Christmas in CA and UT

On Christmas morning, we got up around 7-ish. I wanted to sleep in, but for some reason, even as an adult, I have a hard time sleeping on Christmas Eve. I could have been ready to start at 5.

The kids started with their stockings as usual. Bradley was especially excited about the candy. In fact, he hardly let it out of his sight the whole morning.


Aw yes. Cash is always a big hit with my boys. :)


Here's Grandma and Grandpa opening their gifts from the boys.


These army-guy helmets are what the boys chose to give to each other.


Aaaand here's Bradley going back to his candy instead of wanting to open his presents. :) About halfway into getting through his pile of unopened gifts, he tookoff to the bedroom and came back with his magnet blocks. It was so funny. He didn't really care to see anything new. That's how much he loves his blocks.


But when he did finally open the rest, he was happy to see that he got more blocks! These ones are from Aunt Amber.


And more blocks, from Grandma and Grandpa ( I think.)


Here the kids are opening their presents from Santa. They asked for bow and arrows, and that's what Santa brought them. Yes... even the 2 year old.

Jaden got this skateboard from Mommy and Daddy. When he opened it he said, "Sweet! I've been wanting one of these for years!"

Kaleb got a big wheel from us, and Bradley got a mini kitchen. But now I realize we should have just stuck to more magnet blocks.

Jaden did pretty well for the 5 minutes he rode.


And Bradley get a turn.


Then it was time to learn how to shoot the bow and arrows. Charles was pretty impressed with these weapons, and I think the adults had more fun with them then the kids did.





Here's Bradley taking off to play by himself. He's so independent. He could be by himself all day and still be content.


In the afternoon, Melanie, John, Forrest, Michelle and the kids came over. Katee Jo got a treasure box full of princess dress-up stuff. It was so cute. She's getting me really excited to have a girl. So many aisles at the store just passed over completely. It's time to enter the world of pink... or Maroon... I like maroon better than pink. :)


Here's Katee Jo joining Bradley as he tried to hide in the bedroom with his blocks. At my first glance of this picture, I thought Katee Jo was giving an unfriendly gesture to get out! Haha!

Amber, (who unfortunately didn't make it out this year) sent this puzzle ball to all the grandkids to share. I'd say it was a hit. :)


And there's always fun to be had when Uncle Forrest is there. He had them lined up to tackle the punching bag, and boy did they love that! A couple times, he tricked them and lifted it out of their reach just before they dove, and sent them flying. It was pretty funny. Messed up, but funny. :)

For Christmas dinner, we went Italian style. :) Chuck made lasagna and Melanie made Gnocchi. It was soooooo good. I was sitting next to Bradley and he literally fell asleep while sitting up in his chair. I leaned over to wipe his mouth, and he just collapsed. It was so sweet. :)


Oh hey, here's Chuck doing the same thing! But I think someone still needs to wipe HIS mouth. :)





And here's Bradley sneaking off to play on his own again.

Jaden loved to just chill with Grandma.


Then we came back to UT and were spoiled all over again. I love Christmas! Here's Bradley modeling his crazy bands from his stocking... just like Jaden.


And here's the boys handing out their gifts to Grandma, Grandpa and Alli.




I wish I would have taken more pictures during the present opening. I took videos instead, and most are too large to upload.

And once again, Bradley is too entertained by... something else, to want to finish opening his presents. :)

After that we lounged around, and snacked on fudge, pinnoche, and candy.



Later that night we celebrated Grandma's birthday. She turned 92 again. :) We were really excited for her to open her presents because this year we got her something cool. She had been wanting the painting, Prayer at Valley Forge (the one with George Washington kneeling in prayer by his horse in the woods) for a long time, and we had been keeping an eye out for an affordable piece. Thanks to Grandpa for his generous pitch, we were able to get her one that was perfect. :) Mom also got a Kindle for her birthday. Nice one, Dad! :)

On the Drive...

#1
Jaden had to pee. He asked Charles to pull over. Charles couldn't because there was nowhere to stop, and it was too cold to have him go on the side of the road. Charles asked Jaden if he wanted to pee in an empty water bottle. I protested. Jaden said, "Yes! Throw it here! I'm open!" Charles tossed him the bottle and instructed him on how to succeed, without making a mess. Jaden said, "Nobody look at me!" as he stod in the car and turned towards the back. All three boys had been situated on the back row so they could all see TV during travel. Bradley was right next to Jaden, and was watching and laughing and Jaden begun to fill the water bottle. But all of a sudden, his laughter ceased. I saw a gleaming yellow fountain, escape from the bottle and land right on Bradley's arm. He just froze. Stared at the damp spot, and then stared at me. I was screaming with laughter. But poor Bradley was a confused statue. His expression seemed to say.. "why would you do that?" Jaden finished and handed me the bottle. I screwed the lid on tight, and sat and laughed/cried with Charles for about 10 minutes. This story brings back memories...

#2
Charles: I just talked to Grandma Socci on the phone and she said that if you guys don't knock it off, she's going to beat you all in the heinie!
Jaden: What's a heinie?
Charles: It means your bottom.
Jaden: Oh. So that's how you say "bottom" in California.

#3
Bradley: Ow! Oooowwww! No hurt me Chawlie! No hurt me! (Charlie Bit Me)

Ornaments

Trying to teach the kids that Christmas should be more about giving than receiving... has been tricky. Even though the kids get showered with gifts, I wanted them to take part in the giving aspect as well. I wanted them to be anxious to see the delight on others' face as they give their gift.

In the past I have taken them to the dollar store and let them pick out gifts to buy, wrap and give on Christmas day. This did not go over so well.
#1 The kids were greedy. All they could think about while at the store, was what they wanted.
#2 I realized they wouldn't really feel like they were giving a special gift if it was just something they threw into the cart, thus defeating the whole purpose.

This year, we tried something new. For an FHE night, we decided to have the kids make their gifts. We got online, looked for ideas, and the kids picked what they wanted to make. So that night, we cranked up the Christmas music, threw some cookies in the oven and became busy little elves.


It was a project that they were each capable of doing...


although some enjoyed it a little more than others.


Kaleb had the most fun. He loves to be creative and work on crafty things. He can be wild and rambunctious for most of the day, but put a craft in front of him and he will work quietly and intently for an hour.


We were only going to do candy canes and wreaths, but Kaleb came up with snowmen, igloos, trees, and bells to add to the mix.

The kids ended up making about 34 of these ornaments to give to their friends, teachers and family.


I'd say Kaleb did about 75 % of them. Not only is he good, but he is quick! We put tags on them and wrapped them up.


I'm not sure if the kids felt as excited about giving as I had hoped, but I hope they at least remember that they gave.

California Trip Dec 2010

Our trip to California was quick, but full of excitement and fun. Charles actually had Christmas day off at work for the first time in... I think 4 years. So we packed up and spent a few days in California for the holiday.

One morning Grandma and Grandpa took us out to breakfast to their favorite little place, Katz-N-Jammers.


The boys were in heaven with their Chocolate Chip Pancakes. I have no idea where they got that from... None at all.



Melanie and John were there too. Mel and I were trying really hard not to eat everything on our plate because we know the repercussions of eating too much, when a baby is in there taking up all that space! Our due dates are only 2 days apart.


Bradley just cracks me up.


On Christmas Eve, Grandma had the boys bake cookies for Santa. Here they are unwrapping the kisses for the peanut butter ones. I'm pretty sure Bradley didn't contribute a single piece to that bowl.




Next were the sugar cookies. We probably used and trashed at least 7 or 8 containers of sprinkles. Let's just hope Santa is a sprinkle lover.




On Christmas Eve we drove around to see the Christmas lights. Bradley was so funny. He sat on my lap as we drove down... (I forgot the name of that street that's all super-decked out)... and was so excited. He kept saying "Oh my gosh! Ii-ii wights! More ii-ii wights! Awesome!"


As always the kids love to play out back. It was so nice to be away from the snow and also let them get out and run around. Winters can be hard on a house full of rowdy boys. :)



Other than celebrate Christmas, we pretty much just hung out and had fun together. The kids played with Grandpa's toys from his special toy box. There were Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys, Cowboys and Indians, Army men with tanks and planes, and Thomas the Train. But Bradley was content to just play with his magnet blocks. They never get old for him. There was also a few hours one day, that we spent in Tehachappi visiting Forrest and Michelle. Other than that, our time was spent here. :)


When it was time to go home, Jaden had a really hard time saying goodbye to Grandma. He walked away and hid in the bedroom to cry. When I found him, he said he wasn't ready to go back home, and that he will really miss his Grandma. He cried for about the first 30 minutes of the trip and then again when we stopped for dinner. :(


We wish we could visit more often. We really miss family and we always have a great time being there. :)

I may be a cheapskate, but....

I may be a cheapskate but, Life Touch school pictures... SUCK. They're overpriced, and really just kind of awkward. Total waste of money in my new opinion. Let me demonstrate why...

#1. I don't get to choose when they take the picture.


Jaden had a pretty awkward couple of months with his 2 front teeth protruding straight out in front of him because his big teeth were coming in. Am I a fan of holding on to memories that are awkward and embarrassing? You bet. So long as it's not me. Haha. But really. This is a time where if I wanted to capture that moment in time, I would do so with my own camera... for my own blackmailing purposes. But make this the poor kid's "First Grade School Picture?" Not so much.

#2. I don't get to pick the pose, or make sure my own kid is smiling.


Yes, this picture, does depict how shy Kaleb is in classroom settings, but it does not show how happy he is this year. He loves his school, and he loves his teacher. But do we look like we are having fun?

#3. The price is ridiculous.
I spent about $28 on each kid. But look what I got for Bradley:





I went to Walmart to have Brad's pictures done. I haven't gone there in the past 6 years because of a bad experience with Jaden's baby pictures. (Remember that, Sherrie?) I kind of boycotted the place. Well one day, my frugal instincts won over, and I'm glad that they did. Walmart had totally changed the way they do things since my last visit and I love the turnout.

For each of Jaden and Kaleb's $28 bucks, we got:
~ONE class picture
~ONE crappy 8x10

For Bradley's $28 bucks we got:
~4 different poses
~my choice of day for the picture
~CUTE outcomes
~(3) 8x10s
~(4) 5x7s
~(5) 3 1/2 x 5s
~(8) wallets
~(10) minis.

Next time they're all going to Walmart (or wherever I can find the best deal) and they can have a $5 class picture. Or even better, I'll have my dad or Shanade do them for free. Lesson learned.

First Swim Lessons

I know, we're kinda slacking with Jaden, but we finally got him and Kaleb in for their first official swim classes. Jaden was in Level 1 with a good friend of his, "Big Caleb." He did awesome.

(Doesn't this dude look like he's belching right in Jaden's face?)

You could tell that his Aunt Alli had worked him him that summer. Alli used to be a lifeguard and a swim coach. In fact it was a little painful to her to come and watch some of these lessons. She noticed many coaching techniques that could have been well-improved upon. She thought they did a horrible job. Darn. At least the kids had fun, even if the teaching sucked.

Kaleb was in Pre-Level 1, but didn't have any of his friends in class with him.


This was just a "Water Exploration" class, so really all they did was play games, and float around with their teacher on a big noodle. He was, as always in these situations, extremely shy. But I thought he did surprisingly well anyway. He may not have spoken, but he participated. Unfortunately he did not receive a passing grade, but we don't really care. It's not the water he's uncomfortable with, it's strangers. So to us, he did just fine. The only thing he wouldn't do for his teacher was go down the alligator slide. But you know what? He does it for us. :) You go, Kabe!


Bradley did pretty well with being left out. He insisted on wearing his swimsuit, just like his big brothers, even though he knew he couldn't get in the water. Don't worry, buddy. Your time will come. :)

Bradley's Hidden Talent

He may be small, but he's got a strong set of lungs.



This is nothing, actually. Most of the time he'll blow it up so big that it's about to pop. But I have to admit, it's nice that he can do it himself now. It spares us the constant feeling of lightheadedness... well, my mom in particular. She's way too nice to him :)