Santa! Santa! Ho! Ho! Ho!

This is what the boys have been chanting every time they see Santa. I think they got it from Mickey Mouse?? Anyway, here they are at the ward Christmas party where Cole asked Santa for a bike (which he got) and some flippers (which he was devastated not to get). All Parker wanted from Santa was a bike and a candy cane (he got both). Mason was just lucky to get through the whole Santa ordeal without crying.

Back in School - Jacksonville, FL

Well, here we are again... back to the same old school routine one last time. This is my first attempt at a blog. We'll see how well I keep up on it. Here is a little sample of our typical dinner time (when Russ actually makes it home, that is):

Larry the Parrot

Happy Birthday to me! We have a new pet... Larry the baby parrot. He has to be hand fed through a syringe three times a day (Russ does most of the feedings - not me). Hopefully he'll get cuter (and quieter). He has been affectionately named after the director of Russ' orthodontic program.

Jen & Doug Visit!

Jen, Doug, Dallin, and Baby Brooke came to visit during the last part of Thanksgiving break. We had lots of fun with them exploring downtown Jacksonville for the lighting of the tree, taking a little ride on the boat over to the zoo, and other fun things. So, here we all are...

AND THE GROUP SHOT. . .

Sea World...

We also had a great time at Sea World over the Thanksgiving break and even got the annual pass so we can go again and again... Wow! We even got fingerprinted and everything - Colton included. It was lots of fun!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great Thanksgiving this year thanks to all the family we got to see!! Russ' Mom and Dad and sister Laurie came for the festivities. Here are a couple of pictures from our dinner and one on the boat.

Colton's 4th Birthday!

Happy Birthday Cole! Cole REALLY wanted a party with his cousins and friends this year. We agreed not really knowing what we were getting into. He had a pirate party complete with painted pirate ships, treasure hunts and pirate games. I think they all had a lot of fun, but it was a bit crazier than I anticipated. This may be the last friend party for a little while. Thank goodness Krystal was there to help! Thank you!!

Mason's 1st Birthday!

Happy Birthday Mason!! Since we spent most of Mason's special day driving, we had a little celebration a day late. Just a small party with the boys and some cake. Mason was very dainty about the whole cake-eating process at first, but he soon discovered the joy of grabbing handfuls and stuffing them in his mouth, and when he got tired of that the handfuls started going over the edge of the highchair with a delighted exclaimation of his first and favorite word... Uh-Oh!

Back to Davie Ward!

With the visit to Hollywood came a little reunion with some of our good friends from the Davie ward! We had a great time seeing everyone we missed over the past year. Since Mason and Brooke weren't allowing Jen and I to go to our classes we had them out in the hall. Mason has been caught on camera here stealing Brookie's Cheerios. I love that cute red hair!!

Hollywood Visit

How lucky we are that Russ had an orthodontic convention that just happened to be in Hollywood, FL this year. That meant a free trip down to see Jen and Doug (and better yet a hotel so we only had to inconvenience them one night). While Russ went to classes during the day, the kids and I had a great time feeding the ducks and turtles, and seeing friends. In the strollers we have Dallin and Brooke (Jen's kids), and Baylee and Mason. Parker and Cole are standing to the side. Baylee belongs to our cute friend Alice (in the next shot). We wish we could see you all more often! It was so fun!

Happy Halloween!

Here we have the boys with their cousins in all their Halloween glory! None of them look extremely happy here, but really they were...especially once the trunk-or-treating began. From left to right we have Damon, Allie, little Ty, Cole, Parker, and Mason (I actually chose this shot because it's a good one of Mason - something we've found very difficult. His eyes always close, just like his Nana!).

Cole told us from the beginning he really wanted to be a spaceship--not an astronaut! Russ actually did a pretty good job! Of course he did. Parker wanted to be nothing but a dragon, so we found a costume for him on ebay (unfortunately I think most people thought he was a girl). He thought he was VERY scary. Mason didn't care what he was, so we kept him our little toad.

We all had a great time at the ward Halloween party. That was all the trick-or-treating we got since we were headed down to Fort Lauderdale Halloween night for Russ' ortho conference and a visit to Jen and Doug. Happy Halloween!!