Better Late Than Never, Right?

i just realized that i never posted my christmas card picture. i kept meaning to but never did. so here it is.
i figured since i'm still getting a few stragglers in the mail that it's still okay to post it.





and here are a few more i took tonight.
i know, i know- it looks like the flame is on top of shaeya's head. but i thought they all looked cute in their new pajamas from grandma. :)
and now i know to turn the fireplace off before taking the picture.







what a crazy bunch of kids.
we've been having a pretty good week- broken up a bit by a few "overnights" for ty and shaeya.
the only problem with having them both gone is the morning.
tekoa usually wakes up and heads straight downstairs to hang out with them, and this morning they were gone.....so koa had free reign of the house while i was still sleeping.
i'm fully aware that i got off easy- she only got into the christmas candy stash. she opened up a bunch of it, ate some, and put the rest in a cup.
yep.....could've been much worse.

dave and i met for lunch yesterday. we had all the kids, so we went to mcdonalds. it's about our only option for a peaceful lunch. except yesterday was the day everyone else had the same idea.

but other than being scrunched at a small table and having to shout to be heard it was good.
well, until tekoa spilled shaeya's drink. all over the floor and in wren's car seat.
all eyes were on us as dave tried to get the ice up and i went to ask someone for help.
this poor girl came back with a mop and i had to restrain myself from taking it from her. it just feels so weird to let someone else clean up my kid's mess. so i just stood there feeling weird and apologizing over and over. she kept looking at me like "relax- this happens" but i felt bad.

so then dave headed back to work, and i rounded everybody up- shoes, coats, hats, mittens (i hate winter!!) and we walked to the front. i had wren's car seat in one arm and my drink in that hand. i had my 500 lb. diaper bag on the other shoulder and tekoa by the coat in that hand.
the front of mcdonalds had cleared out by then so there were about 5 workers standing around and watching me walk by.
and then my bag starts to slip off my shoulder.....so i try to lift my arm with the car seat and drink to pull it back up.....and of course the drink goes flying. right over my shoulder. probably looked like i just tossed it on over.
and yep, the same girl with the mop is standing right there.

i kept the apologies to a minimum this time. just an "i'm SO SO SO sorry and i'm leaving now. i promise."
so embarrassing. and of course tyden and shaeya topped it off with, "mom! you've got to be more careful with your drink!"
thanks, guys.

and today we spent the day at chuck e cheese with some of my family.
i actually thought it was fun- salad bar, fountain soda, cotton candy. and the kids were good. okay, koa was wild but that's nothing new. my brother took her for awhile for me and when he brought her back he said, "that kid's crazy." i know.

so that's that. tomorrow is new year's eve and i feel a little like a loser cause we have no plans. but actually a quiet evening in with dave sounds really nice. put the kids to bed early and buy (i mean bake) some snacks and get a movie (or 2). and just hang out together. yep, sounds good.
and we leave for fun city the next day, so i wouldn't want to be too sleep deprived anyway.

and this time me and my new gps will get us there without a problem.
thanks, dave!!!