Random life update

Amidst all the birthday and Christmas excitement, we've had some good, low key times around the house as well these past few days.  For a while we had some good snow in the backyard, and the boys loved it!  Ariana's going to be insisting on joining in one of these days, but I kept her inside this time.  The boys spent most of the time, of course, nailing each other with snowballs.

When the boys stay inside, they need to get a little more creative to entertain themselves.  Lately, they're favorite things have been my laundry baskets.  They use them as their "smash cars," pushing them around the family room and kitchen and smashing into one another at every opportunity.  Sometimes Ari hops in for a ride, and sometimes the boys drop her in whether she likes it or not.  They also discovered the the baskets make nice little seats, so they got cozy in them to read the other night.  It was pretty cute,  but of course it didn't last long.  They overturned them on the floor before long to make an obstacle course of sorts.  Anything that works!

Poor Ari caught her first cold of the season and has been a little under the weather for the last few days.  She's spent a lot of time cuddling with her blanket and baby. :)  When she's needing to be comforted she always asks for her paci first, and then her "blankie," and then her baby.  If she's really struggling she'll also insist on her milk and water, so she ends up with her hands really full!    

Thankfully she's doing better today than she was the last couple days, so she was back to her normal feisty self.  In fact, she's just lately realized how fun it is to tease her brothers!  I was trying to read to Bryan today and she kept throwing things at him and grabbing at his shirt just to annoy him!  I'm not sure what to think.   On the one hand it's funny and we all get a kick out of it, but on the other hand, I'm sure it's the start of many years of teasing to come, and that's not so good.  Thankfully she is feisty enough to put up with the teasing from her brothers.  They do plenty to get her riled up, that's for sure.

While I'm talking about funny things the kids do, Matt sure had a moment today at the mall.  We all got on the escalator to head down to the first floor and Matt apparently wasn't quite sure how it worked (we usually just take the elevator) because I happened to look back and noticed he'd stepped on to the escalator but his back foot stayed put at the top!  He started doing the splits just like Will Farrell in the "Elf" movie!  He had a totally bewildered/terrified look on his face and eventually just slid onto his bum on the stairs, but he remained expressionless as if he were still trying to make sense of what had happened.  It wasn't until we'd reached the bottom that he broke into a quivery-lip smile.  Thankfully he didn't burst into tears, and ended up laughing instead.  David took him back up to try it again (he wanted to get it on video!) but Matt refused to get on for the longest time, until David helped him and he made it down just fine.  I was laughing so hard, poor kid.  It'll probably be a long time before he goes down comfortably on one of those things!

Bryan also had a funny moment the other day.  (Well, he has lots, but here's one I thought was especially cute.)  He was lamenting the fact that the girls all chase him at recess these days.  Although I've tried to explain that that's just what girls do, he thinks it because they don't like him and just like tormenting him.  So after sitting and thinking for a bit about how to change things, he said, "I think if I have spiky hair, the girls will like me.  I need a haircut!"  Oh, if things were only that easy. :)  Spiky hair is definitely high up there on a 6-year-old's things-that-make-you-cool list.  We'll have to trim his hair one of these days and see what happens.  He just doesn't get why all the girls don't like playing Star Wars, like him!

As for me, I've been scrambling the last few days to get as much done as I can before we leave for PA next week!  I've actually got almost all of my Christmas shopping done (a first for me), neighbor gifts distributed, Christmas cards ordered, and address list compiled.  We've got a couple Christmas parties on Saturday, and then we're hoping to see the lights in Salt Lake Saturday night.  I'm trying to not be stressed and just enjoy the season as much as I can with the kids.  So far, it's been okay, and I'm sure looking forward to all the fun things we'll do out east!  David's been busy at work, but he's doing well and is really excited for his big road trip!  (He and Jose are driving out to PA!)  He did break or jam his finger last night at volleyball, but he assures me it will heal just fine and all will be well.  I just hope it doesn't affect his driving skills at all!  I REALLY don't want them to have any problems on the road...

Here's one last picture from a movie night we had over the weekend with Sara's family.  She'd never seen "Elf" and we insisted they watch it with us.  I love these cute cousins together!

Bryan's 6th birthday!

Our Bryan turned 6 last week!  I can't believe it.  He's such a good kid and we love him so much!  He's affectionate, smart, driven, obedient, friendly, funny, and as energetic as ever.  He's also a bit bossy, sneaky at times, and can be, as we say in Spanish, "un pesado!" ;)  But that only endears him to us more.

This year for his birthday I wanted to do an old school party for him and his friends, with games, a pinata, etc., but space, time and money limitations had us opt for Chuck E. Cheese instead, which was just as well.  He was really excited, and ended up having a blast.  I let him pick six of his friends from the neighborhood, and then we invited family members and a close family friend.  There were probably a dozen kids altogether, so it was a little crazy, but it was fun!

Here's Brinn, who Bryan's referred to as his "girlfriend" for the last few months. :)

 And here's his good friend, Janie, who teases him a lot but also recently told him she "loves" him. :)

 This is Gage, his table-mate and favorite friend from school.

Bryan and Darren, his buddy from church.

Toby is Bryan's favorite friend on the bus. :)  

And our long-time family friend, Joseph.

 Picture of the crowd...

Here's Bryan looking a little spacey during the "Happy Birthday" song...

 Still a huge Star Wars fan!

 The ninja toy was a huge hit!

And here are some fun family pics...

 Ari's "boyfriend," Michael. :)

I love Matt's face here!  It's not hard to tell he's having a good time!

 Ari and Maily with they're wide-mouthed grins.

Since Bryan's party was on Wednesday, he called it his "early birthday," and we decided to do some fun things as a family to celebrate his "real birthday." In the morning he got to go with David to pick out a birthday cereal, and then I took him a little later to the store so he could pick out his present.  (He opted for a spy watch and night vision goggles, which he thinks are the coolest things ever!)  After he got out of school we went up to Heather's house to do a little gift exchange (her b-day's the 1st), and the kids had fun playing with Cam.

Then we met up with David and Sara and Jazmin and their families at the "Festival of Trees" in Sandy.  It was crowded and a little too much walking for the boys, but the trees were lots of fun to see! (The boys loved the super hero tree.)

When we left the Festival of Trees we headed across the street to the Mayan resaurant, which Bryan's always referred to as the "king" restaurant.  He thought it was the coolest thing ever, especially when "the king" walked past him and said hello. :)  It all made for a great night, and a fabulous birthday for our 6-year-old boy.

And it didn't end there!  The next morning, Bree and Cassity came over while David and I went to the temple and cooked Bryan a special birthday breakfast of french toast and fresh fruit.  He said it was "perfect."  We're so grateful that Bryan had so many friends and family that helped him celebrate his big birthday week!  He's one lucky boy, but we're lucky to have him, too!

Ariana's new bob

I'm always trying to figure out what to do with Ari's little mullet. :)  Her hair on top just will not grow!  So after a while the hair in back and on the sides just gets a little out of control.  Yesterday I decided it was due for a trim, so I cut off an inch or two and tried to layer it a bit to make it look okay.  It actually turned out pretty cute!  I like it when it's straighter, though, like it was for church today.  As much as I love her curls, when they're super curly she looks a little bit like a little clown!  (I know, that's bad of me to say...)  Still, anything's better than a mullet, especially on my baby girl!

(She wore this cute dress today, and it's only size 12 months!  It was actually from last year, but of course it was way too big then.)  

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year we have so much to be grateful for - FAMILY, good health, a stable job, wonderful friends and neighbors, the gospel in our lives...  We're so blessed, and I love when Thanksgiving comes around and helps me to pause and think on all of the things I have to be grateful for.  We've had several talks with Bryan and Matthew about gratitude and giving thanks, and I'm grateful for the teaching moments I have with them that end up teaching me so much.  I love, too, that Thanksgiving precedes the Christmas season. Reflecting on the things we have sure helps to put things into perspective.  Hopefully I'll be able to maintain an "attitude of gratitude" throughout these coming weeks.

Our Thanksgiving day was really nice - low key and relaxing with yummy food and family.  We ended up having Javi and Annalece and Jose, and then Grandma Willes, Heather, Jake and Cami.  (The rest of David's family was in Colorado with the Smiths, Bree was with Cassity, and Nathan did a special dinner with Allison and his sisters-in-law.)   The dinner was amazing!  Besides bringing darling table decorations, Annalece brought some new foods we'd never had before, like candied yams that were to die for, cranberry salsa, and a pumpkin cheesecake (my favorite part).  And then we had our old Misiego/Toone favorites - green bean casserole, jello, rolls, turkey potatoes, and stuffing.  Grandma Willes also brought three different pies, so we had a ton to eat!  It was wonderful, even being squished in our tiny kitchen/dining area.  One of these years we'll have a real dining room to enjoy. :)

After dinner we visited, skyped with Mom and Dad, played games, and planned for Black Friday.  (I'm going out just to go out, but I'm not going to be intense about it like I've been in years past...)  Here are pictures I took throughout the day.  What I forgot to mention above, you'll see below. :)  Happy Thanksgiving!