Christmas Morning

We sure missed having people here this year! Here are some pictures of what you missed.

Christmas Eve the kids get to open one gift and they usually pick the gift that other gave them. Emma got Tyler a football tee and Tyler got Emma a Barbie--both were thrilled!

Santa brought Emma a doll and some accessories and Tyler got an Electric Spark scooter.

Here is the BEFORE picture of Christmas morning.

Here is the "AFTER" picture!

We had a nice quite Christmas this year but we are ready for the loud rowdy one again soon!

A quick review of December

We have been busy. Here are some highlights of what we have been doing to get ready for Christmas.

We went and visited with Santa and Mrs. Clause. There was no one else in line so Tyler and Emma got to visit with them for about 10 minutes.

Tyler had his Christmas party at school. He decorated his cookies with so much icing and candy that even he had a hard time eating them!=)

We took the kids to the fire station to donate toys for local children. I am always so proud to watch my children give willing and with love in their hearts!

We even rode the Polar Express all the way to the North Pole and visited with the "real" Santa!

On our way home from our North Pole we stopped to play in the snow. These pictures show the happy part of the 15 minute visit. I chose not to photograph the crying part that followed because of the frozen fingers and toes!=)

Today was Emma's Christmas Party at school. She had a great time making crafts and spending time with her friends.

Except for baking cookies for Santa, we are pretty much ready for Christmas. I promise to get the Christmas morning pictures and videos posted as soon as possible. We sure are missing having people here this year. I want each of you to know how much we love and miss you. We hope and pray that 2012 is a healthier year and that next Christmas we will be together!!!!

Some Tyler videos

Tyler has become quite the performer.

This video is a song that he learned during Thanksgiving time.

The following two are from his Christmas Program at school.

He sure was a cute elf!!!

Cookie decorating with Aunt Marie

Aunt Marie and Uncle Bill stopped by this past weekend for a quick visit. Even though the visit was WAY too short we were just so glad to have them here. Bill helped Marshall with a little outdoor decorating and Aunt Marie baked and decorated cookies with the kids.

They will be back in March to watch the kids for us while we go to an out of town wedding and the kids can hardly wait to see them again!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!!!

I LOVE Christmas time!!! You won't find me shopping on Black Friday--that is tree decorating day around here! Then the next day Elvis, our Elf on the Shelf comes. This year Tyler was able to read Emma the book that Elvis brings with him on his first day here.

UA Game

A big THANK YOU to the University of Arizona for winning their last football game of 2011. They played in the afternoon so we took Tyler and Emma. The game wasn't that crowded and there were some empty seats, so our friends, The Martinez Family came and sat by us. Having the Wildcats win and sitting next to his buddy, Sammy, made Tyler a VERY happy boy!

Stone Soup

Emma's preschool put on a production of Stone Soup. If you are unfamiliar with the story here is a quick summary...

Some travelers come to a village, carrying nothing more than an empty cooking pot. Upon their arrival, the villagers are unwilling to share any of their food stores with the hungry travellers. Then the travelers go to the neck of the stream and fill the pot with water, drop a large stone in it, and place it over a fire. One of the villagers becomes curious and asks what they are doing. The travellers answer that they are making "stone soup", which tastes wonderful, although it still needs a little bit of garnish to improve the flavour, which they are missing. The villager does not mind parting with carrots to help them out, so it gets added to the soup. Another villager walks by, inquiring about the pot, and the travellers again mention their stone soup which has not reached its full potential yet. The villager hands them a little bit of seasoning to help them out. More and more villagers walk by, each adding another ingredient. Finally, a delicious and nourishing pot of soup is enjoyed by all.

Emma and her friend, Ashlyn, were the hungry travelers. Our girl was such a little star! She said her lines loud and clear and wasn't shy in the least. The video below isn't the best and it is about 13 minutes long, but if you want to see her in action you can!

Here are a few pictures from her acting debut.

Mom and Tyler's day out

I know I have been slacking terribly when it comes to blogging. It seems like every day I am either at Tyler's school or Emma's. And if I am not there, I am busy running errands or cleaning. I told myself that today was the day that I would sit down and get you all caught up on what we have been doing.

On Veteran's Day Emma had school but Tyler did no, so he and I had a Mommy and Tyler Day. He got to choose the activity and he chose the zoo. After the zoo we went to Marshall's office for lunch and then capped the day off with a play date with one of his best buddies. Here are a few pictures from our zoo trip.

The last time Tyler fed something in the water he fell in---this time he stayed dry!=)

The Mama Lion recently had three cubs. She came right up to the glass and looked everyone in the eye letting us know that we were NOT to mess with her babies!

I love this boy SO much!!!!!!

Halloween 2011

This year Emma was Alice in Wonderland, which she was the spitting image of, and Tyler was a Police Officer.

We trick-or-treated with out fabulous neighbors and got so much candy that I am going to have to add a mile on to my running for the next few weeks!=)

A wonderful visit

Uncle Matt, Aunt Nancy, Kelsey and Logan all came to see us last week. We enjoyed having them here more than I can even begin to explain. It was just so wonderful having another girl in the house for Emma to play with. Kelsey was awesome with her and when she finally did get sick of Emma dragging her around Logan stepped up to the plate and let her climb all of him like a jungle gym! Logan was also great with Tyler playing lots of ball and video games.

We went to Tombstone on Friday and thankfully it wasn't too hot to enjoy it. Here are a few pictures from out day.

Waiting for the gun fight to begin.

If those boots didn't cost $50 she would own them!

Bellied up to the the bar at Big Nose Kate's for a shot.

Uncle Matt loading Tyler's new cap gun.

We had nice enough weather out here that the kids all got to swim. Sadly, I didn't take any pictures of that.

Saturday evening Matt and Nancy went with Marshall and I to a friend's Halloween party. Here we all are in costume.

Uncle Matt even pulled out Tyler's 2nd tooth. This isn't the best picture of Matt but Tyler feels that this is a blog worry event!

We decided to make Potato Head pumpkins instead of carving. Here are the kid's

masterpieces.

It was a wonderful visit. Both kids have been so sad all week that Matt, Nancy, and the kids can't move in to our neighborhood. I love Arizona but I sure do miss being around family!