New Year's Sickness...

Our trip up to the mountain snow brought more than good memories!

Kaylie joined Dannen at the doctor... such a great big sister :) I kept praying for a certain nurse not to be there, but those prayers were NOT answered. I thinks she's nice, but when it comes to my kids, as most I'm sure, you should NOT come in the room and proceed to explain SLOWLY what you're about to do and give him the option of when to begin. SERIOUSLY!?!? Come in, walk up to him and say "Hi! Okay, Dannen, open your mouth real quick", shove the q-tips in, do the most uncomfortable to have done and to watch swab, say "sorry, but good job! all done :)" and leave the room. Holy terror! It took 10 minutes of her chatting, me holding his hands in his lap and head to the wall, another nurse standing by to "pin him to the table if needed" and Kaylie freaking out saying "He'd crying, hurry up!" She finally got the swabs in, and REALLY far I might add, which caused him to gag in between coughing, which led to him throwing up everywhere! His clothes, the table and my hands were loaded with it... poor little guy :( NOTE TO NURSE, DO NOT HELP EVER AGAIN UNLESS YOU'RE READY TO RUN FROM THIS MAMA!!!

Dannen was a trooper, being really good for the doctor, answering all of his questions, and even laughing really loud, saying "You talk funny!" at one point... Kaylie burst out laughing, too!

The diagnosis was Croup (oh what a horrible sounding cough he has!) and Bronchitis... three meds, one treatment tube, and $70 out the door (thank God for insurance!). We were ready to be done for the night.

Hoping our little guy feels better real soon! Even through everything, he keeps smiling and sharing hugs :)

SNOW!

When the first round of snow for this Winter was projected to hit, I vowed to take our kids "UP in the mountains" to make snow angels. The little bit of snow we had at our house was just enough to touch and smile at, but nothing like what awaited us...

It was absolutely breath-taking...

 The kiddos kept asking if that's where we were headed...

 I've become quite good at taking pictures as I drive... wish I would have remembered my camera, but the phone worked well :)

 Couldn't believe the trees everywhere...

 SO many perfect Christmas trees to see...

 The ice hanging off the cliffs were awesome!

 "Can we take one home?"

 As promised, we made our stop way at the top, where everyone could get out and play :)

 The beautiful trees were soooo close!!! This is one of my favorite because it's not zoomed or anything, just taken from where I was standing, kind of in a little alcove...

 Our little snow angel :)

 Kaylie was readying herself for a snowball fight...

 What a sneaky smile!

 Both Makenzie and Daddy threw snowballs at each other and turned to try and escape the coldness...

 The war was on!

 Pretty stream running through all the snow and ice...

 Yup, Makenzie got a snowball in the face lol

 Kaylie (love the freckles)...

 Makenzie (still sporting a few tears from the snowball)...

 Dannen (and his kool-aid lips)...

 My loves...

 Hahaha, got Dannen to look just as I threw snow at him!

 Daddy was ready to head to the van... next time we wear good gloves and a few more layers! lol

 Heading back down the mountains...

 Such a sunny day!

 Good-bye first round of fun snow...

...can't wait for more!!!

Savvy Shopper

I love seeing my kiddos happy... especially when it comes from a super savvy purchase! I went to Wal-Mart to pick up some medicine (yes, the germ bug is still in our house) with Kaylie. While wandering through the toy department, my little sale-finder jumped with joy... 

"Dannen would love this, Mommy!" And so the $1.50 Batman mask was added to the cart. Holy moly, you'd think it was Christmas day all over again LOL

 After browsing what seemed like a million clearance shelves, we found these adorable little dolls... seriously, I wanted one for myself! At $8.97/each, it was a great deal from the normal $19.97/each price. Their Christmas money paid for them, which meant I wasn't out any $ either- SCORE!

Cuddly Cats

Finally getting around to posting random pics of our cats... Sunshine is the cuddliest and the one who is around most often, hence why she's in so many lol

Kaylie resting with Sunshine

 Makenzie resting with Sunshine and Mommy

 Abby & Sunshine cuddling on Mommy's work

 Sunshine keeping Makenzie company while she feels yucky :(

 Sunshine keeping Dannen warm during nap time

 Sunshine (who was the most interested in the tree this year)

 Sunshine in her normal spot in the tree :)

 Sunshine chilling on the counter

 Shadow keeping Mommy company in the kitchen

 Boots on the prowl for a toy

 Sleepy Abby

 3/4 cats trying to catch a stink bug that made it's way onto the chandelier above our dining room table

 Sleepy Boots

 Abby & Boots hanging out together

 Smile :)

LOVE OUR CATS!!!

Merry Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS from our family to yours...

Christmas Eve started off with Santa's special plate full of cookies, milk and a carrot... Oh and our sweet elf, Chief. We had a great time having Chief a part of our daily fun. Can't wait to see if he comes back next year!

 Let the fun begin!

 First presents were cozy robes...

 This is when Makenzie realized she got the Barbie she wanted... LOVE Kaylie's reaction lol

 Ahhh... feel the love!

 Guess who loves her Penguin Happy Napper?

 Boots enjoyed relaxing on the wrapping paper...

 "That's my box?" :)

 Hugs & Kisses to Makenzie's new puppy

 Who knew how much fun sidewalk chalk could be?!?

 Sisterly love :)

 Yay for grippy socks :)

 Super cute!

 Lots of packages full of castle toys...

 Yes! The moment Kaylie realized her Lalaloopsy had arrived!!!

 BIG SMILES =D

 Music time anyone?

 This was BY FAR the most played with toy of the day... Grandma Carol gets big high-fives for this awesome noise-maker lol

 Kaylie and Makenzie got a big High School Musical Barbie house, along with 30 Barbies!!!

 Dannen LOVE LOVE LOVES Hawkeye from "The Avengers"!

 Daddy finally got some awesome tools... great job Makenzie for picking them out!

 "It's an Ogre!!!"

 Daddy loves his new KC Chiefs shirt from his Mom Carol :)

 Working hard at undoing the castle box... This was the first year we could sit back and watch our girls take everything apart 90% on their own! Dannen was a close 40% lol

 Love my happy little girl! Her new Baby Doctor Barbie is now the school nurse lol

 This castle is awesome!

 Even our cats got in on the toy action! Special treats and toys for all four :)

 Boots was guarding the Barbie house...

 Who's ready to battle?

 Happy little girl :)

 What a mess!!! 

 My boys having fun together... this is the first year Daddy didn't get "toys" for Christmas... wonder who had more fun putting everything together? 

 Oh yeah... this is awesome!

 Someone's getting tired...

 Oh, the Kazoo... 

 LOL Whenever Kaylie played the harmonica, Sunshine came running up to her face, trying to get it!!!

 And, he's out... enjoying his new comfy "Movie Time" blanket from Thirty-One. (I went with a movie theme in our living room, so this works great!)

 Cheesin' it up while playing together

Dannen made out this year... Big thanks to Fisher Price and House Party!

 Makenzie scooted off to play solo...

 Shadow was in the middle of an attack!

 Daddy's stash... KC Chiefs shirt & Kenneth Cole tote from his Mom and brand new tools/bag from us :) With a house, guess who gets to put all of these to use? 

So thankful for all my gifts... brand new bedding, picture frames, Thirty-One goodies that match my bedding, table mats, and kitchen mats :)

   Dannen looked so cozy in his new robe, watching "How to Train Your Dragon"...

My loves spent the WHOLE day in jammies and robes playing with their new goodies :)

So thankful for a great Christmas!

Let's not forget the reason for today... HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS!!! Missing our family in Heaven... especially my Dad :)

 Big thanks to everyone who helped make today so special with wonderful gifts... Santa (LOL), Zamma & Auntie (SUPER comfy robes, grippy slippers, tooth brushes, and microwave), Grandma Carol (Musical instruments, fun purses, sidewalk chalk, purse goodies, bathing suits, Webkins, Penguin blanket and buddy, Mrs. Claus aprons, snow globe, Baklava, cook book, KC Chief shirt, sweater, tote bags), Cousins Karen & Jerry (AWESOME craft items, writing utensils, notebooks, stickers, coloring frame, and great kitchen baking goodies), Grandpa Mel & Donna (Christmas $), Thirty-One (free personalized gifts), Facebook friends (HSM Barbie house & Barbies), Jason & Holly (the opportunity to be in this great house for Christmas), and family/friends who shared Christmas wishes. We're so blessed for another wonderful year together, celebrating such a joyous event.

~*~MERRY CHRISTMAS~*~