Missing Tooth!

Wyatt lost his first tooth last week! He was so excited to finally join the club. His tooth was pretty loose and he was sick of toying with it so he decided it was time to come out. He went to the bathroom and yanked it out all by himself. After some serious mouth rinsing to get ride of the bloody taste he was ready to show off the new gap in his mouth.

Laine's 1st Birthday

January 2nd was Laine's birthday and since we were on the road for her special day we celebrated with Jeff's family when we got back. We had a fun little party with Mary, Derek and Stephanie, and Wayne and Opal. She got some cute new clothes and some fun little toys. I've decided that purple is my favorite color on Laine. She's just so cute!

Happy 1st Birthday, we love you!

Christmas in Colorado

We spent Christmas in Colorado this year with my family. Yes...we made that drive again! That's twice this year. :) But it's SO worth it. We love being there and the kids are actually getting pretty good at spending 2 days in the car. The drive went well despite the winter weather. We arrived on Dec. 23rd in the evening. We stayed for 2 weeks and then left on Jan. 2nd. (Laine's B-day!) I wish we could have stayed a lot longer but it was time to get back to home and real life.

We always take so many pictures while on these trips and I have a hard time narrowing down which ones to post. So, as usual I posted a ton and I think I'll just let the pictures tell the story of our trip. Enjoy!

Christmas Eve - the kids got new jammies (our family tradition) from Grandma and Grandpa Cribbins. We love Madagascar! :)
Santa brought Laine a really fun toy and she loves it!
Grandma Cribbins set up a special surprise for the kids while we were there. She got us "gold tickets" to ride the Polar Express in Durango CO. This was such a wonderful experience and one the kids won't forget. Once you board the train the conductor comes through and punches every ones tickets, like the movie. It was so fun to see the whole punches fly all over! Then they served hot chocolate and cookies while they narrated the book. Then we arrived at the North Pole and Santa boarded the train and gave each of the children a bell from his sleigh. It was so special. Wyatt said and I quote, "Grandma, I feel just like the little boy from the movie." We sang Christmas Carols the whole ride back to the train station and then walked through a train museum and saw some really neat stuff. We could tell the kids were so happy by the looks on their faces and by their cute words. At one point Shane spontaneously exploded with this statement, "Wyatt" he yelled, "I Love you!" Thank you for an amazing time Grandma!







There was plenty of snow while we were there and the kids logged some good hours of sledding, whether it was behind Grandpa's quad or on the big hills at Zero Summit.


The most wonderful part of the trip was the birth of my new niece, Danica Janae Cribbins. She was 6 lbs 8 oz and 18 inches long. She has the most dark hair I've ever seen and she is so beautiful. She is a perfect and sweet little girl and we are so grateful we were there to welcome her into this life!

Just before we left we were able to take an evening and celebrate Laine's 1st Birthday. I can't believe she is one already. We had a yummy cake that Laine loved, and opened presents.

And of course what would a trip to Montrose be with out a night or two of poker!!
We are so blessed with our family! Thanks to all for a most wonderful Christmas.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving dinner was at our house this year. We had a nice gathering of Jeff's family. His grandparents Wayne and Opal Allen, Kathy and Leo O'Dore, his mother Mary and his father Ron. It was the first Thanksgiving we've spent with Ron in town for a long time. He lives in Modesto CA and drove up to spend the week with us. It was so nice to have him here and the kids just love Grandpa Ron. We had a ton of good food of course and ate to much. Both Ron and Wayne are excellent cooks so we really enjoyed our feast. Mary brought Derek and Stephanie's new puppy and so he and Oscar had a great time playing. Bolo is his name and nipping is his game! They get a long great. It was our first holiday with out Willie and we all missed him a lot. The kids got new jammies and are sporting them in the pics.

Great Wolf Lodge

We took the kids to the Great Wolf Lodge this winter. What a fun place that is! We all had a blast in the water park and I am so proud of my kids. They were so brave and rode on all the rides (that they were tall enough for). There are 4 pretty big water slides for big kids, smaller slides for younger kids, and even a toddler area perfect for babies and toddlers. They have a wave pool, arcade area, and really fun rooms. The kids were at a perfect age to take them and they all loved it. We left Laine home with our good friends the Moulton's. She would have been ok but it would have been difficult to do all that we wanted to while holding her. Next time Laine! I hope we can make this a family tradition every year!

Shane's 3rd Birthday

On November 4th, 2009 our 3rd child turned 3!! Shane is a sweet little boy that makes us smile and laugh. He's just so cute and tiny! He is fun, happy, and always ready to play. He has a huge sweet tooth. If I let him he would eat candy, cookies, etc. and drink chocolate "mook" (as he calls it) all day long! He is big into trains right now as you can tell from his reaction to opening his gift. I wish the picture wasn't so dark but you get the point. :) Shane is funny and always makes me laugh. Here's an example. It's a little irreverent but cute non the less. A few months ago we were in the car heading out and Shane let out a huge burp. I was so surprised by it that I looked back and said, "wow buddy. what do you say?" I was expecting excuse me but that's not what I got. Shane was just as surprised as me. He looked at me with his big blue eyes and said, "Mom, I just farted out my mouth!" I laughed so hard, too funny!

Shane, we love you so much and we are so grateful that Heavenly Father sent you to us!!
love,
Your Family

Halloween 09'

Here's our crazy crew

Abigail: a little Chinese girl
Wyatt: Darth Vader
Shane: SWAT team member
Laine: the cutest Tootsie Roll you've ever seen!! Couldn't you just eat her :)