And the fun keeps comin'!

GiRLs DaY!

My sisters, mom, and I will usually go to lunch when I'm in town, but this time my mom suggested doing something a bit more exciting. We decided a day in Scottsdale was needed! Oo la la! I was so excited about it, that Jefferson had to tease me for looking out the window mulitple times while waiting for Shelley to pull up!

Wonder of wonders, as we were walking into the restaurant, we noticed little puffs of snow falling out of the sky. We couldn't believe it was snow, so we had to stop and examine it. Yup, snow in Scottsdale. I just can't get away from it!

We {dined} at the Grand Lux, thoroughly enjoying our fare, prefaced with a plate of french fries dipped in their yummy ranch. We kept asking for refills on our ranch which our waiter was intrigued by. We topped it off with a molten chocolate cake and I decided right then and there I could die a happy girl. Shelley and I were most pleased by the waiter's surprise that we were married with kids! He told us we looked so young and told us to tell our husbands they were lucky men. Haha... perhaps a padded tip was being sought. :)

Then we went shopping at Scottsdale Mall.... not a place we usually go to since the average store is Barneys, Jimmy Choo, and Gucci. We drooled at the overpriced merchandise in Anthropology, then did more serious looking in H&M and Forever 21. We also decided to be our mom's fashion advisors as we picked out outfits for her to try on in Ann Taylor. She lost 30 lbs this year and is one hot mama! :) I found the cutest, pink coat at Nordstrom and I think we all walked away pleased with our purchases. Spanks DaD! :)

Well you can't leave Scottdale without a trip to SpRiNkLeS! $36 for a dozen cupcakes is reasonable, right? They were divine.... especially the naughty mocha ones :)

This day topped the {favorite} charts. It was soooo fun to be out with the girls. I love my mom and sisters!

AMaZiNg JaKeS

Two years ago, we got a gift card to Amazing Jakes (think Chuckie Cheese on steroids) from Trav's parents and this year we actually got to use it!

They have a pretty decent buffet that we filled up on, then it was off to the games and rides. Well, Collin saw this miniature basketball hoop and was hooked. Too bad it only cost $0.25 a game and we had over $10 on our game card!

Just look at that follow through... :)

We coerced him into riding the Carousel, which he LOVED, until the second he got off..... then it was, "Balls, balls, balls, balls".

Same story with the train ride....

It's fun now that he's old enough to enjoy places like this. Wish they had one in the Buff!

JuSt DaNcE!

My parents bought a Wii for Christmas, so we spent some quality time Just Dancing! So fun. I think everyone gave it a try (Casey too! Even if it was only his arm moving :) Trav and David were tearin' it up, but I think my Dad should keep his day job.... oh wait. :) There was some jumping and booty shakin' in one dance I was doing and I think everyone was ready for a baby to pop out. Not bad exercise.... we were sweatin' up a storm. 

SuShi NiGhT!

Sometimes I really just crave a California Roll. And it's good times making your own. It was a hands-on night for making dinner. Don't forget lots of Wasabi! :)

Collin preferred the homemade Panda Express orange chicken.

We are grateful for fun cousins to play with! My twin sister has two boys and Collin is right between them in age. Collin would follow Lane to the ends of the earth.... and nearly did on New Year's Eve when he followed him out into the street! Shelley had to pluck him out of the road as a car approached.

The pecking order is in full swing with those three also. One night I watched as Lane took the toy that Collin was playing with. Collin got a look of consternation on his face as he realized he wouldn't be able to get it back, so he looked to his left and sees innocent Rusty standing there, and pushed him over, with a shove of misplaced revenge. It will be interesting to see what trouble those 3 Amigos stir up as they get older.

With late nights happening more frequently, Lane and Collin had fun taking baths together at Grandma's house.

Rusty joined in a couple times too, but the bather we weren't expecting was David! On their last night, David got that well known, mischievious look on his face and off he raced down the hall toward the bathroom. We sure are grateful the shorts stayed on, and that the intrusion only lasted 30 seconds... long enough for a picture. I should have posted the pic where Rusty has a sheer look of terror on his face though. Not kosher David, not kosher.

While playing outside one day, my dad suggested starting up Craig's motorcycle and taking Collin for a spin. Oh boy, he wasn't having ANY of that! I don't know how, but after some time, he finally gave it a whirl and Trav said he didn't stop making a "vrrroom, vrroom" sound the entire time. Please no.... I don't know if I can handle sons that are as addicted to dirt bikes as my brothers!

How about that fall weather, huh?! :)

My parent's are still loving being nursery leaders in their ward so it was a treat for Collin to go to nursery with Grandma and Grandpa! Here he is with my cousin's little girl, Macy.

Here we are headed into Costa Vida on our last night in town. Sniff sniff. I believe we got to all our favorite places... Gecko Grill, Cafe Rio, Costa Vida, Neds, Panda Express, Pei Wei and In'n'Out Burger, although sadly, Sonic was missed.

I was so mad I forgot my camera on the morning we went to the Phoenix Childrens Museum! My mom was helping out with the Cub Scouts on their day trip there and invited us to come along. It was perfect! I wish they had one close to our house. Collin had a ball and didn't mind the chocolate milk and Doritos he got afterward when he was hungry and pitching a fit. We are such good parents.

My mom was so nice and kept shooing us off to be on our own so she could watch Collin. Thanks to her, we were able to spend one morning in the temple, then go out to lunch and another morning finally seeing Harry Potter #7 and then yes... going out to lunch. We also went to see Tangled with the family one night for FHE and finally saw Inception, but just at home. I'm sure I'm forgetting other fun adventures, but I guess that's to be expected when every day brought something fun! I'm not sure how I forced my legs to board the plane {home}, because it couldn't have been a better vacation. I think the only thing I wasn't sad to leave behind was the Earth First toilet paper my mom buys now :) Thank you again Mom and Dad.... it was perfect!

New Year's Eve and Day!

 After the excitement of the mission call, we felt it appropriate to finish off all the cookies, cupcakes, chips and dip that was left over, while playing "Would You Rather". Here are some examples my sister recorded:

Would you rather: eat moldy bread or cat food- by Marcie (apparently used multiple times when she had to come up with her own)

Would you rather: show up to your 10 yr high school reunion as a geek with no spouse or with big boobs and a big butt-by Casey

Would you rather: sleep in an igloo the rest of your life or be in -20 degree weather wearing a thong at your wedding- by Austin

I laughed so hard, I cried... and thought I'd have to run to the bathroom. Fun game!

Next up was Mafia, but Dad just didn't make it.....

The globe was a handy pillow however.

Shelley and Casey made it til just after 11pm before they had to take their boys home, so we toasted in the new year with my parents and Marcie and Austin. Cheers!

Then it was time to have a dance party in the front yard!

Marcie knew when the "Bop, bop, A'mericana" song was coming on, waaaay before it even started. Now that's just talent.

There is a path next to our house that leads to the next street, so we would wait until an unsuspecting traveler walked up, and bust out the ugliest dance moves EVER, acting dead serious. We would sneak peeks at their faces and just lose it. So funny.

My parent's let out their inner funk just once a year....

ya, who am I kidding, my mom does it all the time. :)

Our neighbors always have a big breakfast party, so my mom called me at 12:30am to see if we wanted to come over and they would switch with us so someone would be home with Collin. Little did she know, we were already in bed! We must be getting old or something.

The next morning we drove up to Sedona (about 2 hrs. north) to be with the Evans family at a time share that Trav's dad had for a few days. Boy they were lucky we came up to the snow during our {warm weather vacation}! :) There were actually only patches of snow here and there where we were staying, but later in the afternoon we drove a bit up the mountain so the kids could play in the snow. Poor Collin... we hadn't even packed snow clothes for him on this trip. He lasted as long as his red fingers could handle it, then warmed up with me in the car. (I spent about .2 seconds outside) For the rest of the time we just enjoyed visiting, eating and hanging out with the family. We went to church the next morning and then drove home around 3:30pm. It was fun to see Sedona and all the pretty red rock that it is known for. Not a bad vacation place.... in the summer :)

I was sad to miss David getting set apart as an Elder that Sunday morning but I guess you can't be to everything. :( Here he is with those in the circle. I probably would have been a blubbering mess anyway. It might be worth it to have this baby just to get my normal (ok, maybe not so normal) hormones back!

Mission Call

On New Year's Eve, we were hoping for a special delivery and sure enough, it came! Davey Love got his mission call. Marcie and I stalked the mail lady and ran out to get it right after it came. Everyone was thrilled. When David came home he appraised the letter, then noticed the DVD that my mom had just bought, Despicable Me, on the counter. Any excitement for his call was forgotten as he excitedly snatched up the DVD, exclaiming how long he's waited to see it!!! Oh my. :)

Well we cleaned and baked and prepared and 7pm came... along with a bunch of girls who give my little brother much too big a head :)

You can see on the wall where my mom posted a paper where you could guess where he was going. Later she taped a $20 bill above it as the prize. I guessed Chile... Korean speaking. Shelley guessed Sunsplash and someone else guessed the skate park... Ebonics speaking. And yes, other's did guess legitimate places, but no one guessed the REAL place...

 My other brother, Christopher, tuned in via Skype from Switzerland around 3am his time.

I can't imagine how my mom must have felt, because I was near tears as he opened it. He said he was so nervous he was shaking. Congrats Honduras! You are getting a great missionary!

 I'm sure much to the embarrassment of the {cool kids}, the grandboys were running amuk. This was my favorite pic, because my sweet angel is {shooting them up} as they pose.

He leaves April 27 so it will be nearly 2 1/2 years before I see this kid again. Way to go David.... so proud of you!

The Star of David

As I've said before, I love homemade ornaments and cozy Christmas trees adorned with noodle glued memories. It's been a while since I really looked at the ornaments on my mom's tree, but was happy to see some of the ol' "originals" still intact....

This hair was brought to you by "rags". :)

I don't know what school year this was, but my mom really knew how to rock our 80's bangs.

Mason jar lids really had their season in decorating...

And a personal favorite....

Davey love handsome boy around nursery age.

Well, apparently David was seen this year, scrutinizing this very ornament. The cogs and wheels in his mind must have been turning, because a few hours later, a new and improved version was drying on the table.....

And the Star of David II was born.

Davey was gone when we fixed it to the top of the tree, but was thrilled when he got home to see his mug in it's "rightful" place atop the pine. Unfortunately, while trying to stand on a chair to get the best picture on his phone, the Droid was dropped and had to be replaced on Christmas Eve. So while this is a seemingly cheap star... Davey paid in the neighborhood of $100 to see it shine. :)

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

The Evans have a Christmas Eve tradition of getting together for dinner, then having a talent show and acting out the nativity. Nothing novel, I realize, but we have been lacking in the "talent" department every year. Well this year, Trav had the idea to get helium balloons and sing the Chipmunk song ... "Christmas don't be late". We even admitted our plans to the lady at Safeway who filled up our balloons, but I think she thought we were crazy. And I felt a little dumb, like maybe she thought I was endangering my fetus or something (also why I didn't tell my mom). But it really can't be harmful, right? Collin was our {Alvin}. ( I know the A should be on the front, but then he would have taken it off)  I have video of our performance, but it's pretty cheesy so I'll  not be posting it. Trav did a great choreography job when the "hula hoop" part came up though. He's got moves. I was just proud to actually have something prepared beforehand this year. :)

Collin was one of the Wisemen this year... his mouth is stuffed to the brim with M&M's so he'd cooperate.

The whole group doing the nativity...

My wiseman is just thrilled to be there :)

Later that night when we went back to my parent's house, we were soundly hushed when we interrupted the  playing of National Lampoon's Christmas. Just as sacred as acting out the nativity.

Christmas morning we exchanged gifts at my parent's house and I was thrilled to get the set of The Book of Mormon Made Easier! Wahoo! I've wanted these for a while now. My favorite gift of the day!

We were all stumped about this present.... :)

 And of course the little boys were all excited to play with Grandpa's new "toy".

This should have been David's boring {missionary} Christmas, but I think this was his only gospel related gift. He's going to be a sharp lookin' missionary!

Shelley had the genius idea to make freezer meals for my mom since she has long sinced been {cooked out} by 7 kids. So a week earlier, I went over to her house and we knocked out 10 freezer meals. I had the nastiest cankles after being on my feet for 5+ hours, but it was so worth it to see the look on her face when she opened the box, then proceeded to pump both arms in the air like she'd won the lottery!

I made Miss Marcie Moo a necklace then found a cute shirt to go with it... all the boys had to make cracks about it being see-through of course.

We are grateful for Casey and his knowledge of my dad's "needs", so we jumped on board with their gift this year. He was pretty excited about this drill and started outlining all it's features, just like he was on QVC.

David and Jefferson ended with the same gift so we made them open it "back to back", just like Shelley and I spent most of our Christmases. Oh, being a twin. :)

Trav joined the {boy fashionistas} of the family with his plaid shirt. :)

And Collin got a Home Depot toy saw, complete with safety goggles that he thoroughly enjoys. Apparently, they were the very reason Grandma purchased them. Good buy, Mom!

Since my parent's gift to the married kids is money, my mom likes to spice things up with a game so we can "win" our money. This year was a fun trivia game with the categories "Acro- what" (Acronyms), "Primary tunes", "Are you my brother's keeper?" (facts about our 4 brothers), and "Random Thoughts". She awarded us our money just for playing, but you won the bonus money by winning the most points in the game and picking which Bonus Bag you wanted first. There were three bags with $50, $100, and no money in them. We picked first and snagged Mr. Benjamin! Shell and Casey picked the $50, which left nothing for Christopher and Jael :(. I was nearly as excited about the can of beans that the bills were taped to as I was the money (Refried beans are WAY too expensive in Buffalo!). I look forward to our game every year... thanks Mom!  

Our group Christmas shot minus the father. I guess someone has to take the picture. I think Lane had just been scolded. :)

After snarfing on biscuits and gravy for breakfast, we had lunch at my grandma and grandpa's house later in the afternoon, then spent the evening with the Evans'. Grandpa had gotten a new toy horse that was the hit of the grandkids.

I didn't get any pictures of the gift exchange between siblings, but this was the craft I made for one of Paula's gifts. I got the idea from Shelley and I'm proud to say that Trav helped make it just as much as I did! He finally took pity on my burnt fingers and stepped in to help with the hot glueing. Now we both could have 3rd degree burns :)

Collin was so excited to get "CARS!" from Grandma, along with some clothes. The green "snot" ball was also a favorite.

My mother-in-law is so amazing to sew us all new pajama pants every year for Christmas!

Here are some of the models of year's past...

Now for the not-so-favorite moment of the day....

I was outside cooling off... Arizona people think it needs to be 74+ degrees to be warm... and Collin was playing while the dogs ate their dinner. Well he made the mistake of interrupting Hopper's/stupid dog's meal and he turned and bit Collin. I grabbed him and rushed him inside, only seeing the dent on top of his arm, but when Trav took him and flipped his wrist over, you could see the deep puncture in his arm. That's when I freaked. I hate dogs anyway, and I know I'm an overly paranoid first time mother, but I just felt so bad for him! He was crying, but didn't do too bad when we cleaned it out and put a band-aid over it. I wanted to kick the dumb dog, but I guess Wayne did that for me. It healed fine, but Collin was very much aware of what the "woo woo's" did and for the rest of the trip would meekly hold out his wrist and pitifully say "woo woo's", reminding you of his injustice. However, it also didn't stop him from playing with the dogs. I don't know if that's good (get back on the horse!) or bad (doesn't learn from his mistakes).

I just took this picture to show his battle wound. His dad likes to remind him that chicks dig scars.

Regardless, I this was my favorite Christmas to date. It's so easy to take your family for granted when you're younger, but I think especially once you've moved away, you realize how important they are. I literally loved every second we had at home (ok, minus previous incident) but I really felt so blessed to be a Lindblom and an Evans! Thank you, family, for all you did for us this year. We are lucky, lucky, lucky.