Surprise visit out west

Nathan had two weeks off the end of February so that he could prepare to take his 3rd Boards exam, however, he did not sign up in time to take the test in March and so he had 2 weeks to do whatever he wanted. So we decided to take a trip out to visit his family in Utah! Nathan's mom works at the church office building so we went over to visit her and show the kids Temple Square. Corbin took every photo opportunity to be a ninja.

I can see him in a few years acting, either as the white Jackie Chan, or a Power Ranger ;)

And I was trying to get him to put his hands down so here is a lovely piture of me :)

Nathan go to go snowboarding for the first time in about 8 years. Corbin thought his gear was totally awesome.

On the way home we stopped by Nathan's brother's home in Colorado. We had such a great time visiting our family. It was a much needed vacation for all of us.

CHRISTMAS Picture Extravaganza

Merry Christmas 2009! We had an excellent Christmas full of family and friends and fun. We opened gifts in the morning with Grandma and Papa who were staying with us. They were getting ready to move here the following week and it was so nice to have them stay with us. After the presents we had friends over for dinner and it was such a wonderful day. It was great to feel the spirit of the season and of the Savior as we celebrated his birth. Here is a TON of pictures from the present opening. I didn't take any from the dinner :( but you can use your imagination!

My kids adore candy! Just like any child really. But I am a terrible mother and never let them have any. But on special occasions like Christmas and Easter I give in. However they were not allowed to eat it all in one go. In fact we still have some of it and we use it as potty training rewards :) I'm so stingy like that.

Madalyn really likes this movie. She is into mermaids and has been since she was very small. So cute.

This year Corbin actually remembered Christmas and what happens during this special day. He was especially excited. Madalyn got excited only after she saw what was waiting for her in her stocking :) CANDY

She had both of these suckers in her mouth at one point. She has a serious sweet tooth.

Corbin had no idea what this was, but it had Batman all over it and he LOVED it! Nate uses an electric razer so he has never seen anyone shave with shaving cream or a straight razer. We had to tell him what it was all for.

Madalyn got this pretty bag filled with costume jewelry from the Disney Princesses. She is obsessed with the Disney Princesses right now.

Corbin really liked it too :)

This is a felt book with little Lightning McQueen cutouts that "stick" to the pages. We thought this would be fun for church.

Madalyn of course got a Princesses one.

Corbin was so excited about this gift. He still loves it and plays with it all the time :)

My kids love books, and she loved looking at all of the pictures in this one.

Oh boy! This gift was the bane of my existence for a while. My kids had never really had gum before, but they got to be really acquainted with gum after this. (I still love you Trisha!)

That is a look of pure joy and a little spite. (Ha mom! I will get candy no matter what you do!)

This was by far Madalyn's favorite gift. 7 of the Disney Princesses! Wuhoo mom!

Yet even more sugar. Fruit snacks :(

Madalyn got Tinkerbell ones. Look at that face!

This toy didn't last too long. But it was very cool. It was a wand with a ribbon on it that you twirl through the air. Both kids fought over it.

Here is Papa's present! A proud Marine Beanie.

Here is Madalyn with her ribbon wand.

Aunt Chelsea got this super awesome Batman! Corbin was over the moon about it.

Grandma got a cashmere sweater and matching socks :)

She also got some very excellent memory foam slippers. Pink of course. Nate got some cozy pants to wear around the house. Unfortunately they were too big so we took them back and got some that were completel different. But he is happier.

These are Princess Dominoes! Wo comes up with this stuff???

A very handsome shirt for Nate. He looks positively dashing in it.

And some new slippers. His old ones were trashed. Dad has been losing a lot of weight so he needed new shirts. So we obliged. He only wore it briefly though, he just keeps losing weight. Way to go dad!

My mom found this shirt, it is pretty funny! Nate really likes it.

Here is Madalyn all decked out in her jewelry.

Here is the princess with her two tootsie pops! She made out like a bandit. We all did. But we also made sure to share our bounty with others and remember the reason we celebrate at that time of year.

Afternoon at the Mall

After we went to the Zoo we went shopping at the Lansing Mall. My parents were allowing Nate to pick his Birthday present. He wanted shoes so we went and searched some out. Well, a couple stores, and a few tantrums later, we left the Shoe Dept. with two pairs of shoes, only one of which we paid for :) and found that we had two very hungry and angry children so we got some Sbarro for them and we all headed over to Chipotle. Nate and I had only eaten there once before, and my parents hadn't eaten there at all, but we all had a great dinner. By the end of it the kids had perked up considerably. Here is what they were up to right before we left:

They were singing and clapping together on the really high stools.

Isn't it amazing what a little food can do for you???

Madalyn went and sat with Grandma and Papa and told my dad to put all the things down that he was holding. She then proceeded to clap and sing "Do as I'm doing, follow, follow me!" while conducting Papa to do the same. Corbin couldn't resist and joined in the fun.

They had a great time together. It was so sweet!

This was right at the start. Corbin hadn't joined in yet and Madalyn was being very bossy to Papa.

Potter Park Zoo with Mama and Papa

We took my parents and the kids to the Zoo on saturday. It was perfect for my mom. Cool and a bit drizzley. One thing you are sure not to miss at this zoo is the Peacocks. They are free roaming all over the park. Here are two we saw canoodling on the fence, a third joined them shortly after. We especially like the albino one.

We also experienced the petting zoo for the first time while there. As you can see the kids really liked it. I had a hard time getting them to look at the camera.

I think Corbin wants to take one of them home :)

Madalyn wasn't so sure she wanted to brush the goats at first, but she eventually warmed up to the idea.