December Happenings

It's the most wonderful time of the year, but it's also the busiest!  There is so much going on but it is all good and a lot of fun.  I attended an end of year work party at the Rustler's Rooste.  I had never been there before but I enjoyed it. It is very unique and the food was yummy.  It overlooks the Phoenix valley from the South Mountain. I want to take the family back one day.

Each of the boys had a Christmas party at school. All of 3rd grade had to make a winter character out of a potato and then they had a parade to each classroom to check out what the other students had created. Logan's class had a Polar Express party (perfect theme for Logan) and had an ornament exchange where he gave a train ornament and received an Iron Man one.

Since the boys were out of school for two weeks (which I loved being able to sleep in with them, cuddle them in the morning and have around to do activities with) we tried to do something fun each day. We went to Chuck E Cheese, Pump It Up and Sky Zone. We also went to the movies a few times.  The best was seeing Star Wars: The Force Awakens for the first time, the day before the official opening day.  We bought tickets weeks in advance and arrived at the theater a couple hours ahead of time and still ended up near the front of the theater.  We camped out in our chairs, eating dinner and playing iPads while we waited for the movie to start.  The boys did great and Lincoln told me after that it is his "all time favorite movie, ever!"  Since then Lincoln and Ricky have seen it twice more, Logan once more and we also saw the Chipmunk movie.  I think it's a wonderful time of year to go to the movies. 

Sarah, Me, Robin and Jill at Rustler's Rooste

Sarah and I with the bull in the background.

Daddy put up Christmas lights for the first time at our new house. Lucky for him, we only have a single story home.

Lincoln decided just for fun he was going to write a speech that he wanted to give to his class. It just so happened to be the day before Pearl Harbor day.  I love that he is patriotic and interested in our country's history.

Our very own Logan the red nose reindeer.

One of our family activities over break was to try out the Main Event in Tempe.  The boys loved playing laser tag and playing games in the arcade.

Lincoln was super brave and tried the ropes balancing course.  He was pretty high off the ground. At one point he said he was scared but after about ten minutes up there he was getting comfortable with it. He did every obstacle up there.  We were so proud of him for trying something new and pushing his comfort zone (within reason).

Star Wars Night

Lincoln was very excited, but not as excited as Daddy was.

Family Night at the movies and this will be one to remember.

Lincoln made Rudolf from his potato.

Logan at school on the day before break in his pajamas with his train pillow and blanket, all ready for the Polar Express class party.

Logan, Luciano, Parker

Brothers at Pump It Up while we waited for Dylan and Sadie.

Sadie, Lincoln, Logan

Sky Zone foam pit. 

Fall School Pictures

The boys had to retake their school pictures because the first ones, while their faces were adorable, were out of focus.  The retakes were not until the first week of December so we got their pictures late in the year. Here they are below. A big kindergartner and a 3rd grader. They are looking so grown up!

 Logan - Kindergarten

Lincoln - 3rd Grade

Into An Office

After nine years of working from home, the bank is making me go to an office full time to work.  This is going to be a very big change for me and something I have not been looking forward to for a while.  It is so nice to be home when the boys walk in from school. I think that is what I will miss the most...and working in my pjs. Originally they were going to require me to go to downtown Phoenix, which is a 45 minute commute with no traffic and 1.5 hours in traffic.  I don't do well with commuting so it was something I was absolutely dreading.  I found an office in Sun City West, which will be about a 25 minute drive for me.  It's much more manageable and it's not directly driving into the sun each direction. The office is very old but it's worth not having to make the crazy drive to downtown. Last week I spent a few hours in there cleaning it up and getting ready to return to the office next week...the last week of the year. 

 Not very excited about the office but trying to be positive.

This is the new office...straight out of the 70's!

School Christmas Concerts

This year the boys Christmas concerts at CCV were on different nights because of which grade they were in. Kindergarten was Monday and 3rd grade was Wednesday. Each grade sung about seven songs and they both did a wonderful job.  It is such a wonderful way to kick off the month of December and bring in the Christmas season. 

 Logan before his performance. 

 Logan back row because he's so tall.

 Logan with his teacher Mrs. Coronado

Logan and Lucci

Daddy with Lincoln at his Christmas concert.

Annual Christmas Ornaments

I started a tradition with the boys a year ago where just the three of us go make our own ceramic Christmas ornaments. We first went to dinner at Wendy's (their choice) and then heading to the paint shop. This year we ended up somewhere new because our usual place was closed the night we planned to go. They had quite a few ornaments to choose from. Lincoln chose a round ornament with an angel on it and Logan chose a Christmas tree. I was very impressed with how well they both did.  They did their ornaments 100% by themselves.  I didn't do anything except write 2015 on Logan's.  I was very happy with how they turned out. This is a tradition I plan to continue every year and when they are old enough to have their own tree, I will give them all the ornaments they made. 

 This is a picture after we were done painting by the tree at stadium.

 We went to dinner at Opa's the night we picked up the ornaments. The boys were very excited to see the finished product.

Fab 5 Annual PJ Party

For the last four or five years the Fab 5 have gotten together at Bam Bam's house for an annual Christmas party.  We wear pjs, eat a fancy dinner and have a gift exchange.  This year we also played a jeopardy game that Debbie brought.  It is always a lot of fun, very memorable and a lot of laughs. I love having such wonderful friends.  It is a great refresher for me to have some girl time and be silly.  I am very grateful for such wonderful friends. 

 Me and Kareth

 This year's version of our pyramid picture. 

 Hats Krity got the girls. 

 Trays that Debbie got us. 

Personalized Fab 5 mugs that I got the everyone.

The jeopardy game.

All my goodies from the night.

Elfie Has Returned

Our family Scout Elf on the Shelf has returned!  The boys were so excited to see Elfie. This time he made a grand entrance with a note and an advent calendar for each boy.  He must know them very well because Logan got a calendar that gives him a mini Thomas and Friends train each day and Lincoln got a Lego calendar. The note was a good reminder of why he was here and the rules about not touching him.  

The boys have been jumping out of bed each morning to find Elfie and see what kind of trouble he's gotten into during the night. Elfie was pretty calm this year in comparison to other years. I am not sure that it's helped the boys to be any nicer but at least when I threaten to tell Elfie they are being bad then they try to be better.