The Most Wonderful Time of the Year '09

We had such a wonderful Christmas full of family and friends and lots of fun! I wish I had pictures of the kids with Santa but we forgot our camera and I still need to get them from my sister-in-law. Santa visited the Sorensen Family Christmas Party this year. He was one of the best Santas I have ever seen. He was full of all sorts of Santa lore. He told the kids all sorts of fun stories and histories about himself. He even sang songs with them and had a present for each of them. Lexi and Ray were eager to tell him what they wanted but Simon cried until he got his candy cane and then he just wanted Daddy. Oh well, maybe next year he will be more willing to sit with the big guy!

Christmas Eve was so much fun for the kids! We spent the evening at Gma and Gpa Sorensen's, playing games and watching movies. Of course there was lots of yummy food. I love Christmas snacking! We got our annual Christmas Eve pj's. I will have to get a pic of the kids in theirs...they loved them so much that they didn't want to change until halfway through the 26th. That's what holidays are all about right? Staying in our pj's and being cozy! They were excited to go home and sleep in Mom and Dad's bed as they do every Christmas Eve.

Christmas morning started bright and early at 5:30am. The kids were excited to see if Santa delivered and he did! They got just what they wanted. Alexia got her Moxie girl with a car and she got a Gameboy Advanced, not quite the DSi she asked for but she hasn't figured the difference yet! Rayden got a train just like Pop's. In fact, he was worried that Santa might have taken Pop's to give to him. He was very nervous about it until he saw Pop's train again. Simon got a remote control airplane that was hooked to the ceiling with fishing line. He spent the next 45min. flying it and doing nothing else. He wouldn't even look in his stocking!

We spent a wonderful afternoon at Oma and Pop Dixon's house with all of my family. The kids were spoiled rotten and filled extremely full of good food and goodies. Christmas night they had some of their cousins to spend the night. I was a little stressed that they wouldn't want to settle down when it was bed time but all it took was a movie and lots of blankets and they were all out within minutes of each other. What a great way to end the holiday than to spend it with their cousins. I'm so sad that it is all over. Why does it have to go by so fast? Now it is time to start planning for next year!

Winter Recital

Monday night Lexi had her dance recital. She was sooo excited to get to perform both of her dances for all of us. She did great! She was super excited to find out that one of her cute little friends from school was there dancing in a different class. These two are so cute together! I have to admit though that I think the real highlight of Lexi's night was the flowers. She felt so special to get them!

After the recital Rayden was dying to go to my parents' house. Every Christmas season my father puts up his village and trains. Rayden looks forward to it all year. This year my father had a train up that he has never had running before. It is running this year with all 17 cars! Ray was in heaven, especially when Pop let him control the speed. He didn't want to leave and threw a little tantrum. I recorded the trains for him with my camera and he left begrudgingly. He did watch the video over and over and over.....

Thankful Thursdays Moved

Hey everyone! I decided to move my Thankful Thursdays to their own blog. Here is a link.
hannesthankfulthursdays.blogspot.com. I hope you all keep enjoying the small things in life!

Anyone Still Out There?

Alright, so I am back! I had to take a break after all of my computer problems! I just didn't even want to look at a computer screen for any reason! But enough is enough. I miss my blog! So here is what we have been up to for the last month.

October is pumpkin month! We don't see much of Dirk since he is out at the pumpkin field a lot. I didn't go out very often this year so I didn't get any fun pics of the kids. Simon did love it though. He loved carrying around the little "pumpuns." Lexi and Ray enjoyed finding perfect carving pumpkins for our house. They think that is the height of the season!

Lexi lost her first tooth! She has been waiting for this tooth to fall out for months! She was getting discouraged because all of her friends were losing teeth but she wasn't. One evening she showed me how loose her tooth was and I told her that Dad could probably pull it out for her. Next thing I know she had gone to the bathroom and pulled it out herself! She was so excited to put her tooth in the tooth fairy pillow.

Our family is now famous....ok not really but our faces are all over the country and Canada. We all got to pose for the Lazyone 2010 catalog. It has already been shipped out and I must admit that my kids are dang cute! I might have to scan in a few pictures from the catalog just to show them off!

October wouldn't be the same without Halloween and all of it's celebrations! I love this holiday! Last year, the day after Halloween, Lexi had a great idea for this year's costume. I didn't expect her to remember it but she couldn't wait! She wanted her, Rayden, and Simon to dress up as Alvin and the Chipmunks. I loved the idea! I thought it would be an easy costume to put together but I can't tell you how hard it was to find the turtlenecks in the right color! Insane, but I finally found them. I always dress up with my kids but we have never been able to get Dirk to dress up with us. The night of our Ward's Halloween carnival he surprised us and showed up with a cowboy! He looked great, but he almost got in trouble with the bishop for wearing real guns. Lucky for him he had taken the cylinders out. What a fun night!

 I wish I could say that Halloween was the same, but I was hit pretty hard with the swine flu and I missed the entire day! Dirk doesn't really care for trick or treating so Simon didn't get to go at all. I was disappointed since the kids looked so cute together but Simon didn't seem to mind. He helped Dirk pass out candy at our house instead and he had to get himself a piece each time he gave one out. He knows how to work the system!

I also have been working on a couple of Christmas presents. This year, for Lexi, I am getting her stuff to redo her room. She really wants a purple and blue room. I found this awesome lamp at a yard sale for $5. It had a pink velvet ribbon on it and some pink dangly things but they were falling off so I just took them off.

I went to the craft store and found some blue material on sale and some new trim. I recovered the lamp and now it looks like this! It is as girly as my little girl! I hope she loves it as much as I do. I can't wait to give it to her.

And last but certainly not least, Rayden turned 5 last week. We had to push his birthday party back a little bit since I was sick but last Saturday he had a blast with all of his friends. He had to have another train party this year. Have I ever mentioned how much he loves trains? Well if not, he is OBSESSED! That is all he ever wants. So I made him another train cake and he had all his friends over and we partied!

I think the highlight of the party was Rayden's train set up around his cake and presents. Dirk set it up with his train sound box and all. The kids enjoyed watching it go around and pressing the buttons to make the horn and clickety-clack sounds.

I can't believe my little man is getting so big!

Thankful Thursday

1. A Dash of Spice-As I sit here in my kitchen this evening I am enjoying the wonderful smell of baking apples that is permeating my home. I love spices of all kinds. They add so much flavor and fun. It is like my mouth gets to take a wonderful journey with every bite! To me spices are kind of like life, it wouldn't be any fun without a little spice. So here is to all the spice in life and food alike!

2. Hope-What a powerful 4 letter word!! When everything seems dismal and overbearing I am completely overwhelmed how hope sneeks in and has the power to change everything. I can't imagine living without hope. Hope in people, hope in family, hope in impossible situations, hope in faith, it all is inspiring and wonderful. I wish I could find the words to describe my thankfulness for hope and the part it has played in my life and those around me.

3. Dirk-Enough said. He hasn't done anything extraordinary or anything lately, but I am so grateful for him my life. I can't think of a better eternal partner, them him, for me. He has always put me and the kids first. He works so hard for us and I love him more and more everyday. I can't help but look at him and know that I am the luckiest woman alive!

Taylie's Hope

Awhile back a friend of mine posted a link on her blog about this adorable little girl, Taylie, who is fighting a battle against cancer. I wasn't too surprised to find this link on her blog since her own family is fighting this terrible disease. I clicked the link and had quite the shock. The website had a large picture of Taylie and my heart flipped over as I realized that she looked almost identical to one of my little nieces. An overwhelming desire to help this family overcame me. I am working on an idea but I'm not quite there yet. Another friend updated her blog today with her own way to help. Please click on this link and read about her efforts: ADashofSeason. It will only take a moment of your time and you are out nothing. Seriously, you will feel nothing but good. Here also is the link to Taylie's site: Tayliebug.com

Frog Hunting

Ok so we haven't really done anything really exciting but it is just bugging me that I haven't done a post in so long. I was going through some of our pictures and I found these that I never blogged about.
Back at the end of July we went frog hunting with our neighbors across the street. We went out to their grandparents farm in Trenton. The kids thought this was the coolest thing ever. Rayden got the first catch when a frog jumped right into his net. Lexi was hunting feathers and frogs. She LOVES nature!


I love Rayden's look in this picture. He is such a boy!

Simon didn't catch any frogs but he had fun playing with the net. He kept running after the kids and his Daddy.
We were out way after dark and the kids were excited when we let them bring 3 frogs home. We let them keep them for a few weeks and then we released them into the canal. They didn't really smell too good. The kids loved the entire experience!

Thankful Thursday

1. Wet Wipes-Having little kids, I don't think about the convenience of wet wipes all the time....until I need one and I can't find any! I love how quick they make it to clean a face, hands, or any other mess. When my kids grow up I think I am going to keep on buying them.

2. Spy Games-Simon cracks me up all the time. He loves to play games and his newest one is spy! When I am cooking in the kitchen we walk around like we are stalking some one and even make the cool "doo-da-doo" sound effects. I love his face and how he crouches down to stalk the kitchen. Seriously, this kid is too cute!

3. "Peeking" Mom-I know Rayden is almost 5 and I should try to fix the very few words he says backwards, but it just sounds so darn cute! The other day Dirk asked Ray if they should trade me in for a different mom. Ray asked his dad why they would do that and Dirk told him that maybe they could get a better one. (He was totally joking around.) So then he asked, "Should we keep her or get a new one?" Rayden told him they needed to "Peek" mom. Thanks Ray, I love you too!

Thankful Thursday

1. Late night movies-Nothing is better than putting the kids to bed and curling up with my hubby to watch a movie, just the two of us. I especially love it when we add a big chocolate bar and a tall glass of milk, yum!

2. Music-I love music. I love the way it can change your mood or help clear your mind. If it wasn't for music I wouldn't be able to do half the stuff I do in a day. It helps to keep me focused and on task. I love it's calming influence when life gets stressful and I love teaching my kids all about it.

3. Pillows-A bed doesn't look made without a pillow or two or in my case 6. I love pillows. My kids think they are great to gather in a pile and lay in the middle of. We have pillows all over our house! The other night I fell asleep without my pillow and I missed it, a lot. Such a small comfort that I love having around!

Thankful Thursday

1. Creativity-I struggle with being creative but I love the creativity of those around me. I am truly inspired by all my friends and family who have this talent. They always give me great ideas.

2. Photography-Once again I am a novice but I truly believe that a picture can say 1000 words. I love looking at all the photo blogs out there. I have the bug right now to want to tear my house apart and redecorate it with nothing but pictures. If only I could convince Dirk to buy me the camera that I want....

3. Si Time-This morning both Lexi and Rayden had school. I was able to spend alone time with Simon. After dropping Ray off at preschool we came home and Simon curled up in my lap with a book he brought to me. It was a word book, and we spent the next hour going through it and naming the pictures and then learning the sign language for each one. If this is how mornings are going to go I will be in heaven. It was so fun spending time alone with Simon.