Oh' Christmas tree

This past Thursday night was held aside for getting our Christmas tree. I know for some of you this involves trekking through the snow (uphill both ways of course) with an ax or other sharp instrument. For us it only involves driving to the local Home Depot!!

Here's the gang ready to go find "our tree"!

I have a habit of being rather particular when it comes to choosing the perfect one. Even if the first one looks good, I always want to go through the process to see others, just in case an even better one comes along. This year we're having a modified arrangement in the living room since we have a small mischief maker around. We found a way to put it up on a table in the corner so it's out of reach. This leads me to the next part of the story. In order for the tree to fit, we needed to get a 5-6ft tree instead of our usual 7-8 ft one. The one that I liked the best was a bit taller than our limit and way too wide, but we got it anyway. Here it is...

Here's Iain telling me that he was right, the tree is way too big! It's scraping the ceiling!
Here are a few pictures of the kids when we got home. They were so excited to have the tree, they ran upstairs and put on 'santa costumes' to dance around in.

Sean's able to sneak in a brotherly hug!!

I like this one!

That's all for our tree adventure. It is decorated and ready for the mountain of presents that will soon be surrounding it!

Look at our little girl go!

A friend of ours gave Sara this Leapfrog Shopping Cart the other day. Tonight we put it in front of her and she was off! Iain and I were both freaking out! I just can't believe how big she's getting! sniff-sniff!!

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The most super Superheros ever

It's a bird...it's a plane...it's....Iain and Sean!!

A few weeks ago, the boys had an opportunity to be Superheros for the day. My mom's company needed two little boys to dress up as superheros for an ad they were shooting. She knew two little boys to play the part!

The costumes were suppose to look like the kids dressed themselves up. They were going for a thrown together sort of look. We brought Sean's woobie' (that's his blanket for those not familiar with the term) thinking it would make a great cape! The photographer agreed! The assistant took it over by the clothes to get Sean's outfit ready. Next thing I knew she was ripping the bottom off trying to get the frayed look!!!! Any of you parents out there can feel my pain to see someone ripping my little boys woobie!! I tried to distract him so he didn't watch the terrifing event!! We were in the clear until she put the mask on him, also made of ripped woobie! She tied it on, he grabbed it, rubbed his nose with it, turned to me with big eyes and said "this is my woobie"!! It wasn't a question, it was a statement of complete disbelief! He has since recovered from the traumatic event. He does mention from time to time that his woobie was ripped when he was a Superhero. I'm sure one day he'll look back and laugh...we hope! Other than that, the shoot was a complete success! There's no doubt, they are super!

Busy as bees

The holidays are arriving and we've been so busy! I guess there is something about this time of year...just so many things going on! This post is a compilation of pictures just showing what we've been up to lately. Some are places we've been while others are just things we've been doing at home. Hope you enjoy!!

This first one is Iain on his Heely's (shoes with wheels). They are kind of like roller blades but not quite as easy. Not sure how I feel about these things but he really likes them, and is getting quite good!

Here are the cupcakes I made for Indian Guide snack last week. These suckers took soooo long to make! They were a hit with the boys though!

Here's the horse that Emma let Sara borrow! She absolutely loves it as you can see! In the background you can see the fort that the boys built!

Sean at the park. There is a park close to us that is actually on the sand at the beach. It's the best of both worlds...climbing and swinging with waves crashing in the background!Here is the pirate ship the boys made last weekend. Iain has a pirate book that describes the pirate captains and their corresponding flag. (who knew they each had a different flag??) He chose Captain Calico Jack. We made a flag, tied it to a "ship" and they were off. It actually kept them occupied for the majority of a full day!

Hope you enjoyed the latest happenings around here. I'll try to back soon! Cheers!

A day at the beach

For weeks now Iain has been asking to go surfing. As you may remember he bought a new wetsuit with the money he earned doing chores. Even though the weather has been a bit chilly we thought yesterday would be a great day to go! The water has only been in the mid 60's but with the new wetsuit, we thought he might last long enough to get a few waves. He did great!! Sara and Sean had a great time too! Seany built sand castles and cheered on his brother while Sara ate everything she could get her hands on...sand, wood, even a few cigaratte butts...YUCK!!! I'm trying to get some video on here. I'm been playing around with the camera trying to figure out how it all works. If all goes well, you'll actually see him surfing! If not, I have some stills as well!

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Not sure if these links work but I'm trying! Here are a couple of pics of Sara and Sean.

Hammin' it up for the camera!

Sean watching Iain

Sara eating sand!

Posing on the surfboard

Possible surfer girl to be??

San Diego Part Two (The 3-day)

Where oh' where do I begin? It was such an experience! 3 days and 60 miles doesn't even come close to what the weekend really was. Ready for the corniness? There's only a little so bare with me. They refer to the weekend as a journey. I never quite understood that. How can it be a journey...it's 3 days, it's 60 miles...that is just a couple times around my route I use to do for training. How much of a journey can it be? My response to that is, you have to walk it to understand but I'll do my best...

Walking next to bald women who's going through chemo...seeing 3 and 4 year olds on the side of the road with signs that say "Mommy, you are our hero, you are beautiful" and the mother walks up and is bald. Yet she is walking...when people stand out there all three days to cheer us on. The same people were there at 7:00am when we started, all throughout the walk we'd see them and then again at 7:00pm when we finished. It didn't matter if we were first or last, they had just as much energy to cheer...the Hell's Angels "Moto Crew" who stood at every crosswalk to make sure we got across safely. They were wearing leather pants with pink shirts. Their motorcycles were there decorated with pink. They teared as we walked by, thanking us for what we were doing...the couple who walked hand in hand for the entire weekend. They were walking in honor of their 35 year old daughter who had died of breast cancer...
I can literally go on and on for hours with more stories. It was indeed a journey. One I wish everyone could experience. I will be walking again in November of 2007. Here are a few pics...

This is Billy. He was out everyday all day to cheer us on. Who couldn't smile at the sight of Billy?These women were also there everyday. They were in pink pj's and fake curlers. They cheered us up every hill (and there were some big ones) with the chant "up the hill, buns of steel". Not that is worked but the thought was there!
This guy stood for 12 hours a day giving "free hugs" to anyone who wanted one. Here's a picture of me with Hug Guy. We weren't exactly at our freshest at this point either!!

This is us at the end! We did it! 3 days 60 miles! (I'm on the right)

San Diego Part One

As most of you know, last weekend I took part in the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk. It was amazing. This however is not what this post is about. This is about the fun that we had the night before the walk started. Since we had to be at opening ceremonies Friday morning at 6:30am (yikes), we stayed in a hotel on Thursday. Oh' my gosh did the kids have a good time! We went out to a fun dinner then had hotel room play! The boys thought it was hilarious to jump from bed to bed. This wasn't ordinary jumping though. It was flying!!! Here are the pictures!
Here's Iain...

Then Sean...

Here's Sara discovering another baby in the room.

This was bedtime. See the little head at the bottom of the picture? Someone wasn't going down as easily as the others!!
We all had a great time! I'll be back with Part Two, The Walk, in a few days!

Halloween

This past week was filled with so many Halloween activities. Thought I'd post a few pictures.

It's a crack up to watch the boys carve pumpkins. They talk about it for weeks prior, can't wait for the night to arrive. Then when it does...this is the response! We find it hilarious, they don't like the feel of the insides! Notice Sean is smiling in this picture, and his hands are not in the pumpkin!

Here's the flared nose when he touches the "guts" inside! Notice the pumpkin strings on his hand!

Here are Superman, Obi Wan Kenobi and our Little Monkey. Can you guess which one didn't want to be in the picture?

Sara enjoying the evening a little more!

After trick-or-treating. Iain is eating a Ring Pop, it's not a pacifier! Just wanted to clarify!

Exploration

Now that Sara is mobile, we really have to watch what we leave around the house. She is our little vacuum, picking up all the crumbs on the floor. Some houses have the family pet that crawls under the table to get food. We have Sara!! She's been known to eat everything from food to toys to the ever popular dust bunny!

Today her culinary treats were a hodge-podge of things she found on or around the stairs. First she started climbing up and realized she was able to reach some new treasures.

Then came the dirty slipper! I think even she realized it wasn't so yummy!

Ohhhhhh' this looks new and exciting!

A yummy pink bracelet!

Even better, a mystery crumb on the floor! Better hold onto the bracelet just in case I need it for later!

What? Who me? I don't have anything in my mouth!!

There is no doubt she's a little character!

Merry-go-round Madness

Maybe this is a blog only a mother could love but it just cracks me up. When I take pictures I have a habit of taking multiples of the same shot. My theory is that you never know when one won't come out. I want to make sure and get the shot I'm trying for. Anyway, Iain is always giving me a hard time about this. One or even two would suffice he says. Well last night is an example of my snapping obsession. Each time Sean went around I took another picture!

Starts out all fun! Loving the Merry-go-round!

"Yea, this is fun but didn't you already take a picture?"

"You're still taking pictures?"

"Stop taking my picture!!"

I think it's all great fun!!

Pumpkins, pumpkins everywhere

Yesterday I took Sean and Sara to a local pumpkin patch. Iain and Iain were gone for Indian Guides so I was looking for something a little different to do. It turned out to be a great choice! We got there right when it opened so we didn't have any lines to contend with. First was the train. It was a small kid sized train that he could just sit on and go around and around and around... Sara wasn't old enough but she didn't seem to mind. It was probably better she didn't go on. It was so long! We were actually laughing as he made his 10th circle around the track!

Next was the pony rides. Yes, Sara was ready, willing and able for this one. Sean went first...

...then it was Sara's turn. She absolutely loved it! She was fascinated with touching the horse's mane! Here we are walking the pony. Yes, I'm wearing flip flops! Ick!

So little!

Here are just a few other pictures of the day. First Seany inside a pumpkin...

...then Sara with a few smaller pumpkins!

The kids had tons of fun. I'm sure we'll go back in the next few weeks with Iain T.

A whole lot of nothing

I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted. It's been chaos around here. We're having some work done on the house and it has turned into quite the long, drawn out mess. I've been without a kitchen for almost two weeks now! I guess the good news is that my fridge is now out of my livingroom and back in the kitchen! (See how small of a thing is categorized as good news!) The sheaths of plastic have been removed but we're still living in a dust covered world. 'They' say the work should be done Monday or Tuesday of next week but we've heard this before. Welcome to the world of home repairs huh?? I'm sure the final process will be fabulous! I'll post some before and afters. In the meantime I'll leave you all with some recent pics. Here's Sara in the bath tonight. Thought we needed an official 'today I'm 9 months old' picture. The other is from last night. Love that Iain and Gus like to watch tv together!! hee hee

Like my crazy hair?

Male/cat bonding time!

Watch out Pele, here comes Iain!

After weeks of practice and anticipation, the day finally arrived. Iain's first soccer game. We've been waiting for weeks for this day, sometimes excited and at other times nervous. At practice he's really involved and gets into it. He and the other boys, all 6 years old too, have a great time together. The morning of the game he informed me that I wasn't allowed to cheer or say his name loud, it could embarrass him! I agreed even though I really didn't want too!

Right before the game the coach helped the boys get into position. Iain was center forward (I think that's what is was called, I'm not so soccer savvy) which meant he would be kicking the first kick! I stood, camera poised, snapped and got it! The game was a complete success! We didn't win but did score one goal, which was very exciting! The league actually doesn't keep score and all the kids get trophies at the end of the season. My kind of sport! I was able to keep my promise and not scream out embarrassing, proud mother remarks.

Here's a picture from after the game! Looks like he had fun huh? The little war wounds on his face are from skateboarding, not soccer!

Mover and a shaker

Just a little Sara update. Our little girl is so much fun these days. Of course she's always been fun but she's able to do so much more now. Not to mention her hair is getting longer and I'm able to play beauty shop on her!!

Here's a new hair style I've been having fun with. It's a little pulled out but you get the picture! Also a little sweet potato on her face!

Here's she is trying to climb the stairs! Yikes!

Nibbling on the boy's toys!

Nothing really profound to say, just sharing pictures! I'll be profound next time!