Ring in the new year!

I love New Year. We partied at home. Then partied at our neighbor's house. Then we partied more at home. It was great! Rootbeer floats, as usual, for New Year's Eve.

And funny faces.

More funny faces.

More.

And more still.

This was Lily's first time to stay up until midnight to ring in the New Year. Usually we celebrate midnight at about 7:00 p.m., put the kids to bed, then go to bed ourselves. But this year I decided to stay up until midnight and invite anyone else to join me. Lily joined in immediately. Aaron finally caved at the last minute and decided to stay up with us. We played dominos, drank sparkling apple cider, and watched our neighbors' fireworks from Lily's window. It was fun!

A few days later we got to see my brother, Jordan, and his family! They drove across the country for his internship. We were soooo excited that their drive took them through Flagstaff.

Hazel and Ian were excited to see each other again.

Jordan was excited to see LaMar's donuts again. He discovered these when they were living down here. So we surprised him with some. Yum.

Mother's day

Mother's day was very sweet. Aaron and the kids took good care of me. I love my kiddos immensely. Sometimes it feels like my heart will burst.

I also enjoyed thinking about my sweet mom. My gratitude for her grows more as the years move on. She is wonderful!

I call it an eskimo kiss. He re-dubbed it the ladybug kiss.

Another great treat: my brother and his family are staying with us for a couple of months this summer! We got to have Mother's day together.

This is Kelly's first Mother's day. Her little boy is so cute. We love having him here. He's so easy-going and laid back. He just fits right in with all the kids here.

Hikers and a mountain biker

While Kristen and I rested (sort of) following our Black Friday shopping trip, the daddies and kids went for a hike. Those kids were awesome hikers! I was surprised to hear how far and how high they hiked. They hiked to the peak high above the King Saguaro!!

This peak is right by our house. What a great view.

Apparently, Lily kicked one of the rocks on the pile she's standing next to, and discovered a geocache hiding underneath. The kids loved putting their names in the book!

This was Carter's first mountain biking experience and I hear he loved it. I wish I could have seen him!

Thanksgiving Day 2010

We started the day with a cold, windy 5k. The three youngest kids were going to ride in joggers for the run, but it was so stinking cold! We left four of the kids with Jason, and Carter insisted he wanted to ride, even in the cold. It was a great run. I ran hard and felt good about my time, especially considering I was pushing a double jogger into the wind nearly the whole way. It felt like I was pushing a sailboat against the wind. Yeah, tough. It felt so good when I was done. Kristen and Aaron were awesome. They don't run regularly, they just jumped in and ran a 5k...pretty impressive if you ask me.

This is my dreamboat, putting the herb rub on the turkey. He thought it was a gross job, but somebody had to do it. Lily was pretty much grossed-out by the sight of the raw turkey too. It turned out sooo delicious.

I made my aunt Lynn's make-ahead butterhorn rolls. Aaron and I first tasted them 12 years ago and were hooked. My children are hooked on them too. I daresay, Jason and Kristen and their kids are probably hooked too.

Pie. Yum.

Pumpkin pie. We made my favorite pumpkin pie. It's not too strong and pumpkiny...it's just right. We also made a pecan pie, for the first time. I used a butter (as opposed to corn syrup) recipe. It turned out so yummy.

No pie...just ice cream.

Ice cream too.

Ice cream!

Sweetness.

This little guy loves playing in the dishwasher. If we were working in the kitchen, he was nearby...either playing at the dishwasher or in the pantry.

It was a wonderful Thanksgiving.

First house guests!

It was so great to have my brother and his family visit us!! They were our first house guests in our new home. I really enjoyed time with my brother and his wife. I especially loved watching my children play with their cousins.

Braving the cold for a polar bear swim. Brrrrrrr.

Jason was the only adult to get near the water. We were way too chicken. Actually, he didn't want to get in either, but did so at his little girl's request. What a sweet daddy!

The wee babes watched from the side. Aren't they cute? This little guy reminds me a lot of my kids. He and Carter could pass as brothers with their blue eyes and blond hair.

The bakers, making rolls for Thanksgiving.

Jason and Kristen brought us an indoor smore maker. The kids thought it was the coolest thing in the world.

More of Awesome October. Here are a few pictures that I loved. My Grandma and Pops are so dear to me. It was special for us to spend an afternoon with them.

Papa read the coolest construction book to Carter.

Hazel and her little cousin Ian.

Cousins and corn maze

I love seeing so many cousins together! We live far from these guys and miss them so much! Four of these boys belong to my big brother, Jaren. The other little guy belongs to my little brother, Jordan. I adore this picture because it's all kids and babies, no grown ups. It's fun to see the little kids growing up enough to help take care of the babies.

Run!

One little person cried in the maze because we kept hitting dead ends and he thought we were lost. Poor kid.

The unnamed little person was relieved when we saw the exit sign, and absolutely ecstatic to see a huge excavator dumping dirt onto a conveyor next to the maze!

This is a great photo! Look at J.J. man's face! I love it!

Hazy and I had fun too!