"Do not go where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Christmas pictures


Every year, we send photo Christmas cards with pictures of the boys. For Spencer's first few Christmases, I made a major production of this, buying him fancy new clothes, staging the perfect background, and generally making everyone miserable in the process.

Things evolve.

This year, the kids wore old shorts and t-shirts (except for Everett, who was wearing a t-shirt and Paxton's Spongebob boxers) Paxton had his rat Miley on his shoulder. They were laughing and being themselves and goofing off in the front of the Christmas tree. It was the easiest, and happiest, photo session yet.




Monday, November 20, 2006

Home, Sweet Home

This weekend we returned home, and we're ready for things to get back to normal. The problem is, we're all still trying to figure out what 'normal' is! We moved in, started to get unpacked, promptly went to California for a week, and are now back in the midst of more unpacking, house renovations, holiday preparations, and company coming in two weeks.

Some highlights from the trip to CA:

Mike had to go to a 4 day training for work, so the boys and I tagged along. We stayed at a hotel right by a friend's house in the Bay area, while Mike went further north to his own hotel for his meetings. It was great to visit with friends, see a new part of the country, and take a little break from the headaches with the house for awhile!

The area was hilly, green, and a beautiful change of pace. The boys collected fall leaves, HUGE ones, from a supermarket parking lot. They were gorgeous leaves, and the biggest ones I've ever seen. A nice treat for Arizonians :)

On Tuesday, we went to visit my friend's husband at work. He works at EA games (and has Paxton's dream job as a video game designer) We got a tour of the facility, had lunch, visited the store... and the kids even got to test out a game that's not ready to hit the shelves for another year. Cool!! It was an impressive place, and we learned a lot about the behind-the-scenes of the gaming industry.

The rest of the week, we visited! Visited, hung out, and played. The big boys played playstation for hours and hours, while Everett enjoyed the company of his fellow two year old buddy.

Mike met us back at their house on Thursday, and we headed home. The ride went very smoothly, both ways, even with staying up all night. The boys slept through most of it (as was the plan) but they cheerfully woke for breaks and snacks and to appreciate the lights of the cities we passed through. They especially loved any bridges we went over. We're planning a vacation out to Disney next spring, and now I am even more excited about it!




Sunday, November 05, 2006

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Math books? We don't need no stinkin' math books!

We went out to find our new library today. It was closer than our last one, and it took all of 5 minutes to get there. I'd forgotten to look at my watch when we left, so I asked the kids how long we'd been driving. Paxton told me it was about 3 minutes, "or 180 seconds. If it had been 4 minutes, it would have been 240 seconds." Pause. "5 would be be 300 seconds." He stopped at 7.

Their picks from the library? Books on rats, horses, squid, zebras, and constuction vehicles.




Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Fall in AZ

It's fall in Arizona, and I've decided it's arguably the most perfect weather I've ever experienced. It's still usually warm enough to wear shorts if you're so inclined, but not too hot for jeans if they're your preference. It's warm and sunny and breezy and dry.

We went to the Fall Harvest Party with the homeschool group last week, and the kids had a good time painting pumpkins, dipping their apples, eating lots of sugar, and just running themselves ragged at the park. Spencer made another new friend, Paxton spent a long time walking the balance beam on the playground, and Everett didn't want to leave the swings. On Saturday, we officially moved to the new house, and last night was our first ever Halloween - and trick-or-treating - in the new neighborhood. Mike was late getting out of work, so we headed straight out when he got home. Spencer and Paxton had been excited about it for weeks, and even Everett got really into it this year. We didn't know what to expect, but it turned out to be a wonderful area for trick-or-treating. The neighborhood was friendly and festive and filled with kids. We actually hadn't gone for a couple of years, but the boys knew the ropes. They had no problem ringing doorbells, saying "trick or treat" or wishing everyone a Happy Halloween. Everett started to complain that his feet were hurting at one point, and we carried him from house to house. His bucket was getting so heavy that he was literally grunting at its weight, but all offers of helping him carry it were met with a resounding "NO, Ebbet carry it." It was a fun night, and the kids came home with a year's worth of candy. After trick-or-tricking we headed to Panda Express (Mike and the kids' new favorite) for dinner, and to Home Depot for an emergency part to fix a leaky valve in the kitchen. The boys had fun seeing all the people who were out and about with costumes on, and were tired and happy when we finally got home.

Pictures coming soon!




LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails