he had to get rid of half of his candy (because of his braces) I think it was the freedom to run around the neighborhood after dark with out us.(Notice...no decorations? LOL I took them down the night before, I was so sick of them) I think next year I need to only put them up the week before, I think they are too messy.

Will also got the school award! I was hoping it was because he was doing so much better at reading or math. Nope it was for always helping to clean his classroom....? Hmmm......maybe I could bribe him with some award if he cleans his bedroom......

Disneyland!!

We just got back from a very long awaited trip to Disneyland!! We decided to try out the Disney Trick-or-Treat night, and were not disappointed! It was a lot of fun! We were able to walk on every single ride, and some (Indiana Jones) we were allowed to stay on and go again! I think we went on Thunder Mountain about 40x that night :) The kids had a blast! Okay so did Josh and I.

We had a blast! The weather was amazing! We LOVED getting wet on the Grizzly River Run and all took turns getting soaked!! We never had to wait in line!!

Will and Nate were both tall enough to go on all the rides! Nate loved every one!! But Will however, turned green and may have blacked out on the Screamer, and didn't want to go again. And was terrified of the Tower of Terror! Go figure.....Screamer

Josh's favorite ride!!! By far!!!! Probably mine too......

Toy Story

Emery, Nate, Will and I dressed up as robbers, Ethan just wanted blue hair, and josh had some disgusting tattoo scars/bullet holes. But there were some really elaborate costumes there, people went all out!Behind them is the castle with the skeleton dance from silly symphony (Beth this was for you!!) We used to love this cartoon and would laugh our heads off.

We also had a day to go to the beach (of course it was the one day that was cloudy and cold) but the kids didn't care! They got soaking, swam, and got extremely sandy. My best friend, Kira, of 28 years (wow I'm old) was able to come with her husband and 2 absolutely adorable kids. It was a lot of fun to see them.My friend Kira's little girl, Mari! So cute!!

There were about 6 dolphins swimming and playing. They were riding the waves, surfing, jumping and diving. It was so cool to see these amazing creatures. (of course this was the only photo that turned out, they were just to fast for my camera)

Josh, Ethan and Emery also caught some little sand crabs!!! Ugly little things.

After going on trips like this, I realize just how great my kids are! They appreciate so much and get along with each other so well. It makes it all worth it!!

Cello recital

A couple of weeks ago Ethan had a cello recital. He was nervous but did very well. Sorry to say his cello teacher resigned, and we have yet to find him another teacher, which may or may not happen at all. But he is still playing the cello in his school orchestra.

New out of Old

Josh and I have had our kitchen table for about 8 or 9 years. It has been used and abused. The top was literally wearing out, there were parts where the finish was worn right off from use. And our sweet Ethan had carved the word "Hi" into it (hey at least it was just Hi).

(like the old kitchen?)

A year or two ago I painted the legs and backs of the chairs and the table black, knowing that someday I would finish the top, when I could figure out how to do it.

Well that someday came!

It was actually very easy! I sanded it down, stained it a much darker color and coated it with polyurethane, and now it looks like a brand new table! It only took me 4 days and about $20. :)