Christmas...2 months later

I have been thinking I should add to our blog for the last 3 months, but there is always a miniature person or chore that needs my attention. Anyway, we had such a great Christmas. It was so simple and so quiet and so perfect. I remember last Christmas thinking "Next year we will have an almost 1 year old. How strange..." And then all of a sudden, it was Christmas again and we had an almost 1 year old. It was just the 6 of us and we had a late start to the day and a slow morning. We did very little for Christmas this year, so there wasn't a pile of gifts. I think we will make that a new tradition. It was so nice to slowly open presents and let the kids just play and enjoy and appreciate the gifts they received. We talked with family members and one of the best things about the day was a call from my brother Matt, who is in Afghanistan for a while. It was so wonderful to hear his voice and be reminded of what is really important at Christmastime and all the time. I love Christmas--the music, the lights, the spirit it brings, the peace, the fireplace going when it's cold outside, watching each child's face as they open the gift they have been hoping for, being together, no work or school. It's my favorite time of year.

Halloween!

We had such a fun Halloween! Our second Halloween with cousins from Idaho Falls and Meridian. And that is the funnest way to do Halloween! Kam, Halli, and Zack were anticipating it for weeks. Kamryn and Halli knew for a while what they wanted to be for Halloween--Kamryn was Lola from Hannah Montana and Halli was a soccer player. Zack, however, couldn't decide. As soon as he heard his cousin Tyler was going to be Luigi, the decision making was over. He decided he just had to be Mario. They were funny to watch together.

Jaxon wore monster pajamas and he definitely makes a good monster. A sweet monster.

Our Halloween fun started with dinner with cousins where they got a free kids meal at Sizzler for dressing up in their costumes. Then we went trunk or treating at the cousins' church building. We finished up with trick or treating in their neighborhood. It was a great night! Thanks Amy and Derek and cousins!

Fun with Jax!

Zack is 7!

Zack is 7! His day started out with the traditional cinnamon rolls and scrambled eggs and unwrapping of gifts. It was a school day, which is a gift in itself since he loves school and would live in Mrs. Adamson's class if he could. I took treats into his class that afternoon and the highlight was picking friends to help pass them out. Then when we got home, Lance surprised Zack by coming home early. The big surprise of the day was going to see Where the Wild Things Are. Zack really liked it! Not everyone agreed, but the birthday boy loved it. Then we quickly hit McDonalds half price night on the way home so we could come home for cupcakes and ice cream. Zack had requested a spider cake for his birthday, but seemed to be happy with spooky cupcakes instead.

Some of Zack's favorite things right now...

Playing with cousins and friends

School

Running

Playing outside

Writing stories

Drawing

NOT soccer

Making everyone laugh

Being lots of different characters in a matter of minutes

...Happy Birthday Zack! We love you!

Class Pet

A few weeks into school, Kam's teacher asked if I would come in each week so Jaxon and I could listen to students read. As we were talking, the teacher said the class had been asking if they could have a class pet. During the conversation, she got the idea that maybe instead of a class pet, they could have a class baby...Jaxon. This was a great idea because Jaxon is a class favorite already. Any time we walk into the classroom, we hear Jaxon's name being called from many different directions and the students start to swarm him. So I told her he could definitely be the class baby, but he could also be considered the class pet since he has found his voice and likes to growl and make all sorts of noises. So now Mrs. Sprague's 5th grade class has a class pet and a class baby all in one!

The Best Weekend Ever...for my husband!!!

So, Lance just got back from such a fun weekend. A dream weekend for him. He went to visit his sister and her family in Dallas and to see his two favorite college teams play at his favorite professional team's stadium. He said it was like seeing Atlantis or like being the boy in Willy Wonka who saw the chocolate fountain. Anyway, so fun. For a while, we didn't think it would work out for a few reasons, but in the end it worked out perfectly. He hasn't taken many trips and this was a hard trip to beat. His sister knew how much he would love it and what it would mean to him, so she saved him a game ticket. My brother sent him an airline ticket (compliments of his job and generosity) and off Lance went Thursday morning. He texted and called several times throughout the weekend and I could tell he was having a great time. He had so much fun hanging out with Rainie and family. He also came back with some examples for our kids of how well cousins listen to their parents. It was back to the daily grind this morning, but he had the best weekend! Thank you Rainie, Chris, and Ben for Lance's awesome weekend!!!!