Christmas/New Years

So now we are up to Christmas and new years.  Brenda wanted me to make a step stool for James so he could participate in what we are doing in the kitchen so I did.  It was really a 2wk before Christmas gift though since he really wanted to see what was going on.  He likes to get on it and move it all over the place, and it matches the ceiling and cabinets so we like it too.

Took way to long to design it and make it so it could be a small toy box as well, but we never use it for that.

Cuteness

When the dump truck arrived from Aunt Tami it was making all sorts of noises in the box and he could not wait to get it open.  My parents came down for the 22nd-24th and we opened a few presents on the 23rd.

What is that I hear....a present??

Playing with said present.

The pillow pet was not a hit out of the box.  Uncle Joel and Aunt Missy did a great job picking a gift out.

He warmed up after a while and gave it a kiss.  He now rides the pet while holding onto the antlers.

 

Brenda's parents came on the 24th and stayed till the 29th. We had a great time with them as well. We opened the rest of the presents with them on the 24th.

I gave Brenda this pot.  It was a kind of "here woman...now make me some food" gift, but she loves it and we have used it a lot.

Brenda found this at a second hand kids store for like $10.  It drives, makes sounds, and has motorised arm so ti was also a hit.

Brenda got a hand made sign for the back portch which indicates the year we bought our house in Greenacres....also known as DeJong Acres.

 

Brenda's dad gave James a handmade tool box with a bunch of vintage tools he was able to paint and make look pretty cool.

 

It was a huge hit and he loves screwdrivers.  He is constantly trying to fix the couch and chair...not that it is broken.

 

James also likes to sit on the stairs and especially likes it when people sit with him.

James and Grandma Coloring

 

Where are we now...kind of fuzzy, but Ben and Laura came on the 29th and left on the 1st.

Again, another picture on the stairs, but this time with some friends his own size.

 

Addison and James on the step stool using it as a bench.

 We went with them to Downtown on the 31st for some fun time on the vintage carousel.  No matter how old you are it is actually quite a lot of fun.

 

Ashton and Addy had a great time and rode it three times.

James also had fun, but got scarred at one point when I was getting a but rowdy.

 

Then back at home and everyone gone and we got some snow.  We did not make another snowman, but James and I had a good time going around in the snow.

Brenda is getting bigger and we had an appointment yesterday that put the kid at 8lbs 5oz...I am so glad I am not a woman.  If the kid does not come soon we are going to have to get another c-section, which is probably the more likely scenario.

Christmas Tree time

So once again the time has passed and I am left to remember through a blog post, the fun that I have had this past month.  It started with the annual getting of the Christmas tree.  I do not look down or scoff at those who purchase a tree from a lot, but I like to think of myself as exceedingly cheap and drag my family (along with our friends) into the woods of North Idaho to search for the perfect tree.

Noah was not thrilled with the snow, but it did not take long and we had procured the perfect tree.

 

Said perfect tree....and the family is not to bad either.

Here we are hauling the 10' beast out of the woods.  I had to cut 3.5 feet off of the thing to get it even close to getting into the house.  Chris's tree was better looking, but nothing a little creative trimming could not fix.

Brenda was good at entertaining the kids during the search.

 

After all was said and done it was a nice outing and we got what we wanted.  A couple days later we also were blessed with a heavy snowstorm.  Although the snow only stayed around for a short time, James and I made the best of it.

The snowman may look good, but with it being so warm, it only actually stayed up for about 1 hour and the then the top rolled off.  I am going to need some practice to get this snowman thing down.

James had a good time, and so did I.  Man that kid is cute.

But for some reason he cannot wait till the spring.  He loves this little lawn mower I got out a dumpster at work.  He has no idea that it was supposed to blow bubbles, and he could care less.

 

Warning- the next post will be picture heavy and arrive shortly.

California or bust

We had two free tickets to anywhere in the US and we had to decide where to go.  It all started when I got fed up with Alaska Airlines.  I stopped using the credit card I have from them last year when they tried to charge me $75 for the privilege of having thee card.  Of course that did not go over well with me and I called to cancel so they decided to waive the fee for the year.  So another year goes by and I called to cancel the card again and they decided since I stopped using the card they would not waive the fee so the card was cancelled.  After it was canceled they informed me that all of my points would be removed from my account within 24hrs, so we had to buy tickets and quickly.   CA was the place and after we got the tickets, I scheduled work down there so we got to extend the trip and had a great time.  Did I mention I hate credit cards...Dave Ramsey is the new cool, and if you don't know what I am talking about you need to listen up and get a clue.

When we got there we drove down to Myron and Andrea Kamper's in Visalia.  James got to play with Jake.  While playing in the garage they found a lizard and put it in a bowl.

Jake touched it and so did James.

He loved to watch the thing run around outside.  It was the source of much yelling and high pitched screams.

Myron is a vet and I got a chance to go visit a goat dairy with him.  These goats look possessed.

Baby goats sucking the milk down.  This is they way to run a  dairy, very little smell, clean and dry...very neat to see and any goat milk you would buy in Trader Joes comes right from this dairy.

Back at the homestead.

The girls looking awesome as ever...not sure what they were laughing about here, but I think it was me taking the picture.

We had a chance to also visit my grandparents.

James had a great time with my grandmother, especially trying to figure out why her ear kept squealing (her hearing aid sweaks all of the time).

Then we hung out with the Schenks.  After dinner it is shirts off wrestling time at their house and man is it a good time.

Mo looks quite interesting in this picture.  She is one tough girl and those kids are so darn cute.

Clothing optional.

After Riptown it was time for San Jose.

We went to Harry and Mindy's house and they had a bunch of people over to connect with again.  Here James is embracing Lucy who was born the day after he was.  She talks alot, but James is much bigger. 

Mindy was due any day and she was showing.  It turns out they day we left to come home she gave birth at 6am...we did not get a chance to see the baby though.

We got to have dinner with Jeff and Jen as well and hang out with the two girls they have.  We were so thankful to have a place to stay and crashed at Drew and Amy's house.  They were very hospitable and we had a great time catching up with all of our friends.

This is the best sight for the whole trip though.  James has been on a kick of high pitched whining lately and 2 minutes of that feels like an eternity and makes you want to jump out of a car traveling at 60mph down the road.  I assume it is partly due to his inability to talk yet, but we have been taking steps to curb the whining like turning the radio up, taking deep breaths, and then putting him in his crib...when will it stop?????

Thanksgiving 2012

Some pics of the festivities for the Thanksgiving holiday posted a bit late, but we have been out of town on another trip and just got back so that is they way it goes.  Pics from that trip to SJ will be posted soon, but onto Thanksgiving and what all of that entailed.

Firstly we have a picture of Brenda in all of her glory.  She is indeed getting bigger and that is a good sign.  All of her appointments are going as planned and besides being a bit uncomfortable she is doing great.  No, we are not going to find out what sex it is, if you thought of asking.

Brenda's rents came up to us on Wednesday and then were were off to my parents place in MT.  When we got there James got a chance to tickle the ivories.  Although, throughout my childhood I was required to take piano lessons and was told when I hated it that I would regret not practicing and learning how to play, I am happy to announce I do not regret it.  Sure I would like to know how to play the piano, but I know how hard it is, and I am not willing to put the time into learning and have not looked back...sorry to disappoint you mother.

James liked going for a walk, but later in the week he did not like the walk so much.

One day we went up a canyon for a walk and James loved the snow.

Eating it.

And playing in the snow...he is going to have a great winter.

Here he is on another walk and sprinting for the road.

Here is the turkey chili from the day after Thanksgiving.  It was great and we polished all of it off.

James....need I say more.

James also got to play king of the hill on grandpa.  He would laugh and laugh and then fall off and get right back on again.

With a little encouragement.  He did this till one him he jumped and my dad let one fly...James was frightened and started pointing and yelling and everyone was rolling on the floor laughing.

We all got to play a bunch of games and here are the ladies trying to pick out what game they want to play next.

It was a great thanksgiving and then on Sunday we headed home.  We were only home for a few days and then on Wednesday we headed to San Jose and CA to visit friends and family....to be continued.

I wanted to say something here about the upcoming "fiscal cliff" that everyone seems to be talking about.  First off let me talk about the taxes going back to higher rates.  I expect the government to kick the can down the road again for two reasons 1) they are idiots 2) they need to "put off" the tax hikes and not end them so when they put a budget together for the next year they can show it as balanced because the tax hikes will be again on the table.  If they made the cuts permanent, they would actually have to cut spending to balance a budget and not do the "creative accounting" they currently do.  This type of irresponsible spending would make a household go under in less than a year, but the government arrogantly keeps spending like a drunk guy at a all night rave.

Secondly, if we do go over the "cliff" I think that the spending cuts across the board are actually good.  Sure I would like to see some program specific spending, but if they got to cut spending go ahead and cut a little of everything.  If we cut 5-10% of every program they would certainly be more inclined to find areas where they are wasting and cut that.  They actually might check on who is getting the government assistance instead of just handing it out to all who ask...who am I kidding, they will not kick those who do not need assistance off of it, but they would probably just cut everyones benefits...idiots...how can they all be idiots?

Playplace, Bathtime, and Carrots

Not too much going on besides Brenda getting bigger.  James is still up to no good, but most of that is my fault. 

He likes Playdough

And  messing around on the ground.

I decided the other day that both of us could use a bath.  I had not bathed in quite some time so I figured it was about time.  Backfired on me though when I caught James peeing in the water, that kid needs to learn that you can only do that in the shower.

He now likes standing on the train and we remind him that he is going to get hurt, but am resigned to the fact that he will have to learn many things the hard way.

Anytime there are tools close by, he feels the need to fix anything.  I only have to show him once and we is right on it.

Notice the giant drool stain.  He has a couple molars coming in, and man it is impossible to keep any shirts dry.

Last week we had some friend moving out of their house and going to Denver.  They had this play structure out in the back and gave it to us.  I had to dismantle it and get it off site, but it actually took a lot less time than I thought.  Now I just have to find a place in our backyard to put it.  We have plenty of space for it, but I don't want to have to mow around this behemoth.

Seriously a very nice and expensive play structure, and for free....We have great friends.

Lastly, we have the garden.  Check out this carrot that the wife pulled out of the ground today.  I have never seen a carrot so wide, but we have so many more where this came from we will not be starving anytime soon.  I did not include a picture of the big potatoes I dug up on Saturday, but they are huge.  We got some seed potatoes from my parents, and I think one of those buggers could feed a family of four.