This is why Sunday naps are a bad idea

Benjamin - Jan 2014

That is bright red lipstick all up his arm. The other arm matches.

Chandler - August 2010

Jessica decorated him with foundation.

Shockingly, in both cases the mess was pretty well confined to the kid. I was so worried our bathroom would look like a horror movie. Goofy kids.

Jessica's New Look

Jessica was getting headaches at school and told me that my when she put on my glasses it made things looked better. I was skeptical, but decided it was time for an eye exam. Sure enough, her eyes are already almost as bad as mine (she's at about 1.25). She chose a super cute aqua pair that are just perfect for her. So cute!

My lawyer man

Michael will probably be embarrassed to see me posting this, but they took new pics for Michael's firm. I love this man.

Shoes and XC

Jessica started doing cross country in school this year. While the early morning practices have been tough, she's enjoying the experience. Michael decided that if she was going to be a runner, it was time for some half-decent running shoes. She has been so excited to have the same kind as Daddy. They both chose pretty exciting colors. :)

Jessica did a good job at her first meet. Seven year olds run a half mile. She worked very hard.

Christmas!

We had such a fun Christmas this year. The kids were rockin' their PJs Christmas Eve.

Michael has keep up his childhood tradition with the kids and build an awesome fort for them to sleep in Christmas Eve. We even strung Christmas lights inside. It was amazing and they loved it.

Last year we felt like we kind of over-did it with presents. So this time we told them that Jesus only got three presents so that was the plan for them as well.  It was perfect. It made the kids really think about what they wanted. I love Christmas time with these cuties!

Pre-Christmas

Well, we have a fully functioning computer again and I'm going to attempt to blog again. :) We will see.

We finished off the year with a lot of fun, but also a lot of just hanging out together around the house. Honestly, that's just the way I like it.

Danny is doing MUCH better with solids and will eat pretty much anything. We've even let him experiment with Cheerios, which he thought was totally awesome.  But the real fan of baby food turns out to be Ben. That kid will finish off any leftovers. He may not eat his veggies super great at dinner, but give them to him in baby food form and he thinks it's awesome. Goof.

I love seeing the kids all dressy for church. I was especially excited when I found suit jackets for all of the boys on Christmas clearance recently. SCORE! (this is pre-clearance find) Please forgive the President Obama photo-bomb in the background. :)

On his last day before break, Chandler's school did a Christmas program. Unfortunately, Michael had a client meeting and couldn't make it, so I pulled Jessica out of school an hour early so it was more special for Chandler. Super cute! Chandler is bottom center.

I have officially had my last birthday. 29! ;) Ok, actually the thought of my thirties doesn't really scare me - I'm done with school, married, kids, and a homeowner (though we don't actually get to live in it. Grr..). I think my 20s have been pretty great. I'm looking forward to enjoying one more year of them.  Chandler made me a candle at school (which is funny considering what "chandler" means) and insisted that we use it for my birthday. And thanks to my awesome friend who decided that moms should never have to make their own cakes, but also deserved good homemade ones, I got a great cake with no work. It was SO GOOD! And Stephie, I SWEAR I will return your cake platter one of these days.

Back in Idaho Falls I had a friend with five kids that would let each of her kids invite a friend over during holidays for some type of craft/activity. I was so amazed by her bravery. This year I decided to try and be brave. I let the kids each choose a friend to invite over to decorate gingerbread houses. Sadly, Ben's buddy was off on Christmas vacation already and we called about five of Chandler's school friends, only to have them have to cancel at the last minute because of lost car keys. :( But they were good sports and Jessica was happy to have her friend over for the fun.