Matt is 38!

Happy Birthday Matt! We all love you so much! And we are glad you shaved your mustache.

And we hope you enjoy drinking your dirt!

The Loot

Everyone was pleased with their gifts. I think Miss Nina was the happiest of them all.

Rex was a very cheery boy Christmas morning. He was stuck in his high chair for part of the time, but that didn't lower his spirits.

Cameron especially loves his angry bird sleeping bag.

Donovan can't wait to try out his new present!

Howie was also excited to try out his bow and arrow, but he wasted no time sticking that nose of his in one of his new books.

The Rush!

If I had a better camera, I might have been able to capture more than just the first two kids running up the stairs. Just moments before, they were chanting "let us upstairs" or something demanding like that. Then they broke through the newspaper barrier that Michael and Randell definitely did not think of themselves.

The reality of a DS did not sink in right away, but once it did, Nina was one happy girl!

Howie was quite excited to find this waiting for him. I'm certain he was already plotting things he wanted to try to shoot.

I can't decide if this is an innocent smile or not. He's a plotter too.

Cam has become an avid angry bird aficionado. This gift was a hit with him.

We were able to lure Nina away from her DS with this sparkly nailpolish. She's a little like a raccoon in that way. But it only lasted until this picture was taken.

Donovan couldn't wait to see which new baseball cards he got.

I love Cam. He makes me smile.

Howie was confident that he knew what this present was, but he had the hardest time opening it. It was funny, but the kind of funny that you have to see in person. Or maybe the kind of funny that happens when you're tired because your kids were up so early and you went to bed so late.

And she's back to her DS.

And Cameron was very excited to get a "chain reaction" game. My kids are weird that way. They ask for chain reacion games. They get it from their father.

Santa Came!

We went to Reno for Christmas again this year. I loved it again too! Our kids were of course happy to see Grandma and Grandpa, but they were super excited to see their Washington cousins. Matt and I were excited to see Grandma and Grandpa and my Washington sister and bro-in-law. Santa and his helpers had a fun time being together and getting things ready for the big day.

My parents' tree is a lot more full than ours.

Christmas Eve tradition

It is always exciting to have Santa come on Christmas Eve and give a little present preview to the kids. I loved it when I was growing up and now our kids look forward to it as well. We also sang songs, watched the kids act out the Nativity and ate my grandma's awesome Yule Log. I love traditions!

I've got the answer!

Sometimes (every single day) I ask myself why are our kids so crazy. Then as I was going through these pictures it occurred to me. Matt must be sugaring them up behind my back. There is no other logical explanation.

Gingerbread House Time

This activity is fun in my mind. So I always try to be the first to offer to take pictures. That leaves Matt to supervise the chaos and I'm grateful he's always obliging.

Nina's 2012 Christmas Recital

Before we went to this recital, we watched some videos of past recitals. It's what sports teams do and that might be as close to having Nina participate in sports as we'll get. It was fun to see how much Nina has grown in coordination and grace. This has been the perfect class for Nina. We love Miss Muffie!

And as a tradition, Matt brought Nina a flower.

Did I catch a Niner?

Yep! He's is 9! Howie started out as a tiny little 5 and a half pound baby who was so kind as to let me finish my Thanksgiving pie before deciding to make an entrance to this world. That is so typical of him now. He is the child who will nicely ask for something one time and then sit patiently until I can get to it. Actually, now he just does it himself because I usually take too long. Howie hardly cried as a baby. He was happy to just sit and watch what was going on. He was especially interested in what Donovan was doing and has always tried to keep up. But somewhere along the way he caught up and matured beyond his years. Howie has such an enjoyable personality and sense of humor and we just love him so much. It was a great pleasure to celebrate his birthday today!