Carson's Third Birthday Party!

Carson turned 3 last Saturday. We had a party at Peter Piper Pizza with family. Shea told him he should have his party there and that was that. He wouldn't stop talking about it. He had a good time.

My favorite foods at Christmas

I know Christmas is over but these are probably my favorite foods at Christmas. This is the traditional breakfast my mom makes. It looks gross but it is oh so good. Hmmmm I want some now! Mom if you are reading this you can bring some over!

When we were little my sisters and I discovered Christmas Crunch. Walmart is the only place I can find it now. I bought two boxes this year and yes, they are gone and I ate it ALL BY MYSELF!!!

Flagstaff Trip

We went to Flagstaff over the Christmas break. We stayed at my grandparents house. When they passed away my mom and her brother and sister decided to keep the house. I don't think we will ever sell it! It is the same house they have been in since my mom was in high school. My cousin lives there now and he is taking good care of it. So it is our little escape from the heat! It is different and sad now that my grandparents aren't there. I can feel them there when we do visit. Matt said he could feel Papa when he got up in the middle of the night. He said it wasn't a scary feeling just a feeling that Papa was glad we were there. We slept in the room where Tutu slept most of the time. I swear she was walking around at 3:00 in the morning. My parents were up there and we went to dinner with my cousins on Wednesday night. It was good to see them. My mom and my cousin Sarah were going through some of my grandpa stuff and found some interesting things. He had cuff lings galore! The kids played in the snow the next day only for about an hour. It is nice because there is a plot of land next to the house that always has little hills for the kids to sled down when it snow. We headed home in the afternoon. It was a good little getaway!

What's wrong with this picture? Answer

It is the star in front of Carson's crotch.

Christmas 2008

This Christmas we had Matt's family over for Christmas Eve. His mom made clam chowder and turkey soup. I bought bread bowls and a shrimp platter as well as other goodies. After we ate we watched Reflections of Christ. When everyone left. Shea and Carson got ready for bed. I purposely didn't give them a nap so they would go down early. The were in bed by 8:30pm. We put our stockings out, left reindeer food in the front yard and put cookies and milk out for Santa. They were so excited. That night I could hardly sleep. I don't know if it was excitement or other things.

On Christmas morning Shea woke up at 7:30. We told her daddy needed to go downstairs to check and see if Santa came. He rang some bells and that was our cue to go downstairs. Carson got a train table and Hanny Manny and Shea got barbies and other toys. I can't believe I don't have pictures. We bought a new video camera and everything is on video. We then packed up to go to my parents house. I really felt this year I needed to spend time with my family. This year none of our grandparents would be there. Grandma Richardson spent Christmas in California (we missed her!) and this was our first Christmas without Papa and Grandpa Richardson. Also my mom's foot is whacked out so I wanted to help her as much as possible.

We headed over there and had our traditional breakfast. It is a combination of eggs, bacon and something else and we put it on top of English muffins. It looks so gross but by 12:00am Christmas eve I was so CRAVING it. Jody hates it but everyone else loves it. We then cleaned up and opened presents. The rest of the day was spent playing with the kids, eating and just hanging out with family. We went over to Matt's parents house for about an hour to say hi and they gave us our gifts.

My mom made prime rib for dinner it was great! I think Matt had 4 pieces but of course it didn't effect his figure. After dinner we had candy car races. We all make a car out of Hersey bars and candy canes and then decorate them with various candies. We then have brackets and race each other. Double elimination. My brother won last year. He is a engineer/rocket scientist so he thinks he is so smart! This year Jody's boyfriend beat him out. GO STEVE! After the races we cleaned up and went home. The kids were tired and exhausted but over all it was a great Christmas.

Matt was able to take time off work. So we saw a couple of movies and went to Flagstaff in the snow. Here are some pictures we do have.
My mom's ginormous Christmas tree. I can't figure out how to turn it right side up!
Laura's candy car.

Shea's first school program

Here are some pictures from Shea's Kindergarten program. She had so much fun and she still sings the songs. She sings a lot in the car and Carson gets so mad. He says "Ma Shea still singing!" and then they fight. But I hear him ever so often singing the same songs.

Shea and the Nutcracker

Shea's dance studio always puts on a production of the Nutcracker each year. Last year she was a baby angel. It is a lot of practices and driving. But worth it because she loves doing it. Last year she was a baby angel. For the first performance in Sun City I rolled her hair with sponge curlers. It came out like a fro. It was cute but I wasn't satisfied!

For the main performance I rag curled her hair (Thanks to Janice Anway for teaching me this technique. It has been a life saver!) I think her hair came out so much better!






This year I told myself that I wasn't going to do it. She really wanted to so I gave in. I am glad I did. Her part this year was a Christmas tree cookie. She looked so cute!!