Kayla's first published story

For those of you that do not already know we received a letter in the mail over the summer notifying us that Kayla's 5th grade teacher had submitted a story that she wrote to potentially be published with our permission. Of course we were very excited about that as we are a family of readers (with the exception of JR) and are obviously proud parents! So naturally we said yes and ordered a copy of the book and grandparent's and uncles ordered copies for themselves. Yesterday Kayla had a great surprise as we were walking out the door....the mailman had set the books right in front of our door (mailbox is too little)! Oh yeah and the funny part about all of this was that she didn't even know what story it was that was being put in this book so it was a mystery as to what we were going to see. She wrote several great stories last year so there were many options in my opinion! The story that ended up being published is called Purple Skies and is a very descriptive, imaginative story for sure. I took a picture of the story but when I have access to a scanner I will scan it in and share it with all of you.

Merry Christmas!

Whew did we have an exciting couple of days celebrating Christmas! And we are all tired from it and need some R&R big time! It started on Saturday when we went to JR's dad and step-mom's to exchange gifts there. We had to do it so early because that was when JR's little sister Katy was going to be there.

Then on Monday afternoon we went over to JR's mom and step-dad's house for gifts and a late lunch/early dinner with them. Emma wasn't really interested in opening gifts, she was having alot more fun running around the house and running down the hallway. Kayla and Eli made out with some pretty cool gifts! I made the mistake of telling my mother-in-law to get Eli moon shoes.....little did I know exactly what those things are......they are basically platforms suspended by gigantic rubber bands. Strange and a little dangerous looking but I am sure Eli will have a ball with them! Kayla has found Aeropostale to be her new favorite store and she got a couple of gift cards for that store so we will be shopping soon!

Christmas morning is always done at home with just us so we get some family time to ourselves for a while and it also gives the kids a chance to enjoy some of their gifts here at home. There were lots of ohhs and ahhs and Emma losing interest again but the kids did have a great time. Then later in the afternoon it was off to my mom's house for some more presents and dinner. One of Kayla's presents was a cell phone and we decided to hold off all day long on giving it to her. After dinner and everyone settling down a little bit we called everyone back in to my mom's living room and had Kayla stand in front of JR as he presented her with her phone. (sorry I was so focused on getting it on tape that I forgot to take a snapshot to share) Her reaction was awesome! She was pretty convinced that she was never going to get one in her life but as she looked back on certain conversations and comments we have made it all kind of came together for her. And her reaction was well worth the wait too! After all that JR and Eli went home because they were tired and had things to play with at home and my brother Carl, Kayla, Emma and I all went to my dad's house for a short time. Oh and as I was walking JR to the car I notice there is a huge wrapped gift sitting on my mom's driveway. It took my brain a few minutes to process that it wasn't there when I got there and that it was wrapped so it wasn't their trash can or something weird like that. Turns out it was a gift for me from JR - it was my washing machine to go with my dryer! That was supposed to be a tax return purchase but my loving husband decided to do it early! And I think it was just in time because I had washed a load of towels that morning and there were still soap suds at the bottom of the machine after the load finished!

It was a long couple of days but lots of fun and great to spend time with family. It was nice seeing my brother since he moved to Oregon just over a year ago we don't get to see him very often. The only people missing were my step-brother and his family from Alaska.

Before the madness......

Emma opening her first gift

Eli's toolbox loaded with tools....which were used several times today

Kayla and her Aeropostale sweatshirt

Even the animals get presents in our house.....just look at that concentration on his new Kong toy!

Emma's comment when opening this......"oh cool!" - you think she pays any attention to her siblings?!

Kayla and her beloved Chris Brown CD

Eli and his new bike from Nana and Grandpa

So as I was looking for pictures to put on the blog I realized that I got the reactions on video for all the really good presents. One day I will share with you once I figure out how to do it!

Out with the old, in with the new

This year as we unpacked our Christmas tree we discovered that the base was broken when it was repacked (not by us) sometime after Christmas when it was in storage. Only 1 point of the 4 was broke so we were able to rig it. Well yesterday Emma decided she wanted to tug on the tree (she normally doesn't touch it at all) causing it to start to fall towards her. JR was sitting right there so he was able to stop it and it went the other direction. It teetered and broke 2 more of the points of the base and left it laying (not just leaning) against the wall. I wanted to get a picture but JR already had it taken down by the time I got around to it. Anyways, when we found that the tree was broken we decided we would get a new one after Christmas (to hopefully catch a good sale) but this just rushed it along. JR has wanted a white tree with blue lights for several years now and I decided to cave on the white tree bit. I really do like it. Of course this is also our first tree that cost more than $20! The white tree we found was on sale for $50 cheaper than we expected it to be so that made for a nice surprise. And when JR took it out of the box this afternoon we found that it was pre-lit (not something we really wanted but it will work) with white lights and he put strands of blue lights so we have a versatile tree! Mood lighting!

So now we say goodbye to a tree that was good to us for 5 or so years (can't remember exactly when we got it, my mom gave it to us because she got a new tree and this one was bigger than our sad Charlie Brown tree).

And now for the new tree. These show you both lighting effects - blue or white. There isn't a picture of it decorated but I wanted to just give you an idea of what it looks like. We didn't use the same topper which is fine because I didn't like this one anyhow. It will probably take me 2-3 yrs before I find one that I like....I always have a hard time finding one that is decent.

Everyone loves a parade!

I am apparently a neglectful parent and have never taken Eli to a parade. I have taken Kayla but she was probably 2 or 3 so she wouldn't remember it either. Well we were downtown going to the library this weekend and a float passed by us getting ready for the Parade of Lights. After much begging and pleading on the kids part I caved and decided I would take them. JR was up in Boulder so it was all on me! The weather stayed pretty nice all evening long thank goodness! We met my step-sister Ayrah and her son Joey, her mom Rhonda, and a few of her friends. I tried taking pictures of some of the cool floats but they kinda came out a blur! :) But I did get a picture of each of the kids.

Cousin Joey making a silly face

Eli half bundled up

Emma...she would not keep those gloves on

Kayla sitting on the curb waiting for the parade to start

Farewell Suburban

Yesterday JR traded in our Suburban for a full size truck so we must say goodbye to our beloved SUV. We actually only had it for less than a year but it sure came in handy this summer. I would trade it with Jess while she watched my kids 2 days a week so if she wanted to take her 3 plus my 3 kids anywhere they could all just pile up in it and I would drive her little Saturn. We even loaded that thing up with all of our bikes plus Emma's trailer and went up to Boulder to ride with friends.

Anyways, there were a couple of tears shed by a sweet boy truly loves cars and hated to see it go. He has done this with other vehicles too! But he is also very excited about the new truck. It is a 2000 Chevy 2500LS. The only thing we don't have is that 3rd row of seating because the interior of this thing is the same freaking size! The good news is that what made this trade-in necessary is that JR has recently signed a contract for 6 commercial properties in Denver! So this is a vehicle that can pull a load, and can also have a plow put on it (he already has 1 plow truck) to grow his business that much more. Now we just have to continue to pray for snow to come our way and we will be good!

Here is the Suburban....

And here is the new truck..........look at how it drawfs my poor little Blazer and you can see the corner of the current plow we have