BEHOLD THE GLORY...

Of my new baby. My Christmas present.

I am all a-flutter with excitement over this one!

I've finally got it set up and working. I am currently

sitting in bed typing right now! Fun for me!!!

I am wireless, we are networked, we now have

TWO new computers. Here's how that went down.

If any of you have heard me complain, our old computer

was a sorry thing. So we decided to have geek squad

come out, set up the new baby and clean up the old one for the kids.

He came, he took one look at the old one and said, "I've never seen

anything like this before. There is something seriously wrong."

NO DUH!

Basically, it would cost more to fix it (if even possible) than it

would to buy a new one. So Doug ran over to Best Buy, got a new tower

and he hooked us all up.

Kristen said this to me as he was setting up everything...

"Mom, on Blakes computer, when you click the button, it goes

straight away to the screen, for real. You don't have to wait."

Me, "Ya, I've heard about that! Maybe this new computer will do that too."

The next day, once the kids started using the new one they all came running

into us shouting "this new computer is SO AWESOME!"

So ya, it's pretty awesome to have computers that actually work!

Christmas Day

Was a great day. The kids actually listened to us this year and waited in their rooms till W E woke up. Unlike past years when they've been up at 3 or 4 and keep coming in our room to ask if we can go down yet. 6:30 was a much more acceptable and tolerable hour for us.

Jack's first order of business was to tear into some candy BEFORE he tried out his new quad. Notice the chocolate in his hand. Good way to start the day.

Nathan cannot believe that Santa actually brought him an iPod.

Kristen excited for a new guitar. Her old one somehow "disappeared" a long time ago.

She's been looking for it for a long time. We found one with an "OFF" switch.

It might not meet the same fateful end as her last one.

Samantha opening her new pink scooter.

Now she doesn't have to fight her siblings to use theirs.

Jack powered up for some Nerf dart tag.

It's a Christmas Miracle!

Taking group photo's with Jack, always a challenge

Here we are Sunday, attempting a photo

Jack...just wanted to wrestle

Samantha...just pouted

Christmas Eve...Pajama pictures...miracle

He actually posed with the kids

Unbelievable!!!

Strike a Pose

I don't think I've ever gotten' one like this before...yay for me!

Calendars...Done

The advent calendars are full. I actually finished my cookie sheet one before Christmas (just before, but still, done). I love it. As Heather said, it's so me. :)

I love advent calendars. I think I am a collector now. We have 3. Made the button one at enrichment years ago. The other is the Playmobil one. Every piece is in a little box that you open daily to put the scene together. My kids, of course, love this one most.

P.S. If you haven't noticed, I am posting all the things I had planned to post before Christmas. If I had had time :)

Squeezing in all the Christmas Fun

Since our trip we have been running, running, and running! Preparing for Christmas.

These last few days before Christmas we squished in the cookies, the gingerbread tree, the neighbor treats, the cards and ALL the wrapping.

Samantha and I had our own little cookie party. The older kids had been invited to friends parties so we made our own. Made pretty pink and blue frosting with pastel sprinkles. How festive is that!

The kids had a blast making the tree. There wasn't as much candy as the house but once we put the layers together the kids took over. It was great. They didn't need any help from me. Jack of course, found a way to climb up and steal a treat or too. He's hanging on to the counter by his fingernails!

From our house to yours...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I love the way the house feels

all decorated. The lights, the traditions,

the music the spirit.

I always feel so peaceful on this day.

The business and craziness of preparing

is over. I get to watch the joy

in my children and remember when I

felt the same.

Being a parent is the funnest of all!

A Little of This, A Little of That...and 3 Trips to the ER

We surprised the kids and took them to California for a week with Grandma and Pappa. Here's the skinny on our eventful trip.

Saturday: Day of Departure
Grandma falls down our stairs in the middle of the night and spends 4 hours in the ER. Broken foot and elbow. She soldiers on and we leave Saturday as planned.

Sunday: 1st Full day
Samantha is up half the night crying. Take her to the ER early and find a raging ear infection (I can't remember the last time she had one of those). Exhausted, we soldier on to Sea World as planned. Child is heavily medicated and ready to party...so she thinks!

We did have a good time in Sea World. It was not busy and we did everything we wanted. Nathan loved the Atlantis ride and went several times.

Met up with cousins for dinner after and had a great time.





Monday: Off to Disneyland
The happiest place on earth. Except for the fact that it was TONS busier than I had expected.
The park was beautiful with Christmas decor. It was our first time at Christmas. The castle was amazing day and night. Kids had a great time. Jack LOVED it all to say the least. He spent the remainder of the week saying "ride?" "I go ride!?!"






Tuesday: Disney again...with early entrance
Thought we'd be smart and get in at 8 and go straight to Finding Nemo ride whose lines were always an eternity. Everyone else thought that too. At 8:30 am the wait was already 35 minutes. Uggghhh. We left Disney by lunch and went to a glorious Disney California with very little other people. Saw the High School Musical parade. Rode everything. Samantha has decided she loves roller coasters. Love her excitement and craziness!

Wednesday: The Beach
Took it easy. Slept in. Went to the beach. Did 7 loads of laundry in our miniature washer/dryer in our fabulous apt. style hotel room. Brace for another day at Disneyland.



Thursday: Disneyland one more time
Not as busy today, thank heavens! Had a super fun last day. Hit both parks again. Took Samantha on Splash Mnt. She loved it! Got soaked to the bone. Had to buy her new pants in Disneyland!

Almost made it without further incident. But since we started the trip with a bang why not end with a bang! Poor grandpa fell on the way out and got taken to the little Disneyland ER/First Aid center. Someone should have taken a picture of our sad little group that night. Grandma hobbling, grandpa in a wheel chair. Stroller with screaming baby. Followed by exhausted children.

I keep laughing about the craziness of it all. But we really did have a good time and the kids loved it. It made their track break! Have tons more pictures but they are trapped somewhere in Doug's new camera that I can't seem to load from Adobe. We'll figure that out later.

Now I'm trying to catch up on Christmas. Is it really next week? Agggghhhhhhhhhhh............

Memories to Cherish

Jack getting a hair cut.

Enjoying every minute of it.

Me, trying to hold on!!!