Merry Christmas - Part I

Merry Christmas 2008!

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. Christmas Eve wasn't as we initially planned starting with not one single person at Durango Mtn Resort having information about Santa's visit...good thing we called in advance before piling into the car for the drive. They claim there was a misprint in a few publications. That was a bit disappointing but we hope to see St Nick in person next year. So it was status quo...Kirk worked and Sarah/I went to the gym.

We woke up Christmas morning to beautiful white, peaceful snow! It was great and I have to admit I was giddy. Kirk and I are convinced the big guy upstairs is taking it easy on us our first year away from Alaska. We snuggled in our bed with Sarah for a bit after she woke up and I pulled her out of her crib. But soon after she declared "eats", which means it was time to feed the child, we made our way to the kitchen. After breakfast we convinced Sarah to follow us to the living room to see what "Santa had left for her". She was skeptic at first and a bit overwhelmed once she realized what was going on...where did all of these new toys come from? But soon, she was having a great time in her new kitchen and playing with her zoo animals. Uncle Andy and Aunt Laurie gave Sarah a Fisher Price Little People Doll House which was a great hit along with the frog Grandma Ann made for her. Kirk and I sat back to enjoy the wonders of Christmas through our daughter's eyes. What a true blessing.

Part II of the celebration will hopefully continue tomorrow when Kirk's parents arrive. The snow storm that hit us in Farmington also did a number on the San Juan mountains including Telluride and Durango. So road conditions aren't the best between Delta, CO and Farmington. We hope the weather will allow Kirk to fly the Cessna tomorrow to pick his folks up and bring them back here to finish off the Christmas celebration and ring in the New Year.

The scene after Santa left the house Christmas Eve.

Molly Moose! She came from the Build-A-Bear shop in Chandler, AZ. We felt Molly was the perfect name. Molly is a must have in the crib for naps and bedtime now.

Playing with the zoo animals.

Wow! The kitchen oven, microwave and stone top all make sounds plus have buttons!

Having a blast with the doll house in her chef outfit.

Enjoying her candy cane and digging for more treats in the stocking.

After opening and playing for a bit, it was time for a snack. Her new frog was the lucky one who got to share snack.

We hope everyone had a great holiday!

December

Since we are nearing Christmas already, I thought I'd post a few pictures from the month of December. We are all doing well and look forward to enjoy the holidays with Kirk's family here in Farmington. We plan to visit Santa at the top of the mountain at the Durango Mtn Resort (aka Purgatory) on Christmas Eve.

Happy Holidays!

Sarah in her big girl ballet shoes and her laptop.

Sarah has graduated to the big girl tub and loves it. She loves to paint especially with the brush. We had snow last weekend and early this week which was great! We loved the white stuff but are now back to sun with no snow.We were getting antsy yesterday in the house because the weather wasn't the best for outside play. So we used two chairs, the love seat and a sheet to build a fort in the front room. Good times for all!

Smart little bugger!

The other night after dinner, Kirk and Sarah were together while I was out for some mommy time at the pool. Kirk has a slight cookie addiction problem which is exaggerated during the holidays. They were playing in Sarah's room when she became distracted by a toy. Kirk thought it was a great opportunity to slip out, run to the kitchen for a quick gulp of a cookie and return quickly back to her room. He laid down next to her on the floor and she climbed on top of him to start another daddy-Sarah wrestling match when he had been caught! She took a quick sniff of his breath and exclaimed "COOKIE!". She is a smart little bugger. Daddy had been caught red handed. Now what do you do? It's right before bedtime and she is a cookie monster in training. Kirk did well with his diversion tactics but learned his lesson. Don't think for one minute that you can fool a 20 month old when it comes to cookies. Happy Holidays!

Oldies but Goodies

I came across a few oldies but goodies in our picture files. I thought I would share life in Alaska and some pictures from our travels before sweet Sarah arrived. Enjoy. Click this link.

Holiday Spirit Pictures

Family picture at the Riverwalk holiday celebration. Sarah not too sure about the baby sheep. Modeling her new snow bibs.

New snow outfit post Riverwalk celebration with her glow in the dark light sticks.

Being silly.

Another Hair Cut

While in Phoenix, I was convinced once again by Kirk and Gina that Sarah was due for a hair cut. So we made the trip to an all kids salon which I thought was neat. Sarah did not and cried her eyes out the entire time but came out cute as a button.

The back with layering to allow the curls to pop out more.

The front

Turkey Day in Phoenix

We had a wonderful trip to Phoenix for the Thanksgiving holiday to visit my oldest brother and his family. The flight over was nice and smooth plus Sarah slept most of the way. We all had a great time with the kids and Daisy the doggie (or fourth kid). My brother fed us like kings and we drank plenty as well. The shopping was very nice....it was good to see our favorites again (Nordstrom and Eddie Bauer). The kids are growing up so fast and we got to see Hayden's second front tooth come out. Amazing how fast time flies!! Sarah and Kyle had a great love/hate relationship which was fun to watch. They especially took to taking each other's baby carriages or handbags. We had a great time helping out the day after Thanksgiving with decorating the house for the Christmas holiday. Plus, we got to go out for an adult only dinner with Danny and Gina to PF Changs (oh so yummy lettuce wraps!) while the kids stayed back with the great babysitter also named Sarah. It was hard to say our goodbyes but being 2 hours away by Cessna makes it easier for future trips. Hopefully we will be out there again in the spring.

Sarah with Daisy, her new best bud.

Jack and his classmates doing the "Tooty Tot" dance at their Harvest Party.

More Harvest Party with Jack showing off his Pilgrim.

Gina and Jack

Hayden at her Harvest Party at school.

Kids having fun at lunch.

Sarah and Kyle having fun with a jump rope.

Happy Thanksgiving with Chef Danny.

Sarah and Kyle enjoying tubby time.

Daisy getting checked out by Kyle.

Sarah loved the little spring horses at the park.

Kyle is one very strong 2 year old. He loved to pull the wagon even with 8 year old boys in it.

Sarah doing what she did the most - harass the dog and play with the doll carriage.

Never too young to start 4-wheeling.

Sarah helping me 'fluff' the Cristofano Christmas tree.

A special holiday "ring around the rosies" (notice Kyle in my Dansko clogs).

Sarah on the flight back to Farmington. The air was a bit turbulent so she didn't nap much. Instead we kept her happy with the Backyardigans.

November...where did it go?

I can't believe it's already time to enjoy another Thanksgiving holiday and of course start thinking about holiday cards, cooking and gift giving. If mother nature is kind to us, Kirk, Sarah and I will be celebrating the holiday with my oldest brother and his family in Phoenix. We can't wait and are keeping our fingers crossed that the weather will allow for the quick 2 hour flight in the Cessna lickidy split!

Sarah doing a dance one morning in her new Thanksgiving outfit.

"Cheese"

The month has gone by and we've been busy still trying to get the house settled plus Kirk has been insanely busy at work. We finally have my car in the garage and will soon get Kirk's truck in there as well. We just need to get the bikes on a rack. We tried out our new must have yard tool the other weekend - a leaf blower/vacuum. Who would have thought we would be vacuuming our front and back yard? Sarah joined in on the fun with her personal protection equipment on, of course. Our friend Melissa Simpson would be proud! (that's me in the picture with Sarah in the background)

We also had the brown carpet in the master bath area replaced with tile this week. It's very nice and easy to clean. We found a fun red/brown shag rug to put next to the sinks. Very retro.

We hope you and yours have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. We feel blessed to have wonderful, happy and healthy family and friends.