Family Christmas Party 2010

We got smart this year and instead of trying to have the family Christmas Party on Christmas Eve we had it a week early. It was so much better this year and now we can all spend Christmas Eve just hanging with our own little families at home.

We did it potluck style which is my favorite and did a fun gift exchange. The kids each brought a $1 gift. They sat in a circle and Aunt Tammie read a Christmas story and every time she said the word "Santa" they had to pass their present to the person next to them. It was a LONG story and the presents made it around the circle 1 1/2 times (with 16 kids that's a lot of passing) and the funny thing is all my kids ended up with the gifts they brought.

Then the adults did a $5 white elephant style gift exchange. It was kind of slow at first because nobody would steal but once we got to the end I didn't think it was ever going to end. I ended up with a bottle of sparkling cider and two wine glasses and Larry got the old Batman Returns DVD with Michael Keaton & Danny DeVito.

It was a lot of fun and I hope we keep up the tradition for many years to come.

Here's my super cute nephew Braden whose mother announced at the end of the night that they would be adding baby number 2 (grandbaby no. 23) in August! I'm secretly hoping it will be another boy so Mason has some boy cousins close to his age to play with and with the ratio of boys to girls (only 5 girls out of those 23 grandchildren) I think the odds are in my favor. Congratulations Meagan & Roy!!

Spa Fun!

We finally broke in the spa at our new house Friday night. I cranked it up too high so the kids had a hard time staying in for long and they needed frequent drinks of water but they had a blast. And we only had a small hiccup when I had to turn the jets off so Haley could retrieve her gum off the bottom and the spa started draining into the pool. It only took about 10 minutes to figure it out and fix it. I look forward to many more fun-filled nights hanging out with family and friends in the spa!

Thanksgiving '10

We had Thanksgiving at my dads this year. As usual, it was a lot of fun to be with family and eat lots of yummy food!

Searching through the ads getting ready for Black Friday!



The kids table.


Sweet Mason's first Thanksgiving.



Grandpa dared the boys to jump in the pool. So they stripped down to their underwear and jumped in. It was cold!!



What a fun day!

Mason's Baby Blessing

We blessed Mason on November 7th. It was a special day and Mason is so blessed to have so much family that love and adore him.

He wore the same outfit that Nate was blessed in.








Of the course the day wouldn't be complete without lots of food!


All the cousins.

It was a super fun but exhausting day.

Nate's a Boy Scout

Nate turned 11 and advanced from the Cub Scouts to the Boy Scouts.

This is when he earned his first patch, the Wolf Badge. He was 9 years old.


And here he is in his Cub Scout shirt with all the patches he earned.


And now he gets to wear the brown shirt. It's pretty bare...for now!



I can't wait to compare this picture with a picture of him after he's earned his Eagle Scout!

Arrow of Light

Nate received his Arrow of Light. This is the highest award you can receive in Cub Scouts. He's excited to move on to bigger and better things in Boy Scouts!

Nate 11th Birthday

Nate chose Native New Yorker for his birthday dinner. He LOVES chicken wings.


We had the family over for brownies and ice cream. He got money and a new Pokemon game.




He is growing up too fast. I can't believe that in just one year he'll be in young mens and passing the sacrament. That's a little scary! Nate is an all around great kid. He loves school and gets good grades. He started playing the trumpet this year in the band and he loves playing football. He's going through a goofy phase right now (I hope it's just a phase), he likes making annoying faces and sounds and just acts silly. He's almost as tall as his sister and wears bigger shoes than she does. It won't be much longer before he's taller than me...now that's going to be weird.

We love you Nate...Happy Birthday!