Mesa Temple

A Christmas season in Arizona wouldn't be complete without a visit to the Mesa Temple, right? It was such a pleasant evening that we just couldn't resist. And Jase was such an incredible sport because he had just recently had back surgery wherein a stimulator device was implanted beneath his skin to help distract and manage his chronic pain. So he was still recovering from that whole ordeal. But I had house fever and needed to go somewhere badly...so he accommodated. Isn't he amazing?! Yeah, I think so too!

Another Milestone

Asher's scooter. I just had to dedicate a blog post to this one. Because he'd seen all the cousins riding scooters ever since we moved in with Bryon (the last 2 months) Asher decided that it was time for him to join in on the fun. And join in he did! Tabby and Breonna were so patient and loving with him...showing him over and over how to ride his scooter, taking him over to the park, riding up and down the sidewalk with him, just going above and beyond to include him. I will forever be grateful to my nieces for the kindness and love they showed to Jonah and Asher. They're truly amazing kids (Jr. too!).

I was so proud of Ash for trying something new that was difficult for him. And, before long, he was riding like an old pro--he knew it too! He'd cruise all over the parking lot mimicking Jonah in every way and even perfecting his "flamingo move"--lifting one leg to a right angle and balancing perfectly on the other. What a pro. You go Ash!

Christmas 2010

For Ash, it was all about his train table set and a new scooter. For Jonah? His new Nintendo DS. Now, I had been working on his little mind for some time trying to convince him that he was in no way, shape or form getting a DS this year. I continuously dropped little hints that they were too expensive, he needed to be grateful with whatever Santa brought, etc., etc. Well, it worked because he had absolutely NO IDEA that we were secretly planning...I mean, that Santa thought he'd been extra good and was going to bring him a DS afterall (hence the overly excited expression up above!). Man--we're good!

'Twas the Night before Christmas...

Jase and I had a Christmas Eve right out of a movie! It was so cliche it was funny! After we finished festivities at Shane's we finally got the kids into bed and began work on the present of all presents---Asher's full table train set. This thing was HUGE and had a million pieces and it took us most of the night to finally put it together.

When Bryon and Denae finally went to bed (they were quick!) all they could do was smile and wish us luck. We finally, through incredible teamwork, dedication and lots of sugar, got it together and never were there two more proud parents. You'd have thought we'd brought another child into the world. We were so happy! Well, not as happy as Asher was to see it the next morning. He went straight to it and never left. We finally had to convince him to open the rest of his gifts late Christmas afternoon...which he did reluctantly.

Santa's Here!

Ok everyone...smile, again!

Family Christmas Party

Shane and Mandy were kind enough to have us all over to their place on Christmas Eve! Bryon and Denae had prepared "gag" gifts for each of us, which provided quite a few laughs! Jase especially appreciated his lifetime subscription to an elderly health magazine and I received a $5 McDonald's gift certificate! Jonah about flipped when he received his electric guitar toy from Jr. and Ash enjoyed playing with his monster truck. Later in the evening, after we all stuffed ourselves with pizza, wings, appetizers and drinks, Santa made a surprise visit--allowing us to snap about a million pictures (yeah!). Then we topped the evening off with fireworks in the front yard and children running around on sugar-highs until dark. Overall an amazing night!

The Train Is Here!

After scarfing down our ice-cream cones (needed sugar to keep me awake after that line!) we finally boarded the train. I don't think I've ever seen Asher that excited! He's currently obsessed with Thomas the Train so this activity was perfect for him. Jonah was a good sport too and played really nicely with his brother! The light show was pretty good---we enjoyed it a lot more than the kiddie train show (went on that ride the first trip to the park). Overall it was a really nice way to get into the Christmas spirit, even if we had to freeze a little in the process.

Stillman Railroad Park

Lately I've been really into finding fun, cheap family activities that we can do for the holidays---and I found Stillman Park! It's this really great area in Scottsdale, AZ that has two trains that ride through light shows, cocoa and snacks, Santa Claus, several parks with toys, miniature trains to admire and more! It was pretty amazing frankly. This was our 2nd attempt because the first time we went the park was so busy we didn't get to go on the train (and Asher was super disappointed).

So, the 2nd time we went we were determined to get on that train! But once we got there (a little later to avoid the crowds) the line was even longer than the first time! Amazing. So, Jase took the first shift of waiting in the line-of-all-lines and I watched the kids at the playground. Then we switched. Once my hot cocoa was gone I got pretty cold...but persevered. The kids kept running back to check on me (probably to make sure I was frozen to death or lost!), but I finally got to the front. Never been so happy in my life :*)

Our First Date Anniversary

So, we discovered that in Arizona it's really hard to plan an ice-skating rink date!! That was our first-date activity so many years ago (13 years on December 13th!) and we tried to recreate it. But after much searching...no luck. So, we did the next best thing and went to a vegetarian/vegan restaurant---GREEN! Ok, so it was my idea and the only restaurant I was willing to eat at at the time. But Jase was, once again, a good sport and went along for the ride. It turned out pretty well actually! We got fake chili fries, burgers, drinks and even ice-cream! The kids really seemed to enjoy themselves and we all left stuffed and full of happy memories. Yeah Green!

We're Full...Let's Decorate!

Shortly after the feast had ended, we didn't waste any time and started decorating for Christmas! Bryon went out and found a real tree and we all pitched in and dove through boxes to get the house festive. It was SO fun! Breonna and I worked on the kitchen, the men handled the tree and lights, Ash was busy kissing all the stuffed animals, and the rest of the kids handled the odds and ends. Overall it was an amazing group effort. In no time we had candles burning, music playing and Christmas joy everywhere you looked :*)

Finally!

 

At last Thanksgiving dinner was upon us. Unfortunately I was having some health concerns and decided to undertake a (what ended up being) 9-day water fast. Crazy? Uh-huh! Thankfully Bryon and Denae offered to cook the feast (and two versions at that: regular, yummy and fattening along with gluten-free offerings!). There was even a contest to see who's deviled eggs were the best (Bryon won!).

We also had the pleasure of having the Hillman's join us (Rob had been Asher's habilitator for some time--we love him!). We all had a lot of laughs around the table and even got around to sharing with each other what we were grateful for this year. We learned that the more family you can surround yourself with at Thanksgiving...the better!

Prepping for the Feast

 

 

 

 

Electronics abounded during the down-time leading up to our Thanksgiving feast. The table was astrewn with all the pre-Christmas sales going on as THIS year Jase and I were going to go shopping on Black Friday with Bryon and Denae (a first for us!). Once we had our deals scoped out we decided to visit Toys-R-Us for a netbook and other odds-n-ends. 

Well, we waited in line for over 2 hours that night...it was freezing! Didn't end up getting a ticket for the netbook, but as the our line started to enter the store a mob of last-minute shoppers tried to push their way in at the front of the line ahead of us! Well, we were all frozen in shock (literally!), but Bryon took decisive action. He rushed to the front of the line and, single-handedly, confronted the mob. Pretty soon we were all yelling at them to get to the back of the line. The so-called security guards were so thankful for Bryon's help that they gave him a ticket for the netbook and he gave it to us! Well, that would have been the end to a pretty great story, except that the netbook didn't work and no amount of computer savvy helped (Jase and Denae were both working on it for some time!). So, the next day, we got to visit the toy store again to return it. Black Friday next year? Um....no.