I was telling my parents some stories about the boys and decided that I should be a better blogger. I usually just go through all of my pictures after I load them on the computer, and put them on here with a few comments or stories if I can remember them. I want to make a book out of all of this someday though, and I realize that there are so many other things that happen every day that we don't document with our camera. We'll see if I can get better... I wish there wasn't always so much to do...

So, does this happen to any of you?

I get phone calls from the school on a regular basis.

Are my kids in trouble?

No.

Are they sick?

No.

Did they leave their lunches or backpacks at home?

No.

So what do I hear on the line when I answer the phone?

"Hi Mom, watcha doin?"

"Just getting the kids down for a nap Isaac, what are you doing?"

"I'm at recess."

"Are you having a good day?"

"Yeah. Is Lucas there?"

"Yes, he's right here."

"Can I talk to him for a minute?"

"He's eating right now bud. And he can't talk yet."

"OK Mom, bye."

And then he hangs up on me.

Then again, after school lets out, I get another phone call that goes something like this:

"Mom, I don't feel like walking home today, can you come pick me up?"

"No. Just walk home. It's a nice, sunny day today."

"OK"

Then he hangs up. 40 minutes later he walks through the door.

Did I mention that the school is so close that you can see it from our house?!

And if I hear the phone ring, see that it is him, and choose not to answer it, he leaves me a message. Then he calls my cell phone and leaves me another message. Then he calls the home phone again.

"Mom. Why aren't you answering the phone? Where are you? Are you home? Can you come pick me up? Call me back OK."

Of course, this is all my fault for posting our emergency phone numbers on the fridge. He saw them there and quickly memorized my cell phone number "just in case", he said. He tried it out the very next day and then the next. Because our conversations are always so stimulating, he just can't wait to do it again and again.

Christmas

Every year, Santa brings the kids books that he wraps and leaves in their room. This is the first present they get to open on Christmas morning. When they wake up, they bring their books in to my room so that we can snuggle and read them together before we go downstairs.

Waiting patiently on the stairs:

Running!
Checking everything out:

It was so fun watching Jason open his presents this year. He would get so excited when he saw what it was that he would start to shake. He couldn't get the paper off fast enough!

I got a sweater and socks. What more could a girl ask for?!

Lucas got socks too!

Christmas dinner:

I just have to take a minute to acknowledge how incredibly blessed we are as a family. The Lord always manages to take such good care of us, especially around the Holidays, and we are so grateful! The kids had a wonderful Christmas, and Chris and I received a very unexpected and amazing gift that not only benefited us physically but renewed us spiritually as well. We are so truly humbled and appreciative. What a great thing it is to know that God knows us individually and that He is mindful of us in every way possible.

Two days after Christmas my parents came up to see us. They brought the boys (and Chris and I) some presents, and the kids were so excited- Grandma always knows exactly what they want, and it just wouldn't be Christmas without quarters from Grandpa! We loved having my parents all to ourselves. It was a great day. Thanks Mom and Dad! I honestly think that the best thing about Christmas is the time that we get to spend with our families.

Kimberly, Greg, Spencer, and Tawny came to our house this year for New Year's Eve. We ate good food, played games, put the kids to bed, and stayed up way too late. It was so fun having everyone here. Thanks for coming you guys!

Greg looks super happy in this picture. It's probably because he was scum :). I'm sure it only lasted for one round though, and then Kimberly took up residence in the scum position for the rest of the night.

Adam just informed me that if he can ever find a wishing well that works he is going to wish for no more naps ever again!

When Jason went down stairs and saw Chris (who has strep throat) laying on the couch with his blanket, he said accusingly, "Dad, are you going to get your sick on my blanket?"

Yesterday Jason called to me from his bedroom, "Mom, you forgot to tuckle me in." When I asked him what he meant by "tuckle" he said, "it's when you tuck me in and you tickle me"!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is always so busy for some reason. Before the evening got too crazy, I tried to get a cute picture of the boys together. Lucas wasn't very happy, his little face is all red from crying, poor thing.

Jason decorating Christmas cookies.

Family picture in front of the tree.

Chris reading to the boys.

Hugging after exchanging sibling presents. They each got a dollar and went to the store to pick out a present for one of their brothers.

Jason opening his Christmas Eve pajamas.

Adam looks a little crazy in this picture, but the other two look cute so I posted it anyway.

After we did all of our Christmas Eve traditions at home (and right around the time that we should have started putting the kids to bed) we went to a party with some of our friends from Argentina.

We got home way too late and then stayed up even later getting everything ready.

Grandma's Christmas Party

Chris's Parents have started the greatest family tradition. Instead of giving their kids and grandkids Christmas presents, they plan some sort of big activity for everyone sometime in December. Last year we all went and rode on the polar express. This year they got every family a hotel room, rented out an indoor play place, and then took everyone to lunch. I love the idea of getting all of the cousins together and doing something fun that they will look back on and remember forever. We managed to keep the whole weekend a secret, which made it all the more exciting. We packed up the car, picked the kids up from school, and started driving out of town. The kids kept asking us where we were going, but we wouldn't tell them. When we got to the hotel, the kids were so excited. The first thing they did was get their swimming suits on and then we all headed straight for the pool.

After we swam, we went back to our room to get ready. That is when the cousins started trickling in. The boys were so surprised when they saw Madi and Evalyn out in the hall, and couldn't wait to play with everyone!

The next morning we got up bright and early, ate breakfast, and drove to the main event. The kids kept asking us where we were going, and they had some pretty good guesses, but when we finally pulled into the parking lot, they started shouting with joy, and jumping up and down in the car. They couldn't get out of their seat belts fast enough.

I think the big boys were almost as excited as the kids!

They played hard! I could barely get them to slow down long enough to take pictures.

Here is the whole family!

Here are just some of the kids eating lunch- yes, there were more!

The only thing we weren't able to do that weekend was get over to Temple Square to see the Christmas lights, but that is another story for another day :). The weekend was wonderful and the kids had the time of their life! Thank you Grandma and Grandpa!!!

Grandpa's Funeral

My Grandpa McDonald was a wonderful man. He dedicated his life to his family, particularly my Uncle Scott, who spent most of his mortal existence in a wheelchair. My Grandparents served him tirelessly- taking care of his basic needs, taking him to therapy, administering his medications, reading with him, and just being there for him day and night. When he physically could not lift or take care of him anymore, my Grandpa moved into a home with my Uncle in order to be with him. My Uncle passed away a few months ago, and I think that when we lost him, My Grandpa lost a big piece of himself. I know that they are reunited now, both of them pain free and at peace; walking and talking together at last. We love and miss you Grandpa!

Getting Ready for Christmas

We usually put up our Christmas decorations right after Thanksgiving, but this year it seemed like every day came and went so quickly that before we knew it, it was the middle of December and we still hadn't put up our tree. The kids kept reminding us, so we finally broke down and pulled out all of the decorations one morning after the kids went to school. We thought it would be a fun surprise for Isaac and Adam to come home and see the tree all set up, then we would be able to decorate it together later that night. Jason was so excited, he talked non-stop (as you can probably imagine) and "helped" us pull everything out of the boxes. We finally got everything ready, but something unexpected came up and we had to pick the boys up from school and head out of town. We didn't get home until late that night. Poor Isaac actually fell asleep in the car, so we walked in the door and put the kids straight to bed. The next morning Chris and I woke up to the sounds of the boys downstairs decorating the tree on their own- so much for doing it together as a family! They were so proud of themselves though, it was hard to be too upset.

Here is Jason, helping us unpack the decorations:

This is where Lucas hung out:

The next morning the tree was all decorated and lit up!

Live Nativity

I took the boys and Isaac's friend Jayden to a live Nativity a couple of weeks before Christmas. We walked through the Nativity, went on a hayride, and drank hot chocolate. It was FREEZING, but the kids still had a good time, so I'm glad we went!

Lucas started rolling over from back to front a few weeks ago, but he has absolutely no interest in rolling the other way. He like to be on his tummy! When we lay him down like this, he plays and pushes himself up for a little while,

and then he lays his head down, starts sucking on his bottom lip or his thumb, and eventually just falls asleep!

Here he is, getting ready for his first haircut!

Here is the finished product. I messed it up a little. The next time he needs I haircut, I will probably be calling Stephanie!

He tried cereal for the first time a few weeks ago. He thought it was fun, especially when he learned that if he spit it out it made a cool noise!

I just love this picture!

Thanksgiving

We had Thanksgiving at my parent's house this year. It was nice to have the whole family together!

The kids spent most of their time down here playing. It is great to have older kids that can just play and not get into EVERYTHING ALL of the time the way they used to. For the most part, that is.

Jared and Andrew. It is so nice to have these guys a little closer to home!

Ha- caught in the act!

The kid table. Grandma bought them all Bug Juice to go with their meal. They were all so excited! She also covered the table with paper and let the kids draw on it. I think the adults had just as much fun drawing as the kids. This year some of the kids were old enough to add to the thankful list on the wall as well. It was fun to see what some of them came up with. I forgot to take of picture of it, but you can see it in the background.

Lucas was so content during dinner. He just layed here cooing and smiling the whole time!

Where there is food, there Jason will be also!

My favorite time with Lucas is at night after the kids go to bed. We just hang out in my room and snuggle and play. Here he is laying on Daddy. He's so sweet!

I went to Temple Square with the Young Woman and took Lucas with me. Here he is all bundled up. This is the only picture I remembered to take, but it was a fun night! I LOVE spending time with the youth!

I loved Isaac's Christmas list this year, I thought it was so sweet.

He wanted a new coat because his zipper was broken and it had holes in it. He wanted new jeans because he only had one pair without holes in them. And best of all, he wanted the game Monopoly so Chris could spend all year practicing. He told me that he thought if Dad just practiced some more, he would be sure to win something when McDonald's did their Monopoly game again next year!

And here he is showing off for all of the kids from our Sunday School class when we had our Karaoke party with them.I often go downstairs in the morning to get breakfast ready for the kids and find something like this. One of the boys will inevitably wake up way too early, go downstairs, and start getting breakfast ready for everyone. They like to write every one's names on a piece of tape and they always pick either the green or blue cups and bowls for themselves and give the yellow, red, or orange (their least favorite colors) to their brothers. You snooze you loose!

This is Lucas's favorite new spot. Thanks Steph!

I think it's about time for a haircut. What do you think?