Fat Cats

Just after Christmas we were still in Ogden looking for something fun to do with the kids and my mom ended up finding a coupon to Fat Cats.  Since my kids LOVE to bowl we decided to go for it.  My dad was in San Francisco at a College Football Bowl Game so he didn't come.  

Dalin really gets into bowling.

They would get so excited to go that they would all get up and stand right by the balls.  Here I'm trying to show them the scoring screen so they know whose turn it is and what their score is.  We had to keep telling them to sit down when it wasn't their turn.  Good thing we had three adults.  My boys can be a bit much at times especially when they're excited.

Braden taking his turn. He bowls just like my brother Steven does.  He plays most sports left handed even though he writes with his right hand (just like Steven).  

Here's the pre-wind up.

Dalin gets really into it and hucks that ball as hard as he can.

Giving me the thumbs down when he doesn't get a strike.

Whoever took this picture of my lovely backside should be shot.  

Landon is Mr. independent (I wonder where he got that from?) and refused to be helped.  He did a pretty good job though.  Any time he hit any pins he would turn and yell, "I got a strike!"

He loves bowling on the Wii, but loves it even more in real life.

Throwing it as hard as he can.  It's tough when the ball is as big as you are.

Christmas at the Rounds

In all honesty I wanted to stay home for Christmas this year and had planned to have a get together with some friends on Christmas evening after we did all the normal presents and family things.  A couple of my friends and I started planning a nice meal and some fun things and then Dan said he would rather go up northward and spend the week with family since he got the whole week off work paid (He works for the Ute Indian Tribe and they are REALLY laid back.  No one wants to work so no one works).  We were going to go up the day after Christmas and spend a few days with family, but Dan wanted to go up the weekend before and get more time with family so we decided to do that instead.  Which meant we were at someone's house other than our own for Christmas (the down side) but we got to see everyone and spend a lot of time with family (the up side). 

So after the Coleman's came the Rounds. 

Before all the cousins showed up we had our own little family time with the kids and opened our own gifts and stockings and saw what Santa brought.  I got a lot of really good deals this year which I was happy about because we were on a tight budget.  Dalin and Braden got remote control helicopters which they've been wanting.  Dalin is really good at in now.

Landon got a remote control Finn McMisile from Cars2.  He loves Cars and Cars2.  He's all about Lightning McQueen or Lightning the Queen as he calls him, but Santa couldn't get him one unless Santa spent over $50.  Being the cheapskate that Santa is he was unwilling to drop $50 on a two-year-old's toy car so he got this one instead for much cheaper.  Luckily Landon loves it and it has now become one of his favorites. Plus the remote control is very easy and even he can do it.

Braden go his helicopter too and although he's not as good as Dalin (understandabley) he's still pretty good for a 5-year-old.  He also loves his Disgusting Science kit.

Dalin showing Grandma Sylvia his helicopter.  These toys drove my poor dad crazy.  I think Christmas in general was a little too much for my dad, but that's ok.  It took a while to figure out the helicopters.  They are much more involved than Landon little car.

Santa also brought boxing gloves.  Now they can all box with the safety of gloves rather than just fisting it which is what they've been doing.

Hey, yo Rocky!  Que music....

Braden checking out his stocking.

Now it's present time.

It was all I could do this year to keep Landon from opening all the presents before Christmas. He loved that they were all under the tree and claimed every one of them to be his.  This created many an argument from his brothers.

He loves this HotWheels track and I like that it's stuck to the wall instead of all over the floor.

Wow, did I really look that bad on Christmas morning?  I need to trade cameras with someone so I'm in some of the pictures.

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Dalin giving Daddy a gift.

Then the whole extended family came over and things got a little rowdy with all those kids.  My grandma Doris always gives such great thoughtful gifts, not the mention the cash hidden inside.  This year we all got books that belong in the same series from the same author so as we each read them we can pass them along.  We all thought this was a great idea.

Lots and lots of people, mostly kids everywhere.  It was fun chaos.

Here are the kids opening their gifts from Supergrandma.  That's what they call my Grandma Doris Because she really is super.

They also got a book and cash.  They were very thrilled as we love books at our house.

Grandma Sylvia got Landon some monster trucks, which he loves.  They are a bit big for his bed so I consistently have to talk him out of sleeping with them.

Grandma Sylvia and Grandpa Randy also gave Dalin and Braden some Nerf guns that they have enjoyed.  When friends come over watch out because it's all out war in our house.  Dan has also had a lot of fun with these.

Thank you for the great gifts!

Braden giving Grandpa Randy his gift.  It was so hard to take pictures this year because it was such craziness.  I realize that I missed some shots I should've taken, but that's ok because we did enjoy every minute of the chaos.

Korbin gave Braden some Nerf balls.  Another much played with object in a house full of boys.  I love Korbin's face in this picture.  Doesn't it just express every kid's feelings on Christmas?

Leah gave Dalin a Nerf football.  Perfect for when they play football.  Dalin's been wanting one for a while since they've had to play with a basketball before.

Kyla got Landon an ambulance.  Do I even need to say anything more about how much Landon loves any type of vehicle?

Christmas number two over with and we had such a great time.  Thank you to everyone for the thoughtfulness.

Christmas with the Colemans

We were lucky enough to spend a few days with each family this year.  First stop was Grandma Anne and Grandpa Ron's.  Our kid absolutely love to stay with them.

Braden with two of his very favorite people in the world...Grandpa Ron and Missy.  He spent many happy moments on this chair with Missy on his lap.

Mom, take my picture. 

He looks all grown up in this one.

Cute boys love each other...even if they don't always like each other. 

Enjoying a yummy meal together.  One of the things I love about Christmas is the food.

Another thing they love about Grandma Anne's house...the Legos. 

The Lego train is the best.  It used to be Dan's when he was a kid. 

And yet one more reason to love playing at Granma's house.  She gets out and plays with them.  Here she is playing slave....pull us, pull us faster.

We were able to go out and do some fun things while staying.  We went and saw Frozen and loved it.  I will admit that I find Disney movies quite entertaining.  I was very impressed with Landon.  I thought I would have to take him out several times and that he would want to run wild, but he sat on his own chair completely mesmerized the whole entire movie.  When it got over, he exclaimed "we got those bad guys!"

The next day we went to the Hardware Ranch to enjoy a sleigh ride and the elk.  The kids had a lot of fun and so did the adults. 

Waiting in line for the sleigh to come. 

Dalin and Braden thought the huge horses were awesome.  Dalin really wanted to ride one, but to no avail.

We really enjoyed the sleigh ride and informative ride out to see the elk.  They are really big up close.

We had to check out the horses again once the ride was over.

Then Dalin found a "secret hide-out" and they played there for a while.

While the kids played we warmed ourselves by this awesome fire pit.  Dan and I want to have one of these one day.  It was great the way they built it up and then had the stone seating around it. 

On the way back to the car the kids found a hill to slide down.  It was so slick they could just slide down on their bums or bellies.  I have to admit that I found the little kid in me and did it with them for about 20 minutes.  We had a lot of fun with it.

Then comes Christmas Eve.  It's fun to have Christmas over and over again at everyone's houses.  It's like one big day that doesn't end. Here's the boys giving Grandma her present.

Loving the anticipation. 

So excited to show Grandma her book of pictures.  Dalin felt the need to read it to her.

Grump face.

Then it was Grandpa's turn to open his present.

Ooooo's and Ahhhhh's.

Daddy's turn and one more grump face.

Now the kids get a turn.  They got hooked up at grandma's house with Legos, pajamas, and so on.

Finally Landon gets a turn.

Hmmmm, what it it?  That's a big box.

Yes!  It's a skateboard.  They've already had a ton of fun with these on the driveway in the snow.  We may have to get Landon one for his birthday because he thinks he's 8-years-old and can't bear to be left out of the fun. 

Now it's my turn.  Thanks for the gift!  It was amazing.

I love me some Hob Nobs.  They come from England for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about and they are delicious.

Now it's time to put the Legos together.  We spent over an hour helping Dalin and Braden put them together.  Go Nijago!  I have to say that my boys are very good at putting them together and can read and follow the directions great.  Braden just gets mixed up which side he should put it on.  They love to build with them. 

Still putting Legos together.

And one more stink face.  Notice the bucket of cars next to Landon.  He got a bunch of them and still carries them around wherever he goes.  He sleeps with them, eats with them, and they even go to the store with us. 

Legos, Legos, Legos.

That ends one happy Christmas with Colemans.  We had so much fun.  Thank you for all the great gifts and food and most importantly, the fun we had with you.