It was so hard to get a good picture! There were so many people and we were at a weird angle to the stage, but I managed to get one where you can tell it's Preston anyway!
Monday, December 16, 2013
Christmas Program & Snow
Preston's school had a Primary Christmas Program last week. It was crazy crazy packed, but the kids did a good job and had fun. It was just 1st-3rd graders, so B didn't get to participate.
In weather news, we got our first real snow (a couple of inches) last week. Bryton made snowmen all over our yard! It was.so sad the next morning when he realized that they had melted overnight. But a happier aspect of that is that we no longer have snow! It lasted for literally ONE day! That is my kinda snow!
Spontaneous Getaway
This weekend we got to have a little spontaneous getaway! John and I love to take spontaneous trips...in fact most of the smaller trips we take are impromptu.
Our friends were having their work Christmas party at Schweitzer Mountain Resort, and one of their employees had to cancel at the last minute, leaving them with an empty, already paid for, room. So they invited us up to join them! They have 2 boys who are the same ages as our older boys, so our kids got to entertain each other.
We went hot tubbing (and the kids alternated between the hot tub and the big pool) outdoors in the snow, the kids played lots (and lots of chess), and watched movies. John can't ski yet, so we just hung around and relaxed. My favorite! It was a fun way to spend the weekend, and it was even more enjoyable to be able to spend it with friends.
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
The North Pole
(...and temperatures to go with it!)
Last night we took the boys to the North Pole. This is something we try to do every year, but I think we have missed one year since we moved here. They get the cruise ships all decorated for Christmas, go past the Christmas light display (which included a fire breathing dragon this year - with REAL fire - the boys were enthralled!), and the Grinch runs alongside the boat trying to stop it.
We journeyed out to the North Pole where Santa & his elf read "the list" with all the names of the kids on board. My cynical children, however, proceeded to announce that their Mom or Dad must have told the elves their names. I guess we need to talk about keeping their lack of Santa belief to themselves again!
But they enjoyed it, and we enjoyed it too. One thing I am NOT enjoying is the frigid weather. We have lows coming up in the negatives, and highs in the single digits. Right now it is hovering around 12, and it's supposed to get colder, and colder, and colder...
We also had Santa come by our house the other night! First a fire truck with lights & siren alerted us to go outside, then Santa in his sleigh came by while the elves handed out candy canes.
Friday, November 29, 2013
Thankful
So thankful!
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
The Knee
Since my last post, I've decided that I think this is actually knee surgery #4, not 5. My mistake.
Playing cards
Surgeon P operating on A's knee
John is almost a week post-op, and he's going back to work tomorrow. I think it will be a harsh wake-up call for him, but we'll see. So far his recovery hasn't been spectacular, but that probably goes without saying given the number of knee surgeries he has had.
The boys are definitely enjoying the extra Dad time though, and they have been playing lots of games, reading books, and watching movies together. The last knee surgery was when Archer was just a few months old, and this time has been a lot easier with the kids anyway!
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Vegas
John and I got back from a Vegas mini-vacation last night. I say "vacation" but technically John was working. Technically.
At the Rainforest Cafe in our hotel
Harley Davidson store
New York New York & the rollercoaster
Jelly Belly Statue of Liberty
Excalibur (or the castle, as we told the kids)
The dragon store
Tornadoes/whirlpools (?) 
Ice Columns
And finally...John and his friend/coworker who spent the entire flight home huddled over Candy Crush.
Anyway, last week he went to part 2 of a dental implant course in So. Cal., then he had to fly straight to Vegas. Given that I have been solo-parenting for quite a bit over the past month (Vegas was work trip #3 for John), and John is scheduled for knee surgery today, my parents took pity on me and came up to stay with the boys while I joined John in Vegas.
I've said it before (like last summer when we went to Vegas for another work trip), but I really do not get the Vegas appeal. It stinks like smoke everywhere, everything is LOUD, and there are crowds. Buuuuut, the weather...it was between 75-80 degrees every day we were there. I get the appeal of that! I read by the pool, soaked up some vitamin D, and relaxed while John was busy with work stuff.
In the evenings we got to...
night #1: see cirque du soleil, Beatles LOVE.
Night #2: eat at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant (yum!), then see David Copperfield.
Night #3: go to "The Bash" put on by the conference John was there for. We got to see Brian Setzer Orchestra, and then Big & Rich, along with Cowboy Troy! B & R put on a great show and it was a good way to end our trip.
I also took some random pictures of things that I thought the boys would especially like to see. Despite the amount of families with young children there, I don't plan to ever take my kids there, so pictures will have to do!
We came home exhausted and still on Vegas time (going to bed waaaaaaay too late), but excited to see the boys, who were up bright and early this morning of course!
It was a nice getaway, but time to get back to reality - and preparing to take care of John after knee surgery #5.
Friday, November 1, 2013
Halloween
2 Ninjas, and Jake (the Neverland pirate!).
B in the costume parade at school (so hard to get a good picture!)
The big ninja!
My cute little Jake
Striking a pose before heading out for candy!
The boys with their pumpkins. With John's pumpkin seed allergy, this is our version of "carving" pumpkins.
John made us some pretty awesome vampire fangs!
I only made 1/3 this year and ended up buying the ninja costumes due to "time constraints" - or procrastination then panic. Whatever. It was hard to not feel disappointed during the school costume parade when my boys had generic costumes, but it's okay. Next year will be better. And Jake was still pretty cute!
We had a super fun Halloween. The boys attempted to trick-or-treat in our neighborhood, but we only had success at one house (and the other neighbor had given the boys their Halloween treats earlier in the week...so sweet of them to think of our boys)! The one house where someone answered the door, they told us that they were hoping we'd stop by since they bought candy just for the boys. Our neighbors are very thoughtful, but sadly we don't live in a popular T-o-T neighborhood.
But that's okay! Because we have friends who do. We headed over to a friends house for chili, hot drinks, and lots of trick-or-treating. The boys had so much fun running around with their friends. They ended up doing way more trick-or-treating than our customary 10 houses or so. I was cold and tired, but we took shifts - out with the kids or warming up by the fire. Plus we had adult time as well when the kids were gorging on candy. All in all, a great night!
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