MERRY CHRISTMAS

Our humble Danish Christmas Tree.......and yes, it is as small as it looks.

Nutcracker Video

As expected...Madi is the tall one!

Merry Christmas 2009

This month was a busy one...church parties, activities, family and friends visiting, doctors, callings, singing, shopping, ballet performances, and decorating. It was definitely a great way to pass the time in the most depressing season of the year. We may need to plan on some vacations to get through January and February. In the meantime MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Some of the girls

Madi and Erika sneaking egg nog

Cy showing a little love for his best friend Cal

What's a Christmas party without a snake charmer? Thanks for grossing me out Graham

A little Rock Band

Madi and the YW Dancing at our ward Christmas party

Lena and Trevor visit

Madi's adoptive "uncles" supporting her ballet performance

Proud parents

Auntie Lena

My girls; Rachel and Madi

No Words

No captions can describe this face. I don't know what it is, but it certainly gives me a chuckle. I love my Cy.

Sing To Him A Song Of Love

This is one of those posts where you hope the people who were intended to view our blog are the only one's seeing it. What makes this special, is this song was one my mother used to perform with her trio back when I was a baby. Fun to keep the memory alive (though I wouldn't mind trading my voice for my mother's)...hope you enjoy it Mom!

Thanksgiving 2009

After doing Thanksgiving the wrong way (alone) our first couple years in New York, we discovered the joys of sharing in the hard work and fun with good friends. Thanks Roddy's and gang, it was a blast.

Erika, Madison and Kylie

The kids table

The "little" kids table

Wiped Out

Hay There

All I can say is, my sister Lena and I got the short end of the stick. Tonight on CBS's Amazing Race, teams revisited the same place Lena and I were eliminated. The hay fields in Stockholm. Lena was out there for 10 hours with no break plus we had ticks all over our bodies, but were still eliminated. Tonight however, not one team was there for more than a couple hours, none worked nearly as hard without complaining like Lena did AND the last team didn't get eliminated! NOT FAIR! It's still a sore spot for me today, she just worked so hard and we were doing so well. OUCH!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8ZS6ZPM0Nk

Talking on the cell

They say kids learn by example. Cy must have learned his phone skills from Mike, who tends to be a bit loud and very commanding. He's actually talking to Madi on the phone in this footage.

Just Another Day

Part of Cy's day typically includes picking a beat on his sister's keyboard and dancing. Today he integrated the harmonica and a cool hat he was "feeling".

Halloween

Madi and her girlfriend

Curious George

Aunt Maren visiting

Over it

The Fear

Madison sang an edited version of Lily Allen's - The Fear for her Middle School Variety Show. Here's a sneak peak...Great job Madi!!!!

Upstate

This weekend, we took a short trip upstate to enjoy my favorite season...FALL! Something about the smell, and colors feed my soul (I know how cheesy that sounds). I told Mike when I retire I'm going to live wherever Fall goes, to which he looked at me like I was crazy and replied in his loving and gentle way (insert sarcasm) "OK, so what am I going to tell people when they call for you? That you're chasing Fall?". Well when you put it that way maybe I am crazy, but yes I will be chasing Fall...although since you're my husband you can certainly join me!

Pretty Madi

My 3 Hillbillies

Flying with dad

Playing and acting silly

Cy Playing Around

This week Cy has become much more involved in play. He seems to favor his cars and the cooler for some reason. Here's a little video of him feeling like a dare devil.

Kelly Visits

My sister in-law Kelly and her girlfriend Penny flew out from San Francisco to shop and visit us for a couple days this past weekend. It was a gorgeous day on Sunday, so we drove into Manhattan and enjoyed all the chaos of Soho...which included a hole in the wall Chinese Restaurant in Chinatown (delicious) some pinkberry and Cy attempting to join in a street band with Mike's old harmonica.

Happy Birthday Jenn

Last night "the ladies" went out to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory in honor of my good friend Jenn, who was celebrating her birthday. After a long day of testing at my Doctor's office and getting a flat tire from running over a screw the size of my finger, it felt better than ever to get out of the house and talk with friends. Happy Birthday Jenn, I love you!