Play Date and Christmas Goodies!

Today the boys and I went over to do a play date with our good friends Melissa, Emma and Paige to celebrate Christmas. We got into the Christmas spirit with a gift exchange (the boys were so excited to give their gifts to the girls... By the way... do you know how hard it is to shop for little girls when you only have boys? Geez!) by making and decorating sugar cookies, making a gingerbread train and watching Christmas movies. It was a bit overwhelming with 4 little ones all wanting to be part of the "action", but it was fun, nonetheless. :)

Gifts the boys got from Emma and Paige... they love them!

The finished sugar cookies.... yum!

The gingerbread train (I ended up doing it all because the boys wanted to eat all the candy instead of decorate and then they got distracted and wanted to play instead).

Snuggling up for Christmas movies! As we left the house, Emma (who is Glen's age), tried to give Glen a kiss and he ran like crazy. I guess he doesn't take after his father, in his younger years, that much afterall! :) Don't you love that my son is holding the babydoll? Lovely!

Jaxon just being cute...

Donuts with Dad

On Saturday, Glen Allen asked me to pick up some bisquit dough while I was at the store because he wanted to make donuts with the boys... I had never made donuts like that before so I excited to try it out. Sunday morning the boys pulled their chairs up to the counter to help dad make the donuts. They thought it was fun to make a hole in the dough and then cover them when they were done. I didn't get pictures of the process but the end result is what it's all about, right?!? We did cinnamon sugar ones and powdered sugar ones...they were YUMMY!

(Jaxon looks grumpy in this picture, although he really did want to make the donuts.)

Messy but delicious!!

Saturday Desert Trip

Last weekend we decided to go with some friends, the Hockenjos' and the Harrolds, up the road (literally 10 minutes from our house) to enjoy the great outdoors. We piled in all the toys we could and rode all day! Between the three families there are 7 boys and 1 little girl (who can hold her own with the best of the boys) so needless to say, all day was ride after ride after ride, and the kids didn't like the idea of taking turns. Glen did a great job riding his little quad. He was still a little hesitant when we got there but by the end of the day he was doing great! Towards the end of the day, Josh wanted to prove his manliness by seeing what his truck could do. He piled all the kids in the back for a little joy ride... they were having fun until he was going so steep that they kept sliding from the front of the bed to the tailgate. All in all, it was a great day... especially when Glen Allen and I were able to take a ride and enjoy the beautiful Arizona sunset together (with no kids!) YEAH!

Trampoline and Grumpy Pants!

The other day the boys and I were outside enjoying the beautiful winter weather (that really isn't wintery at all here in Arizona) and Glen David wanted me to take pictures of him playing soccer on the trampoline. He is a funny kid... he likes to have his picture taken as long as he gets to do what he wants in the picture instead of me telling him to stand a certain way or smile or whatever I am wanting him to do (hence the muscle shot). The boys love the trampoline but Jaxon won't have it if Glen is jumping too high. The trampoline fun usually ends in Jaxon screaming, me yelling at Glen to stop jumping so high and then getting so frustrated that Glen isn't minding me and Jaxon is crying that I either make them both get off or I pull Jaxon off. Here are some pictures of the fun!

P.S. Don't you love the crazy hair?!? That is what happens when they need haircuts and the gel has disappeared from the attempt to actually do their hair earlier on in the day!

Happy Birthday Jaxon!

I can't believe that my baby just turned 2!! He is such a sweet and stinkery little boy... but he is ALL BOY! His birthday was on Sunday so we had a little birthday celebration with family. He couldn't wait for his cupcakes. He got to pick out the cake and the sprinkles at the store (with a little coaxing from mom for the Funfetti cake mix) and he was so exicted to eat them. When we got to Nana's house we realized we didn't bring candles and we couldn't find any at Nana's so we had to redneck it and use matches for candles. It's a good thing he doesn't know the difference. :) After the cupcakes was the fun part! He had a hard time figuring out the presents at first but quickly got the hang of it once he realized there was a present waiting inside! Grandma and Grandpa got him a movie and lots of candy, Nana got him a truck and a remote control dump truck, Great Grandma and Grandpa Bean got him a giant AquaDoodle wall mat, and aunt Brittney and Uncle Reid sent him the cute shirt he has on in the pictures... that says "My Aunt Rocks". Thank you everyone! As most of you know... this little boy LOVES motorcycles. We got him this motorcycle that does wheelies and makes a bunch of noise and he absolutely loves it. He won't put it down. If he could have his way, he would sleep with the thing! He is actually sitting by me right now as I type this playing with the thing. What a funny kid! He is such a joy to have and constantly makes us laugh.

The blue cupcakes with sprinkles and matches! :)

Trying to figure out what the heck to do with this package in front of him.

Wow, a Monster Truck!

And the coveted MOTORCYCLE!

Knot Too Shabby Home Decor

My friend Amanda and I have started our own home decor business called Knot Too Shabby. We specialize in wood decor such as frames, picture boards, magnet boards, etc. I am in the process of getting our website up and running so you can view our entire inventory and make purchases but for now... here is a little taste of what we have to offer. We also do custom orders if you don't find something that tickles your fancy! Here is a sample of a few of our creations...

These are our 2x2 foot scrapbook picture boards. You can custom order the paper color scheme, paint color and vinyl lettering of your choice.... $50.

These are our 8x10 plexi-glass picture frames. Available in red, black, cream and sage. $22

These are our 5x7 plexi-glass picture frames. Available in red, black, cream and sage. $16

These are the hanging 8x10 plexi-glass picture frames. Available in red, black, cream and sage. $20

These are our 3 5x7 plexi-glass picture frames with custom vinyl lettering. Available in red, black, cream and sage. $24

These are our 3 5x7 knob metal boards. Available in red, black, cream and sage. Includes ribbon color of your choice and magnets. $26

If you are interested in custom orders, please feel free to contact me. We will also be having a few boutiques before Christmas for those of you who live here in the valley. Dates, locations and times to be announced!

Playing Catch up... Dune Season!

As most of you know, my husband lives and breaths for riding, so of course his favorite time of the year is DUNE SEASON! This was the first (and maybe the last unless we can get some other families to come with us) family dune trip of the season. Glen Allen had a great time, the boys loved the sand and I wish I would have had something to ride. The boys just wanted to ride all the time but Glen Davids quad wasn't working right and we didn't have anything else to ride. So the boys and I just hung out, played in the sand, watched movies and took some good naps, while Glen Allen rode. All in all a successful trip with no long lasting injuries, just a big goose egg on the ol' noggin... see below!

Glen Allen suiting up!

My cute boys

Jaxon showing off his battle wound from taking a header right to the corner of the step on the trailer. OUCH!

Daddy and Jaxon cuddling to keep warm.

Mommy and the boys making faces at the camera to entertain ourselves (the boys thought this was so funny to make a face, take a picture and then laugh at themselves when they saw the picture).

Being silly!