{winter fun}

We had our friends over yesterday after hockey. They have 3 boys -- the oldest plays hockey with Gerard and the youngest is in Morgan's preschool class. The middle one is just plain cute. We had a really nice afternoon. The big boys (and the Dads) played hockey for hours outside while the little kids played in the snow. The moms stayed outside for the obligatory pictures and then came inside and watched everyone through the window. Much warmer that way. :)

Then we went to our other friends' house last night. The kids are all finally old enough to be able to play unsupervised while the adults hang out and play some games of our own. The only problem was that we didn't get home until 10:30 last night. The kids were exhausted -- especially Gerard who had played hockey for about 5 hours during the day -- then he had hockey practice this morning at 8:00. Waking him at 6:45 was rough. Needless to say Morgan and I are still in our pajamas at 10:00. The boys should be home soon and I have a feeling it will be a pretty laid-back kind of day.

Enjoy your Sunday, everyone!

{2011}

The new generation of kids...

At least they're both pretty active and don't sit around playing their electronics all day long. Morgan dances around the house nonstop and counts down the days until her next dance class. Gerard plays hard all the time. He skated under the lights tonight....

{phoenix}

The morning after Morgan's dance recital we left to head to Phoenix to visit Grandma and Grandpa and the sun. The flight was uneventful and flying with the kids is getting much easier as they get older. One backpack carry-on each, no car seats on the plane, no stroller, and they can take their own shoes on and off through security. What a blessing!

It was (relatively) warm when we got to Arizona, so we were able to swim the first full day we were there. The pool was warm, but the hottub was better!

Nadine flew down to AZ so we could spend some time together while we were there. On Monday night we went out to dinner with Nadine and her parents and then she and I went out for some drinks and some girl talk. It was so nice to see her again and to hear about everything going on in CO. I can't wait to visit her in her new house! Of course Morgan was disappointed that Wade didn't come, too. I think she has a little crush!

The kids love Grandma and Grandpa's house. They share a room (they tried to share a bed the first night, but Gerard is a very restless sleeper and nearly booted Morgan out of bed a few times), they love their huge bathtub, their flashlights, Grandpa's comfy chair, the books and movies Grandma and Grandpa took out of the library, Grandma Nancy's old costume jewelry, and all of Grandma's quilts.

The weather turned cooler after the first 2 days, but that didn't stop us from having fun. We went to a local resort where they had a gingerbread village that featured a Willy Wonka-esque fantasyland with a chocolate river, fudge room, chocolate eggs, Willy Wonka chocolate bars and lot of hand-crafted gingerbread houses. I thought it was pretty cool, but the kids were just as interested in the ducks outside in the pond.

From there we went to a little playground where Gerard and Grandpa disappeared to have their own fun and Grandma, big Gerard and I watched Morgan doing this:

Then one day we took a hike in some nearby mountains. It's beautiful there and the weather was just perfect -- a little overcast and not too warm.

And finally, we returned to the railroad park where we've gone every visit. They never grow tired of the train.

I hope everyone had a great holiday and I hope you all have a very healthy and happy 2011!!!!

{hanukkah, et cetera)

Happy belated Hanukkah to all my Jewish peeps out there! We had a very nice Hanukkah. I went in to both Morgan and Gerard's classes this year to teach the kids about Hanukkah and teach them how to play dreidel. I love that all the second graders and their parents ASK me when I'm coming in every year. Some of those kids still have their dreidels from when they were THREE. Now I've started that tradition with Morgan's friends, too. As long as Grandma and Grandpa continue bringing me 50 dreidels from Arizona each year, we're all set! (YOU try to find dreidels HERE. Not so easy. I seriously think we're the ONLY Jews in our town!)

The kids had a blast opening all their presents each night. I can't even pick which gift was their favorite. I know big Gerard loves his new hockey skates (he'll be helping to coach Gerard's hockey team starting in January) and I LOOOOOVE my new ipod Touch.

I hope everyone had a very Happy Hanukkah Christmas Everything!

And here is our little prima ballerina. This was an informal recital in our local community center (where the classes are held). A formal recital with professional costumes will be held at the high school auditorium on June 4th if anyone is interested in coming this summer!

Check back soon for pictures from our trip to Arizona!

{sneak peak}

I'm working on putting the video from Morgan's dance recital on the computer, but it'll take me a while. In the meantime, I thought I'd share the video from her rehearsal. It's not the greatest quality because I took it with my iPod. Hopefully I'll have the actual recital video tomorrow!

{thanksgiving recap, finally!}

I know it's almost 2011, but I have some unfinished business left from 2010 to share with you. We had a nice Thanksgiving visit with Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Debbie. The kids love watching old "videos" on YouTube of oldies songs with Grandpa. Morgan's favorite is How Much is That Doggie in the Window or maybe Perry Como's Hot Diggity Dog.

And of course Grandma came equipped with a Thanksgiving craft.

We had the usual Thankgiving dinner. Morgan DOES NOT LIKE TURKEY. At all. Ask her. It's "disgustin'!" I think everyone else liked it, though. And Morgan couldn't get enough of dessert.

We all enjoyed having Debbie here, too. Here she is indulging Morgan's "less is more" philosophy. The fewer articles of clothing, the better, according to Morgan. I smell trouble in the future! At least here she is wearing her blankie as a toga.

And since everyone was leaving the day before Hanukkah started, we thought we'd let them open one present each from Grandma and Grandpa and one from Aunt Debbie. Grandma gave them each a special bear -- they are made out of her old mink coat. They are so soft and Morgan in particular loves to cuddle with hers. Shhh....don't tell PETA.

This wasn't a Hanukkah present, but I thought I'd show you the poster I made for Gerard's bedroom. Can you tell what the "A" is?

Check back tomorrow for pictures from Hanukkah, Morgan's first dance recital (with video!) and our trip to Arizona.