Bumper Cars

The boys now have 2 ride-on cars to play with. The boys love being pushed around on them. Tonight we had a session of bumper cars.

Brushin' Away

New toothbrushes! The boys love them!

Thing 1 and Thing 2

For those of you who offend easily, stop reading now.

For those of you who can find a bit of humor in life, you might like this. Remember Dr. Seuss books from when we were little? Remember Thing 1 and Thing 2? Well, when my mom went to Universal Studios in Florida this past year, she found these shirts and just had to get them. She thought at first that Mike and I might be upset at 'objectifying' our children, but I personally think it's funny! Today was the first day we broke out these shirts. I haven't ventured out into public with them yet, but I'm sure when we do some little old lady will yell at me for being 'insensitive' or something. Life's too short to not have some fun. So here ya go.

Tunnel Fun

Last night I set up the boys' new Christmas present (yes, all by myself and for those of you who know me well, this was an amazing feat!) and this morning they were so excited to play with it!

Christmas Cheer

Merry Christmas everybody! We had a wonderful Christmas, and hope you did too. Here are some photos of our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day adventures. We had so much fun with the boys and big kids this year. What an amazing gift to be able to watch them grow each year into healthy, happy children.

What? No more coffee?

Reading the story of Jesus' birth

Sure, why not ride in the dump truck?!?

Somehow I missed out on photos of Matthew, but he was there, I promise.

Playin' in the Paper

This short video pretty much sums up the boys' Christmas this year. Paper! Boxes! Bows! Toys? Oh yeah......but look! Paper! Boxes! Bows!

Gettin' A Groove On After Christmas

Kathryn got a High School Musical Dance Mat for Christmas and she and the boys rocked out to the new tunes. Check out Tyler's moves!

Gingerbread Construction

Today was our 1st Annual Build A Gingerbread House Day. We got the greatest kit from Costco and the kids (well, the big ones anyway) literally spent a good 3 hours working on it. I can't wait to make this a yearly tradition!

See the mischevious look on the 12 yr. old's face as he attempts to squirt his little sister with icing? Looks pretty similar to the look I often see on Tyler's face!

The finished product:

A-round and a-round we go!

Today we made a trip to the Carousel to ride the horses and see Santa. Aunt Trish met us there and rode with us. We had so much fun! The building and the horses were decorated so beautifully, and Santa sat in this beautiful sleigh. Here are some photos that Matthew (who is 12 and too cool to ride the horses) took for us.

The day of decorating

Today Matthew, Kathryn, and Mike trekked out into the mud and the cold to get a tree. We decided not to take the boys this year as it would just be sheer chaos since they don't listen and just run the opposite directions at the sight of freedom. But once they got back, the boys were all about 'helping' out with the tree.

Zachary is totally into 'playing dead' now, so here he is, laying on the floor playing dead next to everyone else working on the tree.

See how helpful the boys are? Climbing on daddy while he's trying to make the tree stand up is super-helpful.

I love how they stand there staring as though evaluating the project.

Tonight Zachary decided to drag the wrapping paper around the house.

And here is the end result.

Bundle up!

Last Sunday we went to my parents' house in Molalla. While there, the snow started falling. We decided it was the perfect opportunity to get the boys outside! So we bundled up and tried to put stocking hats on the boys. Yeah right. My boys do not like hats. We tried to get some photos outside all wearing our dorky hats, compliments of grandpa, and here you can see the outcome.

Hats are nowhere to be found...

Tyler barely cuddles with me anymore, yet here he snuggles up with Daddy. What gives???

And Zachary playing with his beloved Elmo phone while watching the Hunting Channel. Yes, that's right....the Hunting Channel. Somehow Michael and my father ruled the remote and I saw more deer and elk shot in one afternoon that I could have ever imagined.

Are all children this way?

Seriously, are all children as mischevious as mine? Are they always this head-strong and determined? Do they always get into everything??? And I mean literally into everything?

But at least he's thinking ahead. See, if he gets into the drawer and stands up, then he can reach mommy's makeup and other items that are on the counter so that he doesn't get them. Very clever.

Last night we went to the Electric Parade in downtown Salem with the Baskett's. Although dry, it was so stinkin' cold! In the low 40's. The boys did very well considering how cold they had to be. Here's a photo of the boys in front of Mike's favorite float, the dump truck.