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.

snow day

our first winter here we were a bit disappointed about the snow, or lack there of. that whole winter we would get a little snow in the morning and by 3pm it would be completely gone. we did not have that problem today. more than 8 inches fell last night, making for a really fun day. adam fell suddenly ill at work and had to come home...to go sledding at camels back with eli.

adam and eli at camels back - the self portrait was a bit unkind to eli, but you can still see his smiling eyes.

more self portraits - this time the snowman got cut off...we need some self portrait practice.

the snowman made it in this one...