idaho, here we come!

Christmas day orange toss

we had beautiful weather on Christmas day. the sun was out and it was not raining (yey!). jesse and i were standing in the backyard soaking up the rays and enjoying a few of grandpas home grown oranges, when i noticed the kids were all inside playing their new video games. i commented that it seems like we were never inside when we were at grandma and grandpa's house. the cousins were always out on the back lawn playing octopus, british bulldog, hide and seek or just playing around. i have many fun memories there. all that to say that we wanted to get them out in the sunshine. so, jesse-the inventive one, came up with the orange toss. so they tossed (and hurled) oranges for at least an hour. it was a good time.

the older kids did very well, tossing gently back and forth. clark and eli, not so much...

each of the older groups won a round, but there was a bit of animosity between the two, can you tell?

and this had nothing to do with the orange toss, just a cute shot of the boys and their guns.

Christmas eve

adam's sister and her family came over to grandpa scott's for Christmas eve dinner. we went for a walk to the park, then to watch the sunset, and back home for dinner and gifts. the boys had a blast together and we all had a nice visit.

eli and lyla "helping" grandpa scott open his gift.

the four kiddos - eli (5), jake (5), bailey (9 months) and lyla (2.5)

grandpa scott, eli, jake and grandma ellen

julie and bailey

the girls

the jennings/beeman family

more Christmas festivities to come...

trampoline

you've gotta love these shots...

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Christmas in l.a.

we had an early Christmas in l.a. with jesse and molly + fam.

opening gifts!

the whole fam...

Merry Christmas

Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love's pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth

the millers

we had a chance to visit dave and joanna a few days ago. we were able to see their super cute house and enjoy an adults only dinner (thanks mom and dad!). such a fun evening.

something i didn't know

according to hailey: pink unicorns are fake, but the brown ones are real.

fishes

it hasn't stopped raining since we arrived. about five inches have fallen since thursday. sooooo, we've spent a lot of time indoors. the aquarium of the pacific is a beautiful place to visit, even on a rainy day.

adam standing under a life size blue whale. lyla loved her.

shane is still eli's "favorite person in the entire world."

the touch tank. lyla is old enough to be able to think the touch tank is cool and young enough to not be scared. she touched everything. eli, not so much.

the kiddos

the fam

made it

we're here! made some record time, too. 15 hours, yey! thank you for your prayers, my praying friends, we couldn't have asked for a smoother trip.

lyla cheetos mouthed and crazed crazy eyed

favorite quotes of the day

1. "mom, i just love her little hands. her fingers are so small" - eli, talking abut lyla

2. "i love you infinity" - lyla to me.

3. "i love lyla hugs." -me "i love them, too." - eli

4. "you're my bestest brother ever." - lyla to eli while sunggin up on the couch.

yes, it's been a bit of a love fest:)

the natavity

last week at playgroup miranda decorated the kids and they acted out the Christmas story...it was the best version of the nativity i have ever seen...if actual facts are important to you, you may disagree. i say this because we had not three, but four kings...well, three kings and a queen...with a light up flashing crown, baby jesus happened to be a girl, and joseph was too busy playing with a motorcycle to take part in the whole business of honoring the birth of the Savior of the world. but putting all that aside, it was super accurate.
adrian, elliot and eli were the three kings, lyla was an angel/ballerina and julia was a shepherd.

the three kings and the queen discussing their long journey...across the vast playroom

liv as mary and baby reese as Jesus

kaneda made a beautiful angel

but the best, and by best i mean the thing that made me laugh the hardest, kristen as the donkey...what a good sport!

all joking aside, it was an awesome time. the kids had fun and loved every minute, as did i.

thank you, marinda, i will hold this memory dear!

we have a five year old!

and man, is he excited about it. he gets to be the same age (for a few days) as his friends, luke and alexander, which is a super big deal. he definetly feels like a big(ish) kid, which is really cute.

here he is ready to blow out his candle and showing off his new shark slippers...

last weekend we celebrated at the bowling ally with his friends...

lyla's bowling shoes were sooooo cute. i just may have to get her a pair:)

they gang! mary, adrian, elliot, kaneda, liv, kedrick, ellie, chloe, nathan, eli, holland and lyla in the foreground crying.

fun in the party room...

he loved the balloon rub...

us

what eli is like at 5...
funny - loves hitting his forehead with his fist while hanging his tongue out of his mouth.
silly - has a great fondness of saying nonsense words and being "funny" (see above).
loud - see above
loving - always comforting lyla when she's hurt or sad.
persistent - persistent, persistent, persistent in everything.
sweet - to babies, especially girls.
rowdy - loves to wrestle, hit, fight and growl.
snuggley - loves to snuggle. loves it when lyla lets him snuggle her.
inquisitive - about everything.

favorite toys: guns, knives, swords, axes and legos.
favorite foods: fish, steak, pancakes, french toast and anything with a good amount of sugar.
favorite pastimes: fighting, wrestling, pretending to be wild animals and video games.

i've been trying my very best to not say, "i can't believe my baby is five!" but, I CAN'T BELIEVE MY BABY IS FIVE! it really is just crazy. i can't wait to see what he becomes, who he becomes and how he gets there.

Happy Birthday Eli!

sportin' in

lyla found my all time favorite boarding beanie...

trip to the hut

our playgroup took a tour of pizza hut last week. what a good time. here are some of our eager little chefs ready to make some pizza...

touring the walk in refrigerator...they thought it was so funny.

the pizza bar. eli learned that he likes pineapple on his pizza (yey!!!)

lyla taste testing for the group. you know, making sure it was safe. she's such a thinker.

ready to cook...

waiting for the pizzas to come out of the oven...

enjoying the finish product...

i really had a good time on this field trip. the kids were well behaved for the most part, the snow was starting to flurry and we were warm and cozy inside enjoying the company of friends. it was one of those times i would love to recreate but know it would never measure up.