It's All Coming To An End........

I guess that I am really going to have to bug my Mom today to get those pictures from Christmas time. I am not liking the fact that I don't have a camera right now. It has been MIA for way too long!! I sure hope that someone didn't steal it from us. Christmas was good for our family. Yes it was smaller for the kids, but everyone still had a great time. We were able to go to West Yellowstone to celebrate this year! It was so much fun and very exciting.

We ended up leaving on Christmas Eve for the drive up to Yellowstone, since there was a HUGE storm coming in the next day when we had planned to leave. So in a matter of less than 3 hours we got a lot of things done around the house and stuff ready to go. We did:

• 2 full loads of laundry
• cleaned out the van
• ran to get treats
• ran back to Target to get socks
• packed all 5 of us
• got all the presents wrapped and in the van
• got gas
• got on the road with all of our kids in the van
• and even managed to get lunch!!
  

I am getting tired all over again of just reading what we did to leave early.

So we got on our way after we ate some great McRibs!! It is really the only time of the year that I actually want to go to McD's. The ride up into Idaho was great and it was really only the last 60 miles or so that was hard to drive. There was a big snow storm that was not fun for Steve to drive in, but I tried to be calm so he was calm too. We did get into West Yellowstone and got to our condo just fine. Mom and everyone else were a little behind us but we all got there safe and sound.

Christmas Eve was fun. We all pitched in and ordered our pizza for dinner. Let me tell you that it was some good pizza and a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner for all of us. Card games, Clue and more were the agenda for the evening. The girls got their new jammies, still matching of course. I think it is one of the last years that I am going to be able to do matching ones for the girls, so I love it while it lasts.

Christmas morning was fun. We tried to get almost all the presents unwrapped before the Cinnamon rolls were done. The girls had a great time and really understood what it was all about that morning. Hannah loved all of her new Princess Barbie dolls. Ruby loved all of her Handy Manny stuff that she got. It was all over for Katy when she opened the Little Einsteins piano. I cheated and got all of my presents for my anniversary, so I got to enjoy more pieces to the Nativity set that I started getting last year. Steve had so much fun getting the new Batman movie and Heroes season 2 for Christmas along with a few new Cars for his collection of Cars.

The rest of the day was spent watching movies and playing games. The girls got baths thanks to grandma! One at a time of course, but baths still the same. Then it was time for another fun night with Katy. I remembered during this short trip of why Katy sleeps in her own bed now. She was all over the place. I got the death roll in my side, back, and head those nights along with Steve too. I missed my King bed if I am going to be honest!! Katy eventually found a comfortable spot sleeping at our feet. Whatever works right?!?!?

The day after Christmas was time for our Christmas present from Mom and Dad. It was a whole day of snowmobiling into Yellowstone park!! We found out after we got home that there had been earthquakes going on the whole day we were in the park. I have never had more fun in my life! I love Yellowstone during the summer but in the winter it was beautiful!! Maybe it was the snow or the fact that there were way less people in the park or a little of both, but it was awesome. Of course, I wanted to drive my own snowmobile and that is what happened. I was riding right behind our tour guide, Conrad, so it was fun to see most things before everyone else. We saw a bald eagle, her 8 foot in diameter nest, trumpter swans, bison that were 10 feet away from us, and of course all the geysers.

We got to Old Faithful right around lunch time and had a few minutes before it went off. It was so cold, but we went out with all the other crazy people to stand and watch it blow on a cloudy day. The wind shifted a few minutes before it went off and it was blowing towards us. Steve started backing up a few minutes before and I was glad that he did. As the first big part blew it started raining on most of the people. We just kept walking faster and got out of there. Who cares! We will see it again in the summer, and it was a little hard to see anyway because of the steam coming out. We went over to the little cafe for lunch and got our order in before the huge crowds got there. Steve and I had a little laugh since everyone else that got there were completely covered in frozen water from head to toe!!

The ride back into West Yellowstone was fun. That was when we got to see the bison close up. They were just on the other side of the road and there were probably about 100 of them. It was so awesome to see that big of an animal right there at your fingertips. Yes I did get lots of pictures too! From there it was a ride over to the Firehole! It was so pretty in there too. There was a huge waterfall that was still going in the cold weather and then we found out there was a great swimming hole there too in the summer. I can't wait to take the kids.

Driving all day long was so much fun. I got up to 39 mph on my snowmobile and Steve pushed his up to 41 mph. I wish that the roads would have been a little smoother, so I could have gone faster. I love speed and driving!! Guess it is from all those drives across the country as a kid. Our tour guide didn't think that I was going to keep up but after I got the hang of giving the gas with my thumb, I was in business. Steve had a great time too and it was a super fun day!! It was the BEST Christmas present I have gotten in a long time.

The next day was a long drive home while the weather was good. We made okay time and the kids were ready to get out of the van. All in all it was a great few days. A needed break for Steve and I from all the issues at home. I can't wait for my Mom to send over the pictures so I can add them all.

Merry Christmas!!

Polar Express comes to life!

So Hannah had a special treat today!

It was actually a great morning. I went to the gym this morning (and a SPIN class that kicked my toosh!) but it felt good to get back after 10 days after my sore toe. When I got home, Ruby was wandering around the house in the dark (it's still cloudy). She is getting really fun. For some reason in the past month she has really blossomed with full sentences and big words, as well as singing songs in their entirety. This morning she serenaded "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" word for word while eating her corn pops. I am more and more amazed by my two year old everyday!

Alicia and I decided to take a trip to Cabelas since it is really close by, and it just so happens Santa was going to be there from 10am-3pm. After watching the Polar Express last night (as well as every day this week, gotta love TiVo!) the girls have been really excited about seeing Santa. So we loaded them up in the van and headed north. :)

After about 10 minutes on the road we arrived! Cabelas is a lot of fun because there are so many stuffed animals there and such it is almost like going to an exhibit. On top of that they have a huge aquarium and live fish that the girls love to feed by throwing quarters into a machine that dispenses fish food that they then throw into the water. We actually passed on that today because of the anticipation of a long line to see the Jolly Guy himself.

The line actually wasn't that bad. Ruby screamed hysterically a few times, but it wasn't too bad waiting. Katy was cute. She would walk up and down the center of the line and say hi to everyone. It got to a point where swinging on the ropes almost toppled the poles like dominoes, so Alicia decided to take care of Katy while Hannah and Ruby watched the deer, bears, moose, and other wildlife.

Our moment arrived, and the girls were fantastic! Hannah and Ruby sat on Santa's lap and Katy, like a model, plopped herself down at his feet and literally struck a pose for the camera. I love free pictures with Santa!

Anyway, Ruby proceeded to tell Santa about baby dolls and Handy Manny. Katy did not really speak, but gave Santa the biggest smile which made him blush and giggle. It was cute. While he was handing out candy canes to the girls, Hannah went up to Santa and asked him something that I didn't even realize how important this moment was for her.

"Santa, can I have a bell for Christmas?"

"A bell," he replied.

"Yes," said Hannah. "I want a bell from your sleigh."

I think Santa recognized the question and why she asked for such a bell. Santa then leaned over and reached into a different bag laying next to the candy cane bag and whispered to Hannah, "You have to keep this a secret. I actually have a bell from my sleigh right here, and it is just for you."

He pulled out of this red bag a bell almost the size of a golf ball, and handed it to her. The excitement in my little Hannah Bear's eyes were amazing! She got a bell from Santa's sleigh! How brave of her to ask!

I assume that most of you reading this may be familiar with Polar Express. The premise of the movie revolved around a young man who chooses to believe in Santa and in choosing the gift he would like for Christmas, the one thing he wanted more than anything was a bell from Santa's sleigh. You can see the ending here. I love Hannah's request today, and was grateful for a store Santa that took the time to recognize the faith of a little girl and giving her the opportunity to receive her first gift of Christmas this year.

The greatest news of all?

Alicia and I can still hear it ringing.

Merry Christmas!

8 years ago.....

Happy Anniversary Steven. It has been a wild ride from day 1 for us. Who can forget that it all started for us with a SNOW storm in Atlanta, an ER trip a few hours before we got married, and ice for our reception. All in all I can say that I have had an awesome ride so far with you, my best friend. Who else would be willing to move 12 times with you and 3 of those were across the country. We have picked up children in every area that we have been in. How fun was that?!?! Through all the great times and the sad ones that we have had too, I would never have done it with anyone else but you. Happy Anniversary my love! I can't wait to see what 2009 will bring us. I love you with all my heart!!

Our Wedding Day Dec. 19, 2000
Steve and Alicia Fall 2008

Ode to the Christmas Tree

My Dear Christmas Tree.
You have been with Steve and I since our First Christmas together.
You have seen all 12 moves with us.
Been there for new kittens and kids.
You have stood and fell when the cats decided that they needed to climb you.
Not to mention the kids who love to knock you down too.
Did you know you have been decorated with love in many different houses and states?
But the time is here to say good-bye.
You have fallen one too many times.
Your stand is now broke and there is a crook in your side.
You are just leaning on a wall since the last fall was one too many.
We tried in one last attempt to make it through this Christmas season,
But it was no good.
We love the joy you have brought us.
It is time to say good bye!

ps. there will be pictures soon. I have lost my camera!!!!

The worm in the garden......

Yes this is from a few weeks back too. Mandee this is just for you. Pictures and the movie, since you didn't believe me on the size of these worms!!! I am just getting around to unloading my pictures from my camera today. This was right after Thanksgiving when we were planting our bulbs for the spring. I am finally in my own house, so I want some flowers for the spring. We found 50 bulbs for $10 at Lowe's. We have two flower beds in front of our house that need something for spring.

While we were digging the holes for the flowers we found WORMS!! They were living in the turtle pool that we had by the side of the house. It was full of nasty water left from when we had the dogs. I guess that a family of worms had taken up residence in that little pool of ours. They were HUGE!! Now these are not those little inch worms but bigger than my hand worms!! We were good and put them in their new home! We love worms. They make for awesome gardens and even better flowers.

Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil.....

Here is my attempt at getting my girls in the cute monkey pose that so many know. We took these a few weeks back and no such luck to get this.......

I got this instead. Three little girls who would not sit still for anything!! It was fun to try and get them to listen. I got two covering their ears, eyes, or mouths. I guess we will try again later. It really was a fun night for us!!
Our first attempt.
Try number two.
Try number 3 for the silly monkeys.
All done and off to another activity!!!

Fall Pictures

Ginnie was so very nice to take our family pictures for us this year. We of course chose a really cold day to take them, so thank you so much Ginnie for freezing with us. The girls were okay and were not really interested in taking pictures so I was amazed with so many that turned out great!!

So here they are and Thank you so much Ginnie for our adventure!!

Our Family Pictures Fall 2008 <-------Click here

A long few weeks

Our family has been going through a crazy mess this last week since I have wrote. Yes we are all still alive and well, but Steve was laid off from his job last Thursday. It was right before I had to go to work so it really was not a fun night for me. Life for us has been in the "circle the wagons" mode. I have started working a whole lot more at work and am very glad that I can pick up more hours at the Olive Garden.

Sunday I was blessed with two angels as my last table. At work we are having a wine sample contest, where every week if we sell 10 samples or glasses of wine our name gets put into a drawing for a $50 visa gift card or $30 olive garden gift card. I only needed 3 more samples or glasses on Sunday with my last table. The ladies ordered soup and salad and wouldn't you know they wanted some wine!! So with their 2 glasses I was one sample away and I told them about the contest. One of ladies was so happy to buy a sample of wine from me to put me at the 10 that I needed for the week!! They sampled the soups we have too and tried all of our soups but Minestrone. Eventually my Angels wanted to know how much I would win with selling my glasses so I told them about the $50 if my name gets drawn out of the bin. I told them about Steve not having a job and how much I was working. The whole thing just kinda spilt out when I only had one table and I was checking on them every few minutes. I get them all checked out with their mints of course. One of the ladies tells me that her friend had a gift for me. I was a little shocked b/c you don't get gifts when you are a server. My angel lady handed me a $50 tip!! She told me that I had already won the contest and to use it for Christmas. The Lord really is looking out for us even when we are not expecting blessings. I am so thankful for these Angels of mine.

Steve has been looking for work most hours of the day that we are awake. It sure is strange for me to be going to work and him to be at home with the kids. I have a better understanding and appreciation for that song "Mr. Mom" and have a good laugh at it too since he has been home when I do doubles at work. Steve has had some offers here and there for commission work or way under what would let us live even comfortably. There doesn't seem like there is much with it being a few weeks before Christmas, but we are doing the best that we can right now.

A lot of things have been put on hold for our little family, but I am glad that we have Christmas taken care of. Yes it will be smaller this year for the girls, but in a way I am glad that the girls are small so they won't miss all the presents from Santa. Hannah has discovered the Dollar Store so that is the new cool store for her! Thank goodness for me since that is where their stocking suffers are coming from this year.

Sorry that this is a short update, but we will have more to follow soon. Just keep us all in your prayers this Christmas season. There are always blessings that come when a door is shut. We are just looking for that open window right now.