Busy. So Very Busy

Jens knows that when life gets hectic it's best to just hunker down while Daddy gets ready for work.

Speaking of work, over the end of Christmas Break the kids took turns coming to the office with me. Rock is trying to invent a new way to check your blood pressure.

Jens spent her morning at the office and then decided that this whole work thing wasn't worth it. She found herself a better hobby.

On Ryker's day all he wanted was "white spaghetti mac and cheese" which I eventually realized was fettuccine alfredo.

The kids loved spending every available time playing with their toys and pretending to have binoculars. 

DeAndra was definitely ready for school to get back in session and for the kids to disappear for a few hours a day.

Ryker was kind of ready to go back to school, sleepy and hazy but excited.

When he got home all he wanted was some quiet time alone with milk and cookies.

Rough times call for real answers.

I don't know. I just don't know what happens when I'm at the office so I just don't know.

Life can be hard for the spoiled rotten princess.

Speaking of spoiled rotten...

Dad surprised the kids with their very own Seahawk shirseys. 

Since the kids were all decked out in Hawks' gear we let them pose with the gas tank John Ryan snowman.

When we got home Jens brought me a helmet and wanted to "play hackle".

KOZI thanked me for advertising by hooking us up with hockey tickets to the team in Wenatchee. Jens loved everything about the night.

Rock enjoyed drawing what was happening but thought everything was too loud. Let that irony sink in for a minute.

Ryker seemed to love everything about the game, too. Especially the giant tub of popcorn, the nachos, the big gulp of Sprite....

Did I mention life can be hard for the princess?

Speaking of the princess....

Papa Dale did helicopter rides during Winterfest (or Winterfeast as Rock calls it) and the princess insisted on coming down to help him.

She wanted to see how she looked but there was only one mirror to be found.

Poor Rock was so excited for Winterfeast but ended up with a fever and the icks. 

Almost every time DeAndra stops by the office to say hello the kids are knocked out cold or sucking on a Capri Sun.

Christmas!!

Christmas time is a stressful time and Jens recognized that DeA needed to relax. She used her magic little fingers to massage her hair and "majust" her neck.

 It wasn't the most snowy Christmas but it was still white-ish and beautiful.

 Last year came and passed without a single gingerbread house, so this year we made sure to let the kids decorate.

 I don't know how we went through so much candy, frosting and chocolate but still ended up with fairly plane houses, it's almost as if the sugary stuff disappeared somewhere.

 The stocking were hung by the chimney by DeA.

 Ryker and Jens were in a pre-school play and they were as hammed up as actors can be.

 Jens loved wearing her Christmas dress and twirled all morning long.

 She twirled until she just had to cuddle with Grandpa and rest.

 The brave quail hunters led a hunting expedition to Grandma and Grandpa's front yard, but were disappointed to find that the quail had somehow become alert to their presence.

 There was talk about just ordering pizza's on Christmas Eve, but Nick was having none of that talk. So he took matters into his own hands...literally.

 The kids each received a spiritual gift before bedtime, Rock got his own set of scriptures. DeA was so excited to watch him open them...and then devasted when he wasn't as excited as she was about the present. He explained that they were nice, but since he couldn't read he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do with them.

 Next came the feats of strength which Nick performed admirably.

 Christmas morning started at 2:30am for Rock and Ryker. They made a huge fort out of the packages and also made one mommy very upset.

 Finally around 6 am or so they were allowed to rip open their stockings while we waited for Grandma, Grandpa and Nick to arrive.

 Ryker was so excited about everything and would well things like  "this is my favorite kind of shampoo!".

 Jens took a little to wake up and realize what was going on. Good thing she had Grandpa to help her ease into the morning.

 

 

 Rock got what he most wanted, a Power Rangers something something set.

  A patient was very kind to give them a cool robot system called Rockenbock. Rock especially loved setting it up and building cool things.

 Ryker was especially happy to have Ninja Turtle soap and macaroni.

 Jens and her mommy had fun with her girly stuff that Santa brought.

 Christmas cheer eventually ran out and flies started dropping.

Like daughter like mommy.

Christmas Season!

It's a day after Thanksgiving tradition to decorate Mama Rae's fake Christmas tree. Ryker was very happy to see the bright lights come out of storage.

  You can tell that we aren't a tall family.

 Papa Dale had the privilege of flying in Santa from the North Pole. We went down to meet them by the Building Supply. 

 It was below 20 but the kids were more than excited to see Jolly Ol' St. Nick in Grandpa's helicopter.

  Obviously they were pretty excited when the chopper arrived.

 All of the excitement wore DeA plum out.

 Jensley has become something of a cowgirl lately, especially when the brothers are gone/asleep and she can ride without their interference. 

 But sometimes she doesn't slow down enough to rest, which leads to a total collapse by the front door from time to time.

 Every night before bed she locks herself in the bathroom and says "I doing my eyes" then she comes out with interesting eyeliner designs. 

 Lil' Rock might be growing up too fast.

 Ryker asked Mama Rae for a scard and of course she delivered. He has almost worn that thing out after only a few days. He wears it everywhere and freaks out if he forgets to grab it.

 I don't get to keep many pictures of her, but DeA is looking as good as ever.

 The ward had a nativity with over 100 different sets along with cookies. We were assigned an hour to attend which meant Ryker had some quality DS time.

 Homework consumes Rock's life, it is amazing how much homework they give first graders.

 A few days ago the kids wanted pancakes for dinner and demanded that they be allowed to help. So I lined them up and let them help cook the pancakes. But when it came time to clean up the mess from their "help" they were no where to be found.