Santa Time

All three smiles seem to say "This means so much to the other two, Just be polite and get through this." At least we avoided last years "Santa fear freeze up".

Check out last years pick bellow.


Just kidding. Check it out here.

Bringing the merry back to Christmas

Last week we got out the tree and started decorating. It really got us into the Christmas spirit.

It seems like just yesterday that I was planning my Halloween costume. I think it turned out pretty good.


I got out my Christmas stocking. I can't wait to see what Santa is going to fill it with this year.


I think the best Christmas decorations are the home made ones.


I even got started shopping early for Julies present.


Hint hint. Here is something on my wish list.


And it is not just our family who has the Christmas spirit. Everyone is so helpful. Our local hardware store is very customer service orientated.
Merry Christmas everyone!

Happy Day it's over!

Saturday we had a Birthday party for John and Will. They had been invited to several parties this year and wanted to have one that they could invite their friends to. Up till now it has always been family parties. I prefer less formal gatherings.

What do we do? Our back yard is not up to hosting a party. Chuck y Cheese is NOT AN OPTION! And most other places require reservations way farther in advance than I care to let my mind wander.

We took the easy way out. Harkins theaters has a kids birthday party package that gets you movie tickets, a kids snack pack, thank you cards, and a gift for the birthday boy/girl. So we went to see Mega mind with .....15 six and seven year olds.



After the movie we sat out in the grass and had turkey sandwiches, apple slices, and cupcakes.

Then presents!

Have you ever seen Shark Week on the Discovery channel? What is the difference between our birthday party and a feeding frenzy? If you hit a shark on the nose he will back off. (No children were harmed during our party. They are tuff little boogers.)

If you are curious how many you could take out click here.

Double trouble and Ray LaMontagne

On Monday is the boys 7th birthday. I thought you should all see who really deserves the credit for who has kept them alive this long.

Travel log is over. Time for my Favorite pictures of the week.

You can click on any picture to see it full size.








Please vote for your favorite picture in the comments section. I don't care if you know me or not. I want some feedback.

Busy week

It has been a busy couple of weeks here for us. On Oct. 8 the Julie's Parents came to visit. Here is Grandpa John teaching Lil' John how to play chess after church. They stayed with us and managed to help us destroy our living room (another post for later) before they left on Wednesday morning.

After dropping grammy and grampy off at the airport we headed north. We had some friends who invited us to come and stay at there ranch with them for a few days. This is the view from the back porch.



Just like when we go camping the boys turned feral. The wild rumpus has started.


For half a day we went down the road and visited Bryce Canyon. We saw deer, antelope, and lots of French and German people. A word to our European guests. Shirts have sleeves, and if your shorts go past your calves they might as well make it all the way to your shoes.


What more could you want from a picture?



Here is Grandpa Rex's new toy. We had to test it out. Stretch it's legs so to speak. It should work perfectly for Alaska next year.


Number 1 on the boys list was to ride a horse. John loved it so much that when we told him the horses names he didn't care. He was going to rename them after we bought them anyways.



It has been almost 40 years since my dad had saddled a horse, but that muscle memory kicked in and it was like a day had not passed by.



Mandatory grumpy Will on vacation picture.


John was so upset when his favorite shoes took a mud bath.


Unflattering? Yes, but this is what fun looks like.



This is the House and barn.

Here we go!

Florence 2011 here we come! Oh yeah, and Alaska 2011 here we come too!



Thiokol Imp Snowcat.