MERRY CHRISTMAS!

No words really to express this morning's excitement! Kids came running in at 5:20am - not bad really. :-) To quote Ryan... "This is the BEST Christmas ever!"

Jack lost his front tooth...finally!

So, after having a wiggly tooth for what seems like months...Jack's top front tooth finally came out. He's been a little gun shy since the last tooth that came out was followed with a little blood too. So, he's been hesitant to wiggle any of his teeth. The dentist told us last week he has 4 loose teeth - but he wasn't willing to work on any of them. Maybe now - this time...very little if any blood...he'll spend his Christmas vacation wiggling! :-) "All I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth"...

Ryan learns to ride a bike!

Well, it's official - in a matter of minutes, Ryan learned how to ride a bike without training wheels! His smile was a mile wide! :-) Shortly after learning how to stay balanced and pedal at the same time, he learned how to skid to a stop! Loves the black mark it leaves! :-) Yay for Ryan!

Snowball fight!

Since we are not in Oregon - we had to drive 5 hours to get to the snow - well actually, there was snow on the ground at the Polar Express Experience. So, we enjoyed about an hour in the snow - before we got coooolllllddd and went inside to swim in the indoor pool! :-)

Polar Express

Well, it's true...we went for a ride on the Polar Express and made it ALL the way to the North Pole! The Grand Canyon Railway did a really nice job of making the experience as true to the story as possible. We boarded the train (kids in their jammies), were given hot chocolate and a cookie to eat on our way to the North Pole. We went through the magic tunnel - which takes us at light speed to the North Pole. Once at the North Pole, we saw a lighted Santa's workshop, Santa and Bernard. Then the train turned around and as we drove back by Santa's workshop, Bernard was standing there - but Santa was not! Where did he go?!!? Well, he was on board the train. He came through and gave each child a bell. We sang Christmas carols all the way back to the station.

Parent verdict: Long drive, short train ride, lots of people - probably our only trip to the North Pole.

Kids verdict: LOVED the North Pole, loved seeing Santa again, loved playing in the snow...the long drive didn't bother them. They'd probably like to see the North Pole again - especially if we went with their friends again.

Here are a few pics.

Ryan's Christmas Program at School

Just a few quick pictures from Ryan's Christmas program and book exchange at school. He loooovvvvveeedddd talking to Santa (again!). It's probably good to check in with the ole' guy each week...just to be sure he knows what you want and to remind him that you've been good. :-)

SANTA - SANTA - SANTA

Jack's school had a tree lighting last night, the kids wore their jammies, listened to the book, The Polar Express while drinking hot cocoa and eating cookies. There was even a visit from Santa and Ms. Claus. The kids loved chanting San-ta, San-ta, San-ta...They were so enthusiastic about their chant that they brought the microphone over to hear from the "real" believers! :-) Ryan spent his time reminding Santa about his email. :-)

EMAILSANTA.com

OMG - this is the coolest site. You go there, your child puts in minimal info (name, city, 3 wishes for Christmas gifts) and kablam...you get an instant response back from Santa. It's not a real email (I chose not to list our email address...it was an optional field) and right on your screen, personalized with sound and their name is a response from the big man himself. You can print it, save it, cherish it...my boys both LOVED it! Here's a list of what the boys asked Santa for...
Ryan
1. lego man
2. teddy bear (no specific teddy bear...just a teddy bear)
3. pair of shoes (no specific shoes...just a new pair of shoes)

Jack
1. Nintendo DS
2. 2 in 1 Ping pong table/pool table
3. Flat screen tv

Couldn't be a better example of contrast in our family! :-) Flat screen tv?!? What is that kid thinkin'? The funny thing is, the boy who asks for a new pair of shoes and a teddy bear is one who always is asking for stuff and the one who asked for all the big ticket items...hardly ever asks for things at the store. :-)

Anyhoo - check it out. emailsanta.com

Alburturkey

So, here's Jack's latest funny...he was re-telling a story to Todd - that Ryan had told earlier...about his friend who had been on vacation in Alburturkey! :-)

Good times in Sacramento

Todd at mile 26.2...definitely ready for that finish line!

Morning of...on the way to the race. They look pretty good don't they?!?

The rag tag bunch at the start line...the day before!

Good News...Todd and I just returned from Sacramento. He and a group from Tucson ran the Sacramento Marathon...and he got a personal best by 6 minutes, running 26.2 miles in a time of 2:36:08 - even on a course with a tough top 1/2 AND a very cool morning! Way to go Todd!! The others he was with had great runs too, each making their time goal and qualifying for the Boston Marathon.

Sacramento was beautiful - lots of fall leaves and very cool temperatures! We had a great time and Todd's hard work and training paid off!

The boys also had a great time...splitting the weekend with Nana & Papa and Grandma & Grandpa!

Todd's stats: 2:36:08 33rd overall, 5th in age (out of a field of 5,200)
*Interesting facts...had Todd stayed in Tucson and ran the same time (even though the Tucson course is easier) - he would have WON! *Had Todd been 1 year older for the Sacramento race (ie. 40 yrs old), he would have placed 2nd in his age group - and maybe won some $$$.

A little November fun!

Just a little November fun... we've had incredible weather this month. Low's in the 40's and highs in the upper 70's to low 80's. Here the boys are creating a river (of mud) to play in! :-)

GOOOOooooooo BEAVERS!!!

Well, the Beavers did it, pulled out a nail bitting win at the University of Arizona last night! It was exciting - that's for sure. The Beavs had a chance to tie it up 17 - 17 in the 4th quarter, but missed the extra point...grrrrr....so it was 17-16 with maybe 5 min to go. Most of the beaver cheering section was feeling pretty bad. Then at like 1:45 to go, the Beavers have the ball back and manage to throw a good one down to like the 10. After a few downs to get them into good field goal range...with 4 seconds left, we attempted a field goal....imagine the tension...the same kicker missed the extra point 4 minutes ago...and bam...he makes it - BEAVERS WIN 19-17! Wahooo....

I think they are going to have to start paying Grandpa Jim to leave early. Long story short, 2 years ago when we took Jack to the El Paso game, we decided to leave early, it was a long drive back to Tucson, the Beavers were down by 2 touchdowns and it was stinkin' cold. So, we found the game on the radio and sure enough...the Beavers as we're driving out of El Paso, we hear that the Beavers pulled of the win!?!? Geesh..and we missed it. Fast forward to last night. The grandparents had taken the shuttle buses to the game and fearing large crowds after the game, decided at 2 min to go - that the game was over, the Beavers had missed their chance when they missed the extra point. And, bam a minute later...the Beavers won.

Now, onto the Civil War rivalry in Corvalis - still holding up hope of the Rose Bowl. Come on Beavers! BEAT THE DUCKS!!!

We took the entire family to the game, in our best orange and black...both sets of grandparents and both kiddos got to go. It was Jack's 2nd Beaver Game and Ryan's 1st! What a 1st game for Ryan! :-) (These pictures were from long before the game started...the stands were packed...both team desperately wanting the win)

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Jack's turn...

Ok, so we're on our way to the Beaver game (yahoo Beavers...great game)..anyhoo, the El Tour de Tucson is going on...a 110 mile bike race which rides down many of the streets we use in our area. Anyhoo - so we see great hoards of cyclists and I saw to the boys in the back seat, "You know boys, when you get a little bigger and better on your bikes, you can ride in a kid's bike race - that's part of this big event. I say, I think it's like 5 or 10 miles." Jack says, "Yeah, I want to do it, as long as I don't have to ride it!" What?!?! :-) That'da boy...you want to participate in the race as long as you can just cross the finish line and get the prizes?!!? Hmmm...guess we've got some work to do there. :-)

More from Ryan...

1. Cats out of the bag - but I know Ian can't read yet - so shhh...Lor...no telling him what he's getting for Christmas. :-) So, we've decided to get him a build a bear and record the boys voices saying Hi Ian or You Rock Ian or something. We've been brainstorming. So, this morning...fresh out of bed, run comes in and says, "I know what we should have Ian's bear say"...and I say, great, what? "Waaa, waaaa" because that's all Ian can understand. :-)

2. So, I'm dropping Ryan and his friend Daniel off at school today and Daniel is telling us that he earned his yellow belt at karate last night. Ryan says, "When can I take karate?" I say, "when you ask to". Simple, right...he says, "Well, I can do it when I'm done with my wrestling training". WHAT wrestling training?!?

We skiiiiiiii

This is Arizona skiing. Ryan put this dandy little outfit together...eventually he added his bomber jacket. But again, where is the nearest drama program for 5 year olds?!!? This kid is ready! :-)

To be a kid again...

A few funny stories...about how kids think. Sometimes I forget just how literal they are!

Scene 1: Ryan and I get the mail. I say, "Oh, look a baby shower invitation", he says, "Is it going to rain babies?"

Scene 2: Ryan is threatening to dial 9-1-1...wasn't there...some disagreement w/Dad, but Ryan loves to threaten things. So, Dad starts to explain the Boy Who Cried Wolf story. Soon, Ryan comes running into find me absolutely afraid of wolves! Didn't get the jist of the whole - you don't call for help unless you really need help part. Oh well, one day!

There's one more, but we can't remember it right now...I'll have to update the post later.

Ahhhh, the things kids say...

Two funny stories about our "creative" Ryan. Now, I am not categorizing him to only be a drama guy, but I'm telling you the things this kid imagines just crack us up...some amount of drama has to be in his future, right?!?!

So, Monday he's getting dressed and he wants to wear the long sleeved blue button down dress shirt and red tie. Why??? Not sure yet. So, after missing a button, I help him re-button his shirt starting at the bottom. I get about 1/2 way up his chest and he tells me to stop. He wants the rest unbuttoned. Now, I'm thinking..I can't send him to school w/half of his shirt unbuttoned...like his whole chest is exposed. What will they think of me?!? When I explain that we need to button up one more to leave just the top one unbuttoned, he tells me he needs them both unbuttoned so it can look "like my shirt got ripped open"! What?!?! It's 6:30am - where did he get that idea?

2nd story - later that night while I'm making dinner. Ryan gets ahold of a straw cowboy hat and says, "I know how to make this hat less pokey on my head. I'm going to pull out a couple of the straw pieces, ok mama?" I'm thinking, sure whatever and continue making dinner - out of his direct line of sight. After 10 minutes I wander over that way and notice a large pile of straw pieces and a large hole in the back of the hat. I gasp and his brother starts to freak out - he was his hat afterall. Ryan quickly tells me, "Mom, that hole is for the arrows!" Pretty creative I thought - and quick on his feet - anything not to have his brother and I mad at him.

How do you not love this kids imagination?!? He's going to be able to talk himself out of any situation - I think I'm seeing a small glimpse into our future with teenagers.

Triathlon Fun or B.A.M aka Bad Ass Moms!

Some neighbor moms and I did a triathlon Saturday morning (yes, the morning after Halloween - ugh). It was their first triathlon ever and they did AWESOME! It was a beautiful day...bordering on HOT! But, it was great fun to have someone to participate with and I think I've got them hooked...and maybe committed to another one in March! :-)

Halloween Fun

A few pictures before we set off for trick-or-treating! They had a great time and came home with a ton of loot! :-)

Darth Vadar a.k.a Jack

Hans Solo a.k.a Ryan

Spirit Week

Monday - Crazy Hair and School Shirt Day

Tuesday - PJ Day w/stuffed animal

Wednesday - Sports Day - Jack and Halloween Party Day - Ryan

Thursday - Twin Day

(Jack and his buddy Bennett are dressing alike for twin day)

Friday - Costume/Character Day

Halloween Fun

This may be one of those posts that will get added to over the course of the week. Many, many things going on this week. I will try to update our Halloween fun events regularly. For now, here are a few: Mummy - Jack, Some fun face paint (thx to Dad), Doing the Monster Mash (yes, in their underwear - I'm telling you- it's rare to get a picture w/clothes on!) and the Star Wars crew at a recent Halloween Party. For those of you unfamiliar with the Star Wars crew: It is Hans Solo, Clone Trooper, Obi Wan, Darth Vadar and a Clone Trooper.

Speaking of clothes and parties. This Saturday we were at a party and the kids were in costume. They got hot - and soon, they both were shirtless...needless to say we caught a few looks from other parents (mostly parents of the princesses). I told them to be glad they still had their pants on! :-)