A Night Out with Jerry

Jerry Seinfeld was in Charlotte again.

Guess where we were last night!

Merry Christmas, Jason!

Dining at its Finest

Ok, not really. But the kids had the day off, and Ikea was having kids-eat-free day, so it was a fun diversion.

Happy New Year!

We spent New Year's Eve at home hanging out as a family. Everyone got to request something for the party menu, and we spent the nite eating, watching a movie, playing games, and watching the ball drop at midnite. (Jason and I could barely keep our eyes open.) =)

Our junk-food buffet

Happy New Year!

Christmas Fun

It's been a nice Christmas break. Lots of relaxing, lots of good food and treats, and lots of sleeping in.

Here are the kids making cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve. (Based on what he left the next morning, Santa must've really liked those cookies.) =)

The kids also decorated gingerbread houses that afternoon.

Christmas morning officially began around 7 a.m. when the lights in our bedroom suddenly came on. And then the music started. Unbenownst to us, the kids had been working on a song just for Christmas morning. They took a Jonas Brothers song and wrote new lyrics for it - all about trying to get parents out of bed on Christmas morning. Courtney was on drums, Alyssa provided the vocals, and Jordan rounded out the band on electric guitar. (And yes, he brought the amp.) It was quite the way to wake up...

Here's Courtney with her Webkinz llama (a.k.a Joe). Don't you love their matching Santa hats?

Jordan with some of his Christmas haul. What would Christmas be without a new Lego set?

Here's Alyssa with her new organizer for all of her teacher stuff. And Santa left surprises in every drawer.

Here's Jordan posing with his marshmallow gun. You stick a marshmallow in the top and blow, and it shoots out the other end. I found them at a craft show and got the family a complete set. I think we'll be finding marshmallows for weeks...

Courtney was thrilled to get this little hamster!

Alyssa with her Webkinz (Spot, Pork Chop, and Courtney)

Jason, Alyssa, and Jordan rocking out on Guitar Hero. We got the drums for Christmas, so now we have the complete band. =) Definitely a fun Christmas!

Goodbye, Furry Friend

Pretzel the Gerbil

March 5, 2009-December 17, 2009

R.I.P.

Poor thing... He was fine the night before, out of his cage and playing. The next evening, I went in to add some bedding to his cage and realized he was...(gulp)...gone. Courtney was devastated. It was heartbreaking.

We had a little funeral yesterday and buried him in the backyard. We all tossed mini pretzels in the hole. He was a crazy, messy gerbil, but he will be missed.

Whew...Busy Week!

This past week was one of those weeks...

Tuesday...

In our school district, the kids get to go to "BizTown" when they are in fourth grade. BizTown is a kid-sized town set up in a building downtown. It has everything a real city would have - a bank, hospital, town hall, travel agency, utilities, post office, radio station, etc. Prior to coming, the kids get to pick jobs (including holding an election for mayor), and they spend several weeks learning about their jobs, how to set up a bank account, and how to use a checkbook. Once in BizTown, the kids work at their assigned jobs, get paid, cash their paychecks, and then spend their money throughout the city. It's a GREAT experience and very fun for the kids (though exhausting and chaotic for the parent volunteers). =)

Here's Alyssa hard at work at her business. She was the CFO of the Food Court!

Wednesday...

Courtney's class had a special Writing Celebration where they each got to share a special story they had written.

Thursday...

Jordan had his Winter Concert for orchestra.

Because it was a combined performance, we got to hear songs from the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade orchestra groups PLUS songs from the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade chorus groups. Courtney couldn't quite make it... =)

Our favorite violinist

Saturday, early afternoon...

Alyssa's dance group performed at halftime at the UNCC women's basketball game.

They did a great job, and we got to enjoy a free basketball game. =)

Saturday, late afternoon...

Then it was off to Jordan's guitar recital. Here's Jordan and his teacher cranking out a very impressive "Crazy Train" duet.

Saturday evening...

We dashed home from the recital and went straight to our ward Christmas party. We couldn't have skipped it even if we'd wanted to... Jason was one of the Wise Men. =)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Every year, we make the trip to Virginia to spend Thanksgiving with Jason's family. Every year, the time passes too quickly. Good food, a chance to relax, Black Friday shopping, the BYU/UofU football game (Go Cougars!), and cousin bonding were all highlights of the week.

The older cousins at the grown-ups' table.

The younger cousins (minus Claire) at the kids' table.

What's this? Children with guns? Despite our Southern residency and the obvious redneck feel of these pictures, our Thanksgivings do not include hunting. Uncle Jared got out the old BB guns and took the kids in the backyard to take shots at soda cans. They thought it was great. =)

This was also our first time meeting our newest niece/cousin Autumn. Courtney was definitely the most enamored with Autumn and was always asking to hold her.

Kelli (Jason's sister) and her hubby Adam blessed Autumn that Sunday since everyone was in town. We took up four pews. =) It was a great long weekend!