'Twas the Week Before Christmas...

And on Sunday the boys were playing Risk, both the regular and Lord of the Rings versions

On Monday, I picked the very first orange from our tree! (Also on Monday, the battery on my car was dead-boo)

Tuesday morning, after we charged the battery all night long, I drove the car to the store for food, only to have it die-for good.  Thankfully I have jumper cables in the car and a sister-in-law who was 5 min away, unfortunately, the cables were the smaller size (why??) so they wouldn't jump the van.  But my dear sil drove me and Maddie back home with all of my groceries.  Eric and his dad were able to get the car jumped and home later that night.

On Wednesday Maddie had her class program, they did the play: The Mitten, and Maddie got to be the little mouse at the end.  We were able to get the car battery replace since it was under warranty (they always are in AZ), and I was good to go again later that night.

On Thursday, I finally took the training wheels off of Eme's bike (it's not like she needed them, I just didn't have the energy to do it before, poor girl).  The good news is, she only needed one push, and then there was no stopping her!

On Friday, Eric needed to make a few more of his "special" ornaments.  And boy were they special!  Glittered, spray painted, macaroni-ball ornaments, with the additional bonus of the macaroni spelling out BSD (for Benefit Services Division).  It's all part of a white elephant gift exchange they do each year-and Eric is not one to be out-done when it comes to a white elephant.

And Friday we had a half day so I took the kids to the park for a bike ride and a picnic lunch.  We had great weather and just enjoyed the time outside, until it was time to go of course :)

12-12-12: Project Completed

I have loved having this project to keep me going through some of my rougher times, it has been a true blessing for our whole family.

It's hard to wake them up when it's cold and dark outside-but still, it must be done: Aidan is up at 6:30 for a shower, than at 6:50 we start waking everyone else up. 

Of all the kids, Maddie is actually the easiest to wake up, and she wakes up happy 99% of the time.

It's the 12th! The only rules of the advent calendar: the holy family and angels go up nicely, no moving pieces once they're put up.  So, yes, we have a spider-man shepherd this year.

My Nutcracker that I got way back in 4th grade, from the first time I saw the Nutcracker, has apparently gained magical abilities this year, and can move about in the night.  The kids find him in a different location every morning (usually a very difficult location); at least one of those kids has been having as much fun as Eric and I at this game late at night too!

We do feel sorry for our neighbors, you can often hear Davin yelling after Eme to "wait up".  Why? I don't know, as he can ride a great deal faster then she can.

The first of three stores I have to shop at in the next two days, thankfully I got here before all of the old people-horray!!!

Time to update one of the wreathes-back to red & green with a touch of white and crystal.  Now to just get my mother-in-law to make me a bow...

Maddie wanted in on the fun of dishes while helping water "plants" outside.

Finally, I found enough energy to teach Maddie how to ride a bike.  She took to it so much better after the bigger kids got home from school, so we spent another 45 min outside riding bikes before homework.

Davin's Rx changed, so time for new glasses! 

My tree, all lit up for the season.  I love the trees at night, I put them up after Thanksgiving, and keep them up until New Years!

I surprised Eric with a replacement hot chocolate maker-the other one took an unexpected, and fatal, fall into the sink full of water.  A very happy ending to our day.

Happy 9th Birthday!!

Woo Hoo!! 9 is the NEW half-way to a mission mark!!! Happy Birthday dear Davin boy!

Yes, the boy's bday fell on a fast Sunday, and we have 8 am church-double bad luck! No bday breakfast, but there wouldn't have been any time for it anyway.  So he got his breakfast yesterday (sort of) at the Ward Christmas party. 

But when church was over, Eric got a text from Nana and Papa saying they were at our house with some gifts for the bday boy (it was also the First Presidency Christmas Devotional night).  So we rushed back home, the whole block and a half, to meet them and see what wonders they brought.  A book, some clothes, a cool Lego Lord of the Rings set, and the Lego LOTR Wii game was what awaited Davin.  Happy Birthday indeed!

After Aidan and Eric went on their fast-offering routes, the kids had their sibling gifts for Davin.  And was he ever happy-HALO dudes!!

Of course the boy wanted Bandito's for dinner, what else is his favorite meal?  Camo cupcakes for dessert for the boy who is obsessed with the armed forces/miltary.  They were super easy, although a bit messy.  Thank you pinterest!

Davin supplied the army men and the cupcake toppers, he was so excited to make them-and spent just as much time building Legos as he did drawing these out.

making a wish...

for more HALOs

and more HALOs, 

And more HALOs!!

Happy birthday to a boy who always keeps us on our toes, but who is so full of love and kindness that it just blows me away at times.

The TREE...

There may be something wonderful about going someplace to chop down your very own tree every year.  Or to go to the same special farm to pick out your tree, and for those of you who get to do that, I try not to be jealous of you and think terrible and evil thoughts.  Nor do I smile slightly to myself as I click my three tree segments into place, plug my pre-lit/strung lights in and step back when the whole thing is up and done in under 10 minutes, and I only have to vacuum needles up once the entire season.  Sad, I know.

What is a tree without the star or the skirt? Those go on first and then we release the hounds, or rather the children, to their decorating.  I only have two rules: 1) only one ornament per branch; 2) anything with a picture/hand print goes on the back of the tree (to save on "space").

The boys put theirs up as high as they can, while the girls just put theirs where ever they want.  

It still leaves the top a bit bare, but that's where Eric and I will go back and fill in with our family ornaments, at least the most fragile ones.  The tree is starting to get a bit full, we may have to start moving more ornaments to the back of the tree in the coming years.  But I love it, I love an over packed kids' tree.  They are full of memories.  This year the boys got another Lego ornament, and the girls each got a second Hello Kitty.

And we did straighten the star up when all was said and done, it does look a bit wonky right now.

As for this little vignette, let me explain.  We have a set of nutcrackers that sit high up over the landing above the foyer.  Davin is obsessed with the story of the Nutcracker, not the ballet, but the actual story of the cursed soldier who comes to life at night to battle the rat king and his minions.  So when the nutcrackers come out each year, they bring with them their own magic, and at night the epic battles begin once again.

This year Davin thought that the Nutcracker needed an army of his own, so he set up two platoons and placed them under the direction of the Great Napoleon! He even armed them with guns and cannons.  Thank goodness for innumerable Playmobil soldiers to help battle the rat kind and his hordes.

First Grade Picnic

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving the first-graders have their annual picnic lunch at the park next to the school.  They invite their families to come and spend some time in the sun with them before the holiday hustle and bustle.  And it was a very lovely day with my cute girls, and lots of my friends-there are a bunch of us with 1st graders!

This, this is just too silly not to share.  One evening we heard a terrible cry for help after dinner.  Eric rushed off to investigate, came back to get the camera, and went back again to help.  When he came back down these are the photos he showed me.  Eme is still unsure of exactly HOW she got herself in her laundry basket in the first place.

November 12 in 12

Labor Day, aka Launch Day!! We lucked out with the 12th falling on a day Eric had off of work, we had already made some fun family plans (yes, I can count, I am aware that I've got 13, not 12-but they're really cool pictures).

We started our day off with a HUGE breakfast, here's what's left of it.  Eme and Maddie even drew us some festive flag pictures to celebrate.

The four rockets, all prepped and ready to go.  From l to r: Davin's, Aidan's, Eric's, and Mine (a 2 stage rocket!!)

Eric getting the launch site ready with all the kids looking on.  We like the baseball backstop as a great way to keep the kids at a safe distance from the "controlled explosives".

We invited our family friends who also like to shoot rockets, because more rockets=more fun right?

Our friends' rocket taking off, using one of our bigger engines.  It was pure luck that I got this series of shots!

Me prepping my rocket for its maiden flight, sadly it would only have one flight.  We lost it, at 2000 ft they're a little unpredictable in their flights, and really hard to track.  For our final flight of the day we even shot Davin's rocket with my booster (we did recover that), and almost lost that too!

We had to reward those hard working kids, they spent 2 hours chasing after and recovering rockets in the empty field beyond the park.  It was the least we could do.

With very little hope of ever seeing my rocket again, we were absolutely surprised to see a bit of orange streamer on the other side of Guadalupe (just past the Jr High).  That my rocket flew so far, and then some how avoided all that traffic (it was about 2 ft into the shoulder), was truly miraculous.

Since we didn't spend enough time outside, Eme got some playtime with another friend in.

The boys' version of a "clean room"

We ended our day with roasted marshmallows and s'mores.  Perfect.

Our "Great" Uncle Ken

Growing up there was no question in our minds who our favorite uncle was, it was always Ken-the middle of the three Seguine kids.  Dad was oldest, Ken wasn't too far behind (9 years), and Janet brought up the rear (she's actually 8 years older than my oldest brother!)  But once you grow up, get married, and move away from home (and your uncle moves to Wisconsin and becomes a super awesome pumpkin farmer-producing organic pumpkin seed oil) you go YEARS without seeing each other.  16 Years actually.

Oh, we've emailed and Facebook-ed, thankfully, but it was wonderful that Ken had a business trip that brought him to Mesa for a weekend.  Which meant I got to have him for an evening, pure bliss! I had a hard time keeping my girls off of him, they were absolutely in love with their "new" Uncle Ken-who looks just like Grandpa Seguine, except Ken has better hair :)

Thank you Ken, it was fantastic!!