Christmas Fun!

So, the fun began on Christmas Eve at Cole's Parents house for a party.

Then, when we got home,

we have a tradition of opening one gift on Christmas Eve...

...and it's their Christmas Jammies!

Christmas morning, Tay got a "My Generation Doll"...

...Karly got a horse, Alexa got a remote control puppy...

I got new phones, haleluja!!! The old ones kept dying mid-conversation, 'cuz the batteries wouldn't hold a charge.

Cole got a Hot Choc. maker that we've searched for for a couple of years. I finally found one, and actually surprised him with it...he usually guesses everything we give him.

Then we opened more...

and more...

and more...

presents! Don't hate me 'cuz I'm beautiful!

Then Saturday, we had the Birch Family party at Marni's house. These are some gold shoes that Andra found and gave Marni as the remeniscent "Grandma Birch Gift"! My Grandma Birch used to give really funky, yard-sale gifts. It was always fun to see who got the craziest gift! Anyway, this is Marni modeling the shoes, which made it even funnier!

So, we had wonderful Christmas, and hope you did, too!

Catchin' Up

So, I'm doing some catch up: My Mom and Dad moved into my Grandma and Grandpa's house this summer, after my Grandpa passed away in April (my Grandma passed away in March '04). So my mom decided to invite all of their posterity (my Grandparents') to Thanksgiving dinner at her house this year. So we had 64 people (only about 70%) in her little house! But it was really fun to see everyone and talk about our memories of playing at Grandma's, etc. And of course, dinner was awesome!

The little girls played school on the big tables while dinner was cooking.

Alexa, Karly

Taylee, Demi, Zoe, Ali

Cole and Mark were the "volunteer" potatoe peelers! Jenika and Jordan watching TV and waiting patiently for the food!

My Uncle John carving the ham.

Dad and Mark carving the birds!

Too many women in that little kitchen!

Cute Maddy holding cute Makayla!

My cousin Brandon and his yummy little boy, Cannon.

People...

...people...

...and more people!

The kids table (that's Alexa with her mouth full)

Thanks, Mom & Dad!

Double Trouble

My little look-alikes are quite a handful, as you can imagine. Here are a few pix of them lately, just doin' what they do! They make me tired, but it's very entertaining when they're not fighting.

This is the tent I helped them build one day, when they were trying to do it themselves and getting very frustrated.

Then one day Karly figured out how to blow a bubble. So of course, we documented the occasion with a picture.

Alexa couldn't quite get the bubble blowing, so she said, 'Hey, I can whistle!"

So this is Alexa whistling!

One their favorite things to do (especially Karly) is to put their hats on, get their stick horses and ride around while listening to "cowboy music," which consists of only CD's that the cover has someone with a cowboy hat on! And the favorite is Garth Brooks!

So now I'm in the process of putting together a slideshow of them from birth. So watch for that on the right...

Tagged Again!

I've been tagged, so here are the rules:

1. Link to the person that tagged you. ( Jen ... I know it took me a while!)
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share 6 non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
4. Tag 6 random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
5. Let each person know that they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog or email.
6. Let your tagged peeps know once your entry is up.

So here are my 6 random things:

1. I am not a very good housekeeper!
2. I like changing my hairstyle/color frequently.
3. I love going out to eat with whoever is game: husband, sisters, friends!
4. I'm NOT a morning person! And my children are great at sleeping in, which I love!
5. I would love to write music and have it published.
6. I would like to write a book about my life someday!

There ya' have it! Kind of boring, I know. And I'm tagging

1. Aubrey
2. Melinda
3. Kerith
4. Ashby
5. Ashlie
6. Jamie

It's Frosting!

The last few weeks, when my kids wake up, they think the frost is snow! So I expained what frost is. Well, this morning, when it was actually snowing, Karly looked out the window, and with absolute excitement, yells, "Look, Mom, it's frosting!"

Playing in the "frost"!

Karly (in blue) & Alexa (in pink)