oh yeah, that christmas thing happened

to all you die hards who had time to blog in december, good for you. i didnt and i dont care, at least the memories are getting published at some point. the kids' class parties and teacher gifts kept my head spinning and hands moving, but it was all worth it. among all the heckticness we did enjoy the church ward christmas party. the kids were in the navtivity story and jared and i sang a duet. it was a very nice nite, and our little sheep whose floppy felt ears were bouncing since he had the hiccups, got a lot of giggles.

we had to send our lincoln home to Provo, Utah to be with his real family for the holiday. it was a long 2 weeks for us. but he got us a gift, a whirly pop popcorn maker that we enjoy too much.

we had christmas festivities with the Anderson side. cookie making was a hit and very deeeelicious. unfortunately Heather was very sick so her family wasnt there with us. presents were opened, grandparents were hugged, it was lovely.

christmas morning came, the kids opened their stockings as excitedly as ever. brady was trying to sneak back to his room and while walking backwards he bonked his mouth into the cabinet, hence some pictures with him holding a wet paper towel to his fat bloody lip.

i have to admit the only thing i dont like about the mayheim of christmas day is all the assembling that is required. good thing daddys are good at that. i just keep watching their cute little faces and i dwell on that as i tune out their impatience waiting for daddy to get the screwdriver etc.

when it all settled down jared and i took a moment to be cute in our matching pajamas, then had our christmas kiss and biscuits and gravy breakfast.

turkey mayheim

this thanksgiving has been discussed for a while now. my side of the family traveled down from Washington and we filled every day of their 5 days with us. the pictures really say it all but i want to state very clearly my gratitude for having a family that is a bit nutty, fun and loving. we always laugh a lot when we are together, we know eachother's imperfections and it doesn't matter because thats what family holidays are all about.

a couple things i dont want to forget: while delivering the treats the kids decortated to the homeless people, one man said that these brought back family memories. cheering on Lincoln at his bball game--there was a sense of family pride, playing duck-duck-goose outside of Hartnell was a nice memory too. also, jeff was quite the jokester as he handed out the presents, watching the cousins completely enjoy each other, and all the smiles, laughs, and hugs that were shared--that's really what the holidays are all about.

cuties in costume cravin' candy

holy halloween havoc on my house. somehow we jam a ton in on every holiday. the kiddos chose their costumes, and kendra and brady's school parade was first. ray ray's preschool program was next.

in the middle of the fun jared and i hosted our annual couples' halloween party. our friends are hilarious and we ate well and enjoyed time together. the zombie prom king and queen were my personal favorite--actually my REAL fave was Lincoln (the college bball player living with us) being the 3rd Wheel, with caden's bike wheel strapped to his back.

then it was good ol' trunk or treat time at the church parking lot.  the kids love circling around and its so fun to see my friends' children all dressed up.

my montessori kids preformed "thriller" and they were so happy that i stopped in to watch them and see them in their "historical halloween" costumes.

we finished up all the hoopla with trick or treating around Spreckels neighborhood. rob, tanner and emma joined us, the kids had the process figured out, caden was always a house or two ahead of us. we wrapped up the holiday with too much candy but a lot of good family time together.

can i just show you what we've been up to?

its been too long (again) since i've blogged. the summer ended, school snuck in on us and took over our lives. so can ya just figure out what has been happening by these pictures?

these first two might be tough. the new addition to our family is Lincoln. he's a Hartnell basketball player who moved in with us. we love love LOVE him. more stories and pics to come.

last day of the season at Raging Waters--it was a goodie--Emma, Bella, Tanner, Parker, & Lauren joined us.

now for just some silly pics of the children being....the wonderment that they are.

as you can see, school activities have added much fun to our lives. new friends, festive times, just all around good family fun. the end.