Holiday Season

2009 is already here! I can't believe how fast 2008 went, I didn't even get a chance to update our blog with all the holiday activities. Ethan and Elizabeth were both very excited about Christmas. Ethan is at the age where he wants to know all about Santa and what he can and can't get away with and still receive his full bounty of gifts. We had had the house decorated for Christmas since the middle of November, so both of the kids had ample time to get ready.

On December 18th we traveled to Saint Louis to spend some quality Christmas time with Amy's parents and siblings, and the kids' cousins. The trip was a blast! We got to go to the Saint Louis Zoo (always a favorite), and Ethan past another of life's milestones by staying out way past his usual bedtime to watch his Grandma Di sing with her church choir. Dad stayed behind to put a very sleepy Elizabeth to bed. We had a great trip and returned to Utah on the 23rd.

We spend Christmas Eve with dad and had some dinner and opened gifts. Both kids are very into unwrapping presents now and it's getting harder and harder to prevent them from just grabbing all of their gifts and tearing into them. They showed great restraint and we returned home to await Santa's arrival.

On Christmas morning the kids opened all of their presents from us and Santa. Ethan was very patient, he typically wakes up one hour to one and a half hours earlier than Liz, so he had to watch Christmas shows until Liz woke up. We spend the rest of the day at Mom's house for some more good eats and presents.

That weekend, we sadly took down all of the Christmas decorations. The kids didn't seem to mind.

New Year's Eve was uneventful, Amy and I stayed up as long as we could (about 11:30 p.m.). On New Year's Day we took the kids bowling with Nanny, Mom, Chris, and Jes. We didn't get to play a full game due to faulty equipment, so we played videogames instead. That concluded our holiday adventures!

Halloween and Christmas prep

It's been quite awhile since the last update. Halloween went off without a hitch. We began trick or treating at about 6:00 p.m. and didn't stop until 8:30 p.m. (despite a steady drizzle of rain for the last hour). Ethan was dressed as the wicked witch from the Wizard of Oz and Liz was Dorothy. Ethan had boundless energy as long as he was getting loot. Elizabeth was in the stoller getting pushed by Daddy so she was happy. After it was all over, both kids had about 20 pounds of candy each! Amy and I had to go through and purge some of it to save the kids' teeth and dad's waistline. That Sunday, we put the Halloween decorations away. Ethan took it in stride, and asked when we could get the Christmas decor out. Of course, I used Ethan as an excuse to get the Xmas gear out of storage. The second weekend in November we put up the trees, stockings, and various Xmas decorations. The kids loved it and were a lot of help! The next weekend, I put the Christmas lights on the house and broke out the deer and decorated the Choke Cherry tree in the front yard. Ethan seems to have completed the transition from Halloween to Xmas; however, he did keep his "witch that takes her head off" and "skull globe" out.

Elizabeth turned two years old last week. She has started to sing her ABC's and argue with us in complete sentences. Needless to say, she's progessing very well. Amy and I gave her her presents on her actual birthday (Tuesday te 18th). She got a fisher price cash register, Elmo laptop, and a shopping cart. The fisher price cash register was the hit of the presents and she and Ethan spent a fair amount of time arguing over who gets to play with it. Ethan was understanding the fact that all of these toys belong to Liz and he has to wait until she is finished with them or shares them with her. He's used to dominating the use of the toys. He's getting a lot better. This past weekend we had a party for Liz, Ryan, Shannon and Jaycie were able to attend all the way from the snowy north. The kids loved playing with their cousin. Liz got a new Elmo DVD, Elmo slippers, Snoopy, and an Elmo bucket. She also got an Alaska activity book and Alaska socks.

This week will be a busy one between duck hunting, Thanksgiving, shopping, and parties...stay tuned!

Countdown to Halloween

Halloween is now less than a week away, and Ethan couldn't be happier. We have been to many stores searching for discounted Halloween decorations and candy. Ethan wears his witch costume at least once a day. We've been trying to prep him for November first when it's all over and done with for another year. He seems to understand the concept, although we won't really know if he gets it until the day we box up the Halloween gear. Elizabeth looks adorable in her Dorothy costume as Ethan chases her around offering her poisoned apples.

This past weekend we went to "Witches Night Out" at Gardner Village with Mom and Natalie. We all dressed up (except for Elizabeth) and enjoyed the sights. Ethan was enthralled being in the presence of all his fellow witches. We bought him a skeleton necklace to add to his witchy decorum. The night was capped off with a visit to Sizzler where Ethan and daddy put a serious hurt on the restaurants supply of fried shrimp.

This weekend was also "Boo at the Zoo". Amy and I foolishly thought we could get there about 30 minutes after the zoo opened. Well, it was packed and we had to park in outer Siberia. We didn't really get to see very many of the animals, but it was fun to see all the kids in their costumes. We were there about an hour and a half until I got sick of navigating the crowds with the double stroller.

Christmas in October

This morning we woke up to about 5 inches of snow! Ethan was very excited and wanted to gear up and throw snowballs. So, Ethan and daddy put on the snow gear and headed out. Elizabeth wanted to come out as well, she tolerated her snow pants/hat/gloves and came out. She had a hard time because she didn't want to step in any snow. So, she played inside the safety of our outdoor playhouse while Ethan and dad shook the snow off the trees. All of the trees still have their leaves so the snow weighed them down quite a bit. We lost some limbs off one of the quakies and the large choke cherry tree out front. Ethan played outside for about 40 minutes and then got cold and wanted to go inside for hot chocolate. Later, we took the kids bowling in Bountiful. Ethan was having a good time until he tripped carrying his bowling ball. He hurt his thumb and demanded to go home immediately. Elizabeth, on the other hand, was having a great time bowling. We finished the game and headed home. The snow won't be here for long, it's supposed to be 70 degrees by the 17th, so we'll enjoy it while it's here.