Maybe we should look into a different car

This morning Sam got up super early so he would have plenty of extra time for his commute to work in the fresh 8" of snow. About five minutes after he walked into the garage, my phone rang, and it was Sammy, asking me to come out and drive so he could push his car out of the driveway. We think a combination of the ice and packed snow in the gutter and the depth of the fresh snow in the driveway high-centered his car, and it took one and a half hours to get the car clear. We pulled it back into the garage and then he tried to find a supervisor at work to run the Maintenance crew. Unfortunately, Sam must be the only person who didn't take today off (being the day after Christmas AND a Friday), so he ended up going in a few hours late. Good thing we have one four-wheel drive vehicle (that is high enough off the ground it doesn't drag the top few inches of fresh snow). :)

Lonely, er I mean, Relaxing Montana Christmas

We haven't spent many Christmasses outside of Colorado, but this year was one of the few away from family. Because Baby 3 is due in early February, I was advised to not travel very far from home. So Sam, the kids and I hunkered down in Bozeman for the holiday.

We attended a Christmas Eve service at one of the churches we've been "shopping", then came home, had a light dinner of dips, appetizers and cold shrimp (similar to what we would have had if we were in CO and went to my sister's Christmas Eve party). Then we all opened some Christmas presents.

Jimmy got a real tool set, a tool box and some wooden boards from Pop and Gramma. He loved them, and concentrated really hard as he drove nails and screws into the boards. I was so impressed with his patience and skill!

Pop and Gramma (or "Grammy", as Susie calls her) got Susie some Fancy Nancy dress up clothes, and there isn't much Susie likes better than purple boas!

Then it was time for jammies and leaving cookies and milk for Santa and some carrots for his reindeer. We also sprinkled some Christmas Dust in the snow to help Santa and his reindeer find their way to our house. Then we tucked the kids into bed and had some eggnog. Sounds magical, right?...

In case you are wondering... my mind HAS blanked out the whining, crying, and fighting that happened all day when Jimmy wanted to open a gift early, or when he didn't want to go to church, or when he refused to eat anything besides cookies... minds are great at protecting our memories!

This morning Sam and I were so excited to play with the stuff Santa brought the kids, but the kids SLEPT in!!! Around 8 AM they finally came downstairs and saw their gifts and the stockings. Then the fun began again! Santa brought Jimmy just what he wanted, "a giraffe that falls down," and he brought Susie a baby (the baby is part of a family in a dollhouse). Jimmy also got a Leapster2 handheld game.

Jimmy with his Giraffe that falls down.
Susie playing with her dollhouse... it took a while to get her to look at her stocking with all of the fun stuff in the dollhouse.

After presents, we had a super-sweet breakfast (Caramel-soaked French Toast) and watched Wall-E. Then we went sledding (Daddy and Mommy got the little ones their first sled), came home and snacked until dinner time. Jimmy played with his new Mr Potato Head pieces and his video game while Susie played with the dollhouse and new Princess dolls. Mom and Dad even got a little nap!

Here are a few pictures from the first sledding excursion.

Even I couldn't resist testing out the new sled... but just to appease baby, Sam, and the doctor, I didn't go down head first on my belly like I wanted to.
Susie finally warmed up to the snow, after two and a half months in Montana. Although she was even happier when she ditched the hat and unzipped her jacket. She still thinks she is in the Southern heat!

We all pitched in and buried Jimmy in the snow. Once he was covered (except for his head), he wanted Susie to throw snow at his face. Silly kid!

We hope all of our loved ones had a Wonderful Christmas!

Why kids shouldn't choose their haircuts

It started out innocently enough... Jimmy and Susie sitting in separate chairs at the neighborhood hairstylist. Jimmy was keeping the whole place entertained with his happy attitude and musings about Christmas, snow and being a big brother. Then his stylist asked me if his bangs were short enough and I made my big mistake... I said "Jimmy, what do you think? is that short enough?" even though I thought it was the perfect length for his hair. Well, he flattened and pulled his bangs and hair and said, "no, my hair is still falling down". So I let her cut them a little more... and he moved, so she had to cut a little more to even it out... and he moved again (see where this is going?). Add to his haircut Susie's never-ending static electricity since moving to the dryest state EVER, and we now have kids who could pass for Lloyd and Harry from Dumb and Dumber.

But I still think they look cute, it's just fun to tease.

December in Montana - in other words, SNOW!

When we landed back in Montana after our trip to Orlando, it was snowing and we had several inches of snow on the ground. It was quite the switch, after being in 60 and 70 degree weather in Florida for a week! Jimmy and Sam made the best of it, along with the biggest snowman I've ever seen.

Jimmy loves playing in the snow, and he even likes it when Sam throws snowballs at him or when Sam throws him in the snow (although he stipulates that he has to land on the grass, not on the sidewalk).

We made some gingerbread cookies, and the kids helped me decorate them. This one was Jimmy's favorite - it's a cowboy.

The kids had a really cute Christmas program at preschool. Susie's class "sang" Jingle Bells, Happy Birthday and Hark the Herald Angels Sing, and Jimmy's class sang Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Jesus Loves Me.

The Magic of DisneyWorld

Ok, I've been slacking, but I'll try to make up for it with a few posts tonight. :)

This month we went on a fabulous vacation to Disney World with Sam's family. The whole group was able to make it, and it was SO much fun. We had a group of 18, including the newest addition, Bennet (6 months). We ate our Thanksgiving dinner at the Hoop De Doo Revue, which Sam thought was the best meal (a direct quote was "Fried Chicken, cold beer and toothpics on the table... best meal ever"). Besides the food, the show was great and it kept all of our group entertained, from the little ones (Susie is so mesmerized it was hard to get a reaction out of her)...

to Pop, making music on his washboard.

And finally, we got some emotion out of Susie, when she was able to participate in the show.

Some other fun times were the first night in Disney, when we returned to our room we found that Woody and Sleeping Beauty had been there to visit and leave gifts for the kids - a cowboy hat and Sheriff's badge for Jimmy and a princess dress for Susie.

For weeks before the trip, when we asked the kids who they wanted to see the most at Disney, Jimmy said Woody and Buzz, and Susie said Jessie and Buzz (all from Toy Story and Toy Story 2, for those who don't know). So when we got the chance to meet these characters, we weren't surprised by Jimmy's enthusiasm (although he forgot to ask Buzz if he could press his laser)

But we were surprised that Susie decided to pout instead of give Jessie a hug.. We aren't sure why she had a little moment, but at least Jimmy and cousin Shelby enjoyed the moment.

Jimmy had to give Donald a big "Thank you" hug for helping make such a yummy breakfast at Chef Mickey, and Susie was happy for a cuddle with Cinderella at the Princess dinner.

The kids (and their folks) had a great time at the Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, which is a comedy show at Disney's Hollywood Studios. We sat in the audience, and when they are telling their jokes and stories, they choose people from the audience to put up on the big screens. They chose Susie to "play" the part of "Boo" (the little girl in Monsters Inc). She did a great job, and she liked seeing herself on the screen. She even played "Peek-a-Boo" with the audience to fulfill her name.

For the most part we had nice weather, but one day we had some rain. It didn't slow us down, since the kids are used to the torrential rains in the southeast. We got some ponchos and churros, and carried on at the Animal Kingdom. Of course, the churros were probably the key. :)

We got to go to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas, which includes a special parade with Santa at the end, plus several hours in the Magic Kingdom with shorter lines and all the hot cocoa we could drink. It was so much fun to watch the kids' faces as they watched the parade.

Susie and Shelby loved the part of the parade with the Princesses.

Jimmy and Susie got a great view from atop the shoulders of Daddy and Pop. And Cinderella's castle looked so magestic all decorated for Christmas.

On our last night, the big kids (Sam, his brother Danny and their dad) went on a few rides at Disney's Hollywood Studios while the girls hung out with the kiddos. Susie and Shelby were still dressed in their Princess dresses from a late lunch with Cinderella and her family, and they played in a little outdoor area where we sat on benches. They were so cute and sweet that strangers were stopping to take pictures of Princess Cinderella and Princess Aurora playing.

One extra bonus to our trip was that our friends and neighbors from SC, the Salvuccis, arrived at Disney while we were still there. We got to have a few meals together and let the kids catch up. Jimmy and Logan have decided that they are going to marry each other, regardless of how many boys in Logan's class ask her, or how far away we live. Kathy and I had some good laughs and (amazingly) Susie and Lainey got along, no hair pulling or temper tantrums. The visit was fun (albeit short), and thinking of these great peeps makes me miss Summerville so much.