Our day with dad! 12.20.2011

Mitch worked on Monday and then told us he would do some work from home and take the rest of the week off with us - YAAAYYYY! He decided we should take the kids to the Splash pool - it was pretty fun and the kids really enjoyed it! We then took the 3 tired kids to the mall - Mitch watched them while I already spent some of my Christmas money :) (what a sweet hubby!)- then we looked at some pretty lights! We love having daddy home!!

Enjoy the videos and pictures! (Again, click the link at the bottom to view the videos - they are fun)

Hiking and Fishing! 12.18.2011

The guys took Carson and Austynn on a hike up the rim rock behind dad and mom's house. We weren't sure just how far they would get, but they made it all the way!!! Great job, guys! The called us from the top, so we got to take a picture of them and see them. We could here their hollers :)

 

We were all decked out in our Broncos gear and stayed to watch the game, only to be disappointed, but that is ok!

  Pretty views from the top!

 Sounds like Austynn spent most of the trip being carried :)

 Oh, they also took a bag to collect stuff - a "nature walk" - we do a lot of these, but never to we find all the items they found - bones and antlers - pretty neat!

 Uncle Timmy and Aunt Jackie came when they were done with their hike and Uncle Timmy took the kids fishing in the creek :) They even caught a couple!! Nice work guys!

 Jackie took this cute pic of the Oregon State boys ;)

Carson crashed about 2 seconds into our drive home! Austynn about 2 seconds after that and slept until Springfield! Pais was up the entire time, as she slept for the entire 3 hour football game! ;)

Thanks again for a fun time!

Jingle Bells!

We celebrated Christmas together on Saturday evening. It started with a yummy meal together, then to stockings, and gifts! We are so blessed with family and gifts. May we always remember the reason we celebrate this season is for Christ's birth!

 Thank you to each of you for loving our kids so much! They have been having a great time with their new gifts!! We so greatly appreciate your generosity!

 We counted the kid's money they had saved, put it in baggies, and let them go pick out gifts for the grandparents. Carson picked these snowflake ornaments for Papa and was excited to give them to him!

 Austynn was all about her gum (from her stocking) and this chair. She would take her gift, go to the chair, and quietly start opening it (even if she was suppose to wait for others) ... we got a kick out of it! 

Paislee was in everyone's lap helping them open their gift!

Again, a big thanks to you all!!

Over the river and through the woods...

to Papa and Nana's house we go! The kids were so excited to get to Prineville for Christmas! The kids were pretty tired, so they all crashed on the way - it was great! :)

 Papa and Nana both had a gift for the kids to open the first night :) Neat bracelets and new jammies! Pretty cute.

 The kids were ready for the 4-wheelers first thing on Saturday morning! Even Paislee took a turn driving it!

 Here we are after getting back from the Bounce place, and getting ready for our family Christmas celebration! We let the kids stay in the car and nap, as they were SOOO BEAT! They were waking up a bit, while we waited for everyone to arrive.

 Papa and Nana with their grandbabies!

 Stockings!!! It was so fun, as the kids were all really getting into it this year :)

Bounce off the walls fun! 12.17.2011

On Saturday we tried out a Bounce place in Bend. It had toys for kids and tons of huge Bounce Houses, including slides and an obstacle course. AND, the adults were able to play, too!! We were there for at least 2 hours and played and played! I think we ALL got good workouts! You can tell Mitch was sweating some in the picture below. Austynn was funny, she liked playing by herself! She was cooking for Mitch. She didn't want Mitch and I in bouncing with her :) 

There are a couple videos below (if they do not come through the direct feed, just click the link to the blog at the bottom, and you can see them there - you can always do this for the videos - for some reason YouTube doesn't come through?)

 Tuckered-out little red-faced kids!

December!

We were on a "nature walk" here - looking for pine cones that we were going to use to make a wreath. Haven't gotten that far, but Carson did paint somethat I am using for decorations. It has been dry here this month, so we can get outside a bit! This is a pretty little loop on Skinner's Butte that overlooks the city.

 We found a great place, where we were able to quickly pick out 2 different Christmas trees. They were so helpful and nice to the kids! It was fun and fast :)

 I was very thankful for this Christmas video and popcorn, as I was actually able to get some things done in the house :)

 Oh, this is a picture at 11:30p one night when Austynn did NOT want to go to sleep!

 And...we tried to make some ornaments - they are dry, but still sitting in this spot! Not sure if we will use them or throw them :) Yet to be determined!

 And, a few cookies this same day! What else can we do inside? :) We got as far as making the dough on this day...

 We made the cookies and frosting the following day. That was our cookie adventure for the month!

 The kids do love their play/wrestle time with dad!!

 We wrapped some presents, during a Bronco game one Sunday, while the kids napped. This is Carson checking them out after he woke up. He is really getting into it this year, which makes it so fun!

 I polished the girl's nails, with Austynn's bday polish from Auntie Ashley, one evening. They both sat really still and were totally into it. Fun, but a bit dangerous still, as Pais was trying to grab the polish :)