Merry Christmas!

At Christmas Eve service last night, the kids behaved fairly well. It was their first time going to the service with us; we usually take advantage of the Sunday school aspect of church and enjoy an hour of child-free worship. We sang lots of songs, listened to Pastor Kevin talk about a simple Christmas, and Kate even got to light a candle at the end. My favorite part: when the pastor asked for a show of hands as to who refuses to read the Christmas letters from friends and Luke enthusiastically raised his hand.

We let the kids open one gift on Christmas eve. In this case, it was an XBox Kinect.

The first present of Christmas.

We were up until midnight, prepping for Christmas morning and Christmas breakfast. We "set" our alarm for 6:15am so we could be sure to be downstairs when the kids woke up. I opened my eyes at 6:45am and jumped out of bed. Someone forgot to turn the alarm on, but we were the first ones up. I resisted the urge to check to ensure the children were still breathing. We made coffee, started breakfast prep, and waited. Luke was the first one downstairs, at just after 7am (a minor Christmas miracle that he slept in so late), followed by Kate about 15 minutes later. Luke hadn't realized anything was amiss until Kate informed him that his stocking was full. Then we had to contain them both until Claire came down.

Luke's big present: a new booster seat for the car.

Kate finally got her Blizzard maker, a year after she asked for it. Tim and I have placed bets as to how long it will last before it breaks. We're having trouble agreeing on the terms; we both think it will be busted by the end of the day.

Claire also scored big with another one-year-late Santa surprise: an Easy Bake Oven. Santa is so weak. He swore he wouldn't cave and give Easy Bake Ovens or Blizzard Makers, but here we are.

Luke got a puppy pillow pet!

And a crane truck he can take apart and put together!

The aftermath.

Santa, left in the dust.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas fun

It's been ages since I've posted here....I just can't keep up with my photography blog, this blog, family life and work!

Yesterday we made gingerbread houses. The kids loved it. Mostly the sneaking candy part, of course. At the end: stickiness on every surface, children giddy with sugar.

The afternoon started out great. Some tea, some quiet.

Then we moved on to gingerbread decorations.

And I moved on from tea to Bailey's and cocoa.

Building.

"Here, Mom. I don't want any more of these."

Snow on the roof.

Moving on to bigger snow.

Summer update

We went to Oregon, Scotland and Seattle...it's been busy. A few photos in lieu of stories.

Family.

Adorable nephew.

My husband taxiing for take-off.

Edinburgh.

My sister.

All about Luke

Watching the Indy 500 with his Daddy.

Luke just let out a big "yeeeehaw!" right along with Brad Paisley, singing 'Old Alabama'. Can this kid get any cuter? Yes, I know I am biased.

Today we had our first pee-on-the-potty experience. It was sort of accidental (he had bigger goals in mind, but only peed), but he was fairly animated about the Reese's peanut butter egg he got as a reward.

Luke is in his 5th week of ISR swim lessons. He stopped crying at the beginning of last week, and is now rolling from back to front to grab a hand or the bar. I'm hoping he will finish within the next 2 weeks.

He is no longer saying "itchin" for "chicken". I am heartbroken. He is also beginning to say the hard 'k' sound, so there are very few "otay"s left in his vocabulary. Devastated. There are just some things I don't want to change, ever.

Day to Day Changes

A walk with Grandma in Bonnie Springs.

Kate took 1st Place in the bean bag toss for grade school at her first track meet.

Walking the lines during the running events. I am hopeful that at least ONE of my children will one day compete in running events.

Luke checks out a caterpillar.

Yesterday, we were swimming in the pool. Today we are inside wearing sweaters and pants. (It went from 90ish yesterday to 68* + 50mph wind gusts today.) And we're setting up the tent for an indoor camping trip. ? It's easier than packing up all our stuff for 2 days. And also, warmer.

Overwhelmed, again

Life has been ... busy. I don't know how you ladies do it: work, family time, laundry, household maintenance. I am failing miserably at all of them, or at least I feel like I am!

Tim and I recently went to the Neon Museum to do a photo shoot for friends. So much history! Our guide knew so much about Las Vegas; it was truly amazing. If you ever get a chance to visit this place, go! It's well worth your time.

Most of you know that we are staying in Vegas for probably another 3 years. We're not pleased with the assignment, but it could be worse. We love our house, and Las Vegas is not a bad place to be for another bit of time. Hopefully it will give you a chance to come and visit us...

Oh, Dear

It's come to this: one post a month, if I'm on top of things. And here I am, trying to at least post some photos, but blogger isn't granting my wishes.

For now, a picture from Luke's and my trip to Calico Basin this morning. I know most of the country is frozen over, under feet of snow, but we had a cold morning here as well. At 10am, we were hiking in 33* weather, which is a bit nippy for here. Luke didn't mind.