Friends & Fun

Today we went over to our friends the Martinson's House. Isabella & Rhyan are best buddies & so are Andrew & Justice. Of course mommy & Marguerite are great friends too. You kids always have such a blast whenever you get to hang out w/ them. Not only did you guys get to hang out w/ Rhy & Justice but Myra one of your other good buddies was there to play too! When we arrived their dad Brian already had the ATV's charged up & the "CAUTION" signs out ready for you guys to all start tearing it up outside. Marguerite made us her homemade bean burros. Oh my God...they are the BEST! Noah missed his nap & made sure we all knew it. He threw a fit whenever he had to share the ATV. Maggie as always was the easiest baby ever & just chilled outside & enjoyed the fresh air.











From there we left & headed to Brenden & Isabella's (Lundell) Birthday Party at Peter Piper Pizza. The Copes & Lundell's are so special to us. They are like our 2nd family. Jordan & Brenden are more like brothers to you guys then friends. You guys barely came to the table to eat the pizza & cake. Of course you were off playing video games & shopping for toys with your tickets, which was fine by me. I got to hang out & chat w/ Rene, Karen & David, Alecia & Rob, Georgie & Dwayne, Aunt Heidy & Monique. Noah finally got to hang out w/ "HIS KORBI", besides Papa, his favorite person in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD! It was so funny cause we looked over to make sure the little ones (Noah, Korbin & Isabella L.) were ok & they were all sitting on that little carousel banging it & trying to make it go. I swear they rode it like 10 times! We have such GREAT friends! How did we get so lucky?

Playing, Salsa & Surprise

You kids had fun today playing w/ all of your toys from Christmas. I haven't been able to get Andrew off of the XBOX 360 for days. I finally had to start bribing & threatening him. He did step away from the game a couple times today to do chores, feed Maggie, read Noah a story & play school w/ Bella. Speaking of school, Bella got this awesome "School Play Set" from Grandpa Rick & Grandma Mary. SHE LOVES IT! I get asked AT LEAST twice a day to play. She's so cute taking role, giving spelling test & handing out math worksheets. She also loves sitting next to Andrew & playing w/ her DS while he plays the XBOX. Noah loves his train set. We put it together again today & he played for at least 30 minutes w/out getting up. Now for Noah, that's AMAZING! As for Maggs, she was all smiles for daddy when he got home. She's getting so big & I really think she's starting to know her name or maybe it's just daddy's voice that really gets her attention!

After daddy gave Maggs lovin', he started on dinner. I know that seems backwards but he loves to do it & I honestly I don't mind one bit! How lucky am I. I headed to the gym w/ Aunt Heidy & Monique to a Salsa Aerobics class. HA HA HA! Half the time I didn't know what the heck I was doing but danced around having fun & looking like an idiot. I loved it & got a great workout. I honestly almost passed out a couple of times. Monique just laughed at me because the whole time I kept shakin' my booty & making stupid faces. It's funny how when I was younger I was always so concerned about how I looked at the gym. Now, I don't care at all & I LOVE IT! I had a blast!

SURPRISE... That's what I heard when I walked through the door. All of my beautiful children were sitting at a candlelit table. Daddy prepared the most awesome Chicken Marsala, garlic linguine pasta, a spinach salad, french bread & a glass of Pinot Noir. YUM! Did I mention how lucky I am?

Another day in the sun

Today we went to church where of course we were 20 minutes late. Andrew thinks hurry up & take a shower means, stay in there for 15 minutes & use all the hot water :) Daddy & I have still not mastered getting 4 kids ready in the mornings. After church we went to see Aunt Chrissy sing at the Duck & Decanter in Phoenix. Her new band, Bulletproof Soul, played all of their original music. It was really fun & nice to sit outside in the sun. There was a really cute grass courtyard so we were able enjoy the show w/ out worrying about where Noah was at all times. Daddy & Andrew started rough housing & Dad was chasing him all over. I guess he forgot he had on his dress shoes & he flipped right on his back in the middle of the parking lot. He was down for at least 45 seconds & thats when I started to get concerned. Finally he made it back on his feet but has a bruised butt & numb hands. I keep telling daddy that he's not 20 anymore but he never listens. It was a fun, relaxing day, at least for me.

We came home & played Andrew's new DVD game of "Deal or No Deal". Andrew & I vs. Daddy & Bella. Of course daddy had to push his luck & only walked w/ $50,000 while Andrew & I kept with our original plan to stay at anything over $150,000. We won with $184,000. Too bad it isn't real money!!!

Fun Saturday Morning

We are trying to be more active as a family & the best days to do it are Saturdays. So...today we bundled you guys up & headed to Tempe for the Grand Opening of the Phoenix Light Rail. It was freezing this morning, literally 38 degrees but it didn't stop us from having fun. They had all sorts of booths we things from science experiments & craft stations to live music & a video game truck (which of course Andrew spotted from a mile away)! Noah made me a beautiful choo choo train ornament and him & Bella painted some train whistles. Andrew of course is way too cool & old for that kinda stuff. Maggs just chilled in her stroller all bundled up like a burrito.

Happy Birthday Jesus & Merry Christmas!

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Today was a little different from the last few years. Grandma Mimi & Papa were out of town so Aunt Heidy, Tiana & Monique spent the night last night. They got to experience our Lent family tradition. Andrew of course was up at 5:45 pacing the halls. Daddy & I pretended to be asleep while Andrew just stood at our door & hoped that his stares would wake us. I finally had to hide my smile & tell him to "GO BACK TO BED". Again at 7:00 I could hear the heavy breathing & the waiting was just too much for him. He ran in our room & begged us to hurry downstairs & make the coffee so he could wake Isabella, Noah & Maggie. I started to tease him & tell him that this year we were gonna make breakfast before we opened presents. He about had a heart attack! Our coffee pot broke so Andrew had to wait patiently 'til daddy got home w/ our order from Starbucks! Finally you kids heard the clanking of the spoon on dad's coffee mug & you were down the stairs w/ laughing & jumping. Dad decided to read us all the Christmas story to start the morning out right & surprisingly you all listened, even Noah. Although he couldn't take his eyes off the tree! Santa was really generous this year. Andrew got the XBOX 360 he's been begging for for over a year, Isabella got a pink DS & Noah and Maggie got a Little Tikes Playhouse (among many other gifts). HOW FUN!!!! I made Belguim Waffles & Daddy made left over pot roast over hash browns & eggs. YUM!!!! Then it was time to rest until we were off to Grandma Mary & Grandpa Ricks for dinner with them, Uncle Matt, Aunt Chrissy, Miles, Uncle Matt's mom, Marie, Uncle Noel, Heather, Angel & Wyatt. Grandpa made you all a pair of stilts, w/ the exception of Maggie of course. Even Noah got a pair but wasn't too thrilled about standing out in the cold to attempt them. Andrew & Isabella got a good hour of practice before dinner & then were out practicing even more. Andrew got about 5 steps at once & Isabella was up to 3. Pretty impressive. I think you guys will be doing laps around the neighborhood in less than a week. Miles was so cute & just loved sitting with Gradpa Rick & reading all his new books. We got Wyatt a matching foam lightsaber & all the kids went to town on eachother. It was so fun watching you all run in & out of the house. I think daddy, Uncle Noel & Uncle Matt were a little jealous they didn't get their own foam light sabers! Grandma Mary made Noah the most awesome quilt. Now all of the kids have them & will cherish them for years to come!

It was a great Christmas! Thank you Lord for sending your son!