christmas, twenty-ten.

oh, remember christmas? yea, maybe i should post about it. oh boy.
also, sorry, but somehow my photos got kinda over-sharpened for web. wah. but i'm not about to resize them again. ;)

me and lu, christmas sunday. max decided to join in. classic.

i walked into the room and found this:

and max saying over and over again,
"was a night a-fore tismas."
[turn page]
"was a night a-fore tismas"
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you get the idea. ha! so sweet!

CHRISTMAS EVE:
aunt leslie's house.

this year we did christmas eve and les and steves, so fun! we had an appetizer dinner (why don't i do this more often?) and the kids got to open a present from eachother. oh, the imaptience. we also played bingo, which they all thought was aaaawesome.

they're a special bunch.

CHRISTMAS MORNING:
grandma and grandpa kettle's.

of course we stayed up late and got everything ready from santa! i really couldn't wait for max to open his gifts this year, i feel like this is the first year he really understood and anticipated the whole thing.

the spread!

stockings, santa gifts and presents from mom and dad. i finally made stockings this year out of wool felt and vintage tinsel, but umm, i didn't finish the tinsel on all of them. and umm, i didn't care.


max was seriously on cloud nine all day, he loved all of his new toys and even his new clothes!!

 max got a little box of sugary ceral in his stocking- a rands tradition. even ralphy (our elf on the shelf) made it for the morning.

later in the afternoon, the cousins ALLL ARRIVED!! 

it was a total party, 

and total chaos. 

i totally LOVED it. 

i rolled when i saw this picture. it was sheer craziness!

my love and my lu. lucy was seriously SO sick. feverish and lethargic the whole day. i felt so bad for her! she was the last one in our family to catch the most wretched case of the flu. i wanted to die.

NEW YEARS:
the cabin in island park.

the day after christmas we packed up and went up to the cabin! and we stayed through new years. it was so relaxing and peaceful hanging out there for a whole week. at first we were there with danny's sisters, then we were there by ourselves for a couple days, then a few of our friends showed up for new years eve! we did a lot of sleeping, relaxing, game playing and SLEDDING. WOW did we do a lot of sledding.

PEOPLE WHO WE WILL NOT JUDGE:

grandpa kettle for getting the snow mobile really really really stuck.
in his own front yard.
and for needing serious assistance getting out.
hehehe...

danny and nick for being the biggest freaks ever.

mini danny and nick,

who are probably more mature than big danny and nick. 

wow, a photo of danny and i! impressive.

so basically, 

christmas was awesome, 

new years was awesome,

idaho was awesome.

i wouldn't mind reliving this week right about now. 

oh, and p.s. 

a few people asked me to post my christmas decorations!

here are some detail shots, i thought i had some more wide shots so you could get the whole idea, but maybe i didn't. so no tree shot, no mantle shot. lame!

typical tuesday...

hot dog!

my TYPICAL TUESDAY was featured on the PLAYING HOUSE BLOG!

be sure to check it out... aaaaand

somebody quick, leave me a comment so i don't look like a loser. yes, i'm being serious.

and really, if you aren't already readying PLAYING HOUSE, 

you live a deprived life. it's like, 

hillarious, 

honest,

awesome,

creative,

postive,

mommy-hood blogging.

i love it.

and not just because rachel is my baby cousin. (which she is)

karson michael riggs

handsome karson- age 2. our last photoshoot before he was unable to come off his bi-pap  (breathing machine)

karson's funeral 1/18

our sweet little buddy karson returned to live with our heavenly father last thursday after a tough battle with spinal muscular atrophy type one. we loved every second if the 2 years and 8 months we spent with this guy and will miss him every second we're apart from him. however, i have no doubt that karson is free- no doubt running, jumping and  breathing DEEP. and for that, i am happy, thankful, and at peace.

karson's parents are some of our very best friends (really, FAMILY) so this has obviously been a very emotional and busy week, preparing for his beautiful funeral and saying our last goodbyes to this very special little man. i have a million things i want and NEED to say about karson. mostly about his life, but also some very sweet things about his passing. right now it's just a little too fresh and i want some time to think about what i'd like to say.

i just wanted to check in and say sorry if you've tried to get a hold of me this week and i've not returned your call or e-mail, everything has kinda been on hold.

and also, can i ask of you  just one small favor?

PRAY.

please say a few extra prayers for our dear friends Darren, Jody and Hadley that they can have peace during this time. because no matter how much you know that it was his time and that he's where he should be, losing your two year old son and brother is something i can't even fathom. if my own heart is broken, how must they feel?

Thank you.

Karson's blog HERE.
Obituary HERE.
My previous posts about our buddy HERE and HERE.

turtle man.

one morning earlier last month, i was just mesmerized by this little boy's sweetness. he was ecstatic over our christmas decorations (finally, someone around here appreciates them!) and just HAD to eat breakfast on the table- so he could sit next to the christmas houses of course!

after breakfast he was NOT interested in getting dressed. these days he only likes to wear underwear or sweat pants. because underwear makes him fast (duh!). pants don't. especially jeans. they make you the slowest apparently. he will ONLY wear them at school, and that's because i make him. it's sweats and undies right until we leave and they go right back on when we get home.  so silly.

anyway my underwear clad boy was bored, so i decided to tie a leash onto his favorite turtle for entertainment (thanks to my genius cousin rachel's cheap mom tricks). he. was. THRILLED. and before i knew it, i wanted a cape to go with his, um, turtle. 

?

and he was turtle man.

and he was awwwwthooooome. just ask him.

oh max, how do you come up with these things? you never cease to amaze and entertain me. one of my very favorite things about you right now is your imagination. you are constantly pretending, assigning the rest of us roles or talking to your toys... i hope you never lose that creativity. 

breakfast + "detowations" = perfection

lucy sleeping + max "sharing" = lucy awake

turtle on a leash + max in underwear and a cape (fabric scrap tied around his neck) = turtle man

turtle man runs fast. 

reeeeaaal fast. 

the end.

teacher gifts...

this is the first year we had teacher gifts to buy- it was tricky deciding what to get! i didn't want to do a traditional christmas cookie plate. 14 students x 4 preschool classes = a looooot of cookies.
so me and another mom got these cute mercury glass vases from tai pan, added some ribbon candy and giant candy canes and tied them up with some thick bakers twine, cellophane and vintage gift tags.  the candy is just to display in the vase, not to eat (unless you really want to). they were so cute i kept one for myself!  plus i think they made darling gifts for about $15 a piece. our boys have three teachers, so we went halfsies. =)

oh christmas tree...

we were a little sad that we didn't get to cut down our own tree in island park like last year, but the christmas tree lot didn't disappoint! we went with our neighbors the sorias and the kids had lots of fun finding the perfect tree.

little besties

 our tree! max was thrilled to be posing for a photo, obviously.

the soria tree! sid picked it out himself, which was a big deal. he was raised jewish so this was his first experience picking out a live tree... we were so proud of him. haha! 

clark w. griswald drives home from the tree lot, and our other family picture! heather decided she needed to be in it with us too. so funny! max forced himself into one of their family pictures earlier, i swear our kids probably don't know for sure who their real parents are. we always joke that we live in a commune with the sorias!

oh, and if you're wondering where lucy is, she slept in her car seat the whole time. she's a thrill a minute, that girl.

my lucy, 4 (and a half) months.

four months already? i could just die. time is going so quickly with the second, it's not fair! lucy is so sweet and happy, nothing beats a good snuggle with her. baby girl, you are just perfect and we can't imagine life without you! here are a few little things to remember about lucille this month:

- she discovered her toes and is constantly grabbing them.
-her first giggle was at mommy last week, it was the most adorable sound! her laugh reminds me of max's, isn't it funny how siblings sound alike, even as babies?
-she's all about the boob. she takes a bottle, but isn't too happy about it.
-she has been fussy the last couple times i've been gone for work/church duties, and to be honest, it secretly makes me a little happy that she misses me. =) i can't wait to get back and squeeze her whenever i'm gone!
- she is chunk-a-licious. rolls upon rolls on those thighs. i can't get enough of them!
-she's as smiley as they come, always winning over strangers with that big, open mouthed baby grin.
she sucks her fingers alllll the time- it's so cute, not to mention convenient! she usually likes a few fingers at a time, she's not too particular about which ones though.
-she's still a good sleeper, but she does wake up a little more than she used to though...? i think? the truth is, i just pull her into bed with me and feed her when she wakes up, and usually i'm not coherent enough to know what time it is. haha!


here are a few photos i took of lucy for the SASSY BABIES ad. one of the pics should run in the january home town values. yea, she's big time around here. haha! hat and diaper cover available at sassy babies in bountiful and gardener village.

and of course, one with max. who hates getting his photo, but can't let lucy have a shoot without him. ;)