see ya 2010

I'm not going to lie. I'm glad to see 2010 go. Its been a rough year.

Really rough.

(for several reason...mostly, which I have not talked about at all).

So, we're looking forward to the new year.

Hopefully some new adventures.

Hopefully a new member of our family.

Definitely a new start.

Happy New Year!

christmas

We invited my parents to come up for Christmas morning. You can imagine how the boys were dying for them to get here!

Once they got here, the fun started!

We made breakfast and played with our new stuff for awhile, before getting ready and heading up to Syracuse to hang out with the Robbs. We ate dinner, played games, and took family pictures:

the cousins (yep, all of them)

Grandma with all of her grandkids

the whole gang, minus Devon and Michelle

As you can see, we had a really fun day and a great Christmas!

christmas eve

We spent the day down at my parents house, since Kyle had to work. It was hard to wait all day for the fun of Christmas eve to start!

We did spend a lot of time on our tummies checking out which packages belonged to who:

We took pictures in front of the tree:


And, we watched a Christmas movie:


Finally it was time for dinner, a FHE, and gifts.

My 3 boys:


Mimi made all of the grandkids new pillowcases for their new pillows:


Kaden got a new tank...and everyone had to check it out:

We were all spoiled!

We headed home and opened new jammies:

They were pretty excited about everything, but actually went right to sleep!

slumber party

Kaden and his cousin, Dysan, were begging us to have a slumber party this weekend.

They had a great time (along with Bosten) playing with toys, watching a movie with popcorn, camping out in the family room, and playing Monopoly Jr.

Super fun!

in loving memory...

...of my grandmother, who passed away this morning.

Barbara Louise Morgan Velasquez

August 30, 1934-December 24, 2010

merry christmas

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

We are so excited around here for tonight...I hope everyone will be able to go to sleep.
My friend, Heather, had this on her blog and I loved it:

"No one can measure the effect of an unselfish act of kindness. By small, simple things, great things do indeed come to pass. Of course gifts given and gifts received make Christmas special. For many children Christmas Eve is a very long night as they look forward with eager anticipation to the gifts Santa brings, which is why children love Santa Claus. Let me share what someone once said about Santa Claus. First of all, he's a joyous individual. Next, Santa Claus is interested in making others happy. He increases the happy moments in the life of everyone he meets. He loves his work; he gets fun out of his job. He is childlike, simple, humble, sincere, and forgiving. Finally, he is a giver. His philosophy is to give himself away in service. He is a friend to everyone. He smiles. Perhaps you and I could attain greater happiness if we emulated Santa Claus a little more, for his way is the way of the Infant Jesus."
--James E. Faust

too smart for his own good

Yesterday Bosten and I were checking out his "puppy" (little stuffed dog that he LOVES and pretty much takes everywhere we go). There were some strings hanging from it, and I told him we could fix it, but that we needed scissors.

The next thing I know, I hear someone up on the counter getting the scissors:


The smart little monkey had taken a chair from the table, pushed it over to the counter, somehow climbed up (and ended in the sink), and grabbed the scissors.
He was pretty darn proud of himself.

late night project

We were watching Tom and Jerry's Christmas show this week, and Kaden decided that he really needed some toy soldiers that he could wind up and march around.

I thought to myself, "How am I ever going to even get even close to that?".
But, I thought I'd give it a shot. I really like it when he wants to play, and I really love to encourage his imagination.

Off I went to the craft store to come up with a plan.

I ended up with:
wooden clothespins
black pompoms
hot glue and glue gun (already had it)
craft paint (already had it)


Didn't they turn out great?! They had to be 2 different colors so that they could fight each other and have wars. Kaden was completely thrilled.


He's spent hours playing with them, and it was well worth the couple of hours I spent making them and the five dollars I spent in supplies.

"b-aye-u"

With BYU playing in a bowl game tomorrow, we thought it would be fun to let you hear Bosten's version of the Cougar fight song:

Hope you didn't need a translator...isn't he the cutest?!

Go Cougars!

sugar cookies

Yesterday we decided to make sugar cookies. Kaden and I did the actual baking when Bosten was down for his nap.

Bosten and I made the frosting when Daddy and Kaden ran an errand...


...and then everyone got to work.


It was a big mess by the time we were done, but the boys had a great time!

gingerbread houses

Last week for FHE, we made gingerbread houses with Ryan, Kerry, Tanner, Colby, and Sadie.

The boys loved it!


Kaden (and cousins) were serious about their houses and wanted them just right.

Bosten was more interested in eating than working.

So, so, super great!

love note

Kaden wrote me this note this week:

Its hard to tell, but it was folded up and shoved into an envelope, which he hand delivered to me.
He informed me that he forgot to write "you" after the first love.

I loved it.

I loved that he did it all on his own.

the newest stats.

Bosten went to the doctor this week for his 2 year checkup.

This cute little boy is:

36 inches (90th percentile)
and
30 pounds (70th percentile)

kaden's tree

We have a little Christmas tree, which we decided to let Kaden have in his room. He was super excited about it, and knew immediately how he wanted to decorate! We gave him a few dollars, and let him go shopping for whatever decorations he chose.

His choices?

Gold balls.


A green stocking.


A green reindeer.


A green dragonfly.


A gold star.

Are you getting the theme?

ARMY.

Yep, even the Christmas tree gets to be decked out in tan (gold) and green.


I love this kid!