Polar Express

This was the snowstorm we hit leaving Arizona. It was beautiful!

Warming up at the fireplace with Evan and Matthew Vendetti after the snow fight.

Playing in the snow..... I didn't realize there would be so much snow, and didn't pack snow clothes for the boys. thank goodness they did bring gloves and warm jackets...

Matt and Zach fell asleep on the train ride back from the North Pole. We were on the late train and they were TIRED...

Santa Claus giving Zach his magical bell... " I do believe, I do believe."

Aiden watching out the window, looking for the North Pole.

On the TRAIN...

Daddy and Aiden outside the hotel. It was so cold there.....

The Fam, standing in front of an old train... Photo moment.

The kids waiting in line to see Santa before we headed to the North Pole.

On Monday, December 21, we took a road trip to Williams, Arizona (about 4 hours from Vegas) We stayed at the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel, and took the Polar Express to the North Pole to see Santa. I will have to say that one of my FAVORITE Christmas movies is the "Polar Express" starring Tom Hanks... I guess I was expecting the train ride to be more like the movie, and so were the boys. They were so excited on the train to get to the North Pole, and when we stopped and didn't get off, all the excitement was gone. That is until Santa got on the train to pass out magical bells. Overall.... was it worth the $500 it costs...hmmm I would say I don't know. Will we do it again?? not sure. Maybe in a few years when I forget how terrible the food was... I will convince Jared to take us again. The boys did have fun... in fact the best time they had was the next morning when we woke up and there was new fresh snow on the ground. We ran into our friends from Vegas, and all the kids played in the snow for a couple of hours. That was their favorite part.

October and November Highlights

Once again, I have been terrible about blogging. Here is a quick recap of some fun things that happened in October and November!!

Matt turned 7 on November 24th. We had a small family party at our house, and then Jared and I took Matt, Zach, and some friends and cousins to Laser Quest to play laser tag. It was actually REALLY fun, and everyone had a blast.

AIDEN turned TWO, on November 7! Happy Birthday baby.

While we were camping my dad, and Jared taught the boys the basics of repelling. For those of you that know my dad, he is an avid rock climber. He wishes all his sons and grandsons would climb with him. He put the boys in a harness, and they "repelled" down a tree and a rock climbing wall.

We did a lot of fun activities for Halloween this year. We had the school "Fall Festival", a Halloween party at our friends, home, and we spent Halloween in St.George. We also pulled our trailer up to Zion River Resort, in Utah, and camped for the rest of the weekend.

Aiden has turned into quite the little "ham." He loves having his picture taken, and this is basically the same smile I get from him everytime. I just love this little boy!

Apparently my brother Kris took this picture when I wasn't looking. So for payback, I am posting it on my blog. Oh, and he is still looking for a wife.... contact me if you know of any single ladies ;)

October- Matt finished up his 3rd Baseball Season. This was "fall ball" and played on a team called the Aces. Matt isn't the best player, but he seems to enjoy the game. I was a little frustrated with the coach this year, because instead of helping the kids get better by letting them play all different positions, he stuck the worst players in the outfield for ALL the games. Matt got bored towards the end of the season, because he was in the outfield, and decided he didn't want to play anymore. We will have to see if he changes his mind in the spring when it starts again.

We had to do a school project for Zachary's class.. We had to disguise a turkey, so Zach chose a CLOWN theme. I went to the party store and found this wig. Aiden loved it, and wanted to wear it all day. Of course, this is his new CHEESEY smile.

October 1st, Matt lost his first "real" tooth. He had his top tooth pulled out a year ago because it was injured, but this was the first tooth that feel out on it's own. Actually, it didn't fall out on it's own. The tooth had been loose for a few weeks, and Matt would NOT let me touch it, wiggle it, or inspect it at all. I figured it would fall out when it was ready. One Sunday after church, he was playing "puppy dog" with Aiden.. He had the leash in his mouth, and Aiden grabbed the leash, and it hit the tooth and knocked it out. Of course, his mouth filled with blood and he was HYSTERICAL. You would have thought he lost his arm. He cried that he wanted me to put the tooth back in. It took about 15 minutes to calm him down. In fact we called my youngest brother Jared, who is in dental school, and he convinced Matt it was okay the tooth came out, and that bleeding was normal. Needless to say, it was a traumatic experience for the first tooth. Good thing the tooth fairy was generous!

"Huh-uh"

In his short little life so far Aiden has been a boy of few words. He has learned to communicate with hand pointing, and "Uh, Uh, Uh" sounds. Right now he says, "Ma, Da, Bye Bye, and Uh oh." Last week he learned a new word "huh-uh" (no) and that is all he wants to say. He seems to understand when I ask him a question, and gives me the smart answer, "huh-uh," for everything he doesn't want to do. He is growing up so fast and makes me feel sad that my baby will be two in November. Time seems to go by a lot faster when you are "older" and not wanting time to go by so quick. The days of being young, and WANTING to get older seemed to take FOREVER. Aiden has definitely been my most curious boy, and is determined to do everything his older brothers do. If they are working on homework, he sitting right next them, pencil in hand, writing on their papers. He's fearless, but such a mommy's boy!

Labor Day- Pine Valley

Over the Labor day holiday weekend, our family, my parents, all three brothers, and a cousin went camping at Pine Valley. It was a really nice get away. We used to camp at Pine Valley when I was a little girl, and haven't been back since. It was fun to re-explore from my childhood. Plus, it's so close to Vegas, only takes about 2 1/2 hours to get there. The youngest kids; Matt, Zach and Jenna, played on this rock all weekend. They called it Coyote Rock and would sit and all howl all day.

We took some of the boys cousins and went "Geo-caching". Geo-caching is where you use a GPS to find a "hidden" treasure. They are located all over the world. www.geocaching.com. We found two caches around the campsite.

My little MONKEY Man

Zach showing off his Acorn collection

Jared and Zach picking "acorns"

All the cousins and my little brother Jared, and his friend Hillary.

Update- First day of school

I have been terrible keeping up on the blog this summer. My new goal is to blog once a week. I don't know if anyone follows the blog anymore but figure its a good way for me to keep a "journal" of what is going in our lives.

Matt and Zach both started school a few weeks ago. I just downloaded the pictures from my camera today. ( I notice I blog more when I have recent photos). Matt started first grade and has Mrs. Lopez for his teacher. He has had a rough first two weeks of school, he gets sad during the day or in the morning and crys. He says it's because he misses his family. I have sent three pictures of the family to school with him to keep in his desk. When he is feeling sad, he can get them out and look at them. Zachary started kindergarten and is LOVING it. He has Mrs. Combado and goes to ALL day kindergarten. His best friend, Dominic, is in the class with him. I am sure they are wild together, but thankfully, he has brought home a "good behavior" card everyday. I am sure they will have their mischievous moments when it's not so new.

Aiden is keeping busy as the family "tornado." He loves to make messes, more messes, and lots of messes. I clean up after him ALL day long. He loves to brush his teeth and is known to walk around the house with a toothbrush and toothpaste. His favorite thing is being a "baseball" player. He finds the glove, Matt's shoes, Matt's hat, and balls and walks around the house looking for someone to throw the ball to him. He is definitely Jared's boy. He looks like Jared and is built just like him. He will be our linebacker for sure!

Zach's 5th Birthday Party

Singing to the birthday boy

A Horse Pinata!

My good friend made this cake for Zach, she is an amazing cake maker.. it was yummy!

We had a "shooting range" shooting water at the soda cans to knock them over.

We had a "pillow-sack" race, the kids loved it.

Mustache Men

I have always told my boys that they can have birthday parties up until they turn five. After that, each year on their birthday, they get to go do something "special" with dad, like pick a few friends and go to the movies, or car racing. So since this was Zach's last birthday, we let him have a COWBOY party and invite about 17 kids over. Yes, it was CRAZY for the two hours it lasted, but the kids and Zach had tons of fun. HAPPY 5th Birthday sweet Zachy!