Christmas

Christmas was so much fun this year. My parents came for Christmas eve and morning. They also have an exchange student right now (Mimi). It was her first Christmas and so we did all the very traditional things. The night before, we told the story of Jesus birth and everyone had their part to play for it. Then Kevin read The Night Before Christmas and the kids opened there Christmas jammies. It was a lot of fun to watch them. They just get so excited. The kids then went off to bed and in the morning were super excited to see that Santa came. The presents were all opened and everyone felt so loved and special when we were done. There was a funny little story in there that I just can't help but tell. A few days ago my mother was telling a funny story about how an old friend had hurt her leg because she jumped out of her car and when she did the car turned and ran over her foot. My mother laughed hard while telling the story and Allen got upset. "Grandma!", he said "You shouldn't laugh at someones pain. That is naughty. Santa won't bring you any presents if you do things like that." Then on Christmas morning when Allen saw that Grandma got candy in her stocking. He said "Grandma look! Santa gave you presents even though you were naughty!" My mom just about died with laughter and couldn't help but tell everyone she talked to that day.

Mimi and the boys all dressed up in there Christmas jammies.

Dad reading The Night Before Christmas to the family.

Carter makes the funniest faces when he is trying to smile. Here he is saying "cheeeese."

I had to show you this one because it just makes him look so old. He is growing up too fast.

There is all the Christmas loot.

And in the dark.

Christmas morning. Rise and shine everybody!

Evan opening his stocking.

Allen and Carter opening there stockings.

Carter got some dress up superhero clothes for Christmas. The boys loved running around and fighting crime all morning.

Evan got a little book from his Uncle Bryan. He had a great time looking at the pictures and laughing.

What a cutie, huh?

This is just a little video of the boys fighting crime on Christmas morning. Superheroes don't take holidays.

Ice Skating

We where invited to go ice skating by my family. We all met at the ice palace in the park downtown at 7:00. So we were going to be there long after the boys bed time so I was a little worried. Once we got out onto that ice though they just couldn't stop. They loved every minute of it. It took Allen a long time to get the hang of it. He was very determined and even though he bit the ice really hard a couple of times he wouldn't give up. I'm so proud of him. Carter (unlike his brother) took to the ice right away. That kid has some great balance. He was jumping and trying to skate on one foot by the end. Thankfully, my parents where there too because they took care of Evan the whole time. It's so nice to have them around. Ice Skating has became one of our favorite family activities now.

My two pro-skaters waiting for the Zamboni to finish cleaning the ice.

Carter's skates were so small and cute I couldn't get over it.

See, they're really small!

Evan was such a good baby that night. He just looked around at everything and then fell right to sleep for almost all of our time there.

By this time Carter was getting really tired but still didn't want to get off the ice. He was always first in line to get back on after the Zamboni was done.

Me and my guy.

There he is again. He is growing up so fast.

Carter was so sleepy that if he wasn't moving he was falling asleep.

Evan was the the holder of all the coats. It was super cold if you weren't skating but he stayed nice and warm.

Allen's Christmas Program

Allen had his first school Christmas program. He practiced all his songs nonstop for about a month. At first it was cute but that got old fast. They told him to bring his whole family and to dress up. He insisted on wearing his most Christmas like shirt and a tie. He was the dressiest kid there and he owned it. Since he was all dressed up we did too. Carter loved seeing his brother and all the kids on stage. He made a friend of the lady next to us and was singing all the songs along with the other kids. Then at the end, Allen got a gift from his teacher and brought all of his family members a cookie. It was a great night.

The boys had a lot of fun hanging out before the program started. I love seeing my boys play together.

Dad and Allen before it started.

And of you better believe there was a whole lot of silliness going on in our row.
Allen on the risers just before the music started. I like this one because I think he looks a little like Archie. Don't you think?
And there is our guy all dressed up and ready to sing his heart out. He was the best dressed kid there.


I like this song they sang. Although we all were really done with it by the end of the Christmas season. Allen sang it about 20 or more times a day. It got a little old.

Carter's Surgery

Carter has had so much going on lately but one of the most dramatic things he had done was getting his tonsils out. Because he is only 2, they did it in the children's hospital. They wanted him to stay overnight as well. The surgery itself only took about a 1/2 hour. Then he just tried to recover for the rest of the day in the hospital. He did very well. However by the end of the day he was bored of everything and very cranky. He had been smiling all day and eating/drinking really well so they decided to let us go home at about 7:30 that night. Which was nice except for the fact that Carter had already fallen asleep for the night. So after all the screaming settled down from waking him up we took him home and continued our journey to recovery from there. At home it was a little harder to get him to keep drinking and all. But over all I think he did really well and recovered smoothly.

Right after Carter got out of surgery they came and got me. When I got to him this is what he looked like. They told me that he had already woken up and he was screaming and fighting so much they had to sedate him again. When he woke up again I got to see what they meant. He was not a happy camper.

This is right after he calmed down and we got to the room. He has his popsicle and is watching his cartoons. Poor guy.

He really liked that the sound to the T.V. came out of the controller. He played with that for quite some time. In this picture you can also see his clubbed hand. Because he kept trying to pull out his I.V. they had to put a board on both sides of his hand and tape it down tight. They kept saying how strong he is and that made it so much more complicated.

Daddy called a couple of times and Carter really enjoyed talking on the phone. There wasn't a whole lot to do so it was a fun treat.

Well there he is, my brave boy. He survived his first surgery.

First Snow and Thanksgiving

Around Thanksgiving this year we got our first snow. The boys always love it when it snows. They had a really great time playing together and with dad. I, however, did not go out and play with them this time because it was my first year hosting Thanksgiving dinner. I made everything myself and when Kevin's mom came she was nice enough to help me cook it all. For how stressed out I was about it I think it turned out pretty awesome. I think everyone had a good time. However, I now think that Thanksgiving is a little overrated because I cooked and prepared for 3 days strait and in 15 minutes it was all over. Thanksgiving is really anticlimactic for the cook. Anyways with all the things I was doing on Thanksgiving I forgot to take any pictures. So I hope you enjoy the pictures from the first snow because that is all your going to get.

Always the first thing Allen has to do is make a snow angel. Carter tried to do one too this year. It is always cute seeing them laying in the snow.
Carter is all bundled up and ready to play. Most of the time Carter just likes to sit in the snow and eat it. We have to always make sure Carter is in a spot with clean snow.
Ahh and there is always a snowball fight. Carter got pretty good at it this year. He gave Allen and Dad a run for there money.


I just love this video. It shows how good Carter has gotten at snow ball fighting.

80's Birthday Cake

Here is my newest creation. I made this for my two friends, Crystal and Jamie's 30th birthday party. They wanted and 80's theme. And this is what I came up with. We have Jamie on the left and Crystal on the right all dressed up in there 80's clothing. They are sitting on a cassette tape. I think it turned out pretty good. As with all of my cakes I have made, I think I can do it better the next time.

Fall into the park

My brother Greg and his family came to visit last weekend. We all decided to go for a walk through the park downtown. My parents' exchange student Mimi had never been there before so we took our time and went through the whole thing. It turned out to be a really nice fall day. It didn't start to rain until we left. It was super nice to spend some time with all of them. I do miss them so. Well, here are some of the fun little moments we had.

Emily and Allen sitting on the trash goat. Carter wouldn't go near it because of the loud vacuum sound it made. Standing on the wall looking at ducks. Emily and Carter peeking over the bridge. Mimi going down the radio flyer wagon slide. Natalie has this super awesome camera that she let Allen take some pictures with. Allen going down the red wagon slide. Carter and Dad way up on top of the wagon. Allen is riding a large blue bug that is just randomly placed in the park. Happy baby Evan. He loves being outside. You just got to love baby smiles. Grandpa Tulett and Greg walking though the park. Carter really liked watching the water flow under the bridge. Me and my boy Carter. Checking out the water. Natalie and Allen playing on the toys. Last but not least Carter swinging.