Oh the fun!!!!!!!!

Santa left a huge pile of gifts for the boys.

Christmas was a complete success. On Christmas Eve we went over to my parents house in Meeteetse and had our traditional chili and oyster stew. There were so many gifts and even more wonderful food. Jason and Jake had a great time. It was so much fun that on the drive home, they both fell asleep, but not before we saw what resembled Rudolf's nose in the sky above Thermopolis. I am sure it was Santa and so is Jason.

The next morning Colin and I prepared for our first day of hosting Christmas dinner. Colins brothers and grandma couldn't make it but we still had a house full. Colin started frying the turkey while I started the prime rib. The turkey finished on time but when I went to put the meat thermometer in the prime rib, it went backwards. My first thought was, Colin broke it. It turns out that if something is cold enough a meat thermometer runs backwards. A lesson learned. But after some quick thinking, the prime rib was back in the oven and turned out to be one of our best beef final products ever. There isn't any left as of today and almost no turkey. YUMMY!!!! As Colin said earlier, leftovers are the BEST!!! We are all about good food.

Moe likes all food though. Some of the peanut oil spilled on the concrete and saturated some dirt. So she had the grand idea of eating as much oil rich dirt as she could.....It wasn't the boys that kept us up that night, but a very sick Moe. Dang dogs.

Yesterday we woke up to find snow and a lot of it. Roads were horrible, but it was very pretty. Today the sun is shining as we continue to clean up from our big holiday. Tomorrow it is official that Colin and I have been married for 6 years. I can't believe the time has flown by like it has. Then on Tuesday our little guy will be 3 years old. That is even more difficult to take than our anniversary. But to break things up we are taking a family vacation to South Dakota. It should be a blast. The is nothing like New Years with the Donners, Pollyhahas, Scotts, Franks and us Moodys. It should be quite the bash.

I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas. Have a great New Years and be safe.............

Jake loved his new tractor... it is good to chase.

Jacob was ready for a nap after eating a lot of paper.

Jason couldn't open enough presents.... but at least he shares with Jake most of the time.

Jake getting his ride on. He didn't even end up in a heap when he got off of his new car.

Jason loves the new camera that he got from Grandma Denise and Grandpa Shane, so much that the batteries are already dead and the memory is full.

The boys were so excited about everything they opened that it was difficult to move on to the next package.

Jake eating more paper.

Jason has been working on everything since he got his toolbox. We even found out that the hammer retains water when he worked on the bath tub.

A kid and an adult can never have too many cars.... Santa hit a home run with the play mat.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

We just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!!!! We are tracking Santa. If you would like to just go to the Norad Santa Tracker. He has already started his very busy trip delivering to the good girls and boys out there. We have one boy that is anxiously awaiting his arrival and another that could possibly eat the tree before he gets here.

I have sent out Christmas cards to many of you, but some haven't made it to the Post Office (SORRY!!!). Here is one of the pictures from the card and I promise I will get those out in the next week. We would like to wish all of you a Merry Christmas again. May your holiday be merry and your bellies full.

CALL IT SOLD!!!!!!!!!

The day finally came. After waiting and turning into a semi-bi-polar mess for the last month and a half, closing day came. I had my first emotional toilet cleaning episode.... it was a little embarrasing, but part of my way to let go of the house. I cried the entire time I cleaned. Who knew that a person could get so attached to a house. A very nice couple with 3 kids bought it and I hope that they have as much fun making it their home as we did. Now we are looking forward to making a home here. This was just the last big step so that we could persue a new adventure with the focus we need. At 9 am we signed the papers and after all of that crying and blubbering, it was anti-clamatic. Pretty wild stuff. The lesson we learned was it is much more difficult to sell a house than it is to buy.

As soon as we sold the house we decided we were lost without a big payment (that is what it must seem like to everyone anyway), so we bought a pickup as well. I really think we should be put in the looney bin for trying to cram so much in one day. Look how much we cram in to the end of December.... we are asking for it. It has been quite the day. After all of the bad roads I didn't have any daylight to take a pic of Colin's new work pickup, but I will soon.

After going through two very busy days we are exhausted so it is wind down time. I will post pics soon. Have a very Merry Christmas, I know we will. Drive carefull in all of your adventures. Talk to you soon!!

The big man in the red suit!!!

Colin wrestling with the boys.

Santa came to story time today!!! Going into this we knew that it would be an extreme for Jason. He would either love Santa and not leave him alone or be terrified. We tried to prep him for the big day and even made a list. But when the big moment came, he freaked. Thank goodness daddy got off of work for it and grandma Connie even came over. After a few kids sat with Santa and Mrs. Clause, Jason and Jacob had their turn. Jason tolerated Mrs. Clause and Jake loved Santa... More hair to pull. It was a success though. Jason gave Santa his list and really hopes he gets a dinosaur (a real one, not a toy), a car, a train, and this morning he added volcano to the list. Who knows, maybe Santa will be able to fit all of that in his bag, but we will see.

I have included some pictures that I have taken in the last week and would also like to report that Jake is on the mend. He is sleeping better.... actually in 4 hour stretches again. It is so nice to actually get some sleep. Now only if Jason would start to sleep more. We just didn't luck out and have kids that like to sleep. Some might say this is payback for when Colin and I were kids. They are probably right.

I don't know if I will get another post done before next week. But, after closing Monday I will definitely have some stories to share. Have a great rest of the week. Enjoy!!!!!

Santa and Mrs. Clause greeting the kids.

Jason's reaction to Santa. Colin kept him calm.

Jason was not impressed by Santa.

Jacob was getting ready to grab Santa's wealth of hair.

They finally posed for a good picture.

The yellow marshmallow, not happy about getting bundled to go out in the Zero degree weather.

A very tired big boy.

Jacob found the tree and it has become a real problem.

brrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!

I mean it!!!! It is cold. Our heat can only do so much. This has left us longing for a fireplace once again. I can tell you if the next house we buy will have a fire place if we have to put it in on our own, it will!!!!

I know I promised pictures, but things got a little crazy on this cold cold weekend. I mentioned in my last post that Jake was sick and teething. It turns out that he was more sick than we thought. After a nap on Friday evening he woke up with a raspy voice and a dry cough. Colin stayed calm while I basically freaked out. All of these horrible stories of babies with pnemonia and croup went through my mind. Then Colin brought me back to reality, reminding me that as long as he didn't have a hard time breathing and it didn't sound like he had fluid in his lungs he was probably ok. And if worse came to worse... there is a hospital here that we can go to at any time. There have only been a few times in my life that this convinience of a close hospital have made it worth living in a bigger town... but this was one of those. Although Thermopolis really is quite small.

That was a long night that involved a late night warm bath for Jacob and a lot of snuggling on the couch. Oh and we can't forget the humidifier. Needless to say, sleep wasn't high on the list. Saturday morning Jake woke up full of goo (thank goodness for asperators or as Jason would call it... a nose sucker). He was happy, croaky, but happy. Since he was eating well and still his wild self minus the voice and with a little bit of cough we decided that he didn't need to go in.

As night approached Jacob got a little worse but we decided it was because he was tired. He was still eating well and wanted to play with Jason. To make Saturday night better we put books under one end of his crib so that he wasn't laying flat and cranked the humidifier next to his crib. Finally we had a night of good sleep. He was still croaky and coughed some, but was able to sleep a little better.

When he woke up, he was acting more like himself than he had in a week. Jacob still doesn't have a voice, produces more goo than I have ever seen, and he coughs some, but his fever is non-existant and he is on the mend.

This has been the most frightening cold I have ever had one of my kids go throuh and it isn't over yet. It has been a huge learning experience as well. One thing we sure know now is that I am the one that panics and Colin plays it cool........... go figure.

A funny side note that I forgot to mention before is that every time Jason puts on snow pants he considers himself a hockey player. Also, there are special hockey player songs.... only Jason knows the words......While I am talking about Jason's musical abilities, he is an excellent song writer. He is better than me anyway (it doesn't take much). Here are a few lines from one of his latest songs..... I'm singing a song, fa la la la, I got stuck in there (as he points to his closet), Oh yeah!

I have to get... take care and drive careful....

A tale of teeth

It all began late Tuesday night............ Our usual 3 hour stretch of sleep was cut short..... very short. The screaming rang through the house. If I didn't know better I would have believed there was a bull horn involved. I went into Jakes room to ckeck it out and see what was going on. He was so upset and I have never seen so much face goo. I really mean it.

That was a very rough night. Thank goodness Colin helps out a lot on rough nights otherwise it would have made for even a shorter night. I believe we got 3 hours of sleep a piece that night. The next day was story time so I toughed it out with the boys.... in a haze. Colin toughed it out at work and we were hopeful that the next night would come with more zzzz's. But, after a day of Jake crying and Jason picking on him......... we couldn't have imagined what was coming. Just before Colin got home Jason decided that all Jake needed to be happy was to be tackled. It was nice of him to try but wasn't as effective as he had hoped. As Jason flew through the air I could see the look on Jacob's face.... his eyes got big just before they closed and he instinctively huddled into a ball on the floor. The impact was one that you see in movies. Jason hit his little brother with such a force that both of them rolled accross the floor and then the real screaming began.

We toughed it out through dinner and it only got worse. This should have been old news for us and we should have understood what was happening since we had been through it once before, but we didn't remember. With more screaming came a fever and less sleep. I was baffled and was convinced Jake was experiencing his first cold. Then he began the chewing. Chewing on anything that crossed his path. One good thing about this was that it muffled his cries. The poor dogs went into hiding after he started to chew on them.

Last night we had a break through.... literally. Jacob's 4th tooth broke through. He was still cranky, but we got more sleep last night than we had in the 3 prior nights combined. Hopefully this is the last tooth that causes us so much grief.

Jason has been a trooper during this cry fest.... even though he has had what I call brother moments...... the sneaking in a kick, pushing his brother over, and yelling at him. Most of the time he is a helper and hugs Jake and tells him stories.

Now we are just hoping that we have a lot of sleep in our near future. Ther is a big storm coming our way so maybe the kids will want to rest too...... since we can't do a lot outside when our highs are near 0. Have a great weekend and I will take some pics of the boys and post them over the weekend........... ENJOY!!!!

Getting into the season

For the last month I have been a little disappointed with the thought that Jason wouldn't get to see Santa this year. He is really into Christmas, wanting to give gifts, and make cookies for the big man in the red suit. So, I feel like making a list and giving it to Santa in person would just top it off. But, I had come to terms with the fact that we missed the one weekend he was going to be here to visit with the kids.

Yesterday we went to story time and found out that Santa is going to make a special stop next Wednesday. He requested that moms bring treats and kids bring lists. Jason was so excited to hear this and I was somewhat relieved. Now the question is, when Wednesday comes will Jason be afraid of Santa or will he be ready to share his list? I will bring my camera and document the occasion so that you can see the big moment.

Have a great day and we will try to post more pics soon................

Christmas Tree Hunt

Today we made the big exciting trip up the mountain to get a Christmas tree. We began with a cranky Jason and a very happy, but equally tired Jacob. The Franks boys were so ready to make their kill and mom and dad were just ready to watch all of us on this exciting day. Colin and I were so couldn't wait to take the boys to get there first Christmas tree...... that wasn't from a store.

Grandma Denise with the grandsons minus Jacob.

Colin, Jake and Dave ready to bring in the bounty.

Jason and I trying to take a self portrait............

Grandpa ready to see what we can find..... he had his doubts.

It wasn't long and we were on the hunt. I am one of those people that doesn't really get into shopping or anything like that..... it turns out, my patients for tree hunting is very similar. I picked a tree out before we even got out of the car. Sure, we looked around a little more to find one for mom and dad. Dave and his boys were trying to find the perfect tree as well. After a little more looking we found mom and dads tree and then chopped the two down. Dave and the boys had to look far and wide to find the perfect catch. While they did that we ate and tied the tree to the top of the Envoy..... didn't get a picture, but I really should of.... it was very hillbilly, but effective. Once we were finished, we heard the Franks boys coming our way with the perfect

tree. I think Jennifer will be proud of her men.

Colin and Jason going out to look at the tree I picked.

Jason waiting to use the saw.

Jason and Colin working hard.

Grandpa Shane leading the pack.

Sitting in front of our tree before it was cut.

Overall it was a great adventure. But, there was still one more step.... decorating the tree. We got right to it when we got home. To our surprise, Jason didn't want to help and Jake could care less about the tree. So, Colin and I enjoyed ourselves and decorated without assistance. Now we have an awesome tree and are totally in the Christmas mode. I hope all of you had a great weekend and I will post more soon, enjoy!!!!

Our fam in front of our kill.

Our finished product.

Laughs

The boys can make anyone laugh, cry, and at times even make you want to pull your hair out. This is our version of the good the bad and the ugly with love sprinkled on top. You can walk around our house and here laughing for no reason... a lot of it too (I have some video of this), then the next second there is screaming... usually because Jason tackled Jake or one of them got hit (they love each other, but like to fight). But there is nothing more sad than when they are hurt, emotionally or physically. The recent glasses issue with Jason was one of these moments. Sometimes... a few nights every week, all I can think is that it is a good thing they are cute and we love them so very much, because the little bugs don't like to sleep. Talk about hair pulling moments... this is a big one. In reality, those kids are hard work, but boy are they funny. Here are a few pictures and videos of our little ones. I hope all of you have a great weekend. Look back next week for pictures of our Christmas tree hunt. Take care.....................

Look at that face of violence.... right after this he hit his brother with the golf club.

Cute men.

Notice the Lego tower that Jason and Colin worked so hard on.

If you look closely.... there is a deer standing on two legs. Evidently when it snows, the deer go to extra lengths to get the crab apples.

Once again, Jake has the golf club... watch his face closely.

My funny men.... doing what they do best.

Who needs a radio

Jacob loves it when his brother sings......

This morning Jason decided to put a concert on for Jake and me. It was quite an amazing production. Jake had a classic reaction, which I caught on camera and I took a little video so that you could see for yourself.

A good one

The boys, ready for a play date at the park


Jason loves to swing.


Jacob learned that there is nothing quite as good as playing in the dirt.

Cute baby.

Look mom, I am taller than you.

WOW!!! That spins fast!

This year the long holiday weekend was soooo much fun. There was a lot of good food and we had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with all of our family. We spent Thanksgiving day at Jennifer's house and then that night with Colin's parents. It was a blast. Jason really likes hanging out with his cousins and his Uncle Brian. Overall it was an excellent time of eating and visiting... with an emphasis on relaxation. Now we are just getting all excited for closing on the house and hosting our first Christmas dinner.... CAN'T WAIT!!! I have a huge menu planned, something for everyone. I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving. Take care!!!

Jake having his first chocolate.... an Oreo (did you know they are vegan?)

Jason showing his musical side.

Getting cleaned up.

I like Oreos too.

Clicks and giggles

This morning I slept in just like every other weekend morning. I get up with the boys (last night they really didn't want to sleep) in the middle of the night and Colin gets up with them early in the morning (they rise around 5 am). Needless to say, we were all very tired today since by sleeping in I mean 7:30 at the latest. I just can't sleep any later than that. On with the story.

Seeing the boys and Colin had accomplished a lot this morning, I felt like I had to get the garage cleaned out enough so that we could fit both cars in it. So I went to work. By the time I was done I was feeling pretty good about myself and was pretty excited that both cars were indoors. But, I was still pretty tired. I decided I had better vacuum before taking a shower so I ran through that project. Thinking that a shower would help me wake up a little bit I made it pretty high on my list this morning. Just as I was getting ready to get in the shower I heard a sound. It kind of sounded like a series of clicks... almost like a cricket, but a little different. Flashbacks of the cricket hunt in Casper flashed through my head. Then I heard the sound again. So, I postponed my shower for a few minutes to try to find the source of the sound. Despite my efforts I couldn't find where the sound was coming from so I got in the shower. While I was washing my hair I wondered...... Could I have imagined the noise? I am pretty tired........ By the time I was clean I convinced myself that must be it... I must be tired. But, when I got out I heard the noise again. So I got dressed and began to look. But, whatever was making the sound must have stopped. Forgetting about the wild chase I went into the livingroom to play with the boys.

Then Colin went down the hall toward the bedrooms. After he had been gone for a while I saw him in the hallway staring blindly at a wall. When I asked him what he was doing, he said "You will think I am crazy." Finally he admitted that he heard a strange noise.... possibly a cricket. But, he was sure that he was just really tired and hearing things. He was just so thankful that I heard it too. Colin was a little worried that his next stop would be the funny farm.

After a good bit of laughing we decided that we had better find out where the noise was coming from. So we went to every room and waited for the cricket noise to start. If you can picture ears on doors, floors and walls........ you are beginning to get the idea of how crazy we looked. Jason got right in on the hunt. We both kind of expected to find a little bug. The closets were emptied out and we couldn't find a thing. After quite a bit of time passed and we were just about ready to give in and just live with the annoyance, we realized it was in the hallway. Could it be in one of the light fixtures? Just as Colin was removing a globe from one of the lights, the sound went off again. It was the smoke detector. Not only was the battery dead, but the alarm was worn out. It actually sounded like a cricket.

The moral of the story is, if you think you have a cricket in your house, check the smoke detectors. Have a good one.

Adjusting

The little men trying to get the camera. They think they are sooooo funny!!

Things are really beginning to fall into place for us. Jason is getting used to his glasses. He even asks to put them on. This new world is pretty exciting for him. One thing that has really surprised us is his lack of attention span now. He used to read books for hours and his eyes would never leave the pages. Now that he can see, he gets distracted very easily. He loves to look around at everything that is going on. What a difference those glasses have made in his development.

Jake is wild. I really mean that. His favorite room is the bathroom (the toilet is basically the coolest thing since sliced bread). Crawling is definitely the way to get around as well. He is beginning to discover that if you take the big Tonka dump truck, you can push it around the house without having your knees touch the floor. I think walking is in his near future.

We really are enjoying the house we are living in. It is beautiful here. Story time is so much fun as well. Jason gets into it and knows all of the songs now. Jacob even likes to dance with the songs. The only catch is that his head is so large that it throws off his balance and he usually takes a pretty drastic digger. Thank goodness for carpet. The inspections will be done on the house next Monday and I can't wait to get past that hurdle. Colin is still loving his job. I thought he liked it in Casper, but he is so much happier here. He goes to the gym every day and is really interested in every aspect of his job. Since there is so much to learn, he will not have a chance to get bored. It is pretty exciting. It is also a wonderful thing that he doesn't have to drive every day. He doesn't leave the house until just before 8am and gets home just after 5pm. It ROCKS!!!!

It has been a while since I have shared a funny story with all of you so here goes. The boys really do get along well. Jacob is mobile enough that him and Jason can actually play a little. The only catch is that Jason loves to play football. Even baseball (his version) involves some contact. It is the tackling that he really enjoys. So he will throw a football or baseball, Jake and Mae will get to it as fast as possible and just as one of them reaches for the ball, BAM!!!! Jason tackles. He isn't gentle about it either. He goes all out. It is a full dog or baby body slam, usually with a dive at the end. There are also some pretty wild sound effects... something like a lion going in for a kill, followed by a lot of laughing. When Jason gets up, Jacob gets his chase on. This is when things really balance out. You see, Jake got a third tooth in last week. It is one of his top front teeth. He also discovered that biting is more effective now. Those little teeth sure are sharp. You can see where this is going. Jacob chases his big brother down (he crawls fast) and proceeds to bite, HARD!!! Jason's only chance is to jump on something high like the couch or chair and remain there for a little while while Jake gets distracted. Thank goodness this doesn't take long. They are definitely brothers and sure do love each other...... this is just the beginning of many wild times to come.

Jason baking sugar cookies with his dad. Too bad the football player and the basketball players lose their arms and legs when you try to pick them up... The ravaged cookies tasted good though.

As we approach the big week of thanksgiving and the season of eating..... GO TURKEY!!!!! Take care and if you are traveling this weekend be careful. Have a wonderful week and I will have more to report soon. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!! (a little early, but I can already taste the turkey)

A new world

Our big kid in his new specs (he gets to wear his pj's as long as he would like as long as he keeps his glasses on).

We had our hopes up that when Jason got his glasses it would be a smooth transition. It turns out this is going to be a very tough road. For nearly 3 years he has seen the world one way. It was his normal. His toys looked a certain way; everything looked perfect in his eyes. Then yesterday I brought him to get his glasses. The instant he put them on, nothing would ever be the same. He was instantly introduced to a new reality. In a way it was sensory overload. He has headaches, gets nausia, and is very tired. It is really hard to see him go through this. But, in the end it will be for the best. We can see a difference in his vision too. He doesn't hold things all of the way against his face trying to make out what it is anymore. I just wish I could help him get through this transition quicker and without pain. Things should get better though.

Raking leaves

Jake chasing me down.

I promised to share pictures so here they are. I will send more updates your way when things calm down a little. Take care and enjoy.

A buck out our kitchen window.

A little spike going down for a rest in front of our livingroom window.