Pinewood Derby

My handsome cub scout had his first pinewood derby last week. His car was his very own creation. He handled everything but the power tools (with which his dad was very helpful). To my surprise and his delight, his car ended up being pretty fast. He won the first few heats. I was glad he got to experience a little victory! After the boys were done racing, the dads took over the track. I was packing up the kids to leave and Scott said, "Where are you going? This is when it gets really good!" Indeed. Grown men and toy cars were a volatile mix that turned out to be very entertaining. My husband strapped on a big ol' battery and a large can of spaghetti sauce and took third place behind a guy with a remote control propeller and another guy with a spring launcher. I laughed and laughed.

Colby's 6th Birthday

Colby wanted a party this year. I was willing to grant that request, but I had secretly decided to keep it simple - no themes, no bounce houses, etc. Just kids and games and treats. When we started making plans, we found out that a couple of his cousins we're also planning parties around the same time. All agreed that we should just combine. My sisters and I each picked a job and pitched in. The end result was quite the impressive spy party. Aunt Melanie made spy ID tags with secret identities. Aunt Lisa and Uncle Mark made a magnifying glass cake. I organized a spy hunt and Aunt Lori provided the loot. We also did a pinata and opened lots of presents. It was super easy, and much better than I could've done alone. Colby's actual birthday was the day after the party and I think it will stand out as a memorable one for years - but not in a good way! He woke up hacking and barking with a horrible cough. He was too sick to go to church, laid around and took naps all day, barely had the energy to blow out his candles and didn't have the appetite to eat the cake I made for him. Poor guy. I'm glad we got some partying in ahead of time!

Snow Day

I am willing to post this exceedingly ugly picture of me in order to show off my exceedingly cute husband. This is from New Year's Eve day. We went up north with the Hardins to play in the snow, and snow was not hard to find...The Verde Valley was whiter than I'd ever seen before! It was 15 degrees when we got out of our vans and began to bundle up. I stayed warm enough to have a good time, but I think some of our kids went into freezer shock. It wasn't long before we buckled the little ones back into their car seats to stay warm and eat snacks. The rest of us made the absolute most of a very short snow stint.

These ones are my favorite. I'm so happy I was able to retrieve evidence of my total dominance over my sister Lisa who thinks she is so tough...

Bikes!

Santa also brought bikes for everyone this year (they were waiting by our tree when we got back from the cabin)! I'm so glad he did because we've been spending lots of quality time at the park since then. My favorite days are outside days!

Nolan's already a pro at riding and Hanna's getting the hang of her training wheels pretty quick, but Colby has never had a bike before and he's still trying to learn. He's been very brave and he's doing great so far but he has had a few spills. Check this out:

"I hurt my guts!" Scott couldn't stop laughing. My kids make me so happy!

Christmas 2010

Our extended Gordon family has taken a liking to this fantastic cabin we found in Pinedale. We've rented it a couple times for family reunions in the summer, and then my mother-in-law had the wonderful idea that it might be a really great place to have Christmas this year. It was! All five Gordon siblings, plus their five spouses, and their accumulated 17 children, and grandma, gathered around a real fire on Christmas Eve for the nativity story and lots of caroling (accompanied by Aunt Janae's live guitar).

Christmas Eve is also Grandma Gordon's birthday, so we always take time to blow out some candles and have cake!

And I'm sure I don't have to paint a Christmas morning picture for you. There were lots of kids and lots of presents! Liam got a Sing-a-ma-jig. He loved it!

Here's Colby's pirate ship...

Nolan's MP3 player...

And Hanna's princess castle...

I even lucked out to find some new perfume and a book light in my stocking! Thanks Santa :)

Hanna's Dance Recital

This was the funnest thing ever! I never took dance as a kid, and this was my first go-round with my only daughter, so I didn't know what to expect. I knew Hanna would love to twirl around in a tu-tu, and I was looking forward to watching her, but I wasn't sure I even wanted to do the recital. I'm so glad we did! It was so exciting! Even my husband said it was surprisingly entertaining for him. The best part was sharing it with Kimber and Madix. I loved sitting next to my best friend while Hanna danced next to hers. What a fun day :)

My pretty Hanna...