Arizona Reunion Trip

The kids and I decided to tag along with Grandma Karla and head to the family reunion in Arizona. We wanted more family time and thought this would be just the way to get it. We left California on Friday, December 26th and got into our room VERY late that night. The kids did so well and traveled like little pros. The next morning we woke up and decided we hadn't had enough of Uncle Matty, Auntie Michelle, and Baby Joey so we drove in our bright blue Jeep Patriot to Anthem. We hung out at their house, played at the park, and of course, rode the train! We got the whole gang on there...except for Uncle Matty. He was running with Tucker.

Tyler had fun going down the slides too. I don't know why the blog is posting the picture sideways like this...but I thought it was a cute picture to post.

Unfortunately, we had a bit of an emergency while we were in Arizona. The kids and I had stopped at the Target to buy some diapers and some apple juice and Lucout of the cart and hit her head VERY hard. She got sick on me and it freaked me out. So, Mommy and Lucy took a little ride in the ambulance to the Children's Hospital. Lucy got a catscan and the all clear. The picture below is in our hotel room (in her gown) after we got home. She did sustain a fracture in her skull...so we're trying to make sure our dangerous girl doesn't take another spill.

We had a lot of fun at the reunion and seeing family. On the last night of our trip a bunch of us cousins went to Peter Piper Pizza for dinner. We had SO much fun. We got 100 tokens and just went CRAZY. Uncle Matty was working all of us as the Ticket Nazi. He even had Tyler and Lucy grabbing tickets and adding them to the pile. It was so much fun and we had so many laughs. We ended up with 1,374 tickets and bought a bunch of junk to take home. It was so much fun and we laughed really hard.

If you want to see anymore of our pictures you can click on the link on the right side of this page. Our Shutterfly page has all the recent pictures.

Christmas Festivities

This year our Christmas was obviously different and more solemn for Mommy and Daddy, but by the looks of the things with the kids it was business as usual for them! We spent Christmas Eve at Zach's parent's house. Whew...having a 1 year old, 2 year old, and 4 year old was INSANE! They just ripped through the gifts and wanted them all opened immediately. Lucy had to put each item of dress up or clothing on right away. It was hilarious and reminiscent of Mommy when she was a little girl.

On Christmas morning we had our normal morning...wake up, see what Santa left under the tree, and open our stockings. Tyler was WAY excited to see that Santa left Spike the Dinosaur under the tree and Lucy was ecstatic with her dollhouse. It was a relatively peaceful morning as we opened our presents. I say relatively because Santa left a bit 'o cookie and a ton of ants found it. Ugh. Not the gift in my stocking I was looking for!

Matt, Michelle, and Joey were still in town, so we invited them and my Mom over for Christmas dinner. It was really low key...most of our meal was leftovers from the reception at my Mom's house after the memorial service. Zach cooked a tri tip and my Mom made some mashed potatoes. It was a nice, quiet afternoon. Tyler was engrossed in his Leapster game, Lucy was running around in her big girl panties, and Joey was taking it all in. We had a really nice holiday together as a family...but we sure did miss our Dad.

Jingle Bells

This is Tyler's class singing Jingle Bells. Too cute...

Christmas Activities

It's been awhile since I've updated the blog, so I'd better get on here and do it now that the entire month is gone. I'll try to do December in a nutshell. The kids and I baked and a gingerbread house...

We rode the Christmas train this year, but we did a local train instead of going to Santa Cruz. It was fun (not as much fun as Santa Cruz), but we ate cookies, drank yummy hot chocolate, and listened to songs. Santa was on board, which did NOT please Lucy. She freaked out and clung to me when he was near. Overall we had a good time and the kids wore their matching pajamas from Grandpa Don & Nonnie.

Tyler's school put on a program where the kids sang Christmas carols and wore cute little reindeer ears. It was precious. I will put a picture in this post and try to upload a video. It was darling!

My Dad

We had the memorial service for my Dad on Tuesday, December 23rd. I don't know what more to say, so I thought I would post my speech from the service.

My Mom and Dad met when I was 11 months old. He introduced me to sugar...and I knew from that moment that he was a good man. :)

I've struggled with what to say today. I was with my mom when the doctor said that Dad didn't make it. I feel like that moment is all that I can remember lately and the rest of our memories are just gone.

Through this planning process we've looked at pictures and relived so many memories. My Dad lived a good life and he had a shining smile (and REALLY good hair). I saw pictures of him teaching me to count circle money and how to change the oil in my car. I was reminded of his pride on my wedding day and the days that his grandchildren were born. I saw his smile in so many pictures and was reminded of his love for the people in his family. And his love for me.

The more we look at pictures and share stories the more I remember my Daddy and how proud he was of me and the person I had become...and less about that one moment in time. My Dad was my hero and I will miss him and honor him every day of my life.

Santa Picture

I don't normally do a formal Santa photo. Our local scrapbook store had Santa in one day for a few hours and we would go take some snapshots and be done, but they went out of business. I don't want to wait in a mall or go to the North Pole or any of that. So, when I saw this opportunity to make an appointment with Santa to have some pictures taken at the Little People Gym in Folsom I thought it was perfect. But, I guess it can only be considered perfect if your child is not deathly afraid of Santa Claus and screaming bloody murder when she sits on his lap. That would be how Lucy reacted to having her picture taken with Santa. They tried to have the kids sit alone and Santa would sneak in, but I don't think he could hear well and didn't come out in time. The kids figured him out and Lucy was off and running. Luckily I had planned ahead and wore something that matched the kids because I had a tiny inkling that I would have to be in the picture too. Oh well...memories, right?

Joey did a great job sitting on Old St. Nick's lap, though. I think he even told him that he wanted a new baby brother or sister for Christmas. :)

November In A Nutshell

I didn't realize how behind I was on our family blog. I knew I had things to add and hadn't found the time to do it, but my goodness. I'm sorry that you had to keep hanging on for information about the family. :) I doubt we are that exciting...but I'll try to keep it interesting.

On November 1st Jenn took the kids to see Disney on Ice. We went with Jeddi, Austin, Hannah & Megan. Lucy has never had to sit through a performance before, so this was a new experience...but she did really well. Tyler was the one that got impatient! But, a few small bags of Halloween candy from Halloween the night before, a box of popcorn, and two $20 (each) princess toys (yes, I said princess for each of them...don't ask) and they sat through the whole show.

After Disney on Ice was over we ran (through the rain) to the car and drove up to Lakehills Church. They were having their annual Harvest Festival, so we met Grandma Karla at the church for some ho-down good times. They were serving chili, cornbread, and lots of dessert. They had pony rides for the kids and line dancing for the old folks and kids.

While reading a Parent's Magazine I saw an article on how to make the cutest turkeys out of Oreo cookies. I thought it would be fun to take them into Tyler's class for snack one day. It was so much fun and Tyler seemed really happy to have me there. I guess I'd better enjoy that while I can!

This next picture just makes me laugh. The Saturday after Thanksgiving we went to play tennis with the Guthmiller's. Lucy didn't want to be set down, so she and I made a compromise. Or did we?

Later that same Saturday we hosted a first birthday party our nephew, Joey, at our house. It was so much fun to watch him get excited over his cupcake and to smash it to bits. He would get some in his hands and then CLAP, CLAP, CLAP and send cupcake everywhere. It was awesome. Tyler gave Joey the thumbs up on a job well done with the cupcake. Lucy enjoyed the show!

And last but not least (in December actually) we went to see Sesame Street Live. We got awesome seats in the front row...right next to Elmo and the Gang. Brooke, Aria, and Matea went with us and I'm not sure who had more fun...the kids or Brooke and I! It was a great show.

Tyler is Rockin' the Preschool Thing...

Tyler has been doing so well in preschool and he just loves it! In October he was picked to be student of the week. We got to make a poster talking about Tyler's favorite things and his family. He drew pictures of dinosaurs and our trip to Oregon. He also got his picture take for school and it is JUST THE CUTEST THING EVER!