Christmas Present Weekend

So.  I have the hardest time trying to figure out what to get my parents for Christmas sometimes.  I have those years where it just comes to me!  Then I have those years that I stew over it for months.  Yes, I plan Christmas MONTHS in advance.  Anyway.  This was a superb idea, but it didn't come until super last minute.

We sent them a letter in the mail that was to arrive on Christmas Eve.

That didn't happen.

But they eventually got it.

Our letter said, in basic terms, that their present would come in the months to follow.  That the Christmas spirit could be kept alive and well, until their present arrived.

Well.  Their present arrived on their doorstep on January 28th in the form of five and a half people. We decided that for a Christmas present we would spend quality time with them by our onsies!!

We had a blast!  I told my mom right when we got there that Stephen and I were in charge of all of the meals and dishes for the next three days.  AND we had some yummy prizes in store.  (Stephen finally made my mom a cheesecake. ;) )

Thursday night we had Stephen's famous White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake.  Yum.  Stephen really has made this into an art.  He is good.

On Friday we took my parents to help us teach the kiddos how to ski.  That was a lot of fun.  Really. Maycee and Cooper had the time of their lives.  Oliver hated it.  He cried the entire three times that we took him up the magic carpet and down the hill.  He wasn't having ANY of it.

To give Ollie a little bit of credit, it was a miserable day for skiing.  It was really windy and snow was coming down hard.  As we were driving up the mountain, my spirits just kept sinking lower and lower and lower.  The higher we drove, we just didn't come out of the storm.  It was extremely disheartening when every worker, of their own volition, told us that today was not a day to teach kids to ski.

HEY!!

We'd been planning this for a month and this was the only time it worked!  Sometimes you don't have the convenience of waiting for good weather....

Anyway.

Again.  Maycee and Cooper loved it.  That made my heart happy.

Favorite picture.  I really wish I could have gotten a happy Maycee going down the hill, but I was never able to catch her!

Before we drove down the mountain, my parents were positive that the kids would fall asleep on the way home.  Nope.  Not my kids.  They were completely hyped up and yelling for food the entire drive back to Grandma and Grandpa's.  Good thing I had a sausage, crackers, olives, and bananas!

On Saturday we hung around the house.  I love this picture.  My dad was showing the kids pictures of cool farm equipment.  The kids were all glued to the screen.

My mom really wanted to make a Valentine's Day craft with the kids.  Unfortunately she chose one that ended up being a project made by me, my mom, and my dad.  Maycee did as much as she was able.

Saturday evening we headed out.  Merry Christmas Grandma and Grandpa!!!

Kiddo Funnies

1. Oliver learned to sing 'Let It Go' in a Batman voice.  Funniest thing ever.

2. I asked the kids today what pets they would like to have in our backyard.  Maycee asked for a bunny.  And a horse.  Cooper requested a pig to go with the cows and chickens.

3. Text today from Maycee's 'Let's Play Music' teacher: "Maycee did well today! She was the first to answer right on all the melodic patterns and I love listening to her sing." -- Proud Mommy moment!

4. Cooper patted my belly and asked, "Is that the baby?"  I said yes, then he patted my boob and said, "Is that the babies eyes?"

5. We finger painted the planet Neptune today.
This is Maycee's:

 This is Cooper's:

Cooper did not want to get his fingers dirty.

Sleeping Arrangements

So.

For the last couple of nights, Stephen and I have begun to slightly panic when Maycee's bed is empty.  We quickly found her new sleeping quarters.

Grandma Donna Call

My Grandma is 60 years older than me.

She and I are also just about the same height.  We measure every so often and I squish down her poofy hair (because that's cheating).

My grandma passed away on her 93 birthday.  With all of her kids around.

She was as healthy as a horse, until about 9 months ago, she started to deteriorate.  She could no longer live in her house by herself.  She had to be put into an assisted living.  Then on her birthday, January 12th, she passed away.

When I first heard the news I started to cry.  It wasn't even that I was sad, just really emotional, grateful, and happy that Grandma finally got her wish. She has wanted to see Grandpa ever since his passing, 23 years ago.

When I was in the second grade, I started writing 'Kami Donna Call' on all of my school papers. I didn't have a middle name, so I figured that I needed to give myself one. After a year of writing that on all of my school papers, we went to court to get my name officially changed to Kami Donna Call. When I was married I kept Donna. Then I named my first daughter after my Grandma as well.

Grandma, Happy Birthday! I hope that Maycee and I can do good to your name.

We'll see you!

Happy Anniversary!! #8

I have an amazing husband.

This year, for our anniversary, things were pretty laid back.

Our anniversary was on Monday, but with my parents up last week, we left the kiddos with them to go out to dinner on Friday night.  Johnny Carinos!

After we sat on the couch on Monday night, we both looked at each other and laughed.  We were so tired.

So.

We decided to make a list.

A list of the best moments of our lives together.

Most of these moments are pretty recent.  Stephen and I have worked really hard together the last couple of years and accomplished a lot of things together.  We did hard things together and it was such a great feeling!  I really cannot describe it.

Maycee also has a lot of attention on our list.  It is NOT that we love her the most, or that she is our favorite, but this first kid has opened our eyes to things we did not expect.

So here are our bests:

8 Best Moments of the Stephen and Kami life together:

1. The time and effort it took to finance, design, and build our dream home.
2. The moment of Maycee's birth.
3. Our completion of the Whole 30. In it's entirety.
4. Getting rid of the TV.
5. Accepting the challenge of homeschool.
6. Making our decision to make our home and lives in Middleton.
7. Maycee's first primary talk.
8. Maycee learning to ride a bike.

Kiddo Cuddles

Maycee's super cute picture.

Maycee said that this is her and her dad.  She said her dad had toast on his shirt....

She is getting so big!

New Years Eve

On New Year's Eve we were ready to party.  Stephen's family came to our house and we played and ate good food.

The kids were pulled around in the sled.  Ollie would NOT step foot in that thing.

On to the games and food.