Christmas Day Wii

After a morning of yummy cinnamon rolls, egg and turkey sausage casserole, and presents we packed up and headed to Payson to spend the day with the rest of the family. Jamie and Derek received a Wii for Christmas from Derek's dad which we gladly broke in on Brian's awesome TV. Seriously, the Wii was SO MUCH FUN and we laughed until we cried when we all tried hoola-hooping and skiing. Check out the hoola-hooping videos below...

The Big Joke

So... Derek and Jamie gave Jake's Dad, Brian, a scratch lottery ticket as part of his Christmas gift. No surprise here... Donna and Brian often put scratch cards in our stockings, so this was not out of the norm. As everyone continued to open gifts, Brian began scratching off his lottery card and all of a sudden starting shouting (loudly, mind you), "I WON 20,000 DOLLARS!!!! I'M NOT KIDDING!!! I REALLY DID!!! He repeated this about 10 times, seriously, I thought he was going to have a heart attack. Anyway, Jamie finally had the good sense to say, "Dad, so if you won, how do you redeem it?" Brian turned the card over and begins reading something along the lines of, "In order to redeem your winnings show this scratch card to Santa and the Tooth Fairy..." Good thing the guy has a good sense of humor! I wish we had a video camera rolling - not everyone would have had such a fabulous reaction!

Christmas Morning Pics

Caden leaning in for a kiss!

Micah opening his new Leapster 2

Caden opening his Little People Discovery Airport

Christmas Eve 2009

We had a lovely Christmas Eve this year. We went to church for a Christmas Eve service. Jake played piano for the service, along with someone on guitar and some singers to lead - it is always nice to see him play! After the service we had a very yummy dinner at Taverna, a Greek restaurant in town, and then came home to open just one present before bed (a Christmas tradition for us).

Gifts from Santa all set-up and ready to go!

Everyone waiting to open that one special Christmas Eve present!

Polar Express 2009

We had so much fun enjoying cookies, hot cocoa, singing, Santa and, of course, the train on the Polar Express this year! Both of the boys loved it!

The Snowblower

We recently decided to purchase a snowblower. We get so much snow up here that it is practically a necessity... especially if Jake doesn't want to be late to work everyday or if we actually plan to get Micah to school during the winter. Jake likes to say that it was really for me - so I don't have to shovel when he is out of town - but, please note his smile in the photos below. I think he likes it! I even heard a clear exclamation of "teeheehee" when he was using it!

Micah's Cheese

Micah's preschool class put together a little "cookbook" prior to Thanksgiving. Most of the kids in his class are 4 years old - pretty amusing book, although I have to say that Micah's entry was extra special! ;-) We sure love our little boy, even if he lives in Micah-Land.

Here is Micah's recipe...

Micah's Cheese:
Cheese comes from raisins. You roll them out, you cook them in the oven. Then you eat them when they are really cold. You have to blow on them when they are really hot.

Playing at Grandma and Grandpa's

Wearing all of Grandpa's medals at one time!

Putting lights on the tree with Grandma & Grandpa!

Derek's 30th Surprise Party!

Happy Birthday, Granddaddy!

Disney World 2009

While visiting my family in Florida, we decided to take a trip to Disney World (only about an hour from my parent's house in Tampa). We spent the first day enjoying the hotel pool at Port Orleans and spent the evening at Downtown Disney for dinner at TREX and dessert at Ghiradelli (yum!). We spent the second day at the Magic Kingdom. It was lots of fun - the boys loved it and were very well behaved. I think Micah's favorite ride was Dumbo and I would surely bet money that Caden's favorite was the racecar ride (he got to drive!). They both LOVED taking pics with Mickey and Minnie. Caden was mesmorized and adorable... "Hi, Mickey, hi Mickey!". Micah even rode his first big boy roller coaster, Splash Mountain, and did great. Although, I don't think he cared for the water that splashed on his face after the big drop! By the by, early December was a great time to visit Disney... after Thanksgiving, but before Christmas and New Years. The lines were great - about 20 minutes or less overall.

At the Magic Kingdom

Downtown Disney

Swimming at Port Orleans

The Day After Thanksgiving

Who needs more turkey when you can just roast a pig? Yay for BBQ!

Barry and Dad did a great job!

Thanksgiving at Nana & Granddaddy's House

Best looking turkey and sweet potato casserole ever - yummy!!

GG had the magic naptime touch!

Gavin and his mama, Leslie.

Micah and Daddy playing in the camo tent

Painting Projects

We tackled a couple painting projects in November... first, the hall bathroom, from extremely white to a light blue-grey called "Teton Sky", and second, Micah's room to orange. Micah chose the color, somewhat to my horror, but I actually like it a lot now that it is done. More importantly, he LOVES it!

I'm not sure how well you can see the blue in the picture, but it looks very nice and soothing in person.