Lovin' Every Minute of It... Part One: Piepers

 Alright, if you can think of the song I was thinking of when I wrote the title, I love you already! Truly, this is how I felt about our Christmas break... We LOVED every minute of it! We were lucky enough to have family visiting from Dec. 17-Jan 2nd! Isn't that great?! It's a good thing we live in Arizona, because I have a feeling that had something to do with it!


Ben's family was able to come visit first. We really had a fun time, even if we were busy getting things done too! SOME of us overbook ourselves *just a little*!! But all in all, we were able to spend a few Glorious days together laughing and just enjoying one another's company. SOME of us ended up injured, OTHERS ended up with ALOT of citrus and A FEW Krispy Kremes... Not a bad way to start the holiday season, right?!

What I have to keep reminding myself of, is that it's not WHAT we did (or didn't...) get to, it's who we were with. I can't think of a better crew to be with! The kids are still talking about "Pauuul," (Zach's favorite to say) Mary, and Hannah (and of course Grandma and Grandpa). Some of my favorite times were...
Cooking LOTS of crazy, yummy meals
Going to LOTS of parks
Running and Bike rides
The FUNNIEST white elephant gift exchange (let's just say Paul went home with the book, The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands!)
Cooking some more
Rainstorms
Picking THE BEST blood oranges, clementines and grapefruits
Entertaining Hannah's admirer's parents (he does like you Hannah!)
and Watching Cooking Shows:)

Zach patiently awaiting Grandma's return

 

from a much needed snooze!

Our little clementine picker:)

Miss you guys already! CAN'T WAIT for next Christmas!

Lazy? or Focused?

I just realized my most beloved sister (in law) had a baby two days ago and has already blogged that sweet little bub. I, on the other hand, am once again pushing a month between posts. Yikes. Is it just me or is anyone else feeling a sense of buckling down, focusing your efforts and finding some things get the cut? Whatever that means to you. It seems like everyone I have talked to this year is feeling the same way. Is it the current feeling in the air? or is it my stage in life? I'm not sure. Somedays I feel I'm just keeping our heads (collectively) above water, and other days, I just feel like there are other very important things to do:) Either way, I promise to get some Christmas/New Years pics posted soon. We love you all lots and are so grateful for each of you in our lives. More to come:)

Running... Santa Style

I'm really not that short, but Kallee is that tall:)

Our very own cheering section



Odd coincidence... Kallee and I actually planned to match
these two dental buddies are just on the same wavelength:)
A little freaky, huh.

 My DREAM race... dress up competition, carolers, cheering crowds all along the way, the GREATEST friend in the world by my side to talk to THE WHOLE TIME (other runners must've hated us), and Blue Bell Ice Cream sponsoring the event! So, if you are wondering what I'll be doing every year from now on, it's the 12k's of Christmas. We had a wonderful time and even ranked in the top 25% of runners (out of almost 1100). Ok, we could've been faster, but then how would we have had time to talk about all the things we needed to... like labor and delivery stories, where we want to open a dental practice, what to get our hubbys for Christmas, etc. :)

Balance... November Style

For those of you who noticed, I'm sorry. I haven't kept up with my blog like I would prefer. Ok, I admit it, I haven't kept up with much of anything this fall the way I'd like to... As my windows and the floor under my fridge are practically screaming:) Our family is coming to visit at the end of this week and all of a sudden I'm noticing all the ways I have slacked off, or as I like to call it "balanced" my life this fall:) As Ben has been increasingly kicked in the pants with school and I have been equally beat up with teaching preschool and running Z to physical therapy twice a week, we are doing a lot of BALANCING!

So, here's a quick rundown in pics of our past month. We had a great trip back home in November and a few other adventures on the way:) Apparently I forgot the camera most of the time, but we had a great time with everyone and miss you all already!


Playing with Gramps... they were having a better time than they are letting on...



Zach's 18 months!

Believe it or not, Gramps found this reindeer cookie recipe and
decided it was high time Ike have a project. They were TASTY
unfortunately, and super cute! Thanks Master Chef Gramps!

Best Playmates:) These two made a cave in the pack and play.
We sure miss having that Jenny Wren around:(



I had to add this for Jen: The 8 year olds "bonding" before Matthew's baptism.
Can't wait til our other kids are old enough to bond like that:)
Wait, maybe I can!



This photo does not even begin to explain how COLD we were
in South Dakota! Brrr! but way prettier than I expected:)

    

Trick or Treating like there's no place like home!

I'm no halloween extraordinaire. I am, however, LOVING that we are in a place where you can fully appreciate halloween and outdoor events. No coats. No jackets. No snowboots. No winter storm warnings. No hot cider (ok, I do miss that). No finishing when the sun goes down. THIS is halloween Phoenix style. We quickly found out last year that halloween around here is for everyone. There are events on every corner, for a week before halloween. Every neighborhood has a block party and if you want to have trick or treaters, you merely set up outside and watch the kiddos flock to you:) It's great.

Cute brothers... Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh MY!



Pumpkin Patch in the middle of the desert!?
Fun day with preschool
and the boys' favorite skeleton shirts that I had to wash
every night for the past two weeks! They DO glow in the dark
 and I got them on sale at Carters:)



The happiest Tinman! One of the girls at the Boo Bash was teasing
him telling him he didn't have a heart and how was he going to have
 a girl friend if he didn't have a heart. He replied, "In real life I do
 have a heart, right mama!"

Poor Cowardly Lion... fleece costumes are not conducive to 90* Phx!

Ok, this is the only pic I have right now of our whole fam, but the
Boo Bash took professional ones... so more to come. And no, Napoleon
is not part of the Wizard of Oz, but he is single, ladies (wink, wink)
AND he's going to be a dentist, if all goes well!

    This year, we were able to hit up a few parties including the Midwestern event on Friday afternoon and the Boo Bash (put on by the Az Dental Assoc.) on Friday night. Saturday, we laid low and went to the zoo and then Sunday we got together with our totally awesome friends to eat dinner in a pumpkin by candlelight and watch It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown and eat yummy popcorn balls. It was Great! I also have to mention, we (again) took first place in the Boo Bash Costume contest. Oops. I think I'll retire while I'm ahead! The greatest thing about our costumes is that for the 4 of us, I spent less than $20! I planned ahead this year and hopefully can do the same next year... with a little less last minute rush:) Ha! (Did I mention I have been telling Ben I want to SIMPLIFY my life to which he keeps replying with a sinister laugh and a "You wouldn't know how!") Thanks for the vote of confidence. I'll have to simplify AFTER the holidays. Did you know I LOVE holidays AND ANY reason to party??

You Arrrre 4, Isaac!

I always say this, but I can't believe Ike is already... 4! He is such a great little boy. I know I'm biased, but he's pretty special in our eyes. We had a Pirate Party this year at the park (something we may not always be able to enjoy at the end of October, so we thought we better take advantage)! We made candy skeleton necklaces, went on a pirate treasure hunt and ate skeleton cupcakes. Oh, and of course, played Pirates- there was lots of "ARRRRGGHH!" going on! It was a great day with LOTS for friends and fun! Thanks, everyone!

Notice Ben Walker's face in the background:)

Not all the kids, but some of the Pirate Posse

Who Is That??

Yep, Kanye West and Taylor Swift... I think our babysitter thought we were the coolest people ever!

FYI- it took 30 mins to paint on, including taping off the hair line... It took over an hour to wash out and another hour to clean the shower! I guess it was worth it:)

Poor Taylor, once again, Kanye stole her thunder!

For the record, I'm sitting on a old lady walker with a bench... I just thought it was a good pic of the rest of the girls!

Old Geezers:) I think they've been hanging out in Sun City too much!

Some of our friends threw a halloween party this weekend and there was a competition involved... If you know me, you know what that means... I spent way too many nights lying awake trying to decide what to be and spent a little too much time trying to convince Ben to do it... The results... We came home $100 richer and we had a GREAT time! There were some FABULOUS ideas for halloween costumes that I will be using in the future:) I think MY favorite was the Human Pinata and a Little Birthday Boy. What a fun night!