Belated birthday presents

(Disclaimer: I know I missed a post about my birthday, but I’m in denial that I’m turning 30 next year.    No, the honest truth is that *I’M* the picture-taker, so since it was my own birthday the pictures just didn’t happen!  But I did have a wonderful day!)

Derk’s parents decided they were coming down to visit us for Christmas this year, and so since they were coming down they just brought birthday presents for Bri and I with them to avoid expensive shipping.  They arrived tonight, and the first thing they did was give us our presents.    Cambria got a Barbie scooter with light up wheels and she LOOOOOOOOOOOVES it!!!  I haven’t seen her that excited in a long time! 

I got a really pretty sweater and some foot scrub stuff!  Unfortunately the sweater is too big.    But it’s just gorgeous!  The picture doesn’t do it justice.

Thanks, Mom and Dad!  <3  We are so glad you are here!!

The most expensive big mess thus far…

Asher had a little accident this morning….

It was a true accident, but man! The kids were out front playing, and Cambria climbed on Derk’s car (he parks it on the driveway because he doesn’t like pulling into the 3rd car spot in the garage). The kids all know better, so Asher decided to climb up there and get Cambria down. Well, the fact that it was pretty early in the morning combined with all the rain we’ve had lately made for a very slippery car. Asher slipped, and his bum slammed right into the windshield. The crack goes ALL the way though, so I am just beyond grateful that he somehow managed to escape being hurt!! Not a scratch or bruise on him, only a sore bum. We were able to pull it into the garage without any problem (I was really worried we wouldn’t be able to move it at all!), and now comes the scary part of calling around to get quotes….yikes. We’re not laughing about this big mess just yet, but I figured I’d better document it for the day when it will (hopefully) be nothing but a funny memory.

Raindrops and reindeers!

It’s always such a big deal here when it rains, and we’ve been fortunate enough to have quite a bit of it lately! This morning we woke up to it pouring down, and Cambria couldn’t wait to go out back to check it out. We always love going out on the covered back patio when it rains. It’s so peaceful to stand out there, listen to the sound of the rain, and smell that wonderful clean air smell, while staying totally dry despite the torrential downpour.

Bri wanted me to take some pictures of the rain out the front door, too. It pretty much floods our front walkway.

A kinda cool shot I took.

After we were sufficiently bored of watching the rain (which I fully admit took a while!), we did a fun Christmas craft. The kids made these handprint/footprint reindeers last year, too, so I thought it would be fun if they made them this year and could compare how much their hands/feet have grown in the last year. The other kids were at school, so their reindeer pictures will come later.

We loved our day full of rain/rein!

Frosty the……refrigerator!

This holiday season, our fridge/freezer really are frosty!!  I found this super cute idea on Pinterest and knew the kids would just get the biggest kick out of it.  I surprised them all with it this afternoon, and I wish I had their reactions on camera.  They thought it was so cool!  I think he’s pretty cute myself.   

Our 2011 Christmas tree

Normally we like to get the tree on December 1st, but the kids were too eager this year!  We actually tried to get it this past weekend, but they didn’t have the kind of tree we like in stock yet.  Our poor kids had to wait a couple more days, which was just torture for them!    I had to use Derk’s camera because mine was charging, so the pictures aren’t the best…

Here they are decorating the tree and having a great time doing it!  Kyrie is very methodical about where she places each ornament, taking great care to space them out just so and never putting 2 ornaments of the same color near each other.  Asher just likes to move the ornaments Kyrie so strategically placed.  And Cambria thinks the ornaments look best being clustered together, all in one spot (which drives Kyrie crazy!).  It made for a very interesting and highly amusing decorating experience.  Haha.

 

Asher got a little silly there at the end. 

Pictures of the finished tree and other Christmas projects will be coming shortly!

Thanksgiving 2011

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a really nice day, just the 5 of us.  It was totally relaxed, totally low-key – we even stayed in our pajamas all day!    The food was incredible, and Derk’s turkey was the best yet.  It was so moist that it was literally *dripping* all over the place.  If you don’t already brine your turkey, do it ASAP.  It is THE best.  Our menu: turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls, stuffing, green bean casserole, and candied yams.

 

Dessert was an apple pie.  I finally found a very wonderful pie crust recipe, AND I got an apple corer/slicer a few weeks ago, so we’ve made several apple pies recently.  So yummy!

 

Here are my favorite people happily eating our yummy meal!  Is Kyrie the spitting image of her daddy, or what?!?!

I am so grateful for my family.  I have the best husband and greatest kids.  I am truly blessed.

Cambria’s actual birthday

With her party out of the way yesterday, we just had a nice family day today.  Cambria decided she wanted to check out the Yuma Conservation Garden, which is a little area you can walk around and see all sorts of stuff.  We fed the ducks and geese, saw lots of cool cacti and other desert plants, and saw some really neat antique farm equipment.  Here’s the birthday girl walking into the garden with her bucket of pellets for the ducks and geese, wearing her new dress and carrying her new camera (in her pink library bag).  She kept coming up to me all day, giving me a HUGE hug, and saying, “Mom, have I told you how much I LOVE my new camera?!  I LOVE IT, Mom!!!  Thank you!!!”  <3

 

A couple shots from inside the garden.

Kyrie wasn’t too into the farm equipment, so I only managed to get this one shot of her.  She was actually TERRIFIED to climb up for this photo.  But then when she saw her brother fearlessly climb up and demand his photo be taken, she decided she was brave enough.    She is literally hanging onto that bar for dear life!  So funny.

 

Asher and Bri loved it, though!

I had to snap a picture of Bri’s little footprint her shoes left in the sand.  I love the little hearts. 

Speaking of feet, I also snapped this one.

After we got home, we had her birthday dinner.  She asked for chili and cornbread.  She got phone calls from a few family members, which she thought was so cool.  Then she fell into bed, completely tuckered out, snuggled up under her new comforter and in her new bathrobe.  (Note: it was her last night with her “baby”… so bittersweet.  )

Happy birthday to our beautiful girl!  I love my little Bri Bri.