Yearly Archives: 2006

Despite the lingering sniffles and coughs (which the boys graciously shared with their cousins) we had another wonderful Christmas. We were up by seven, and the presents were unwrapped in mere minutes. There were a few blips this year…. the remote control garbage truck that Mike had to tinker with for an hour just to get it to work; the new PS2 game that wouldn’t play; the hockey game that lost a stick after just two days of use. In the end though, none of that mattered. The garbage truck works fine now, we have a call in to get a new Playstation, and are ordering a replacement player for the hockey game. There are plenty of other things to keep the boys busy in the meantime. And keeping busy they are!! On Christmas Day, Sandi and Mitch came over with the kids, and we spent the day visiting, playing with kids’ new toys and games, and laughing. Lots of laughing. Spencer and Paxton occasionally disappeared, and spied on us using their new periscopes. We played outside with the new sand table. Played swingball. Broke in the new sidewalk chalk. Played Spencer’s new card game, Qwitch. Watched Elf. Made creations with Playdough. It was a good day, and it was just like I remembered from my own childhood.

Mike had the day after Christmas off, and the play continued. The hockey game got lots of use (until it broke), the boys tried out their new pottery wheel, and we built and created and colored and chatted. We played with the pattern blocks (one of my favorites), and did project after project with the new electronics lab. Yesterday Spencer and I made a shirt with his new tie-dye kit, and today he plans to start building a model house.

The house is a complete mess at the moment, but it’s a joyful mess. Joyful messes are good.

Santa is currently over Kasakhstan. http://www.noradsanta.com/en/map/index.php We’ll track him all day, while we play and watch movies and get ready for tomorrow. No one is 100%, but fevers are gone, spirits are high, and everyone is looking forward to tomorrow morning.

Merry Christmas everyone!!!!!

5 days till Christmas and all through the house
No one is healthy, not even a mouse

Actually that’s not true. I’m pretty healthy, and the rats are pretty healthy. But Everett is still congested, Spencer is a sneezy mess, and Paxton is couch bound, feeling lousy with a fever and cough. Ah, cold and flu season. My main goal (my only goal) for the week is to rest, play, and get these kids healthy in time for Christmas.

Last week was another visit that passed all too quickly, and was enjoyed by everyone, even my poor sick kids. I had grand plans to chronicle the week in detail, but alas it’s not to be, at least right now. Instead, the pictures! Hopefully they’ll speak for themselves. God bless Rockyou.

RockYou slideshow

Mom and Dad have safely returned back to New Hampshire, and the visit was quick and memorable. We had a big holiday feast on the patio, we walked around the zoo in short sleeves, we went hiking in the desert, and the only snow the kids played in was of the imported variety. Still, it feels like winter. It feels like a holiday.

Saturday, they came down to visit and see the house for the first time. The boys were happy to give them a tour, and we spent the afternoon visiting and catching up. Sunday we had a huge Thanksgiving/Christmas feast, complete with turkey, stuffing, potatoes, wine, pies, and all the trimmings. After we ate, we followed our annual post-Thanksgiving tradition of going for a walk, this time in a nearby desert park. The kids unwrapped Christmas presents when we returned, and it was a fun end to a great day.

Monday we went up to Mom and Dad’s new house for the afternoon, for lunch, hanging out, and playing pool in the clubhouse. Tuesday was a trip to the zoo. One of my favorite things about the zoo is that no two visits are ever alike. This time our first stop was the new stingray exhibit, where we got to pet, and feed, a huge pool of stingrays. VERY cool!! We stopped at the flamingoes (Isaac’s favorite), the zebras (Paxton’s favorite) ,rode the carousel, and spent the rest of our stay watching the squirrel monkeys.

Wednesday was the first day of our cabinet re-facing, so we spent the day out, visiting at Sandi’s house. The kids all had colds – and still have colds – but still enjoyed the swingset and sandbox as much as always. We went with them to the community center while Anabelle had her gymnastics class, and played foosball, pool, and air hockey while we waited. Spencer and Paxton both made an instant friend, who joined them in their games.

Thursday we stayed home while the cabinets were completed. On Friday, Mom and Dad came down again, and we went shopping, went out for lunch, and spent the afternoon playing water balloons with the kids.

This past Saturday, their last day in AZ, was arguably the best day yet, at least for the kids. We went to a winter carnival, complete with snow for them to play in, bouncy houses and slides, pony rides, and cotton candy. They had a great time, and it was a fun way to cap off the week.

Mom and Dad are already planning their next trip out for March, and we’re counting down the days.

Here are some pictures from the week!

RockYou slideshow

Tonight is the first night in a LONG time that we haven’t had a project going… no painting, no hanging blinds, no unpacking, no setting up tv stands. Mike and the boys are relaxing with PS2, and in a little while we’ll all retire to the other room to catch up on Survivor. We have been working like crazy people on the house, but it is finally, blissfully, almost done. Tonight Mom and Dad arrived from NH to visit for a week, and tomorrow we’ll all get together for a big fancy Thanksgiving/Christmas feast.

Some worth-mentioning notes about the kids:

The other day Spencer asked me what hip-hop music was, so I found a random hip-hop band on MySpace, and they danced and danced until they collapsed with exhaustion. They’ve all been learning lots of Spanish, and Spencer surprised me the other day while I was coloring with Everett – he knows almost every color in Espanol. Everett has been showing an interest in shapes lately, and was naming some of them off to me while we looked at a book. He came to a heart, and called it a “kiss”, which I thought was one of the sweetest things I’ve ever heard. Paxton and I have made about a million snowflakes for the Salvation Army at this site http://www.popularfront.com/snowdays and I’m sure will make a million more. Tuesday night we all watched Charlie Brown Christmas. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen it, and I so loved getting to enjoy it with the kids. They loved it, and were especially in awe of the fact that it was made before Mike and I were even born.

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.

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!

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!