Day 364 of 365

Today we attempted to get a few things accomplished. Josh had to work for an hour. We cleaned up the house a little. Josh and Carson took all the cardboard and garbage from Christmas to the dump. We had waffles, again. Tonight we dropped the kids off at the Bassett's. They were so nice. They watched the kids for 3 hours and fed them dinner. The kids had so much fun playing over there. Josh and I went on our date night. We went to dinner, went to the mall, and went to a few places to do some birthday shopping for Carson. It was a wonderful, kids free evening!

Day 363 of 365

Today we were a little more productive. Josh worked on the 2010 video. Then we cleaned the house up before Nicole, Cam, and Tanner came over to visit. The kids had fun playing with Cam and showing them all their new stuff from Christmas. I made a big dinner but no one was really into it. Josh made me a special video with all the pictures of us. Out of 40,000 pictures we had 5 minutes worth of pictures with both of us. We must be better about taking pictures together!

Day 362 of 365

Today was another lazy day. Josh had to go to the dentist this morning. His mouth hurt pretty bad. We did a whole bunch of nothing today. It was great!!! Tonight we are going to watch "The Town".

Carson's 1st Video

My Sweet Little Parker

Parker loves to pretend to be asleep. He is so cute and funny! Josh got him these pj's and they are 100% Parker. He truly is the boss in this house!

Day 361 of 365

Today was another lazy day. Josh didn't have to work. The kids were up early playing the Wii. They let Josh and I stay in bed until almost 8:00! We had a late breakfast of waffles. The kids played with their toys and games all day. They are still very occupied! Josh and I relaxed. I looked through some new cookbooks. It has been wonderful being lazy.

Day 360 of 365

Today was a much needed hang out day. The kids were occupied with all their new toys and games. They all played nicely, for the most part, the whole day. They were so entertained that they weren't begging for food all day. Josh and I watched TV and enjoyed a wonderful, peaceful day!

Tangled & Barbie

Emma was so excited to put on her Tangled dress and put her Barbie house together. She had so much fun playing!

Day 359 of 365

Today was Christmas Day! Carson started waking up at 5:00 asking if we could open presents. I said no, then he was up at 5:30, 5:45 and finally at 6:15 we said ok. We got Parker up and let him wake up a little. The kids ran out of our room to see what Santa brought them. They were so excited to see their stocking full, presents by the fireplace and the cookies eaten. We opened stockings. Stocking favorites- mini Lego (Carson), tube of sharks (Cooper), Lipstick and bracelets (Emma), the Joker and Thomas (Parker), razors (Joshua) and new perfume (me). After stockings the kids opened the presents from Santa, new stuffed animals, 120 crayon box for each of them, how to draw books, Legos, Barbies and Thomas. While they played with those presents I made breakfast. We had french toast, eggs, and sausage. Josh and I took a quick shower and then we opened presents. The kids really did a great job opening just one at a time and watching everyone else open their presents. We opened presents from Mommy and Daddy. Then we did our gift exchange presents. We took a little break to pick everything up and get a little more organized. Then we opened presents from Uncle Kurt and then got on Skype to open presents with Grandma, Grandpa and everyone else watching. They all got exactly what they asked for! After that we opened presents from Grandma Michele and Grandpa Jim. They loved everything they got. It was almost 1:00 by the time we finished opening everything. Carson and Cooper spent the afternoon playing their new Wii games, DS games, and Leapster games. They also made some Flip videos and tried on new clothes. Emma spent the afternoon playing Barbies, playing with the Leapster and dressing up in her new Tangled dress. Parker spent the afternoon playing with all the new Batman toys and of course, his Bigfoot. He loves that thing and it is so funny to watch him play with it. Josh and I relaxed, put toys together, and clean up all the garbage that comes along with Christmas. We had a nice dinner. Then everyone got in their pj's, Cooper of course in his new shark robe, and we watched Despicable Me. It was an amazing Christmas!! We are so blessed!! What a fantastic day!

This Year's Haul

Emma- Princess dresses, Barbie House, new Barbies, Princess Dolls, books, clothes

Parker- Thomas, Hot Wheels, BigFoot, Joker & Batman, clothes and books

Carson- Lego's, Mario Anniversary Edition, books, Duck gear, DS games, Flip Camera

Cooper- Lego's, Donkey Kong, Joker House, books, Leapster Explorer, Duck Gear

Josh- signed Brandon Roy shoes, Duck shirts, Portland Marathon shadow box, books
Shannon- new camera, printer, waffle maker, socks, books

Opening Presents from Grandma Michele & Grandpa Jim

Trying to take turns and open just 1 at a time.

Strawberry Shortcake- oh my, she smells so good!

Parker loved playing with his puzzles!

Opening Grandma & Grandpa's Presents on Skype

Barbie's House- just what she has been begging for!

Autographed Brandon Roy Shoes!

His own Leapster Explorer

Bigfoot!! HE LOVES THIS THING! However, he didn't want to get to close to it right away. So funny, he played with it for over an hour!

Carson and his Flip Camera- his #1 must have!

Opening Presents

Christmas Morning

Can we go out there now???

Opening Santa's presents

Opening Stockings

Santa brought Parker a new Thomas set

Emma got all the Princess dolls

Opening his stocking

Cooper and his new Legos

Day 358 of 365

Today we ate breakfast and then all got ready for Church. We left the house at 9:45. We headed to Church for the Jingle Jam service with the kids. It was so much fun. The kids danced and sang. Cooper really got into it, especially when they sang some songs from Church camp. We had a marshmallow snowball fight. It was so much fun. After the service we came home. Everyone was tired and just out of it. Cooper's ear had swollen while we waited at Church. Something bit his ear in the car or something. It was huge! We decided to stay home and not go to the Christmas Eve service. The kids tracked Santa on the computer the rest of the day. We all got to open 1 present, a new ornament. Josh of course insisted I open one of my presents. I got a new camera, so cool, especially since it is pink! The kids got Santa's plates ready and then went to bed. They were all asleep by 7:20. Carson woke up at 9:30 with a ear ache, but luckily he went back to sleep. We wrapped the rest of the presents and got everything ready for the morning while watching, "It's a Wonderful Life".

Christmas Eve Night

Our Little Elf and his swollen ear

Christmas Eve presents- new ornaments

Parker loved his Toy Story 3 ornament

Treats for Santa on their new plates from YiaYia

Talking to Grandma & Grandpa on skype

Santa Came

The Tree is Full

Christmas Eve Jingle Jam Service

Day 357 of 365

Today was our first full family day, just us. We took turns running some errands. The kids and I did alot of baking, all day long. We made so many yummy treats! We made up cookie plates for our friends and neighbors. The weather was perfect so we walked them over to everyone. The kids are all really excited for Christmas. We all just wish we could get rid of these colds!

Official Pictures from the Dedication

I will definitely need to purchase a few copies!

Day 356 of 365

Today AJ was over until 11. We gave him his Christmas present, a new exasaucer. He loved it. After he went home we ate lunch. Then the kids and I went out to get a few little things for Josh and a ton of baking supplies. This afternoon we made peanut butter kiss cookies and chocolate crackles. Both turned out very yummy!

Day 355 of 365

Today I ended up having AJ. Poor little guy got the kids' cold. We spent the day watching Christmas movies. The kids are extremely excited for Christmas. They all took turns helping me wrap presents. Josh had to work late, so it was an early night for me.

Day 354 of 365

Today AJ came over early. Josh watched him until I got home. I got home at 8:30. Josh and all 5 kids came to pick me up. I was so happy to see the kids and they were excited I was home. I spent the day unpacking. The kids and I watched some movies when Josh went to work. Carson has a really bad cold, no fun. Josh had a basketball game so he was home by 7:30 instead of 10:30. Oh my, I have so many things to wrap!

Day 353 of 365

Today I spent the day in Portland shopping with my Mom. Later the rest of my family came over to hang out. It took my Dad and I almost an hour to pack everything. 90.5lbs later and 2 completely stuffed bags to be checked and 1 stuffed carry on, I will be ready to fly home in the morning. Josh was having a great day with the kids until the power went out around 3:00. I felt so bad. It was out for about 4 hours. He was stuck entertaining, feeding them and keeping them warm all by himself. He did a great job and luckily the power came back on around 8:00.

Day 352 of 365

Today Josh and I got up at 3:30. Abbi was nice enough to come over and sleep here while Josh took me to the airport. It was so early and very, very, very stormy. Off to Portland I went for my first trip up there by myself without kids. I spent the day with my Mom and Dad, shopping all day. It was so nice to spend some time with them! Josh made the kids french toast, took them shopping, and even took them to Church.

Day 351 of 365

Today AJ came over early again. I took the boys to school and then we got ready for Cooper's Christmas program. The program was so cute! Cooper did a great job and he looked so handsome. He remember his line, "Up on the housetop, the coursers they flew" and said it loudly! It was a great morning. Carson got to wear his pj's to school today. He ended up coming home early because he wasn't feeling well. The kids have had a cold for about a week and now it's Carson's turn. Josh had taken the day off. It was so nice. We spent the afternoon watching movies and wrapping some presents.

Cooper's Christmas Program

Silly Parker

5 Month Old AJ- he was so good

Cooper

Cooper in his costume- tired, but happy to be there

SO HANDSOME!

Day 350 of 365

Today AJ came over bright and early. Cooper got to wear pj's to school. He was so excited! They watched "Polar Express" and had their Christmas party. He had so much fun and made some really cute projects. Carson had a good day at school also. We spent the evening hanging out and finishing up homework.

Day 349 of 365

Today we are back on schedule. We are all so happy to have my car back. After Carson got home from school and AJ went home, we had an early dinner. Then the kids and I drove out to the base to watch Josh play basketball. Emma wasn't feeling that great, she has a cold, but she liked going. The boys, oh my, they loved it! They cheered and jumped up and down. They had a great time. The game was over at 6:30. Parker, Emma and Cooper were asleep before we even left the base. We got home at 7:00 and they all stayed asleep. Carson had fun staying up and talking to Josh and I. He asked the funniest questions. It was cute!

Day 348 of 365

Today was another crazy morning without my car. Josh took the boys to school, went to work, left work, picked up Cooper, dropped him off, went back to work, then finally came home. He got home from work, we ate. Josh drove out to Roseville, picked up my car, drove home, we all loaded into the car and headed out to Roseville to pick up Josh's car. It was a crazy driving day! Although, we did drive around and look at Christmas lights for a little bit. That made the night a little more exciting for the kids!

Day 347 of 365

Today Josh took my car to the dealership. Luckily, the problem is covered by the warranty, thank goodness! However, with only 1 car that doesn't fit all 6 of us, 7 if you count AJ, we are feeling trapped. Lots of getting the kids rides to and from school. Hopefully, it will be fixed by tomorrow! Josh had his first basketball game tonight. We weren't able to go due to the car issue. We are all so happy there is only 1 week of school left and then 2 weeks of relaxing and spending lots of special time together.

My 4 Wild, Crazy, Silly, Weird Boys