December & snowboards

We got our holiday houses made (note I did NOT say gingerbread since I was busted last year for using rice krispy treats.) 

 This year I upgraded to graham crackers and homemade glue (cooked sugar and water).  The only place I tripped up (every year it's always something) was my frosting.  I was lazy - I should've made my own...

Laina had a piano recital at the mall - she played a duet with her cousin Abby - she did great.

 The snow fell and fell in December - however we managed to eek by without a snow day from school-hallelujah!

A quick invitation ended up with us throwing kids and snow gear in the car and heading north for our first ever family snow vacation.  (First ever - because Matt and I generally have an aversion to all things snow and cold).

We opted for school for the kids.  After paying for that one time...I resorted to bribing the older girls we went with to try and convince them to take my kids out on the slopes.

Ella gets lots of love from these with-it snowboarders.

Matt and Shayne went and snagged some snowmobiles from some friends down the road.  Matt promptly drove his into a huge snowbank and we all had to dig him out.  He proclaimed that snowmobiling wasn't for him.

El and her kittyCat

It was a beautiful FAST (at times stressful dressing and clothing 4 kids - and listening to McLaren whine about not riding a girls snowboard) but FUN weekend.

Washington DC

Matt had a conference in DC at the beginning of December.  Since I didn't feel like being left behind in the thick of holiday craziness...I invited myself to accompany him - and managed to find lots of wonderful things to occupy myself with while he slaved away in meetings planning our future.

First up Union Market - fun and yummy eats and other little knickknacks.  I found it to be very quiet and peaceful...this probably had to do with the fact that it is located right next to a deaf university - and as I looked around wondering at the quietness I noticed most patrons were communicating in sign language.  The korean tacos (David I took one for the team) were out of this world.  

I ran back and forth on Constitution ave and couldn't help but snap a street sign shot...as well as my yin and yang in house painting from Old Town Alexandria (we stayed in National Harbor)

Next up I ran into the National Gallery of Art (literally ran because it was closing in 20 minutes).  I made my mother proud by walking up to the man and woman at the front desk and asking for a guide and making them tell me the "hot spots" and the best things to see in 20 minutes.  To say that they were insulted would be an understatement, but to pass up a chance to educate a poor unrefined soul as myself was just to great...they pointed out the big guys and a bolted in that direction.

My favorite (to my surprise) was not the VanGogh - it was my second :) it was the random 17th century family portrait...it was utterly and completely "life in action"! Who knew there were such clever people back then...just look at the face of the father...or grandfather??  All those girls!

I also loved this painting composed of teeny tiny dots...patience and time... 

On the opposite side of the National Gallery is a wonderful quote (wonderful quotes abound in DC) and so do wonderful restaurants... be advised you need to make reservations anywhere.  We hit up Founding Fathers and it was right up my alley.  I managed to cross the Potomac and stand in both Virginia and DC. Later that evening we had a wonderful little "mixer" at the hotel.  I can not express my utter joy at watching CPAs try to have a good time - karaoke?? to "Takin' Care of Business" absolutely priceless.  Matt needed a quick photo in front of the IRS - I mean they are the ones who put food on our table....

Camera 1... Camera 2

We had one day to hit everything in DC together.  So like any smart people we decided to rent bikes...when Matt saw the tandem I knew we were in trouble.  Taking a back seat is not an easy thing for me.

The Lincoln memorial was wonderful to visit having just watched the wonderful movie portraying him.  The World War II Memorial is a new one for me and it was incredible in its homage to those who fought in the war.  

I have to say that the Korean monument was my favorite...very unique with all the men walking out across the grass.

This quote is right next to the Korean monument.  Love it.

Out of all the museums - the International Spy Museum was the favorite (I know I know - its not even a legit museum) but it was fascinating! We could have spent the whole day in there.  They take you and explore every angle of espionage all the way back to Queen Elizabeths time.  It was incredible...and the James Bond exhibit wasn't too bad either :)

We managed to walk through the sculpture garden and felt that one of the sculptures needed a little help.

We had a truly wonderful time and I can't wait to plan an EPIC family adventure back there with the kids.  I want my kids to know that I'd like a photo like this to be remembered by....

Random

BUT vitally important for documentary purposes...
(translation...unless you birthed any children in the below images you could probably care less and should therefore skip ahead to the end).
-This first hodge-podge includes a snapshot of 2 young boys who thought it'd be cool to mix-n-match their army gear (and until a mother took a photo of it, they were not one bit embarrassed).  
-I became obsessed with making my own frozen yogurt in my awesome cuisinart machine (recipe: large container of vanilla greek yogurt and a can of sweetened condensed milk...and any flavor you can imagine! - After being made fun of I have stopped bringing it with me everywhere I go... :) 
-Spent an afternoon on the porch listening (and lots of singing) to the entire album of Les Miserables...and enduring weird looks from our children
-Ella's buddy kitty "Cat" made a collage for a school (college) project...we loved it
-Found some old photos of my "softer" days romping through Scotland...softer is a much nicer word don't you agree?
-Found a college flier for a housewarming party my roomie and I threw...pretty sure it was her idea.

We took the kids camping a whole 10 minutes away at one of the Wright family cabins in Groom Creek.  It was wonderfully simple and the kids had a blast.  
-I got talked into taking the dirty boys (who thankfully put shirts on for the ride) on a bike adventure to some caves...we rode for 40 minutes and never found them, but I swear the whole thing was straight of a scene from the Goonies.

- McLaren didn't get much photo time on the soccer field...I tried to be a supportive mom and snap a picture of him with my phone.
-It took us almost 9 years to find Wet'N Wild an whole 1 hour away from us...we had a blast.
-Laina took 6th place in the City-wide cross-country race (happy to say there were no tears shed...and her mom and dad shuffled along with her the whole way).  This was huge for her --completely out of her comfort zone and she threw down in a BIG way.  It was pretty during but it was great after.  She has that medal proudly displayed in her room.
-Indy came up with a superhero costume for school 5 minutes before we left..."Captain Crossfit"
-Spent most of our Saturday afternoons helping out at the snack bar for the Fall Ball Rebels Baseball team.  Beautiful weather and great company...and some good little ballplayers.  Indy loved being a part of this team...a few tears were even shed when the last game was over.
-Soaking up last rays at the pool - these girls are a hoot...with their need to shower and do their hair before we leave...I think Laina spent more time getting ready after swimming then she spent...swimming.
-I spent most of my Wednesdays finding bike trails to ride with Jennie.  Rather than racing along these rides have turned into more of a "stop and enjoy the flowers" ride.

I love to see the Temple...

We're going back there this summer...when it will be complete...and will become "OUR" temple - for the Prescott AZ Stake.  (It's right down the road from the waterpark...why do I get the feeling that our kids will be encouraging Matt and I to visit often?)

Havasupai...with Kids

Yes I get crazy ideas.
Yes, I wanted to bring my 2 oldest kids down to see the glorious wonders that existed right near their backyards.
Yes, there was fussing...(only of the female form).
Yes, we took them down to Mooney Falls.
Yes they LOVED the beautiful shangri-la that we discovered down there.
Yes I got to walk with the girls while Matt and Indy and Bart and Sam cruised on speedily ahead.
Yes, I drained my camera battery and phone on the way down by distracting the girls with music and memorizing the rap the "Brokenhearted".  Yes, we can all sing it now along with a LOT of other campfire songs (that I looked up on my phone while walking....I was desperate and unprepared in the entertainment category).
YES:
-we ALL slept in hammocks
-we ate really good food
-the cafe food is BAD (and yes I opted to pass on the cafe and wait to eat my wraps from home :)
-we came up with a "Strawberry Shortcake" name for everyone
-the hike is exhausting
-we planned poorly and had a mildly disastrous exit hike out
-stopping at A&W on the way home makes everything better
-we will go back again...but not for awhile!

All smiles bright and early!! - about 5 minutes after leaving...

Smile....fading....

And smiles GONE.  This was where I desperately began googling every campfire song I could think of...it saved us...well kinda...

First comes LOVE, then comes Marriage...

 LOVE...

MARRIAGE...

 Then POOF a baby in the baby carriage!!

 Sweet little Marabelle...commonly referred to as "Belle".

1 baby + 4 kids = 5...can you say FUN?!

November in a NUTshell

November wraps up all the Fall sports (can I get a hallelujah??!!) Soccer and Fall Ball came to a close, we went on a wonderful little camping trip with Grant and Ray & Hezzie, we had a lovely Holdsworth-Williams Sonoma sit-down, we travelled to Mesa then Yuma for Thanksgiving and packed a whole bunch of fun into a wonderful family weekend.
(I stumbled upon some blog boards that come with a resize-input action...not sure if they will work for the book conversions....but they helped me get through this ginormous post --I just realized that they're slightly oversized...oh well - I'll fix 'em next time...mom you can scroll over to see the entire image :)

McLaren played his first season of soccer.  He loved it and grew in aggressiveness little by little (can you imagine smacky being intimidated?)  
Ella is such a help in the office...Desperate working moms will go through anything to get work done...
I love having my own private Thanksgiving dinner :)

We decided the kids needed some ethnic culture...we introduced them to sushi..
I took Indy to see The Giver and Smackdoodle was the best little farmer in the 1st grade Thanksgiving play.  (I'm so glad that I prevented him from going to school his 1st outfit choice that resembled a Chinese laborer).  We hit a killer new dine-in theater in Scottsdale and took the kids to see Life of Pi - a beautiful masterpiece.

 We had a grateful board - I think we need to work on our spelling. McLaren took quite a few tries to say he was thankful for Ella...and our School Spelling Bee champ struggled on "school".

Court and Rachel talked Jace (who is totally AVAILABLE - all he needs is a woman who is willing to live on a cattle ranch with him...takers??) anyway they talked Jace into gathering skulls so they can take them and sell them in LA - apparently Californians are wild for this stuff :)


Thanksgiving allowed for all of my siblings to be together for a few hours.  
(Tim struggles with knowing where to look- but we couldn't just tell him he wasn't invited in the picture).  
We were able to celebrate with my grandfather David B. Noble - it was good to see him.  My kids held still for a few photos...ok just one.

If we had known what Wade was going to do with the microphone I'm pretty sure that someone would've sabotaged it...

 After Mesa we travelled down to Yuma to hang with cousins.  We had a good bbq at the Nelson compound and everyone brought a pinterest dish that they had never made.  Ashlee chose to make her cake with old left-over oil that made us all gag - but hey the texture was great!!

We talked Tommy Gwynn into taking us on some Yuma single track.  It was the Thunderdome/Moon ride.  Awesome ride...and I didn't fall too far behind (of course they had to wait for me...a LOT.)  

Camping with the Holdsworth's is always a wonderful event.  Grant had his shotgun redone (and it had lots of "fiddleback" in the wood...see? I totally paid attention!)  the kids rode quads, McLaren hacked on a log for 3 hrs straight then ate the donuts uncle Mikey Mike brought (and he seriously resembled a Limpnickie-a big ol' plane dropped the donuts out of the sky).  And thank heavens for Uncle Ray Fire-Dance (raised on Sai-Pan) because he taught us all how to cut a mango and eat it properly!

We are so thankful for our family our friends and our faith.  We are grateful for a roof over our heads and the opportunity to get an education.  We are looking forward to the month of December where we get to enjoy more family and friends and find ways to serve serve serve.
Happy Holidays are Here!