Christmas 2009

Christmas morning was exciting and fun this year. Santa was right on with fulfilling the wish lists... what an amazing guy.

The crew as they were walking into the gift zone:


Nash was super pumped about his doggie that he got. Too bad we had to retire it early- he kept biting the fur off.


The top two things on Ethan's list this year: a remote control airplane and LEGO city.



Keaton asked for a race track. We now have the complete collection of all shake-and-go tracks. Enough is enough.



Blake asked- for the second year in a row- for a claw machine. He also wanted golf clubs. Check. He got a sweet set, if I do say so myself.




Christmas Day was so relaxing! The kids were content to play with all of the gifts that were given. I had to beg them to come outside with me. The weather was gorgeous. Enjoy the "after" pictures:

Soup's On...

The other night Keaton went to the kitchen to get a drink of water while the rest of us finished getting our teeth brushed. I swear that he was only in there for 2 minutes before I went to get him and found the little rascal on the counter top "making soup" (picture him making a stirring motion with big, innocent eyes). The recipe follows:

1 bottle of Mexican Oregano
1 bottle of almond extract
1 bottle of rosemary
a dash of minced garlic
a dash of cumin
3/4 bottle of onion salt
1 cup (of so) of water

Mmmm.

Stinky Cheese Man and other December Stuff 2009

Blake and River after a basketball game.


Keaton outside Ober ES. This statue is irresistible for a cutie his size!



Blake was in two plays the day before Christmas break. Here he is pictured as Jack Horner in the Run Away Pizza play. The poor little guy sat in a corner eating a plum pie. Then he was chased by a wolf...all the while holding onto his precious pie and that plum on his thumb. It was pretty funny. We made the plum out of play doh. (Look closely at the picture for it!) For anyone who knows Blake, you'd expect him to ham it up. Nope. He acted shy. Shy! SHY! Ha Ha.



Blake was the little boy in the Stinky Cheese Man play.


Nashers enjoying the left-overs of the box of gifts that Grandma and Grandpa Bailey sent.




A fun day at the park. Las Vegas is just now enjoying the fallen leaves. And there are lots of them!

Christmas Funnies 2009

A few Christmas funnies to send your way...

Blake has been obsessed with the gift-giving this year. He has wrapped and unwrapped many-a-presents...AKA: toys from the playroom. He has even done a dry run of the stocking placements this year. (Where we put our stocking on Christmas Eve so santa will know where to leave the loot.) Once he noticed that Nash's stocking wasn't there (Grandma Bryan is working on it), he decided to take this yule-tide matter into his own busy hands. Check out the results...



Keaton has a great time with the nativity scene. Always rearranging it "just so". Usually Mary and baby Jesus are tucked behind inside the stable. I totally missed the part of the story that includes a chubby yellow duck in the nativity. I stand corrected.


I need these pictures to look at and realize that even though we have our moments, for the most part life is just fun and crazy in a GOOD way!

Fall-ing 2009

What's there not to love about Fall in Vegas? The weather is such a treat after the sizzling summer. Here are a few highlights of the season...

Myndi and I took our boys to Floyd Lamb State Park when the kids were out of school for Veteran's Day. Wow. Wow. The birds, ducks, geese are not afraid of humans. I had to include the picture of Colton because of the look of sheer terror on his face. It was actually a really good time and I hope that we make it back there with Darren to fish and picnic some more...





It was so fun to spend Saturday mornings watching Blake play soccer. He is a hard worker and does really well with soccer. His team had a great season and won all of their games. Check out the over-sized goalie get-up...


I love that my kids still like to go to parks. Being outside is so soothing for me. We spend a lot of time outside doing all sorts of stuff, including trying out all of the many parks we are surrounded by...


Ethan, Blake, and Keaton catching bees to "sell" at their stand...


Pinewood Derby. Ethan and Darren did a great job with Ethan's car. In the picture it is the dark blue one (number 4) on the far left. I don't know what place he took. They ran each group 4 times each so that all the cars could have a turn on each lane. Ethan's car took 1st or 2nd each time...



Camping with the Threshers, Bennions, Francis', and Grandpa Thresher. I went up for the evening so that Keaton and Nash could partake of the festivities. It was a great campground that I hope we go to again in the spring...




Future Red Burro racer...

Halloween 2009

All my buddies in their 2009 Halloween costumes!



Could he be the cutest shark baby? Ever?


Ethan and his award winning pumpkin. He took first in the third grade category of the pumpkin carving contest. It's a sick pumpkin- including thermometer, ice bag, spots, and a sad face. Ethan made the sign to go along with it. Sweet.


Blake drew his pumpkin face and I cut it. Then to spruce it up we spray painted it gold. It was pretty dang sweet and it was definitely a match to Blake's imagination.


What a great day we had. I took the boys to the park for a picnic. They raced on their bikes, rode down steep grassy hills, and tore the place up a bit. It was fun and I enjoyed getting to take the two older kids and play with them (Keaton, Nash, and I always get to go to the park). Then that night we went to two parties. This picture is of me and the girls at the Francis' party where awesome chili was served and then we trick-or-treated. We love our friends.


Keaton HAD to be the green power ranger. Check out the neck line. If you look closely enough you can see that the fabric is frayed. He didn't even notice and I didn't point it out... he was happy with it. Ah, my little rag muffin.


Ethan at the school parade. If you can't tell, he is an astronaut.


The school was playing Halloween music over the loud speaker and I guess Blake felt an itching in his soul. He started busting out the dance moves out of no where! I have the funniest movie of it and if I ever figure out how to download, I will. It's a treat.


Oh, so Blake. He is such a friendly, class-clowny kind of guy.


No Autumn/Halloween season can go by without a trip to the pumpkin patch- Vegas style.