Not done yet

I can't seem to get the pictures to load right now. I will get the rest of the month posted before it's over!

Medtronic Christmas Party

This year, we continued our annual attendance to the Medtronic Children's "Holiday" Party. It was a lot of fun, as usual. It gets to be more and more fun as the kids get older and can really enjoy some of the entertainment/games. I wasn't too thrilled about being dragged on stage for the "kids over 25 contest" but, sometimes you just have to put your pride aside...for the sake of the children. We also got our Santa picture while we were there. Ryan wasn't quite as scared of him as last year, but still wouldn't sit on his lap. Jazmin didn't cry when we put her on his lap, but she was most certainly not happy about it. Jake....well, if you can't tell, he was DEFINITELY not happy about being there!

Well, try as I might, I can't get the Santa picture on here. I'll get Joel to help me and get it on as soon as possible.

Taz strikes again...and is training in "Jake the Snake"

It's a busy morning, I don't remember what we were rushing about doing, but I was pre-occupied, and the boys were left unattended. They decided the tree was over-decorated, and make quick work of fixing it. I think we lost a total of 10-15 balls, maybe more.

Giggle boxes

Playing in the first recordable snowfall

We bundled the kids up and headed out to play. It was super cold, and you can tell by looking at their cheeks, all rosy red! I think it may have taken longer to get bundled up, than we spent actually playing. Oh well, they had fun!

Don't give up on me!

I promise by the time the weekend is over, I will have you all caught up on our month of December. It's been busy, and virtually impossible to find enough time to post, but I am bound and determined to make it happen. Check back soon and see the updates!

Decorating Christmas cookies

They aren't the most beautiful things, but they taste good and the kids had fun!

Kid's first movie

Last weekend, we took all 3 kids to see the movie Bolt. This was the first movie theater experience for my boys, and I'm going to assume the first for Jazmin too. They all loved it. Jazmin sat still, totally in awe...until she fell asleep. Jacob sat still, watched the ENTIRE movie and ate the equivalency of a med popcorn by himself! Ryan sat, stood, walked the aisle, crawled in a lap, stood, sat, ate some candy, and watched the entire movie also. He promptly fell asleep two minutes into the ride home. Overall, it was a very good trip to the theater, a very cute movie, and even better-Jake and Jaz got in for free!

Random shots

Camera shy.
My little ham!
PJ party watching The Incredibles.

Just chillin'

My other little ham!

Our Christmas Tree

This picture doesn't do it justice! I have 7 strands of lights on it.
The kid's decorating.

More kid's decorating.

This year, I wanted a real tree. I haven't had one since I lived at home more than a decade ago. (Gosh I'm getting old) Anyway, Menards had them on sale for cheap, and I thought this would be the year to do it. Next year we'll have another crawler, and have to worry about small decorations etc. So we went and got our tree, brought it in the house, and let the branches fall. When I was putting on the lights, I discovered an empty bird's nest. Somehow, that made me as excited as a 5 year old on Christmas morning. Then the kids helped me decorate it, then while they napped, I redecorated it....to kind of "even it out a little". Can I just say, that while I thought I was in the Christmas spirit before, I'm even more so now!

Some belated Thanksgiving pictures

Dan and Isaac aka big hair playing basketball after dinner.
Cynthia and Jazmin having a moment.

"Ryan, this is my gecko, Bob", says Taran.

Braeden, Uncle Danny, and Jazmin.

What can I say....he's a ham!

Pictures that have waited too long to be shared

Yeah!!! Today I got permission to put pictures of Jazmin on the blog without blurring her face out! That means I no longer have to be careful when I take them to make sure she's facing away, or spend time editing them. I can share the pictures of her adorable face. Here are a few of my favorites!

Thanksgiving 08
Oreo face 08

Halloween 08

Breaeden and Jaz Fall 08

Summer 08

Summer 08

Summer 08

Spring 08

Spring '08

Spring '08

Early spring '08

fall '07

Easter '08

Jazmin is learning to walk

All day on Thanksgiving, Jazmin was walking to and from anywhere she wanted to go. We didn't have our camera with video mode on it, but this one does have rapid fire shot. This is Jaz walking from Auntie Kendall to Uncle Bobby.

Jazmin loves to have her hair in braids and beads. She was flipping them back and forth all night and all day. I thought I'd try to catch a shot....worked pretty well!

Some China Pictures

Pearl TV tower at night.
Panoramic view from hotel room.
McDonald's kiosk.

Joel's hotel room.

Scary looking mask in a museum.

Interesting architecture.

China girl with a pigeon.

Medtronic Shanghai.

Joel with some co-workers from various countries.

A statue from the jade museum.

Not sure...but look at the air quality.

I'm not sure what all of these are of. I keep trying to sit down with Joel and get him to narrate what the story behind each shot is, but for some reason we just can't find the time. I'll do my best, but no promises on accuracy!