Ushering in the Season

We had a great time celebrating the birth of Jesus this year.  The kids participated in their Christmas program at church....

 

 We went to the local Christmas parade to support our friends.

 We went Christmas caroling...

  We decorated the tree...

And all before leaving for Oregon on the 19th.  It was a busy but fun couple of weeks.

A Day at Del Mar

Our family, if you haven't guessed by reading my other blog posts, loves the horse races.  It's a fun way to spend the afternoon out in the sunshine with the family.  So we headed south toward San Diego to meet up with our friend Charlotte and stay with our friend, Quinn.  We had a great time with Charlotte at the horse races (see her in the picture with my kiddos).  Unfortunately, Quinn wasn't home, but her daddy was so we settled for staying with him.  Lucky for us, he lives just a golf ball shot to the ocean so we spent the following day as beach bums.  Life in Southern California can be so rough.

Dinosaurs in December

I got a killer deal on some kits for dinosaur escavation so we invited some of my little guy's pals (and their sisters) over to dig up some fun.

What Adventures Lie Ahead

You should never underestimate the potential any given night has in becoming memorable.  This was no exception.  We went to some friends' house for a simple barbeque, just a few families enjoying each other's company.  But then....

...the kids came running into the house yelling "We saw a deer!  We saw a deer!"  Oh, did I forget to mention that it was opening day for deer archery hunting?  Oh and did I ALSO forget to mention that one of the dads with us had his bow in the car?  Well, one good shot, some skillful tracking and a few hours later....

A night that none of us will soon forget!

The Other Stuff

We obviously cant blog EVERY playdate, there's plenty of "other stuff" that happens that doesn't make the website, but here's some cute shots of fun times with friends this year...

Ida-who?

We took a little trip up north to visit some dear friends this month.  We had an excellent time playing in the rivers, going bike riding, seeing wildlife, visiting, cooking together, playing on their farm, picking apples and blueberries, getting into shenanigans, going mutton-bustin', and wielding deadly weapons.  It may have been the first trip we took to visit them but it will most likely not be the last.

Living in Paradise

Just another beautiful day on the lake with some friends from off the mountain.

Water Play

We went down to one of the neighboring towns on our mountain recently and the kids got to play in the water park they've created on their lake.  It cost a small fortune to get it but they seemed to enjoy themselves.  They even found friends from school to play with that they hadn't seen since school got out.  Add that to mommy getting to rest on the beach and the small fortune was worth it.

Boys are not Girls

My little guy got to have his first sleepover recently.  His sister was gone to church camp for the week and he was feeling her absence.  So a couple of us moms whose boys were in the same boat decided to let them tough out their sisters' absence together.  It's funny because up until now, I had only seen a little girl's sleepover, which they really should call a "Stay awake over".  Not these boys.  When it was time for bed, it was lights out.  No gossipy whispers, no crying, no fussing. 

The play was different too.  The girls do each other's hair, play barbies, dress their baby dolls, practice gymnastics, giggle, gossip, play games and put on fashion shows all in an hour's time.  It's a madhouse.
The boys played legos. . . . . . That's it.  Just legos.  And it was enough.  No crying, no fussing, jeez, they barely even talked except as it pertained to their lego imagining.  Now I get it.  THIS is why they say boys are easy.  They really ARE easy.  This mom was so excited at how well they got along and how easy it was that we celebrated by going to the pool the next day where they swam all day.  Boys are AWESOME!  Not that girls aren't, but it's a whole new awesome I didn't even know existed.

I Have No Spine

I admit it.  I couldn't handle it.  This was my princess's first year going away to camp for a week with the youth group and I had to go down and visit her.  She was fine.  I knew she would be.  But some part of my mommy brain wouldn't let me be until I could check on her...twice.  She had a great time though and is already begging to go again next year.  Little by little I have to let her go but nothing says I have to like it.

 

Calling All Ninjas

When they hit 6 years old, the kids get to have a party with just a few friends, doing whatever they want.  In previous posts you will see my daughter chose a tea party, riding horses and a cupcake sleepover.  Last year, my son chose to take buddies to a movie and In n Out.  This year he decided that he wanted a ninja party.  They all dressed up in their best ninja attire, ran the obstacle course, squirted sticky string everywhere, played in the back yard and had a LOT of candy.  My son specifically requested a cake filled with candy (seen here).  Those poor moms probably came home with their little ninjas who were both exhausted and had sugar-sick bellies, but they sure seemed to have a great time at the party.  Happy #7 my sweet boy~

Buddies

Because we do a lot of traveling, we were gone the day that they took "buddy pictures" at school.  So our little princess did not get her picture in the yearbook with one of her little girlfriends.  So instead, her friend's mom took a picture of them on their recent playdate and now they have the picture to frame in their rooms.  Aren't they adorable?

King of the Hammers

We went camping this month out in the desert for the first time to see the "King of the Hammers" competition.  Literally, thousands of RVs set up a mini community in the middle of nowhere and all bring their dune buggies, 4x4s, rock crawlers and anything else they can makeshift up to race in the desert.  It was pretty windy but we camped in a sheltered spot so the only time we even noticed it was when we went to watch the races.  The kids didn't care though.  They just went about their business, catching lizards...

And Then She Was Eight

Here's some select shots from my little girl's 8th birthday.  She asked to have some girlfriends sleepover, make cupcakes and ride horses.  So that's what we did!  Her birthday present was getting her ears pierced.  I have always maintained she couldn't do it until she was 8 so this is quite a milestone for her as all of her girlfriends have had ear piercings for years now.  They were all so excited for her and full of sage wisdom.

Ladies, START your engines!

The kiddos spent some time with friends while hubby and I spent the last few days in Vegas, watching the NCAA basketball tournament with some friends from college.  When we got back we picked up the kids (and a friend) and headed over to Fontana to watch the NASCAR sprint series race from the cheap seats.  We were delighted to find that the kids not only figured out how to keep on their headsets but they actually ENJOYED the race and could follow the action.  I can see this becoming a fun family activity.

Celebrating Literacy

Every year the kids' school has a reading competition week.  They must read a certain amount of books to reach different levels of accomplishment.  Both kids got the highest award for reading in the program.  That's one of the reasons we enjoy this school.  It celebrates character and personal achievement as well as individual grades.  Great job kiddos.  Daddy and I are so proud of the people you are becoming.

 Here's my daughter with her girlfriends who also did well.  Kids are a reflection of the friends they choose and she has chosen some really great young ladies as friends.

Puppy Lovers

My princess joined some girlfriends to celebrate one of their birthdays recently and the theme was puppies.  The girls each got to "adopt" a stuffed animal puppy and they played some puppy-related party games. 

We love any excuse for a party and this was a fun one.

A Last Visit to the Castle

Before the local skating rink closed down for good, we had a last horrah party with some of the kids' friends.  The kids got a kick out of getting to dress up in their winter clothes in August and it was nice for them to get to spend time with friends since we were gone from home so much this summer.  It's a shame that the rink is closing down now.  There's a lot of good memories there.  This was definitely one of them.