Thanksgiving, Christmas Tree, anniversary!

There is always so much to share!!! First, I have some pictures that I took on Thanksgiving.

Scott had to work on Wednesday and Thursday night and so he went to my parent's house to sleep on Thanksgiving. The kids and I watched the parade, took our time getting ready, had a little photo shoot, bought a pie for daddy and then we drove up to Chandler to see Pa in the hospital. The kids were very well behaved! We stayed for about an hour while Pa had his Thanksgiving lunch. Then we went to my parent's house to see daddy and have dinner.

Can you tell that Laynee liked the pie?!



On Friday we put up our holiday decorations and our Christmas tree. It was quite the production with 4 toddlers under foot! We have a HUGE Christmas tree. I can't remember how tall it is- but Scott had to put the top of the tree on while on the 2nd story landing!

The kids had a blast decorating the tree with tons of special ornaments. I tried to take pictures- but I was in charge of manning the breakable ornaments so it was hard to get away!!!

Then on Saturady, we dropped Laynee and Kyler at Lorrie and Johnny's (Scott's parents) house and dropped the twins st my parent's house. Then Scott and I had an entire night to ourselves to celebrate our 6th wedding anniversay!!! We had not been out on a date since August when we went to a baseball game so this date was much needed!!! We went to the Scottdale Fashion mall and did some window shopping. Then we went to dinner at Flemmings Steak House. It was DELICIOUS!!!! Then we stayed the night at a hotel in Scottsdale. And the best part- we slept in!!! I have wanted to that for SOOOO long! We were also able to have lunch together before picking up the kids. The kiddos were all good- but they were very tired!

Tonight is actually our anniversary- but Scott is working. So Happy Anniversary, Sweetie!!!!

Family Updates

Sorry I have been MIA for the past week. Things have been for busy!!! My work is very busy- which is a good thing.

A not so good thing is that Scott's car died a couple of weeks ago. The engine cracked. And we had just replaced the engine last October. Of course, the warrenty was only a one year warrenty. The car just wasn't worth repairing and so we had to start car shopping. After a couple days in Scottsdale- he got his new car. It's a 2009 Hundai Accent. It's small- but perfect for commuting.

And poor Kyler... he is feeling the pain of the bad economy. I decided to cut his hair myself! I have never done this before- but decided it couldn't be too hard.

It actually turned out fine- but for some reason we forgot to take a photo when it was done!

Laynee has been potty training now for about 10 days and she is doing great! This morning she modeled her patties for me!

And I didn't want to leave the twins out... so here is a cute shot of them reading books together! Usually they are fighting so when we catch them being friends- we have to take a picture!

Hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving!

Day at the Zoo

On Sunday we took the kids to the Reid Park Zoo in Tucson. It is the perfect zoo for kids. It's small- so not too much walking. And the animals are super close so the kids can actually see them. And Scott and I like it because it is cheap! It is only $20 to get our entire family of 6 in!

Don't you just love those monkey back packs? Scott and I hold on to the tails so that we don't loose any kids. It really helps in busy places like the zoo where there are lots of little kids. I once lost Kyler at this very zoo. That's when we decided to buy those monkies! Now Kyler has passed his down to Laynee. This was her first time coming to the zoo without the stroller.

They have a little train that the we ride through Reid Park. The kids love it. Maybe even more than the zoo!

After the train ride, we went back into the zoo to feed the giaraffes. Isn't that cool?!!! This is Laynee feeding him. I can't believe that she is scared of cats but will let a giaraffe eat out of her hand! After Kyler fed him- he started petting his head. lol!

Our Piano Man

Kyler had his first piano recital on Saturday! He got up in front of a packed church and played a solo!

We are very proud of him!

Christmas Pictures Part 3

Last post from our portrait session...

Aren't they just adorable?!!! I had the hardest time deciding which photos to order!

All their outfits are from the Children's Place. I love that Kyler's sweater matches the pattern on the girls dress!!!

After photos we dropped by and surprised Pa. We brought him one of the family photos and he loved it. The kids were still dressed up and he looked happy to just watch them fight over the chair!! He says that he is very happy to be back in the Arizona sun!

Today is Kyler's piano recital so I am sure I will have pictures of that soon! Have a happy Saturday!

Christmas Pictures Part 2

More of our Christmas photos....


















Laynee was a bit of a stinker and stuck her tounge out for 80% of the photos. Just look at this one....


What is that all about?!!!! I thought the photographer was going to loose her patience!!!!



But I like this one where she looks estatic about the gift...

Christmas pictures part 1

I am still sick and now Scott is sick too. Fun times here!!!

We did go for our anual family Christmas pictures yesterday. The kids were super goofy, but we still got some excellent shots!!! There are so many I want to share that I am going to break this into a few posts.

BTW: Laynee has insisted on wearing panties! I guess we have to give in and start potty training!

Still no pictures

I am still sick : ( I have a sinus headache and now I can hardly breath! It seems like I always get sick when the seasons start to change. Good thing that only happens 2 times a year around here!

But here are some updates from our family:

- Kyler has his first piano recital this Saturday. He got to pick which song he wanted to play and I was a little shocked when he picked one that was 2 times as long as the other kids' songs. I tried to talk him out of it. But then we were practicing last night and I was surprised when he played it perfectly!!! He only plays on one key right now. He is mostly learning rythm and how long to hold notes for. But still- I am impressed!!!

- Scott's car broke down on Tuesday. The engine block is cracked and so oil is leaking into the radiator. We just replaced that engine 13 months ago. Wouldn't you know that it has a 12 month warrenty!!! This time we are not going to replace it. The car isn't worth much anymore. It has well over 100,000 miles and has never run well since it was in a bad accident 2 years ago. As soon as we can find time- we will be going car shopping for a small, gas efficient, reliable car for Scott to use for his commute.

- We are taking the kids out of school tomorrow and going to have our family Christmas pictures taken!!! I will post those this weekend! Plus we will probably go and visit Pa in the nursing home.

I promise pictures next time but right now all I want to do is nap!

the Weekend Update

Sorry- no pictures today. I am not feally well and didn't want to upload and edit pictures! But here is a little update on what we have been doing...

- Friday night we did a fun craft. I paited each of the kids hands and we made little hand turkies and some white cardstock. I framed them all. Very cute!

-Saturday morning we went and saw Madagascar 2. I ddin'r like it. It was more adult humor (and not really all that funny in my opinion) and the kids didn't get it. They got bored. Of course, Scott liked it. We are complete opposites.

-I worked the rest of the day on Saturday so Scott took the kids to the park and they did a lot of playing in the toy room.

-this morning we went to church.

-And this afternoon we had a birthday party for a 2 year old to attend. It was incredibly windy- but the kids still had fun.

But guess what...it's raining out right now!!! It has not rained since August so it is nice!! It's cold, windy, and thundering. Only us Desert Rats can apprciate that!

Playing at the Park- FINALLY!

Sorry, I have been MIA. Work and family have kept me very busy. Plus, I took a night off to watch the election returns. I am still a bit of a political junckie so election night is the like the superbowl for me!

The big news here is that it has finally cooled down!!! The past 2 days have been in the 70's! It is suposed to be back in the 80's tomorrow. I am fine with that. Just no more 90's!!!! Since it was so nice yesterday- I finished working a little early and took the kids to the park. Kyler said "This is going to be awesome!" And they all had a blast. Until they started fighting : )

Do you love the band aid on Makenzie's head? She went down a slide at school- head first and got a scratch. She insisted on a band aid.

Yesterday morning Kyler had a Child Find Appointment. Child Find is a special program that we have for pre schoolers who are having a little trouble and need a little one-on-one teaching to be ready for Kindergarden. Did you know that pre-schoolers could get behind? Well his teachers thought he was behind. But the screening showed that he is right on target and exactly age appropriate. I could have told you that!

We have a busy weekend ahead of ourselves- but I will post again soon!

Trick or Treat

Ok I promise that this is my last Halloween post for the year!!! I just wanted to show you the trick or treaters from Friday night!

The Dorothy is Bryan's finacee's daughter, Lexi.

The kids loved trick or treating this year! Kenzie was always at the front of the crowd running to each door! And Laynee did her best to keep up with the big kids. Eventutally she gave Scott her candy bucket because it was too heavy to carry. But that didn't stop her from going to get more candy! Kyler wanted to completly fill his bucket! And Danika was a bit of a slow poke- as usual! They were all adorable!!!