Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree...Christmas 2008

I finally finished putting together a movie of this year's Christmas adventures. We had an amazing holiday...celebrating with all of our family and friends, laughing a lot, an abundance of thoughtful gifts, and best of all, seeing it all through our kiddos' eyes. There's nothing like a four-year old's excitement on Christmas morning. So, I decided to lump all of the highlights together into one giant movie. (10 minutes long!) There were just too many fun clips I couldn't leave out. So, you might want to get a snack before you press play...enjoy!

2/2

The title of this post reflects our daughter's current record for falling off of the stage during preschool Christmas programs. I've reflected on her programs in a previous post. This year, our Christmas wish was a drama-free performance. And it almost came true...Payton did a great job for the majority of the program. Her dress stayed down, no googly eyes, no bird wings. Just plain old singing. During one of the last songs, the very tall boy standing next to Payton got a little too excited and lost his balance. Arms and legs flailing, he fell off the back of the risers and took Payton right along with him. He immediately stood up, climbed back onto the bleachers, and resumed singing. Not so with Payton. In tears partially due to her hurt leg and partially out of embarassment, Payton lay on the floor behind the rest of the kids. Her teacher had to climb onto the stage, help her up, and sit with her in the pew until she felt better. Going through my head? "Are you kidding me?! Did my daughter really fall off of the stage two years in a row? Wow..." To her credit, she got back up at the end of the song and resumed singing (granted she was one level lower next to a very small girl...) I did not catch the "incident" on film as I was too busy trying to catch Brady. Here are few clips I did get.




On a side note: I was able to snap this great shot of the kiddos this morning. As all of you parents know, it's tough to get a pic where BOTH kids are smiling. PR did a great job trying to tickle Brady and get him to laugh. I included a shot of that too. It just doesn't exactly look like she's TICKLING her brother.

Twas' the Night Before Christmas...

...and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, except for a mouse (named Katie).

The stockings were hung on the chimney with care,
(PR insisted that Katie have her own!) in hopes that Saint Nick soon would be there...

O' Christmas Tree

Yesterday, we embarked on our 4th Annual Christmas Tree Cutting Adventure. We buy a $10.00 pass and head up into the mountains to find the "perfect" tree. This year, Mom and Dad, Mark and Abby, and Gwen and Tim joined in the fun. The weather was beautiful...just enough snow, not too much cold. The kids love climbing rocks and clomping around in the snow, and the dads love using 4-Wheel Drive and their saws! I think we found a great tree...not exactly perfect by tree lot standards, but one of our best Colorado trees yet!

T-H-A-N-K-S

Some things I am thankful for this year:
My Kiddos:

My Hubby (and his incredible dart throwing abilities!):

Awesome Parents & Grandparents:

Great Food!:
(and Uncle Mark!)
(and Nephew Nolan...who weighs the same as the turkey!)
(especially Wes's homemade pies!)
Aunt Sue's Games! (I explained her creativity for games in a previous post. Our "Thanksgiving Derby" involves rolling dice to see who's turkeys advance to the finals. The winners earn fantastic prizes.
(I'm especially thankful that the losers get to wear this lovely hat! oh, and for Gwen too...)
And Family & Friends:
(Some Near):
(& Some Far...Oma Bosch & Brady talking to Brad & Jayne via webcam):

Happy Thanksgiving.

What Happens In Vegas...

...gets blogged about!

Wes and I (and our friends Jesse and Kacey) enjoyed our 3rd annual "End-Of-The-Volleyball-Season" weekend away in Las Vegas.

We had a great time in Sin City. We slept in (6 AM is sleeping in for PR), walked The Strip, rested and read by the pool, gambled a bit (see if we were lucky in the video, and DON'T ask Wes about the ND/Syracuse football game), shopped, and saw the show Tony and Tina's Wedding.

I should also mention that Aunt Sue probably had the best trip of anyone. She didn't actually go, but we gambled some money for her at the roulette table...Wes worked the table, and I narrated to Sue via cell phone. She doubled her money and didn't spend a dime!

Thanks also to Oma, Opa, and Grandma Tammy for taking such good care of Payton and Brady. They had just as great of a vacation as we did!

The Wild Blue Yonder...

This weekend, we packed up the kids and headed down to Colorado Springs for the Air Force Academy Football Game. The game started at 1:30, but we left at 9:30 so we had plenty of time to tailgate, listen to the drum and bugle core in the stadium tunnel, and enjoy the festivities. PR and Brady LOVED the pre-game parachuters and fly-over. We tried to catch a video of the planes, but they're moving a little fast. I included the video anyway so you can see just how loud they really are! The Falcons ended up losing to BYU, but we had a great day inspite of the outcome. Go Air Force!

The Good Ol' Days...

This weekend, we took a trip to the Littleton Historical Museum. The weather is still awesome, and the museum is free, so we headed on over to enjoy the sights. There is an indoor museum that showcases the history of Littleton, but we spent the majority of our time outside checking out the farm houses, barns, and animals. My how times have changed...

This looks more like Grand Rapids than Littleton!
Hangin' With Mom...
Driving The Wagon...
Coloring wool using natural plant extracts. Payton thought the lady said that they were "dyeing wolves!"
Did you have any idea how scary turkeys actually look?!
"Feeding" the donkeys. PR & Brady's favorite, see video below and you'll see why I put feeding in quotations!.

Halloween 2008

Here is a video of our most excellent Halloween adventure!

Payton's Circus Parade

Last week Thursday, Payton had a circus parade at pre-school. The students get to dress up and parade into the elementary school gym where they sing a few songs for the parents. As only those closest to me know (and now absolutely everyone), we did not have such a good experience with programs last year. You know that kid that is goofing around? That kid who everyone thinks is hilarious and "so cute," BECAUSE she isn't yours?! THAT was my kid.
But, to her credit, Payton did an awesome job at this year's program. No binocular eyes, no lifting up of the dress, and no sitting down on the stage. Just good old marching and singing. We are very proud (and relieved).
Enjoy the show...my personal favorites? Make sure you stick around long enough in the video for I'm A Nut, and HIPPOPOTAMUS!

Top Ten Reasons Why Dads Are Awesome At Parks (Well, Actually Top Three)

Reason #3:

Reason #2:

and Reason #1:


Dads are awesome.

Further Fall Fun...

We had a beautiful weekend of 70 degree weather, so we spent it outside having fun. Look closely to see what PR found inside the pile of leaves!

Foot PJ's & Pillow Piles.

Some days, don't you wish you were still a kid?!

Our Day At The Race Car Park

I had a mini fall break this week and had Thursday and Friday off. So, we headed to one of Payton's favorite places, the Race Car Park, with some friends. The Race Car Park does not actually have a race car, just a super steep slide that PR thinks looks like a race car. Oh well, it kind of does look like a race car, and so do the kids who go flying down it.
Brady using his super-sticky-anti-gravity shoes (a.k.a. Crocs) to climb up the slippery tunnel.PR and her best friend Addie. I'm hoping Capri Sun will see this and offer us a contract for some advertising...Brady's attempt to shoot "hoops" (he says hoop). Only about 10 more feet to go!It's tough to get them both to smile at the same time. This is close as I got.

Rain, Rain...

One might think that the most appropriate line to follow should be "go away". But, being from Colorado, we say "hooray"! Rainy days are so rare that most of us love every drip and drop that falls down from the sky. So, when we get a cold and rainy fall day, we have every reason to put on our kitty-cat rain boots and stop around in the gutters!

Fall-in' In The Leaves

We are so happy that fall has finally arrived. There is nothing better than warm sunny days paired with crisp cool nights. Not to mention the start of football season. The leaves have started falling and the kids are loving it!

Pop Quiz #2

In a previous post I challenged you to see if you could figure out which basketball stud was Brady. Here's edition 2: See if you can figure out which fabulous couple is competing on Dancing With The Stars...

A Random Mix Of Pics

Some pictures I have collected over the last week or two...
"Helping" me cook muffins!
PR's drawing of bunnies on the garage floor.
My "other" children, and the reason for my drastic decline in posts these last few weeks...my varsity volleyball team.

The Z-O-O

After naptime on Sunday afternoon, we headed down to the Denver Zoo. It was a beautiful fall evening and we stayed until closing. (Wes considered hiding so he could spend the night...) We decided cotton sheets are better than bales of hay, so we headed home to enjoy some pizza.

Look closely to see what Brady and Wes were staring at!
Lizard Kisses
Brady was in awe of the elephant!
Checking out the bears...