And shes up!

Anyone who know me knows that I prefer to put the Christmas tree up on December 23rd and take it down on the 26th.  I've even been known to take it down on the 25th!  That did not make my super festive husband very happy!  Anyway, with all the festivities of the next month coming up, today was pretty much the only day we could put the tree up.  I do believe this is the earliest we have EVER put the tree up!  Avery and Alexis were both very helpful this year and extremely excited!  That does make it worth the mess and hassle!  Avery broke about 3 ornaments before we even started putting the tree together, but all in all it turned out great!  Alexis helped with the entire process and was very proud of herself.  By the time we were done, it was too late to make dinner, so we ordered yummy pizza and finished watching the Christmas Story, a family tradition.  So, bah humbug!  Oh!  And it was Avery's turn to put the tree topper on, and do note the sheer look of terror in her face when Cody lifted her to place it on the tree!  priceless.  Apparently the kid is afraid of heights!

Santa Clause is coming to town!

It always seems like we are trying to fit in seeing Santa right at the end of the month and are always rushing to see him.  So this year we went early!  We went to Bass Pro Shops and had to actually get a pass for the line because there were so many people.  But they had crafts for the kids, shopping and fudge.  It doesn't get much better than that!  The kids loved seeing Santa and telling them what they wanted.  And of course they both asked for things "Santa" did not buy.  Guess I better get back out there and pick up a few more things!  Just when I thought I was done....

Family Pictures

The past few years my friend Micaela has taken our family pictures (see the link to her blog!).  She really does an amazing job, and we are always very happy with how they turn out.  Here are just a few of my favorites!  She did an awesome job of capturing the love of my girls.  Despite the day to day screaming, yelling and hitting, they have a very deep love for one another!  It is truly amazing how much they care and love each other.  It makes me very happy as a parent to know that I have taught my children to love and care for one another.  Anyway, enjoy the cuteness!  Oh and this year my husband convinced me to go with the Denver broncos theme.  It turned out cuter than I thought, and he is very happy!

Turkey Day 2009

Turkey Day is probably my most favorite holiday of the entire year.  It is a holiday devoted soley to family time and a huge meal!  No pressure.  No gifts, no spending money, no running all over town.  I love it!  This year it was at our house.  We had my parents, Cody's parents, sister Stephanie, Marmmett, Toni, Marmmett's dad keith, GG and Joe.  It was a good time had by all and tons and tons of food to go around.  I only took 2 pics that day, but they are good ones!  And of course with the following day being black Friday, it was a win-win situation!

The turkey chef, who apparently needs an apron that fits!

And my 2 turkeys!  Love them!

"I can turn the lights out mommy!"

The other morning while getting my precious 2 year old ready for the day, she had something to tell me.  She was so excited!  She said, "Look mommy!  I can turn off the lights with my eyes!".  Hmmm, I thought.  "Show me!" I said.  And this is what I saw.  Gotta love that 2 year old mind!

Halloween 2009

I've said it before, I'll say it again...I LOVE HALLOWEEN!  It is by far my favorite holiday.  This was Alexis' first year in school, and at Eduprize, her school, they have a literacy parade on Halloween (or the day before!).  The kids can dress up as a character from a book.  Well, it just so happens that what she wanted to be for Halloween is a charcter from a book.  Lucky for me, saved me some cash!  She chose to be Dorothy from The Wonderful Wizzard of Oz.  Here she is in the parade, and yes, she really did make that silly face during the parade!  She had a ton of fun!  And then there is a picture of her entire class and teacher.  I was able to spend the day at her school, helping out and watching the festivities.  I really love volunteering at her school, especially on these super fun days!

On Halloween day, we had lots of company.  Cody was out of town deer hunting, so we had my brother Matt, his wife Karie, and daughter Kodie who is 3 months younger than Avery staying with us for the weekend.  We also had my parents and grandparents.  It turned out to be a beautiful day, and the kids spent most of it outside. Of course, posing for pictures!

Earlier in the month, Avery had decided that she wanted to be "Dorofy" as she called it.  Well, Alexis had decided that also, so Alexis was trying to get Avery to change her mind and be something else.  Avery was very upset because she wanted to be "Dorofy" really bad.  So...we ended up with 2 Dorothy's, and I think they were adorable!  Everyone knows I love matching kids!  I was in heaven!  Kodie was an adorable Tinker Bell.  Trick or Treating in our neighborhood is awesome!  We have lived here for 6 years, and every year it is the same.  Everyone out on the porch of their decorated houses, tons of kids and families out enjoying the fall air, and tons of candy.  GG and Joe handed out the candy this year from our house and counted about 300 kids!  That is ridiculous!  I didn't even know there were that many kids in our neighborhood!  We trick or treated for a while, until the kids started complaining, Alexis' ankle hurt, Kodie had to pee, and Avery was tired of walking.  So we went home and helped hand out candy , which the kids love just as much as trick or treating!

Matt, Karie and Kodie

Joe, GG and their great grandaughters

My mom and dad and their grandkids

Ringing the bell!

Alexis loved it this year!

Avery was really into it this year as well

Me and the girls, lazy bones had to ride in the stroller!

Handing out the candy, GG sat here for 3 hours!

In the end, counting and eating their candy!  So today the Halloween decorations came down, and the Thanksgiving ones went up.  Always a sad day in my house!  Oh well, until next year!

My favorite time of the year!

I love, love, love fall.  It is really my favorite time of the year! I love the warm weather, which is why I live here in the valley, but it is so nice to get the cooler weather.  I HATE the cold.  So fall is the best of both worlds!  And...I love pictures with pumpkins in them!  I think the kids always look so happy being that time of the year and carving pumpkins is so much fun, for them, not me.  I hate carving pumpkins!  I make Cody do it, and I take the pictures and roast the seeds!  We have always gone to the pumpkin festival at Schnepf Farms, but this year our schedules just would not allow it.  So, we did the next best thing.  Got our pumpkins from a stand on the side of the road!  I know, but I still got "pumpkin patch" pictures!  The kids loved it and the pumpkins turned out really good too.  This was the first year that Alexis was actually able to carve the pumpkin.  We had one of those kits and she poked all the holes and her dad helped her cut them and she pushed out the pieces.  She was pretty proud of herself and her kitty pumpkin!

The kids had little pumpkins that we let them color with markers, which they loved, especially Avery!

And Alexis really liked the "guts", and was excited that she got to play with pumpkin guts at school a few days later too!

The finished product!

And, this is what Ariel did the entire time.  Real helpful!

Happy Halloween!