New Year's Eve

Today we went bowling as a family. I love how when Dick and I decide to do an activity with Anson and Aubrey, the older children join us. Travis was working today, so he wasn't able to come.

Dad was so worried about bowling. He used to be a great bowler and since his leg surgery, he hasn't done any serious bowling. His form was almost just as good.

Deacon was very interested in the bowling balls. He couldn't keep his eyes off them. He kept saying, "ball, ball, ball!"

Deacon teaching Bree and Grandpa how to keep score.

The nachos and pizza were delicious!

Travis fixing us some burgers. It was too cold to barbecue outside.

We came home and fixed tons of treats to bring in the new year.Giselle made the best artichoke/spinach dip I have ever tasted.
That girl is the best cook and baker. I think she inherited it from her Grandmother Ruth Call.
Brianna made some croissants with cream cheese and chives and Deacon loved them.

Deacon was the first one to sample the treats. I love this picture of his little legs crossed. I used to eat this way. I have to concentrate really hard not to sit this way when I'm eating now.

After bowling, Giselle bought us the "Just Dance 2" Wii game.

It was so much fun seeing everyone dance!

John Gochnour and his wife came to the house before the count down and made the end of 2010 perfect for us.
John graduated from high school with Giselle. Dick was his speech/drama coach in the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade.
He will always be like a part of our family.
He is a lawyer now in Arizona. That is where his wife is from.
Thank you Gochners for taking the time to see us.

Happy New Year!

Makena was able to spend New Year's Eve with us.

Relaxing after the Christmas rush.

Today we had dinner in the living room/game room/computer room.

Deacon wanted nothing to do with his dinner at first.

First he filled up on oranges.

Boy! I've never seen anyone love oranges this much!

After dinner Dad, Travis, and Aubrey had a bowling tournament on the Wii.

Deacon thought he was playing too.

And the winner is...

After our activity, we set up the web camera that Giselle gave her father for Christmas, and we got to visit with my Dad and some family from Texas. It was so cool! My dad had a stroke a little over 2 months ago and it was great to see how good he looks. He is amazing!

Merry Christmas 2010

Travis, Brianna, and Deacon came over around 7 am because that is usually when Richie III and Sophie wake up.

Everyone found their stockings filled with goodies!

Giselle gave Aubrey, Anson, Brianna, and herself tickets for a concert. They will be going to see Dashboard Confessional.

This will be Aubrey's first concert!

Early morning picture of my children in their pajamas.

Dad almost loved his body pillow...

...as much as Sophie loved her Rapunzel.

My children NOT in their pajamas.

I wanted a picture with all of my grandchildren together, but by the time I got to that, the kids were pretty tired of pictures.

Not one of them wanted to cooperate and look at the camera.
We promised Richie he could play Wii after one more picture... Then 40 pictures later... He had enough!
Sophie kept moving around from one place to the other.
 Deacon kept saying very dramatically "Mooooooooom." It sounded like, "No more mom, please."
Grace had been patiently waiting for the kids to give us a good pose, and finally she had it.
But it still ended up being one of my favorite pictures!

We had a great day together as a family!

Richie III and Sophie were so excited to get their toys from Santa, and to find their stockings filled. They played all day long with their new toys.

Dad was throwing up all day, so he didn't have a fun day.

Deacon was feeling much better and loves his cousins. He still doesn't have a care in the world as far as presents.

Grace is such a pleasant baby and likes to cuddle with everyone.

Anson and Aubrey were so grateful for all of their presents. They are two of the most amazing kids!

Giselle is here to stay AND she gave everybody too much!

Brianna and Travis gave all of us exactly what we all wanted.

Richie and Chrislynn made our Christmas complete by being here with us this Christmas.

Me, I need a long, winter's nap.

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord."

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Christmas Eve

Sophie and Richie III really do have a lot of talent.

They both have beautiful voices.

I seriously think that they will be the next Donny and Marie.

Giselle baked cookies with the little ones on Christmas Eve.

Santa is a very lucky man!

The children in their Christmas pajamas.

Dad read The Night Before Christmas for us as usual.

The only thing that was missing was our Brianna and her family.

Deacon had a fever the night before and ended up in the ER on Christmas Eve.

They told Brianna it was an ear infection. She stayed home with him, so that he would be well for Christmas.

We have been so blessed to have such a healthy, little boy.

Besides having RSV when he was a few months old, he has never been sick.

We are so lucky, since his mom has had a rough year.

This is what happens when everyone brings their Christmas presents to our house. Richie and Chrislynn brought their presents to Burley.

 Giselle brought a couple of presents for everyone.

Brianna and Travis brought presents for everyone too.

On top of that, Grandma, Grandpa, Anson, and Aubrey had presents for everyone.

All that equals to a room filled with a lot of presents!

Richie and Sophia left cookies and milk for Santa, along with a letter.

On Christmas Eve Aubrey opened one gift.

A gravity ball that she's been wanting for a long, long time!

Anson opened one present too with the assistance of Miss Sophie.

It was a memory foam pillow that he's been wanting forever!

Travis and Brianna bought me one about a year ago and him and Giselle are always asking for my pillow.

Now they have their own.

"Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there..."

The North Pole Express

For Christmas this year, all I wanted for my present was for Dad to get all of our children a ticket to the North Pole.
He agreed, so I purchased a ticket for all of us.

We left at 8:00 am on Thursday,

and arrived in Horseshoe Bend, Idaho at 11:45 am.
Since we didn't have to board the train until 1:30 pm, we had lunch at a charming little restaurant when we got there.

On our way to the North Pole.

This was the beautiful view.

Arriving at the North Pole.

Richie's family

Brianna's family

Dad, Mom, Giselle, Anson, and Aubrey

All thirteen of us with Santa.

On our way back to the station, Santa had a special visit with the children on the train.

Goodbye North Pole...
Goodbye Santa.

It wasn't the real North Pole, and it wasn't the real Santa Claus. Being together with my husband, and all of my children made it extra special though.

At one point, Richie turned to his mom and asked, "Mom, whose idea was it to go to the North Pole?" She told him it was Grandma's idea. He said, "Thanks for bringing us to the North Pole Grandma." He ran to me and gave me a big, big hug. I still can't believe that a little boy, who is only 5 years old, would think of a "thank you" like our little Richie.

Merry Christmas Richie III

Merry Christmas family!

"Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful."
-Norman Vincent Peale