What A Rotten Week

It has just been a rotten week. I think the babies are growing, which means I'm not only expanding but exhausted as well. The boys have refused naps every single day, making for a mean mommy by the time daddy gets home. Instead of focusing on the grumpiness, here are some fun things we've done this week:

*We rode bikes to the library (meaning the boys rode bikes and then got tired about halfway home)
*We watched Christmas movies
*We made special home-made gifts to attach to Christmas presents (this included painting with acrylic paint which by the way does NOT come off seat cushions or the carpet very easily)
*We raked leaves outside and cleaned up the front yard
*We made gingerbread houses with our friends
*I introduced the boys to the world of Lite Brite. Ok, maybe I enjoyed it a little more, but it was fun!
*We watched a backhoe unload in front of the house. This might not mean much to the anyone else, but we spent nearly an hour watching the guys get it unloaded and move it around. It was a definite highlight of the day!

Enjoy the pictures from this week. My Christmas present arrived in the mail today, so I can finally give Jenn her camera back now that I have my own!

Santa Pictures and Family Fun

As is the holiday tradition, this morning we met the Domrese side of the family and did a family photo with Santa. They started this back in the 1970's and we've continued the tradition with the whole family. The boys, while they sat very nicely, gave the cheesiest smiles. Oh well!

My family arrived shortly after as we've carried the tradition into my family as well. My brother and his family are in town visiting from Seattle so it was the perfect timing. This picture is only with the cousins. It is SOOOOO difficult getting 8 kids ages 5 and under to take a picture and all look at the camera. I can only imagine next year will be a nightmare with 10 kids. :) Again, cheesy smiles, but cute with all the cousins. You can definitely tell who belongs to whom!

We went to Mobius briefly afterwards to run off some steam and then ran home for a rest time...meaning mommy took a 2 hour nap while the boys played with daddy. Thanks Dan! We then went out to my brother's house for dinner and visiting while all the cousins ran around together. I imagine my mom, dad, and grandma thought their houses were pretty quiet after this experience. :) Like the day wasn't long enough we managed to stop by Dan's uncle house where it is "Game Night." This happens on a regular basis where all available cousins, aunts, uncles, etc gather for games. It's such a great family bonding experience. The boys and I stayed for a bit and watched a game of Trivial Pursuit and Liar's Dice before leaving daddy and heading home for bed. I'm pretty sure I'm more tired than the boys at this point, but I hear their movie ending, so it's off to bed we all go!
Joshua, Thomas (red plaid shirts)
Taylor (black dress w/ red dots), Sawyer (Santa's lap), Jamison (far right red shirt)----belong to my brother Eric
Macey (front left, white shirt), Natalie (Santa's lap), Abby (white shirt on right)----belong to my brother Adam

Raptor Reef

We started the day off on the wrong foot. After a long Thanksgiving Day, both boys were ready to stay in bed and watch movies all day. The good news is that we were getting out of bed for a birthday party at Raptor Reef. This is a favorite for the boys. It's an indoor water park with water slides, a wave pool, hot tub, and more. After we finally got them in the car, they seemed to realize that life would once again be ok.

Raptor Reef was a real blast. I, of course, didn't do too much except follow the boys around and watch from the sidelines. I did the wave pool a few times with the boys, but Dan did most of the running around. Joshua enjoyed seeing how far he could walk in the wave pool even if his head was not above water. Thomas did the water slides over and over and over again. Thanks for inviting us. Happy birthday Harry!

Afterwards, we managed to have well-behaved kids during a 1:30 PM lunch at Tomato Street. Not only is this invading rest/nap time, but they'd been so active we were sure we'd see meltdowns. They did great, but only managed about 4 minutes in the car before crashing.

The ride home was definitely quiet...and enjoyable! It's been a great family day! The boys are all currently sleeping in our bed. It's snowing like crazy outside. If it's light enough when the boys wake up, we'll go for a walk and enjoy the fresh snow.

Thanksgiving and the First Snow!

Today was Thanksgiving. A day where Dan and I run around crazy trying to clean, cook, and play with the boys all at the same time. Nearly impossible, but enjoyable in the end. The highlight of the morning was the snow. The boys had sat in front of the tv or played independently all morning, so we decided to put on some coats and gloves and enjoy the snow. The boys were so thrilled to play in the snow and immediately asked to make snowmen and shovel. Aaaaah, the sweet memories of last winter. There was enough on the ground that Thomas was able to form snowballs and chase Dan around the yard. It was very entertaining and really ran some energy out of the boys. Hooray!

People began arriving around 3:00 PM and we ate at 4:00 PM. The food was fabulous and the company great. I can say that when I am a mother-in-law I hope to have the same traits as my mother-in-law. She is fabulous. She sits, chats, plays with the kids, helps me clean up my kitchen, and is always praising the family. It makes Dan and I feel successful as parents, and leaves us feeling as though we are very blessed in family. Some great friends arrived as well and I hope all had a good time and enjoyed the good food. Speaking of which, I think there is some yummy moon cake in my fridge, I'm off to have another piece.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our family and friends!

Thomas & Joshua's Christmas Lists

This is what they are telling me:

Thomas wants:
2 Ho Ho Treats (candy)----
Mountains---- No idea where this came from :)
Volcanoes---- Again, no idea :)
Green Drums (the boys have both expressed interest in a drum set, but our only concern is where to put it)
Fur Real Animal

Joshua wants:
Drums
Fur Real Animal (but not the monkey, apparently it scares him) :)

Mommy & Daddy's list for the boys:
Anything GeoTrax
Leap Pad Books/Cartridge
Pretend Cash Register
Play-Doh
V-Tech Digital Camera
16" Bikes (they rode their bikes today and are too long all the sudden) :)

A Fun-Filled Weekend

What a great weekend! Having Dan gone from Wednesday to Friday made my departure on Saturday super easy. It's the first time I've ever left the boys overnight. I went with a group of friends from the Mommy & Me Group to Tacoma for the New Kids on the Block concert and some fantastic shopping! The concert was actually really good. It's amazing how songs come back to you so quickly! I got some great deals and some gifts for the boys for Christmas. Dan seemed to have a good time with the boys! They spent Saturday out at the river winterizing and then did the Sunday tradition of doughnuts. The boys were in good moods when I got home, although I don't think they'll let me out of their sights for a while! I'll get some concert pics up when Kari e-mails them to me!

37 Months

The boys are 37 months as of yesterday. Here is their monthly photo. This morning it was beautiful out, but by the time we got home from our playdate, the rain was starting to pour down. We enjoyed a nice quiet afternoon and then ran to the store one last time before dinner. I am slacking on the November photos, and will work on being better. This whole exhausted pregnant thing isn't really working with my photo abilities. The no napping doesn't really help either.