Wahooz

We love those days off from school. Who knew Joseph would be the climber in our family? He climbed all the way to the top and I had to go in after him. And yes, that is Dani screaming in the background. Sam with his good friend Rylee.

Time with family

For some reason Joseph was really enjoying biting this table. Teething? Spending time with Sheri.

Going Private

I never wanted to go private. I don't think most of you will continue to check in if you have to go to the extra work of signing in. However, I've been getting several odd comments lately from people I don't know and it's just a little unnerving. So, I find myself choosing to go private. I suppose anyone that cares enough to check our blog and has any interest will willingly go to the extra effort. This blog is more for me than anyone else anyway. I will be going private in roughly one week. If you are interested in having permission to enter my blog site, please leave your email and/or name in the comments (if I already have your email and you don't wish to make it public), or shoot me an email and let me know you're interested. Sorry for the inconvenience, but my families well-being comes first.

Pretty Sam

Unfortunately Sam did this to himself. HE asked to get the dress up stuff out. HE brought me the dress to put on and HE started dancing. I'm sure the girls have warped him into this idea. At least he grabbed the sword and was playing with it at the same time.

Snowmen

The kids got snowman kits from their Aunt Terri for Christmas. So of course the next time it snowed they had to go right out and build snowmen. Unfortunately the snow didn't pack well so they didn't get very big, but they were cute.

Showshoeing

Mark has always loved snowshoeing and has dreamed of getting his own snowshoes. He finally got his wish buying some with his Christmas money this year. We decided to try them out and drove up to Idaho City area. We started out following a road hoping we would find a trail somewhere. At the point we were tired out, we decided to turn back and realized that since we were on a road, it was a lot easier to take the shoes off and walk in our boots. Almost back to the car we saw some other snowshoers just leaving a trail they had created. We decided to give it another go. It's much better that way then following a road. As we started off, Mark's snowshoes crossed and tripped him. Being the inconsiderate wife that I am, I stood there laughing and taking pictures instead of helping him up. A few more steps and Mark found his foot leaving the snowshoe (he must not have tightened it enough) and started sinking into the snow. On our way back we found an owl real close that didn't seem bothered by us (don't they sleep during the day?). We had a good time and can't wait to go again.

Christmas with Grandma

The whole family decked out in red (and black).

Masen's party @ Chuck E. Cheese

Celebrating cousin Masen's birthday party with all the cousins at Chuck E. Cheese. They had a blast.

Christmas 2009

It's hard trying to use both a camcorder and a video camera. Usually I end up using one and not the other and that's what happened this Christmas. I was video taping and the digital photos didn't happen. We were able to spend a little time with each set of our parents. Unfortunately Sam was real sick and had been throwing up the previous night, so we weren't able to take him anywhere. We separated - thanks grandma for watching him for awhile. Not the ideal situation, but what can you do?

Girls night in

The girls (mostly Taylor) have been making plans for awhile now for when Grandma came to visit. Taylor found a recipe to make a mask and wanted to have a girls night where they put on masks, painted finger nails, did makeup, and put on a fashion show. Lucky grandma! They all had a great time (except Sam, who had to go to bed and miss out on most of the fun).

Taylor's reciting & school parties

The children in Taylor's class each memorized a portion to the poem "The Night Before Christmas" and they performed it at their class party. Taylor had the longest part and also memorized a missing students part the day before. She has very sharp memory skills. We were able to go to both Taylor and Dani's parties. Dani got a letter from an elf at Santa's workshop.

"Gingerbread" Houses

Taylor's class made Gingerbread houses out of graham crackers, so of course the other kids wanted to make one too. Since I already had all the supplies, it was easy to put together. The frosting wasn't the best choice we found out when the crackers kept sliding. I managed to get pictures before Sam's fell completely apart, but we put it back together.

Sledding

Snow! I don't have to be scared of it this year, because I don't have to drive anywhere in it if I don't want to. The kids are enjoying shoveling the driveway and going on sled rides.

Tree lighting

We went to the Nampa tree lighting a few weeks ago, but these pictures are from the tree lighting at the elementary school. It was very cold, but we had good friends to keep us company. I don't know why we bother to wait in line to see santa. Three of the children have no desire to sit on his lap (as you can tell by Joseph's face).