More trip stuff

The reason for our trip was primarily Ryan and Amela's wedding. We had an awesome time: The wedding was amazing- I just don't have really any pictures from it. I have a video, but that's it, and for some reason, I can't upload the video. Let's just say, there was dancing, great food, and great entertainment. Prior to the wedding, the kids got to spend time with their little cousin Jaiden. Here are some pictures of the kiddos in the tub. Splashing was so much fun!!!!

Catching up...

All right, all right. I am a bad blogger! I realize my laziness has left you all in the dark about our activities (since everyone is just dying to catch up on us, JK). Anyway, I will start with a few pictures from our trip to Phoenix. Here we are at the Childrens' museum- the kids especially liked the store and kitchen, as well as the cool foam hanging things that they could run through!

Going to visit soon!

Hey everyone! Just wanted to let my friends and family know that we'll be down in Phoenix on February 11, and we are staying until Feb. 17. We would love to spend time with everyone- so book us now. It seems like there is never enough time for long visits with everyone. Ryan and Amela are getting married on Valentine's Day (so exciting!), but much of the other time is free- (except maybe Sunday, right mom?)

Anyhow, we look forward to seeing everyone and getting into some warmer weather. Actually, we had snow today, yet again, so 70 degree weather sounds really nice right about now....

I guess I have been wanting blinds for this room...

Well, I have learned my lesson- again.
The other day while I was taking a shower, and Chris was watching TV downstairs (sick with the stomach flu), Chase found something to practice cutting on. He has been really excited about using the kid scissors on paper. He actually does a really great job with them, and holds them correctly. Anyhow, apparently he found the really good scissors (which were in the very back of one of the kitchen drawers), and he decided to cut up not only one of the panels of the curtains in the living room, but 6 of them.
I have really been wanting to get faux wood blinds for the boys' bedrooms and the large window above the front door, so I guess now I will just have to purchase an additional set for this window- it will match, anyway.
The most hilarious part is that I saw those scissors on the couch after I got out of the shower. In fact, I picked them up and asked Chris if he had used them. After he replied no, I looked at Chase. He said to me "I use them for nufing" I didn't actually see the curtain art until later when Xavier pointed it out to me. Chase then ran to his room yelling, "Gary did it!"
Can I just say, "What else?"

Hey there- we're still here!

Sooo...
I realize that I have dropped the ball on posting lately. I can't say that I've been too busy. Actually, it was a really lovely break. I was able to sit for a few days and do nothing- and I mean nothing. However, in my defense, our internet access was out- who knows why. There were at least 8 days that we were without access, so no posting possible. I have needed to post about Christmas, so here is that one first.

We were asked to spend Christmas Eve with some friends of ours- Skott and Angela, at his parents' house. They are awesome people. Chris was working, so it was just me and the kids there. (There's a picture of me and Angela).

Since Chris wasn't going to get home until after 9 am, we told the boys that they could wake up whenever they wanted to, but that they could only open one present each until Daddy got home. This was almost torture for them- but I wasn't going to let Chris miss out on all of the opening. Once Dad got home, we started in. We open presents one person at a time, so sometimes it takes a little while to get through it all. This year we opted not to give a lot of toys, since our kids don't really need more toys.

The biggest hits were the Spiderman singlet (Chase), battle bots (all the boys), video game rocker chair (Gavin), and the pull-up bar (Mason). I have video of the boys (not able to post that yet) on the pull-up bar. It's pretty darn impressive- as I can't even do one- sad I know.

At the end of the evening we played some poker. I bought a poker set for Chris, complete with chips. Xavier and Chris were on a team together, and ended up with the pot. Chris thinks he's funny and has nicknamed himself "Chips McGee".

All in all, it was a fabulous Christmas, and we are so fortunate to have so many blessings!

Crazy snow days!

This week has been so snowy! For those of you here in Washington, you know what I mean. Everyone else- take a look at the crazy snow! Here are some pictures of us in it, and also of the huge snow fort/cave that the boys, Chris, and I have been working on. When it's done, I'll post a few pics. We are currently taking a break- my arms are sore, and the boys were getting really tired. The roof is posing a challenge, but we'll see!

Blame it all on Gary...

Funny story:
It all started about 5 years ago when Chris made up a person named Gary. He was the person who would pinch Xavier's butt when he wasn't looking. Sometimes he would pinch it because Xavier was being naughty, and sometimes he would stand watch just in case a naughty thing was done- poised to pinch. We actually have some video clips on our old camera (I will try to figure out how to post them) of Xavier holding his butt cheeks or sitting on the floor after Chris says, "Look, it's Gary!"

Anyway, it worked until Xavier was old enough to know that it couldn't be Gary- it was Daddy.

However, Chris thought that it would be funny to try this trick on Chase. We all know that Chase is not easily threatened- he prefers to find out what is really going to happen instead of avoiding the inevitable consequence. Anyhow, recently Chase had gotten into some granola, and had decided to eat it while watching Diego on the couch. A huge mess was made, and when Chris questioned the young man who was most likely to blame, Chase said with a completely straight face, "It wasn't me Daddy, it was Gary."
Well, would you be able to keep a straight face??