Aubree's Birthday

This is about how I felt the last couple of weeks. Actually I am keeping a very large file of wacky Aubree photos to blackmail her with when she gets older. She's gonna be sorry she would never do a normal smile for the camera!

Seriously though, today was Aubree's first day in Young Women's! I don't know whether to cry or be thrilled. She simply CANNOT be old enough. Can she? Because if she is, that makes me really old and I still feel like a Beehive myself. Anyway, Grammy got her a new outfit to wear for her first day in YW and oh she did look ravishing. We also went out to lunch yesterday and to see Alice in Wonderland 3-D on the Imax. We loved it!

Of course we had to have the cute friends over for a party. This party was so quiet I was almost BORED--until Aubree opened her favorite present--whoa, banshee scream lady! What was it you ask, that caused her to erupt like a volcano? Tickets to see Carrie Underwood at the Stadium of Fire this summer--oh yeah! Waiting for the 4th of July is gonna be like waiting for Christmas this year!

Oh yeah, Aubree got a new bike too. Still, Carrie Underwood is way more exciting than that!

Happy Birthday Aubree!

Adam's Birthday

It's hard to believe Adam turned 10 years old last week! To me, he'll always be about eight. I'm sure he'll be thrilled to hear that. Anyway, this is his very first GLUTEN FREE birthday cake. The week before his birthday he was diagnosed with celiac disease, which means no more yummy treats made out of flour for him! His first question was, "Can I still have a pudding cake for my birthday?" Well I tried to make one gluten free, and it turned out okay I guess. He ate it, anyway.

Papa T. is famous for holding his presents up to his head and guessing what's inside, and it turns out Adam got the guessing gene. He held up every present and guessed correctly exactly what was inside! Maybe next year I won't let him give me a birthday request list and then we'll see just how smart he is!

The 4th grade buddies came over for a party, and seriously I don't think my eardrums have quite recovered yet. Talk about a pack of wild monkeys! They were funny though, and they had a great time. In honor of the winter olympics, we had several olympic events. Olympic eating was #1, and they all excelled at the sport.

After stuffing themselves so full they could barely move, they worked off a few calories by competing in the biathlon...


Around-the-world ping pong....

And ice hockey. The party was a big hit--Next year, though, I think we'll do something a bit calmer. Like getting trampled by wild elephants.

Boondocks

So, a new Boondocks opened just down the street and I am NOT happy about it. It's a money-sucking machine that turns happy little children into screaming monsters (ha ha, I don't have opinions about it do I?). But, they have been DYING to go ever since Grammy gave them gift certificates for Christmas (thanks Grammy!). I had to admit that the mini golf course was cool.

The Sphinx was definitely the coolest part. It's hard to see on this picture because it was too bright outside, but if you hit the ball in the right hole on this one, the Sphinx talks and smoke starts blowing out, and then a huge fireball erupts out of the top of its head. Once we figured out how to make it work we made it erupt several times because we were freezing and the fireball felt lovely and warm!

Next I want to go over and do the race cars. See, I'm getting sucked in too. It's disgusting!

A Little Trip

We took advantage of a long weekend to take a little trip to St. George. It was nice to get away from the smog and see the sun for a while! Oh yeah relaxing, playing games and just hanging out was pretty good too. The kids would say their favorite part of the trip was swimming at the new pool in Washington. After 5 hours they STILL didn't want to leave!

It was about a week before Great-Grandma's birthday, so we stopped on our way back home and surprised her with cake, presents and a bunch of grandkids. She's probably still recovering from the craziness, but it was sure fun to visit with her and Grandpa!

Grammy & Papa T, along with our cousins Brie & Amy were also in St. George for the weekend. Grammy took us bowling one day. It was all good until Spencer just about took out the unsuspecting bowler next to us with a wayward bowling ball! We all had a great time though.

Ben waiting patiently for his turn...

Brie with her beautiful turquoise ball

Watch out for Spencer, he could throw that ball just about anywhere!

Grammy (the Queen Bowler Woman), Spence, and Amy

Ben, Brie, Spence & Amy spent a couple of afternoons "feeding the turtles" in Grammy's backyard. In case you are wondering those are rocks from Papa T's landscaping. He was not too thrilled about the rock usage but it kept the kids entertained for many hours, and oh, those turtles were hungry!

Good-Bye Friends

We are so sad to say good-bye to our dear friends the Fellows. They were our neighbors for several years and Aubree and Claire have been BFs since they were 3 years old! Now they are headed out for an new adventure in Vermont. We are sad to see them go but know they will have a great experience in a new place! Our last "hurrah" was a fun trip to Kangaroo Zoo with some of the kids. We had a great time and we miss them already.

It's embarrassing to admit but the moms got in on the action too and we found out, those giant slides are FUN! No wonder the kids love this place. You go, Kim!

Sledding

The kids took advantage of the fresh snowfall over Christmas to go sledding at our favorite place, Happy Hollow. It was all good unless you ended up in the ditch filled with muck! Here's Cam & Ben in the ditch, luckily not in the muck.

Spencer was Energizer Bunny Sledder. He never wanted to stop!

Christmas pics

Santa found us despite the unbelievers of the family, and he left us presents whether we deserved it or not! Cam could hardly wait to go snowboarding, but ended up with the flu for most of the Christmas break. Not fun! We're glad he's feeling better and is planning to go snowboarding with friends tomorrow.

Looks like Ben's ready to hit the slopes too?

Our annual Christmas program at Grammy's house, complete with hooded and masked elves...