We did it!

We finally finished reading the Book of Mormon (a companion book of scripture we use together with the Bible) together as a family. It has taken us probably three years to get through the whole thing. But we did it! And now we're planning a party.

Cold Kite Flying Winds

Several weeks ago, Emma and Paul picked out some kites at Costco for their birthdays. Today was windy and of course they thought it was perfect to fly their kites. So we did.

We tried so hard to get Emma's kite to catch the wind and fly, but it wouldn't very well. It was very pretty, but defective.



Paul's kite took off pretty good. Once it got up higher, he kept telling us to reel it in because he thought we would lose it.

As you can see, Jason is still messing with Emma's kite.
It was fun, but I couldn't believe we were flying kites in December.

Lainey: turning on the lights

Lainey has done several pieces in her how to series this past year. Here's her demonstration of turning on the lights.

Find a suitable toy that will hold your weight and place it directly under the switch.

Climb on.

Steady yourself, use the wall if you have to.

Reach for the switch and flip it on.

Lainey How To: Sugar Cookies

Here's another Lainey How To...

First, mix the dough.

Second, taste the dough.

Third, scrutinize the dough.

Fourth, share the dough.

A Lainey Don't...

Never touch the on switch!

Mama's Loaded

This is what I found in the corner.

Apparently Lainey thought mom needed some help dealing with the kids.

Lainey's Favorites

We got back home a little late tonight after our overnight stay in Mattawa and return visit to Grandma Erickson's to visit with more cousins. As we unloaded the car and put things away, the kids played with their new toys.

Here's Lainey on her new rocking horse, holding her new baby doll, and watching her favorite movie, Rio. It just cracked me up.

Christmas Day is Here

This is my favorite shot from Christmas day. I told the kids to get together like they loved each other. This is what I got. So cute!

I didn't get a shot of their shoes (German tradition) all stuffed with goodies; the kids were too quick for me. Jason outdid himself this time. He really is a great shopper. I have more fun seeing what he brings home for the kids and marveling that he's right on every time.
   The kids didn't get up until 7:30. We didn't mind too much because we didn't go to bed until 2:00 am. Jason was wrapping gifts and I was finishing gifts. That gave us a little more time to sleep. It didn't help our plans of getting ready for church and needing to be out the door by 9:00 am to make my parent's ward. We did pretty good though, arriving at 9:10 am. The program was just awesome there. They have such a beautiful choir.
This is the drive to my mom's. Notice anything wrong? No snow! I may not love snow, but everyone loves snow on Christmas Day. I remember the year when I was younger that I woke up to my brother and sister exclaiming over all the snow we received overnight. I jumped up and went to see for myself. Sure enough, there was tons.

I love the shots where everyone is doing whatever amidst the paper and toys. That's what Christmas is...The excitement of "when is it my turn?" coupled with the reining in to wait your turn.
We have the kids go first and then send them off to play. Paul and Claire were sure excited about their gifts. They all were.

Uncle Corey helping Paul. This was a big hit.

Emma and Katelyn excited over their gifts.

Christmas Eve: We're ready!

We went over to Jason's parent's house today to celebrate Christmas. The kids were so excited. We got there at 2:30 and they had to wait until 8:00 to open presents. They did really well considering, but we sure got tired of hearing, "Can we open presents yet?"

This is Lainey before we made it over there. Jason made a quick trip out to the stores for stocking stuffers. Oops! Needless to say, Lainey just couldn't make it. She was ti-red.

This is Emma's "I'm not sharing my play dough with the boys" face. We're excited to have some more play dough. It has been a while.

Aunt Lara was helping Lainey open her present. She got Adele's CD 21. She loves to dance to the song, Rolling in the Deep.

We had fun being with Jason's family. We got to eat pumpkin pie and play skipbo. Now that's fun right there.

This is what I made for Jason's mom.

After we got back home, we had a special visitor come by to check if our kids were in bed. He paused briefly for a picture. :) He rang his sleigh bells and our kids jumped out of bed to see him through their windows. We told him to be sure to come back later. Thanks Santa!

Yakima:Grandma & Miner's

If we're going to Yakima, it's usually for one of two things - to visit my Grandma Wilson and/or eat out at Miner's Diner. This time we did both. My Grandma will be 90 years old tomorrow, so we made our annual trip to see her today. Then my dad treated us all to the famous Miner's cuisine. :)

The kids enjoyed Grandma's bird.

Emma got a picture with Great Grandma because she will be baptized soon.

And Lainey wanted to crawl up with Great Grandma for a bit.

Benjamin crawled up with Austin to watch him play games on his ipod.

Lainey thought it would be more fun to sit with the big boys at Miner's.
They fed her fry sauce. She was NOT a fan.

The kids had a great time eating and feeding quarters into the game machines.

We had a great time eating, talking and laughing.

Counting Down: the 22nd

Almost there!

Christmas Card Photo

We had a good friend, Haley Harris (if you need some photos done), take our family pictures this year. We sent some of these out as Christmas cards.

Coupon Mess

This is why you need a coupon box with a latch.

Paul was trying to get something off the top of the refrigerator,
where I thought I had safely stored my coupon box,
and he knocked it off accidentally. I was frustrated,
but knew my camera would help me feel better about it. :)

A Birthday and Santa

We started Emma's birthday off with french toast for breakfast, at her special request of course. No one makes french toast like Grandma Zirker, but I tried it anyway for my daughter...because I'm such a nice mom. :) I have to say that it turned out pretty good. They all ate it and there was none left. That's a good sign, right? Only, don't let it get back to my mom because then I'll become the resident french toast maker.

Close to the end of the school day I took in a little treat for Emma to pass out to her classmates. Emma used toilet paper rolls and tissue paper to make candy filled poppers. She really liked being involved and it cut down on what I had to do. Her classmates were so excited to get a treat and be involved in the joy of someone having a birthday.

with classmates Joleen and Spencer Buchannan

with classmates Charity, Vivianna and Faith

Faith is an especially good friend of Emma's.
I'm so glad that she has met such a nice girl at her new school.
She misses her friends from Othello.

After school, we went to Mattawa for a Christmas Family Home Evening.

We celebrated Emma's birthday with the cousins.

We read a great nativity story.



We had a visit from Santa.
Benjamin would not go up to him at all - naughty list notwithstanding.
Claire finally went up there, but clung to my leg the entire time.

And the kids got bags filled with their favorite things to eat.
Paul gave me the best reactions over his favorite things.
First off, sugar cookies...he LOVES them!

Sour Cream and Cheddar

and 3 Musketeers!

These are our two family Santas who filled the goodie bags for the kids.