Are we having a party?

Nope, this is just how our entry looks lately. Yep, we do have TWO coat closets (although you can't open them because all of the shoes are in the way). Oh, and we also have a mudroom. I swear this house was clean 2 days ago.

We finally got some snow.

I don't know if we needed 5.2 inches, but yesterday was a great day to play in the snow!

Somewhere fun Friday

Noah had been asking for a hot dog for days, so we had a lunch date at A&W.
Then, we all gathered at Grandma and Grandpa's to celebrate Grandpa Steve's birthday.

You Stay Classy, San Diego...

For Uncle Rich...your nephew is an aspiring Ed Wilson...filmed with Noah's new spyglasses that record video...

one more

make that two

baseball (and shorts) in January???

love it!

what's new?

Eli started basketball yesterday.

Noah and I strapped on our aprons (handmade by Grandma Cathy) and made bugs with his Zombie Lab today.

favorite moments of the day

golfing in January

Noah earning his 3rd stripe

Eli multitasking

Home

We made it home on Monday afternoon 30 minutes before we had to leave for the boys' first night of gymnastics/fitness class. The kids were excited to see some snow on the ground.

Saturday/Sunday

Saturday was the annual game night/New Year's party. The kids and I made everyone stay up to watch the ball drop.
Sunday: We had a birthday party for Grace and went to a movie in the afternoon.

Friday

Christmas at Grandma's

Eli got an MP3 player that was connected to his head the rest of the trip. Noah got a lot of spy gear.

Christmas in Iowa

We arrived at Grandma's around 11:30 Wednesday night (12/28). On Thursday, we got to spend time (outside) with our friends. Eli went to Luke's birthday party, and Noah got to see a raccoon in a trap.

6th birthday gift idea??

my boys

Merry (brown) Christmas

Joel had to be on-call over Christmas. He started on Friday (his birthday) and will be done on Tuesday. Since he wasn't able to leave our house this year, we did things a little differently. Christmas Eve: Eli had a case of my favorite childhood illness... the one where you don't feel well right before it's time to go to church (he must not know that his mother mastered that one). Noah and I went to church, and then we opened a few presents at home.
Christmas Day: We hosted my family. Jen's sister, Rachel, had a Christmas baby, and with all of the EARLY morning baby excitement and Christmas fun, Katelynn ended up getting sick in the evening. It was probably a good thing they didn't have to travel.

I had this great idea that all of the kids could lay on our bedroom floor to watch a movie and fall asleep, so the adults could open gifts. HA! Some of them watched the movie, and in the end, only Noah ended up sleeping in our room....in our bed. We had a good time, and luckily, Joel didn't have to work. More Christmas celebrating to come!

Tae Kwon Do

Noah earned the first stripe on his white belt tonight!

Truax Christmas at the Lake

Noah...in the last 24 hours

going to bed after spending two nights at Grandma and Grandpa's: "I'd sleep a lot better if I was in Grandma's blue room".

when I asked him to stop jumping on his bed: "Well, then where can I do flips?"

coming home from school today: "I really don't need to go to that school; I already know everything".

Noah: "When are we going to move?" Mom: "If we do ever move, we'd probably move back to Iowa by Grandma Cathy." Noah: "Good, then we'd be close to both Grandmas." (Apparently 1 hr in the car is the same as 7.)

looking at Batman legos on the internet: N: "I really want these" Mom: "Those are REALLY expensive because they don't make them anymore." N: "That's why I'm getting them for Christmas!!" (I kind of remember my other child stating that Santa doesn't need money.)

7 year old revenge

Proactively, I put up the tree while the boys were at Grandma and Grandpa's, so they could come home and decorate. I guess I should have ran that by Eli first because he later informed me that he wanted to take the branches out of the box and put them in piles. After a 30 minute crying/screaming fit, he realized that I in fact was not going to take the tree down and start over, so he decided to start decorating.

Mom: "Eli, you should spread out the ornaments because it looks better if they aren't all in one spot.

Eli: (in a very snotty voice which I have no idea where he gets) "I CAN put THEM wherever I WANT".

I may take the ornaments down, so we can start over.

Thanksgiving Day at Our House

We were blessed to have Grandma, Don, and the Kinney's at our house for a few days. We have a lot to be thankful for!

I'm pretty sure this was not in the forecast,

but I know a couple of kiddos who were thrilled!

Halloween Goes On...

Who says Halloween has to end in October? Nothing like 75% off costumes to keep the Halloween spirit alive. Luigi is who Noah decided he wanted to be when he woke up on October 31st. Unfortunately he promised he would stick with his blue Power Ranger costume when he bought it in August. But he did get his Luigi after all...probably won't fit in another year, regrettably. But still the fun continues...

Smarter than Dad

Here is what I get for challenging my 7-year old to spell the word sarcophagus at breakfast...and I had no idea how to spell it myself when asked. I found this on my office door after he got back from school this afternoon: