Christmas Eve..

Well I know this post is really behind but our internets been on the fritz and finally have it working properly. We had a great Christmas Eve spent with my folks and brother Carl's family. We even had a special visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus. Santa was nice enough to let the kids stand in his bag and pretend they were gifts.





Statton in Santa's bag.









Cousin Ellie with Santa and Mrs. Claus





























Cousin Kensie in Santa's bag.





















Baby Madison didn't even seem to mind the man with the white beard. She seemed more curious than anything. All my kids are wearing their new pajamas they got from Great- Grandma Merz.









Poor little cousin Sophie was still a little scared of Santa so to try and coax her to sit on his lap her dad (my brother Carl) tried to show her that sitting on Santa's lap was fun. Poor Santa!




Cassidy was still a little unsure about Santa but willingly sat long enough for a picture. Doesn't look too happy about it though.

















Kensie and Ellie taking their turns telling Santa how good they were this year.


















Statton didn't seem to mind at all sitting on Santa's lap but had a hard time telling him he was good this year. He mostly just smiled and stared at him. Maybe that means yes.


We had a fun Christmas Eve and enjoyed spending it eating wonderful food and visiting with family.

Thanksgiving in the Trailerhood!

So our original plans this year was to drive to Utah and spend the holidays at Lyann's house with most of Blair's family. Well the job Blair's working on is really behind schedule so they told the guys that they would be working thanksgiving. So our plans got derailed and suddenly we found ourselves stuck in Delta having Thanksgiving in our trailer. So to make the best of it we got together with our friends Luke and Michelle who also live in a trailer right next to us and planned a Thanksgiving meal for those of us stuck here for the holidays. (Luke is also an apprentice working the same job as Blair.) About a week before the guys got told that they would atleast get Thanksgiving day off but were working the day before and the friday and saturday afterwards. So atleast the guys ended up getting the day off.
Here's Stuart(another apprentice, he's from Montana) practicing his foreman skills as he overlooks blair's carving technique.

Thanks to Michelle for taking on the task of cooking the turkey. It was her first time cooking a turkey and it turned out great!


Heres Luke holding Madison. He was sweet to hold her while I got my own plate ready. I think he likes to hold her because he's ready to have his own little girl.



Heres just a few shots of the kids making a mess with their own dinners. Cassidy and Statton are enjoying mostly the whipped cream off the jello.



This is Luke and Michelle's little boy Hudson. He's such a cutie. Cassidy and Statton just love "Hudson Buddy."



Trying to get Cassidy to hold still for a cute picture. Obviously jumping on the couch seems more fun.
I was trying so hard to get a picture of Statton and Hudson sitting in the chair together but that proved to be impossible.



Hudson in the chair.



Statton in the chair.


So heres all the guys together. They work together everyday but still don't mind spending the holiday together. Stuart(far left) was such a good sport to be single and spending Thanksgiving with two married couples and all their kids. I love this picture because he somehow ended up with two of my kids on his lap and he doesn't seem to care.

Good job boys now we're all facing the camera. It's good to see that one of them has a smile on their face.

So even thou we didn't get to spend Thanksgiving with our families we had a good time and wonderful food. We enjoyed spending the holiday with some good friends.

Happy Halloween!

Since we are so far away from family and really don't know anyone that well in the area we are currently living. We thought it would be fun to drive over to Utah and spend Halloween with Blair's sister Lyann's family. Their ward was doing a dinner and then trunk or treat. After the ward party we went around and visited some homes that Lyann knew. After that we went back to her house and her kids decided to go trick or treating in their neighborhood but we opted out since our kids were worn out and their buckets were full anyway. Poor things could hardly carry them halfway throught the trunk or treat. They kept trying to give them to me because they were getting to heavy. Really, how much candy does a 2 yr old need?!





Madison went as a cute fluffy pink bunny.


Cassidy went as a witch again. We even painted her nails black and sprayed her hair purple.


Statton went as a spider. We also painted his nails black and sprayed his hair purple. Cousin Rhianna went as Belle from Beauty and The Beast. I think Cassidy was a little jealous because she kept asking to wear a yellow skirt. I guess next year I know to go princess instead.
Imissed out getting a picture of all the cousins together. Their were two older boys dressed up as well.
We had a good time playing with the cousins and all their toys and enjoying the company.

Leaves and Pumpkins..

Well Fall is upon us and its been a cold week but today wasn't too bad so we bundled up and went outside to play in the leaves and finally carve our pumpkins. Blair got home soon after that so he was happy to help throw leaves on the kids.

Here we are starting our pumpkins. Cassidy and Statton were so helpful in cleaning out the "guts" of the pumpkins.

I had some disposable gloves on hand that I had bought for potty training purposes so we put those on our hands so we could clean out the pumpkins without getting too messy. Sorry I know thats part of the fun but cleaning out pumpkins with my bare hands grosses me out a bit. The kids had spoons to clean out pumpkins but they thought using the gloves looked like more fun I guess.

Well these are the finished product lit up and everything. I think the kids really enjoyed seeing them all lit up.

Visit from Grandpa and Grandma

We got a special visit from Grandpa and Grandma Darrington this last weekend. For some reason they thought it would be fun to drive for 8 hours just to see their grandkids for a day and half. Silly people! But the kids certainly enjoyed seeing them even if it was for a short time. They got in really late friday night so the kids didn't get to see them until Saturday morning. Stattons face was priceless. I let my parents stay in our room and I slept in the living room with the baby. So Grandpa came out of our room and peeked his head around the corner while the kids were eating cereal and Statton sees him first. He got this funny look on his face like he wasn't sure if he was seeing what he was seeing and once he realized who it was his whole face just lit up and he yells out Grandpa! It was too cute and I'm sure that moment was worth the 8 hours drive to my dad. Blair unfortunately had class that same weekend so he missed out on the fun. So we went to Grand Junction for the day and visited the Botanical Gardens. We had lunch at the Olive Garden and then went and visited the pumpkin patch where Grandpa bought each of the kids a pumpkin. We certainly miss living close to our grandparents but its certainly fun being spoiled by them when they visit. Thanks again Dad and Mom for the fun weekend!

North Pole

So we had this little amusement park about 5 minutes from where we were staying called The North Pole. It's a themed park that has everything to do with what Santas workshop at the North Pole might look like. They are open from mid May to December 24th. Santa is also there everyday. All the rides are made for children. So it was nice because Statton and Cassidy could either ride by themselves or with either Blair or I if they were not quite tall enough to ride alone. Where Blair is standing with the kids in the stroller. That pole that looks white is actually frozen ice. It stays frozen all year long. So below is just some pictures of the kids enjoying themselves on the different rides.

It's been a long time since I've ridden a Ferris Wheel. It was actually a lot of fun. More fun than they look. Supposedly the one we rode is the tallest in the world. So the sign said.

This little candy cane coaster we rode was actually a pretty rough ride. Blair warned me before we got on to tuck Statton's head in my armpit so his head wouldn't bump against the seat. These pictures are a little out of order. Blair rode with Cassidy first while I watched Madison. Then I rode with Statton while Blair watched the baby.

Here's Blair cheesin it up for the camera!

I have to relate the funny experience of the day. Blair's not much for amusement parks because the rides give him motion sickness. Looking at rides will sometimes give him motion sickness. So amusement parks arent' usually his thing. But because I love them he's put up with a lot of years of them. So to ward off sickness he's found that dramamine(motion sickness pill) helps him to endure them. Well considering this whole park is mostly kiddie rides Blair opted to leave his magic pills home thinking he wouldn't need them. Well he did pretty good until I left him to take the kids on the swinging ship ride while I went to find a deserted corner(or less populated one) to nurse the baby. Well lets just say about 15 minutes later here comes my smiling 2 year olds running towards me while their father comes slowly walking behind them rubbing his forehead. Really!? That ride made you sick? He nods his head in response. Well good thing it's time for lunch. Let's go feed the man who's not feeling well a bunch of greasy food. But despite that Blair started feeling better awhile later but he refused to ride any more rides. That's ok though, good thing mom's tough and can handle the rides.
It was another long fun day. You know it was good when the kids pass out in the car before you've even left the parking lot.

So we've been having all sorts of fun this summer. I try to take the kids to a swimming pool atleast once a week when the weather cooperates. The pool doesn't open until 11:00 so we usually hang out at the house all morning have lunch then load up and go and spend the afternoon soaking up sun and getting the kids comfortable in the water. So I decided to get some pictures of all three kids in their swimming gear.

Madison is pretty darn cute in her little swimsuit. This swim suit was given to me by my sister-in-law Andrea. Her girls wore it. This was Cassidy's swim suit when she was little. Now Madison gets to have her turn in it. It's just fun that so many cute little girls have worn this suit.

Statton was so cute and wanted to climb up on the couch by Madison and have their picture taken.

Heres some cute pictures of Statton and Cassidy in their swim suits. Statton looks like he's posing for some sort of gangster picture.

Here we are at the pool. Cassidy and Statton were just happy to play on the stairs. This is really their first time in a pool on their own. Last summer I just bought a little kiddie pool for them to splash around in. I would have liked to put them in swim lessons. Because of their age they only qualify for the parent/child classes. Well lets do the math on that one. Two toddlers, one new baby, and only one mommy. Yeah thats not going to work. Maybe next year. That's ok it's just nice for them to get use to being in the water and getting comfortable. It's a great activity that wears them out and takes up the day. Plus I love to take them to Sonic afterwards and buy us all shakes. You gotta have ice cream after swimming!