Soccer, Snow & Santa

The boys finished their soccer season the week before Thanksgiving. They had a great season. Their team name was the "Bulldogs." Gunner started out a little timid at the beginning of the season but by the end he was very aggressive and competitive! He worked really hard on defense and became such a good little player he still asks if he can play in his soccer game almost every morning.

During the last game they played the "Transformers" and Gunner took this game very seriously and had some serious defense moves as well as blocked a ton of scores from the other team. It was really fun to see how athletic he is and how much he had grown as a player!

Caleb did pretty well at the games but most of the time, this was his favorite spot...hanging out with Dad!

Occasionally, he would borrow his friend's Dads to hang out with too. Thanks to Deacon for letting Caleb hang on your Dad too!

Gunner showing me his muscles. What a macho man!

Team cheer after the game! Go Bulldogs!

I love pics like these, cute little boys! L to R: Carter, Gunner, Ryker & Deacon.

Here's the whole team! (Thanks for the pic Rach!) Caleb is #7 and Gunner is #2. Way to go Bulldogs! We can't wait til next season!

Last week we were fortunate enough to go to the Polar Express in Williams. We stayed with my parents in Flagstaff. My family goes up every year for a few days to get away. The weather is really cold and there's usually never any snow. This year was different! We found ourselves in the middle of a huge blizzard! Fortunately we drove up the day before it hit so we woke up the next morning to our own winter wonderland.

For us desert rats, snow is rare so we were excited to see so much of the fluffy stuff! During our 2-day stay there was over 2-1/2 feet!

Trying my luck at capturing an artistic shot.

The kids had such a blast playing in the snow. Caleb wasn't the biggest fan of the cold weather. He tried it but liked hanging out by the fire and staying warm a little more. Smart kid.

On the other hand, Gunner couldn't get enough of it. He loved being outside and catching the snowflakes on his nose & tongue. Notice the walkway behind Gunner. The snow was up to his shoulders! So fun!!

Justin and Gunner jumped at the chance to make snow angels. Fun!

Gunner and I made our snowman we named "Fluffy." He rolled the mid section all by himself. We didn't have any carrots and couldn't find any rocks (since everything was covered in snow) so we made use of what we had and used a hot dog for his nose, blueberries for his eyes and buttons and cheetos for his smile. Aw, he's so proud!

Trying to make more snow angels!

Breezy had fun in the snow. I bundled her up so well that she couldn't move her arms very well. We called her our "marshmallow girl" cuz she was so squishy & sweet as sugar. Okay, that was a bit cheesy!

Breezy's signing "cold" here. She kept opening and closing the door to feel the cold air come out on her. Her hair was so wild, someone should tell her mother!

That night we made our trek to the Polar Express. This trip meant so much to us this year. I remember last year we were able to go but under such strict circumstances. Bree's docs ok'd her to leave for 24 hours. I remember being nervous the whole time because she had just completed another chemotherapy treatment. We feared that her counts would drop & she'd get sick and we'd have to rush her to the hospital. Fortunately she stayed healthy long enough to enjoy the fun and we ended up having a great time.

This year we went with a healthy Bree. It was wonderful knowing that she is all better. It was great not to worry about germs or sickness! We enjoyed each one of our children's faces as they boarded the train, had their hot cocoa & cookies, saw Santa & received their silver bells. Simply marvelous!

So, on to this year's trip...

We traveled in the blizzard and it was pretty scary driving in the conditions but thanks to my studly husband he got us there safely! Thanks babe, you have some mad driving skills!

Looking out the window waiting to see the North Pole.

Breezy loved looking out the window and also loved the fact that she had no car seat. She loved playing musical chairs the whole night!

My parents were able to come with us and we had a lot of fun being together. Thanks Mom & Dad for a good time!

The kids were so excited to see Santa! I dont know what Gunner was more excited about, Santa or drinking hot chocolate! (Notice the chocolate stains around his mouth!)

Caleb had a lot to tell Santa in his own language. He was excited to receive his bell. Bree loved seeing Santa from afar and would even say "Danta" but when he got closer, she didn't quite know what to do. It helped sitting next to big brother!

Gunner was ecstatic to see Santa and had just enough time to tell him that he was a good boy and wanted a Bumblebee transformer for Christmas.

This was our best attempt at a family picture. 2 out of 3 kids looking straight aint bad!

We hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas! The end!