Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Ours was fantastic! Having little one's in the house helps remind Keith and I of the magic of Christmas morning. The boys were in awe at the sight when they came down the stairs. Ty couldn't believe Santa knew exactly what he wanted and it didn't take Carter long to figure out what to do with all the packages under the tree.

Old Friends

Okay, Keith totally made fun of my last post, and I guess he's right...posting pictures of food is a little lame. I was just so excited to be done (and had taken no cute pictures of the boys)! Anyways, it feels good to be done!

Last night was the Pink Pearls (a group of my high school girl friends and high school friends wives) annual Christmas ornament exchange. It was so nice to get together again! We try to meet every month for "girls' night out" but it had been months since I had been able to make it, so I had not seen most of the girls for a long time. It was exciting to catch up on everyone's lives, especially to see Melanie's belly (she's due in February) and hear Sarah's wedding plans. I love that we can each live our own seperate and sometimes very different lives and still get together and have a great time.

So apparently myspace is the big thing right now. I was under the impression that the site was mostly for high schoolers and wierdos, but I guess I was wrong. We had fun looking up all the NOHS alum. Still not sure if I'll ever do myspace, but it was fun to see everyone elses pages. Found out that our reunion is this August too. Everyone says the ten year is usually not as fun as you expect, but we're still excited.

Found this picture in the archives: Our very first ornament exchange as the "Pink Pearls" in '04--we went tobagoning in the Metroparks.

Ready for Christmas

This might be the first year I can say this four days before Christmas...but I'm ready for Christmas! Presents are bought and wrapped, cards finished and sent, baking done...



teacher and neighbor gifts completed and delivered...

It feels great! I can just relax and enjoy the holiday with my family! The boys bring back the "magic" of this time of year for Keith and I.

Thank you for all of your warm wishes and holiday cards! Ty and I love to checking the mail each day and finding pictures and letters from all of our loved ones.

Santa

We (adults) think that children want to see Santa. We assume that because he bring them presents and is a jolly old man that they can't wait to see him. It that's true, how come more than half of the pictures with Santa have children screaming?

Carter is one of those children that have no use for Santa--up close atleast. He started clinging to me for his life as soon as we walked into the little house where Santa was waiting. As I walked closer to the bearded man, his grip got tighter and his crying harder. What is it about this man that scares kids so much?

Ty on the other hand knows what Santa can do for him, so he's cool with the old man. He couldn't wait to have a visit with him. The cutest part about the night: When Santa asked Ty what he wanted him to bring to his house on Christmas he replied, "A pink motorcycle for my mommy." I love that boy! He is always thinking about others. I hope he keeps that quality through out his life!

Christmas Program

Ty had his school Christmas program yesterday. He had a huge fan club in the audience: mom, dad, Carter, both sets of grandparents, his cousin Samantha, and Aunt Shelli. He was a total ham, just as we all expected. Ty loves anything to do with singing and performing. (I just hope he is blessed with a better singing voice than his parents!) He was a "dude" at the end, just hanging out with both hands in the pocket, "looking cool."
Hard to believe my first baby is old enough to have school programs! I still remember getting dressed up in my Christmas dress for my school programs!

Time Out

Some people have a time out chair, some people have a naughty step. We have the corner. Now, up to this point, I have never put Carter in the corner. Not because he doesn't do any wrong, but I still think he's too young. But, several times a week Ty spends some time in the corner, and apparently Carter has been observing. Yesterday Carter was trying to plug in the Christmas tree lights so I sternly told him "no" and took the plug away. He gave me his sad puppy dog eyes and pouty lip (hard to stay stern when you see that face) and then he turned around and put himself into the corner. He laid down and burried his face in his arms. It was the cutest thing I have ever seen! That's where Ty goes after I get mad, so that must be where he is supposed to go to. Way too cute!!!

Another gingerbread house

Playgroup was at our house this week, so we decided it would be fun to make gingerbread houses. Since Ty had made so many recently (with Kyra and Grandma B) we decided to do a gingerbread train. We had fun and the train turned out adorable.

All Aboard...

...the Polar Express!

We were one of the lucky families (actually, Keith's dad was lucky) to buy tickets for the Polar Express. The Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad puts on this great ride complete with elves reading the Polar Express book, hot chocolate and cookies (like in the movie), a trip to the North Pole to see more elves and meet Santa (like in the movie), a bell off Santa's reindeer (like in the movie), and Christmas carols. The ride is so popular that they have a drawing each summer for tickets. The kids love it!! They wear their Christmas pajamas and receive a punched ticket, just like in the movie.

This was Carter's first encounter with Santa. When Santa came on board Carter was so intrigued. He jumped out of his seat and went to check out this jolly bearded man that had boarded his train. He stood in awe and didn't take his eyes off of him until he made his way to our large group. This man in the red suit was pretty cool--from a distance. As soon as we held him up for Santa his fascination turned to terror. He wanted nothing to do with this man up close! For Ty though the magic was there and he quietly asked him to bring him Spiderman oval things (I'm not sure...I think they are the pads for the bathtub he saw once in a random store). Anyways, the night was a magical success! Thanks grandpa!

Trouble

There are many words you can use to describe Carter: cute, adorable, silly, playful, affectionate....but the word that comes to mind most lately....TROUBLE! We call this little doll Trouble James around our house. This adorable little child is constant motion, always looking for what he can get into or onto next. Yesterday morning while I was cleaning the kitchen I hear Ty yell "No Carter!" I look over to see Carter happy as could be sitting in a pile of Chex. (Did I mention this boy loves to eat too?) Then, just incase I didn't have enough fun cleaning that up, he dumped a bag of goldfish for me later that afternoon. Lucky for him you can add charming to his list of adjectives. When he turns on his charm there is no way I can stay mad at him for long!

Solitude

No trip to Utah would be complete without a drive up the canyon. Dad was so excited to show Ty the mountains. Before heading off to the airport, we drove up Big Cottonwood Canyon to Solitude Ski Resort. Ty was impressed. He informed us that he wants Spiderman skis for Christmas.

It felt so good to be up there! I wished I could be skiing: the skis were blue, the sun was warm and the snow was perfect! Next time we will for sure plan time for a ski trip! For now it's back to Cleveland to teach Ty to ski on the bunny hills.

The Fall of the Gingerbread House

Our last night in SLC we decided to stay in and just hang out and let the kids build a gingerbread house. Now we've each made succesful gingerbread houses before, but for some reason, this one was a complete disaster. (Well, almost. Kris was able to salvage the house with his carpentry skills, a hair dryer, and two cans of mandrine oranges.) Disaster or not, we all had fun that night. Don't want to leave in the morning!

Elves

Beautiful day to visit the "elves" at Gardner Village. This shopping center was filled with adorable elves all around for the kids to find and the cutest shops for the moms to enjoy! (Stephanie, got tons of ideas for the "project") Carter and Adrie were too excited to stay still, so Ty and Kyra got their own private photo shoot. It has been so fun just hanging out with Kecia and the girls, I just wish we could do it more often!

The Lights at Temple Square

Temple Square was a perfect way to cap of the day we took Chase to the MTC. The lights were just as beautiful as I always remember them. Ty was asleep for the first half, and Carter for the second, but I think overall they enjoyed them too!

The MTC

It's official!

Our new missionary!

(Sorry for the sideways picture, I'm not at home and can't crop or edit.)

Last hug before going into the chapel.

The MTC was such a neat experience and I was so grateful to be a part of it. It was so cool to see Chase in with his missionary tag on, the way he will be for the next two years! The program was nice and you could feel the spirit so strong. I wish we could have taken pictures in the chapel, it was amazing to see the room filled with young men and women (and their families) eager to enter the MTC and begin their mission! Your heart burned with the the spirit as all the new missionaries sang Called to Serve. This is such an exciting time for our family. We will miss seeing Chase, but wouldn't want him to be anywhere else right now. We know what he is doing is right and support him 100%. We are eager to share his mission with him through letters and email and look forward to meeting the man that will return!

Thought this was a fun picture as we left the MTC. (Again, sorry about the picture, I'll try to edit when I get home)

Saying Good-bye to Chase

Aunt Dana and Uncle Bob were so nice to have an opening house at their home for Chase on the night we arrived. So many family and friends came to wish Chase farewell.

The next morning it was off to the MTC.

Precious! These boys love Chase so much--hard to watch them say good-bye, but I'm so grateful for the example Chase is setting for them!

Salt Lake At Last!

The boys and I are having such a nice time in Salt Lake City! It took us nine hours to get here (we were on the plane for 3 hours in Cleveland before we even took off!) but the kids were better than I ever expected and the trip was worth the wait! It was amazing to be with Chase as he entered the MTC (missionary training center). It was sad to leave him, but I couldn't be more excited for him or more proud of him! We have spent the rest of the time so far just enjoying family. The boys are loving this time with their "new" cousins and I am SO grateful for this time to spend with my family!!!!!!