my girl and her Piano

I have no idea when this picture was taken but I found it on Ryan's phone. I just had to share it. She looks so cute in Jammie's pretty house. Grandma Jammie told her if she practices and gets really good that she will give Hailey her Piano. So Hailey keeps asking me when is Grandma going to give me her Piano. I'm not sure how to explain to a 7 year old that we have no room for a piano right now. She's gonna have to wait until we get a bigger house.

New Years Eve

To thank Ryan for helping dad with his moving stuff Mom & Dad kept the kids over night so we could get away. We went to Colorado Springs stayed in a Hotel, Went to a movie and had dinner. It was so nice to get away. I love my kids so much but we are never able to have any me and Ryan time. So it was nice to have a date.

My cute baby

My cute baby. No cute story just pictures of my cute baby playing at grandma & Pappy's house.

My Grandma Nona

Grandma had spent Christmas at the Ranch with Aunt Sissy, and on their way back to the nursing home they came to the house and spent some time with us. My Big kids love my Grandma Nona. They like to talk to her, play with her walker, bring her toys to play with them. Ben's not very friendly to people he's not real familiar with. Sometimes he's not friendly with people he does know so I was afraid he wouldn't have much to do with her, and I was afraid that would hurt her feelings. But Ben's shoes kept falling off and Mom and I were busy making dinner and couldn't help but Grandma told him she would help him so he kept taking his shoes over and he would crawl up in grandmas lap and she would help him put his shoes back on. Jacob was a little jealous so he had to go over and get some Grandma Nona loves too. Jacob cracks me up he calls her "My Grandma Nona" and when I remind him that she was my grandma first and he tells me "well she's my grandma now" and if he's feeling in a generous mood he'll tell me he'll share her with me.

This doesn't have anything to do with Grandma Nona but she was so proud that I put her hair up in a towel like I wear mine.

Playing in the snow pile

Hailey was really disappointed that there wasn't any snow. I haven't told her yet but there's not any snow in the forecast either. So Grandma Carol was going over to Eva Mae's to do some stuff so she took the big kids with her and they got to play in the snow in Eva Mae's driveway. Mom and I got a chuckle out of my Arizona kids. It didn't take much to make them happy. Just a pile of dirty snow.

my cute cowboy

When mom was going through stuff to get ready to put their house on the market she found my brother Jim's old cowboy shirts. And the small one were just the right size to fit my Bubbi. He looks so stinking cute.

The Ranch

We went to the Ranch to visit with Grandma Nona & Aunt Sissy. There are 2 different ways to go you can either go through Des Moines or you can go over the Mountain and go down the River Road which is what I prefer it's a much prettier scene. When you go over the mountain you go through Yankee canyon. That is where my Grandma Annie grew up and the house and Ranch she lived in is still there so we took some pictures.



We were debating on what the little building to the right of the house is. We were debating whether it was an outhouse or a smoke house for making dried meat. Hailey thought it was cool that this was where her grandma Annie lived when she was a little girl but the boys could have cared less.


When we got to the Ranch Aunt Sissy took the kids over to See their bottle fed baby calf. Her mommy fell off the side of the mountain and died so they are bottle feeding her. The kids were so excited that they wouldn't even go in to say Hi to Grandma Nona. And when it was time for her to have her bottle they were all so excited that Uncle Ted let them each have a turn in feeding her. Pops was sick so they couldn't ride him so this came in a close second.









The kids talked Pappy into giving them a ride on the golf cart. My kids think it's the funnest toy in the world.




Jacob took these pictures with my camera, I don't have a ton of Uncle Ted and Jacob got a good one. They are the last ones that were taken before it died.

Going to New Mexico

The Kids and I LOVE going to New Mexico. It's a long drive which we don't care for but being there is great. The kids like going to Grandma and Pappys trailer as they call it. They play inside and outside with all the toys. In the summer they play in the dirt make mud pies and ride their gator, in the winter they play in the snow. We spend time with my folks, play games, and just spend time together. I LOVE it because it's a laid back. I still have to log in and work but I don't have to deal with all the kids responsibilities and my church responsibilities. No one asks anything of me and I can just spend quality time with me kids and parents. Ryan usually doesn't come with us but this time my dad talked him into it. He didn't want me to drive by myself, and he needed him to help him with unloading the trailer full of stuff he was taking and to do some furniture rearranging. I was afraid we would never get him to go back after this summer when he got so sick. Ryan & have different ideas of vacations. They always went to places like Mexico, Hawaii or Disney land. We went to grandma and grandpas in Raton or Grandma & Phil's ranch that was the extent of our vacations so that's what I enjoy going and hanging out with my family. So I think Ry will probably get a little bored but The kids and I are going to enjoy our selfs so much like we always do.

Christmas Decorations

I'm pretty sure I mentioned it before but I LOVE Christmas. It's my favorite holiday. I love everything about it. The cold weather, the lights the decorations, the gifts, the parties, the family togetherness. So when Christmas time comes around I kind of go crazy. Since Ryan and I have been married 11 years I have been collecting decorations a little each year. I didn't realize how much stuff I had until we went to storage to get it out or storage and it filled up the bed of Ryan's truck.

It didn't come out very good but this is the outside of the house my hubby humors me and helps me put up the outside decorations because he knows I enjoy them.

Hailey got this Pooh Bear for her second Christmas everyone pitched in and got it for her. The Reindeer my brother Jim made for me. Isn't he talented!! There not in it but it has green numbers that stick out of the top to count down the days until Christmas.


My brother also made me this Santa. This Santa actually talk when you walk by but I don't put batteries in him because it annoys me. I just think it looks cool on my light.

you can't tell but they are penguins that light up my walkway. The snow man/Santa sign that welcomes everyone to our home


When I was a kid we always put the cards on our front door and I wanted to do the same thing So the first year we did it and it worked great until we took the cards off and it ripped the paint off the door, so even though it annoys Ryan that I'm pulling the paint off the door every year I continue to do it. Sorry Hunny. These are my snowman that represent my babies. They have telescoping legs so I can make them taller and shorter. I went to Kirklands to spend a gift card I had gotten from my boss and I saw them and fell in love with them but then I saw they were $25 a piece and I just couldn't spend $75 for snowmen. put then I got closer and realized they were 50% off they were only $37 dollars and I had a $25 gift card so I only had to pay $12 for the 3 of them. So I packed them up and took them home and the kids and I love them every year when I take them out of the box, they want to know which snowman is them. The Big advent Calender if it weren't for Hailey it would have never gotten changed. But sure enough every morning when I got up she would have moved the tree to the next day.


My mother in law gave me both of these. the Noel sign she gave me when she was cleaning out her Christmas stuff and decided she didn't want anymore, but I thought it was super cute so I took it home. The stocking countdown she bought me at a craft show we went to when we both lived in Safford. I loved it but we were poor newlywed and I couldn't afford it so she was sweet enough to get it for me.


My entry way table and mirror, I put lights around the mirror every year and the fake candles is something we use to do when I was a kid we always had them either in our window or on our fireplace. That snow man looks cute, and he sings a really cute song that goes "I'm gonna lasso Santa clause and you know just why because" and he's really cute but when your kids play him over and over and over again he's not so cute anymore. The reindeer in the chair sings "Grandma got run over by a reindeer" I bought it for my grandma Annie for Christmas and then my mom reminded me that she hated when my brother and Grandpa sang that song to her and she hates cutesy thing that make noise so instead of returning it I kept it. The reindeer were so cute. My mom bought them when Jacob was a baby a girl and a boy so when I had Ben I told her I needed another boy so she searched the Internet and found me one. You can't see them real well but I have the characters from Rudolf then only problem is they sing and my kids love them and sometimes they get them all going at the same time.


My Precious moments Nativity Scene the donkey and camel are new. Mom also got me a cow but it didn't come in time so I won't get it until later. And the year each of my babies was born Santa brought my new baby a bear with their birth year on the foot the kids love them and haul them all over the house all Christmas season.


the entertainment center with our Mickey and Minnie that we got for our first Christmas together. and my cups with candles that I got from my boss's wife the first Christmas I worked for them. On Mickey's side that's all the snow man I've collected and on Minnie's side it's all the Santa's I've collected


I don't know where i got the sign but I just love it. and our home made stockings. I'm not sure where the tradition started but Ryan's mom side does it. and when ever someone new joins the family we make them one. I collect M&M dispensers. The year that the one with the two M&M's sitting on the couch was in stores I asked for it for Christmas because I thought it was so cute and it just kind of snow balled from there. These are just my Christmas ones.

Christmas Morning

This is Ryan's history of Christmas They would find a special spot in the living room to put their stockings so when they woke up they could go straight to their spot. So I have edited it a little and I put their stockings in the same spot. My kids get most of their presents from us but they get the one thing they really want and a couple of little items, and a new lovie from Santa with their stocking. and Santa brings the adults all stockings and one present. I Love Christmas and I want everyone to get a little something. I don't think Santa got the Memo though because some how I ended up with several little presents and that wasn't the deal.



My kids saw these Madagascar Christmas Lovies at Walmart and they fell in love with them and begged for them. I said No and Santa was nice enough to bring them each one.

Bear even gets a stocking.


My folks were with us this year so the get stockings and a present too.

The boys opening their stockings I can't tell what Jacob has, and Ben has his Apple. Everyone gets a apple, orange, and a candy bar. Ben was really excited about the apple. I was happy because last year he was the most excited about Bears dog bones.


One of their Santa presents is a movie year. The last several years Santa has brought them each a Christmas movie. They watch them all year round. It's funny to walk into the toy room and see them watching Rudolf in July.

I usually take a picture of my tree with presents all around it but I forgot this year.


Hailey has been asking for LuLu my loving kitty for months, Santa did not let her down but he did forget batteries so daddy had to run to the store and get some. Jacob had not asked for a Pirate ship, but when we saw the Santa in the mall he told him he wanted one so we had to do a little refigureing. But he loved it.


Jacob and his Candy cane full of Hersey Kisses and Hailey and her Ipod.


Jammie had a friend that would create scavenger hunts for his grand kids and it would lead them to things he had bought for them. I loved the idea so much I wanted to start it with our kids, so every year Santa leaves the first clue on the tree and each clue leads them to the next clue and it ends at their big present. The big kids got a razor scooter and Ben was suppose to get a little battery powered four wheeler but Amazon sent it to our house in the original box with a great big picture on it and the big kids saw it so I had to rearrange and Ryan and I gave him the little four wheeler and Santa gave him the little couch. Our neighbor has one and he loves it.

It was cold outside so the boys took turns riding with Hailey and keeping warm in the couch sleeping bag.


Ryan taking his turn


They loved it and Hailey rode the boys around. She was a little disappointed that it was pink like she requested but I explained to her Santa couldn't bring them all a pink car that wouldn't be fair to the boys, so he sent them a Red one because that was close to pink but the boys would like it too.





After Presents we came in and had Cinnamon rolls, it's Ryan's tradition and the kids love it too.
Jammie and her friend Steve came over and had dinner with us, and then we opened presents with Grandma Jammie.