THIS JUST IN!

My sister sent me a picture she got of Santa's Tree in its entirety. (Well, except for the star.)

Blackbeard's Code

"Captain Grandma" leading the crew in a pirate oath.

Pirate Party

Carson's party turned out pretty good (as far as kids' birthdays go). I only realized afterward that I forgot to give the kids the juice I had for them to drink with their cake. Oh well, I guess no one was thirsty! My mom was a great Captain.

Winter Visitors

There is a troupe of about 4 moose that pass through our yard almost daily. It's like having pets that you don't have to take care of.

Hallie Helps Out

Hallie decided to help take down Santa's tree by climbing the ladder while we weren't looking. That girl has no fear! You might be able to grasp the size of Santa's tree by looking at our 6ft artificial tree in the corner in comparison.

The Wagon

The wagon is a favorite new item in the Fischer household. Provided by Santa, all the kids enjoy its capabilities. I look forward to summer, when it can be utilized outside.

Dinner at the Duck

Grandma and Grandpa Winters gave us the gift of a family dinner together without cooking or cleanup! It was great and surprisingly, the kids were great too. Carson and Tana are finally getting to an age where they can behave in a restaurant other than McDonalds for up to an hour. Hallie, on the other hand, wanted to get down and run, which was not an option! (That's her head barely sticking up above the floral centerpiece.)

Christmas Day

Christmas was great! The kids woke up to find that Santa had brought his own Christmas tree and it was REAL! It was also real BIG. Based on our 22 ft ceilings, I would estimate that it was at least 16 ft tall. I was bummed to see that we didn't get any pics of it in it's entirety. We had a great time openings gifts and having a Christmas brunch with the Howard clan, then off to the Fischers again in the afternoon to do more presents and dinner! Whew! What a day!

I Love Christmas!

Are these not the cutest kids you've ever seen?

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve we went to children's mass at the Catholic Church, then went to Grandma and Grandpa Howard's to hear Grandpa read the Christmas story out of the book of Luke and open presents from Great Grandma and Grandpa Winters. Then we proceeded to Grandma and Grandpa Fischer's for the Fischer Christmas Eve buffet and opening the Christmas Eve gift from mom and dad, which is always new pajamas!

Wrapping Christmas Presents

Here is Hallie trying to wrap herself.

Hallie Ridin' the Zebra

I spent all day yesterday trying to upload the video of Hallie on her zebra with no luck. The file was within the size requirements, so I don't know if it's our computer or our connection speed or what, but it's a bummer! The title is a link you can click to go see the movie -- it's very cute, in my opinion! She loves her Bounce and Spin Zebra!

Hallie's First Birthday Cake

Hallie enjoyed her first birthday cake. The first birthday is great, because mom gets to choose what kind of cake she makes, so I made a delicious coconut cake, which all the adults enjoyed consuming. We could have gotten some great shots of Hallie eating her first birthday cake, but Matt convinced our photographer to become a videographer, eating up the memory on the camera and thus leaving us with no pictures for the blog.

Hmmm...I've been tagged?

Well, I would like to participate, but this will be difficult. Whenever I am forced to think about myself, I draw a blank. So thanks, Dana, I just might be here all day!

10 Things you may or may not know about me.....

1. My favorite color is orange.

2. I am obsessed with dancing. Every type of dancing, but latin is my favorite. I would love to be able to do it myself, but I don't have the guts to get in front of anyone, so I just watch every chance I get. Matt has promised me that he will take dance lessons with me when we have a chance, aka, when the kids are grown?

3. I love the Jane Austin movies, especially the 5 hour A&E version of Pride and Predjudice, but have never actually made it through one of her novels. I used to consider myself a reader, but now I just can't make the time!

4. I have a life-sized poster of Elvis in my guest bathroom. I think Elvis had it goin' on! I know he's not the best role model, but I find him particularily hot in his mid-60s movie days. Girls, Girls, Girls anyone? If you haven't seen it, you should!

5. I have struggled with self-esteem issues since 3rd grade.

6. I LOVE babies, but 2-4 age range, not so much. :)

7. I used to think of myself as a good writer and pretty good poet.

8. I hate talking on the phone.

9. I love being a sports fan in the real world, for people I know and love. My best friends in college were two b-ballin' boys who I could sit on the sideline and cheer on at every beach court in SoCal. But I have no athletic skills of my own and I find cheering for colleges and professional teams on tv a bit ridiculous. I think a lot of people act like they're all into it because it seems cool. Not me. I love Super Bowl Sunday for the food. Usually I don't even know who's playing!

10. My husband, Matt, and I built our own house. Literally, we did everything other than drywall and garage slab. We had help from inexperienced slave labor such as my dad and other family members. We live in a beautiful 3200 sq ft house that we could only afford because we built it, and that's something I'm proud of.

Budding Actors

Carson and Tana (and Baby Alive) got to participate in the church Christmas program, directed by my mom. Carson was the only 4 year old in the main program -- as a patient in the waiting room and the subject of an x-ray pointing out the Holy Hole in our hearts! He did great under all that pressure! :) Montana stole our hearts (and so did Baby Alive) as sheep in the nativity scene at the end of the program.

Cookie Decorating

 

The kids enjoyed decorating cookies with our friends Macayla and Brenden Jones!