Ten Years ???

Ryan and I celebrated our tenth anniversary this year. Man, that went by quickly!! We are far from perfect, but I sure am a lucky girl to have him. We make a great team. I look forward to many, many more decades with him. We were fortunate to have Ryan's parents come to our house and stay with the kids while we spent two days in Bellevue. We went to the Seattle Temple, out to eat, shopped a bit, and did a whole lot of wonderful NOTHING. It was very refreshing and relaxing to get away for a bit, but not have the stress of travel. Of course, we could never have done it with my AMAZING in laws ( I really married Ryan to have them :))!

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The Big 3-0 !!!

I tried to avoid it, but I turned 30 this year! I have to admit that I did not like it very much and wanted to keep it pretty low key. Ryan wanted to throw a party, but my birthday falls during a very hectic time of year, so I talked him out of it. I think deep down he was relieved. He did arrange a babysitter ( a first, I think) and we went to dinner and did a little shopping. The kids and Ryan also picked out a delicious cake that we enjoyed for days. It was fun to see them excited because I certainly was not. :) I am very thankful to be where I am at this stage of my life. I am truly blessed...but how about NO MORE birthdays?!?!?!

Santa Comes to the Neighborhood 2011

One of my very favorite traditions of the season is the visit we get from Santa and the firefighters during the annual food drive. It really is magical to have Santa come to our house. He is so sweet and spends plenty of time with each child. Unfortunately, Ryan was not home, I was holding Eliza (who wanted nothing to do with Santa), and I was still learning with my new camera, so the pics aren't great, but I tried.

Santa reading Connor and Sadie's letter

On their lists this year...

Connor- 1. Mario Bros for Wii 2. Commander Locke (Star Wars figure) 3. Otter stuffed animal 4. Diary of a Wimpy Kid book

Sadie- 1. Barbie Doll house 2. Just Dance 3 for Wii. Big Ladybug pillow pet

Our Elf Jo came tonight as well. The kids were sooo surprised and happy!

Saying Good Bye and Going Home

Before we hit the road, we attempted to take some group shots of all of the cousins and grandparents. This is what we got! I am so happy that we got to spend the week with family. Thanks to my brother and Nicole for hosting. I'm sure they were not too sad to see us all go. :) Our kids were exceptional on the way home-only had to stop once in Pendleton at Wal-mart. We ate some Subway and ran around in the toy section, and then were back on the road. Having said, that they were well-behaved, they were also VERY spoiled on the way home. Each of them had their own DVD player. Sadie had her own space in the back of the van in her own little world with shows and snacks. Every once in a while she would pipe in and say, " How much longer?" We would tell her, " Five more hours!" She would respond, "Okay!" and put her headphones back on! Connor sat in the middle so he would not get carsick and watched Harry Potter movies and fed Eliza snacks. Eliza wore her BOSE headphones and watched endless "Baby Signing Time." Is that how your road trips were when you were a kid??

Seriously??

Sadie taking a break from movies for a snooze.

Just Dance vs Mario Bros

There was lots of video gaming during the week we spent in Idaho. The boys spent a lot of time playing Mario Bros. and the girls spent a lot of time playing Just Dance. The boys, uncles, and grandpa even joined in on the dancing. So Fun! Guess what Wii games ended up on both Connor and Sadie's Christmas lists??

Em, Ethan, Connor, and I gettin' our groove on...

Cutest dancers EVER!

Boys playing Mario!

Thanksgiving Day

The kids had a fun table on the floor-who needs chairs?? They loved it!

These 2 look look almost like twins!

Two cool boys!

Throwing rocks into the river. Eliza has a pretty good arm!

These two look like they could be sisters too!

I love the way Connor is looking at Eliza. He ADORES her!

Thanksgiving day started out with the guys going out to play football with some of Adam and Nicole's neighbors. Nicole and I also snuck in a run! We had a FABULOUS dinner. Thanks to Nicole, Mom, Emily, and Tom (potato man). I helped here and there, but am not nearly as skilled in the kitchen as everyone else. There is something special about having most of the recipes that I grew up on. Yum! After dinner we felt like we all NEEDED a to get out and exercise (so we could come back and eat seconds and dessert :) . Luckily the weather cooperated and we had a beautiful walk. Sarge (Adam's dog) even went for a swim!

Early Christmas

Since most of us were together (we missed Melanie and family), we decided to cousin gift exchanges, and presents from Grandma and Grandpa presents a little early. We had to sing the traditional Robinson Christmas Carols. Then we ripped into presents! I think everyone was happy. My kids' favorite was a karaoke machine. They have had a great time rockin' out to Taylor Swift together. I have banished them to their room with the door closed if they are using it. :)

Eliza dancing to the songs

Happy kiddos!

Cute Lucy

Dad directing the carols. (Yes, that is a Turkey on his head-he wore it 24/7 the entire trip! He even brought drumstick headbands for all the kids.)

Pediciure Party

The girls had a blast painting each other's toes and GRANDPA's toes!

More Cousins, Grandpa, and a Bounce House!

Emily, Tom, and their family arrived Tuesday as well as my dad. Wednesday we rented a bounce house. All of the cousins bounced and bounced ALL day. It was so much fun. Grandpa got in on the fun, and got beat up a bit I think!

Turkey Cookies

Nicole and Sadie made some delicious sugar cookies together and I made frosting and helped them decorate them. I sure wish we lived closer to cousins so we could do things like this more often!

Skating in Idaho

After Pinkalicious , we stayed the night in Portland, dropped Cooper off at the best dog sitters ever (Mark and Anette's) and started the drive to Boise to see my family for Thanksgiving. We were blessed with great weather and surprisingly well behaved kids in the car. We arrived Sunday evening and Monday we went roller skating for the first time EVER. Even Ryan had never been roller skating (how that happened, I don't know). Usually Connor is very cooridnated, but he was TERRIBLE. He tried soooo hard and never gave up the whole two hours we were there, but I can't say he improved at all. Ryan was afraid of getting injured-he is so tall that he has a long way to fall-so he took his skates off and walked around with the kids. Sadie was cautious, but did a pretty good job with Aunt Nicole helping. Madi and Avery did great! Luckily Grandma Kathleen stayed home with Eliza, since both Sadie and Connor were pretty high maintenance. We see how long it is before we go skating again!

Sadie LOVES Aunt Nicole

Sadie and Connor

Nicole, Avery, and Adam

Connor loved hanging on to that wall!!

Pinkalicious!!!!

Frosting shot!!

One for the wedding album :)

All decked out in her Pinkalicious gear from Grandma. Connor graciously declined when she asked if he would like a Pinkalicious gift bag...

Grandma Anette told us that there was a play based on one of Sadie's all time favorite books, Pinkalicious playing in Portland and we decided we couldn't miss it! Luckily our friends' Nadia and Olivia were able to get tickets right next to us. It was such a fun outing. Connor did not want to be left out and is secretly entertained by the book as well, so we were happy to have him come along as well. He, however, refused to wear pink! We started with Lunch at Elephant's Deli, followed by a trip to the one and only Cupcake Jones for cupcakes, of course, a trip to Powell's books, and finally to the play.